Labor Organizations
Discuss the similarities and differences between at least three labor organizations discussed in Chapter 3.
The Knights of Labor was a standard labor union comprised of individual workers across the nation. They were inclusive in terms, employing both skilled workers in crafts industries as well as unskilled laborers such as coalminers. (Rayback, 1966, p. 168). They had limited political objectives such as the eight-hour workday and the prohibition of child and convict labor. Their broader objectives were social: to improve the image and social status of the working man.
The AFL was not a labor organization, but a federation of affiliated labor unions. (Dubofsky & Foster, 2004, p. 138). The AFL was exclusive, accepting skilled workers in crafts industries and skilled workers in industry. The AFL's goals were economic, they provided financial and political support for affiliated labor unions in contract negotiations with employers. (Dubofsky & Foster, 2004, p. 139). The political objectives they did pursue usually had to do with the nature of labor negotiations.
The IWW was neither a traditional labor union or a federation of labor unions, but a labor union comprised with many members of other labor organizations. (Dubofsky & Foster, 2004, p. 195). The IWW was extremely inclusive, accepting most skilled and unskilled labor, most notably migrant farmworkers. (Dubofsky & Foster, 2004, p. 197). The IWW's goals were political, seeking to empower the working class all across the world. The economic concessions they obtained for their members were usually obtained in pursuit of larger political objectives.
2. Use the four criteria to evaluate the strength of labor organizations.
a. Labor organization structure and financial stability
The Knights of Labor's organizational structure was heavily centralized but loose, allowing local members a great deal of autonomy. However, local members had little means to draw on the collective power of the Knights, making membership nearly nominal in many instances. The organization was financially stable enough to survive the exit of a majority of its members, likely because the organization was relatively lean.
The AFL was organized along a federated model,...
The executive board of the organization was determined by annual conventions, with one delegate allocated for every 4,000 members of each affiliated union. The federation coordinated labor strikes among its affiliate unions and helped organized labor advisory boards in major cities, often comprised of its members. Revenue for the new organization was raised on the basis of a "per-capita tax" of its member organizations, tying the AFL's financial health to that of its affiliate unions.
The IWW was organized as a supra-corporate body, accepting virtually all workers and permitting its members to hold concurrent membership in other labor organizations. The IWW employed rank-and-file organization instead of electing leaders to bargain with employers on behalf of workers. The IWW was financed mainly through initiation fees and membership dues, which were huge considering the size of its membership, which reached 100,000 workers in 1923. (Foner, 1997, 152).
b. Its ability to work within an established political and economic system.
The top leadership of the Knights of Labor did not believe that strikes were an effective way to up the status of the working people, and failed to develop the infrastructure that was necessary to organize and coordinate the hundreds of strikes, walkouts, and job actions spontaneously erupting among the membership. The organization's opposition to Socialist political organizations in favor of Populist organizations also hurt it, causing important members to leave the organization.
The AFL also fit into the economic system well because it favored pursuit of workers' immediate demands rather than challenging the property rights of owners, and The AFL's leadership believed the expansion of the capitalist system was the best path to betterment of labor, an orientation making it possible for the AFL to present itself as the conservative alternative to working class radicalism. Politically, the AFL generally limited itself to the support of key politicians on a case-by-case basis. However, the AFL started a fruitful alliance with the Democratic party in the early 1900s that has endured to the present day.
The IWW was very effective in its…
