American Labor Movement History of Labor Movement
The American Labor Movement – The Labor Question, Racism, Sexism & Xenophobia
The "labor question" is the foundation of the American Labor Movement. Concerned with the ideal of an industrial democracy, including a more equitable society with social and financial betterment of working class people, the "labor question" arose during and in response to America's 19th Century (Second) Industrial Revolution. The American Industrial Revolution transformed America from an agrarian society to an industrialized society and feasted on child labor, convict labor and work schedules of 10 – 16 hour per day, six days per week, for wages of approximately $1.00 per day. At that time, "the richest 1 percent owned 26 percent of the wealth, and the richest 10 percent owned 72 percent." This widely disproportionate division of wealth and power between affluent capitalists and their industrial workers was rightfully considered by the workers to be unjustifiable in America's democratic society. The struggle for industrial democracy resulted in many material gains. The "labor question" is still vital in American society because the central problems of the labor question remain central.
While the "labor question(s)" focused on the ideals of democracy and financial/social equality, the proponents did not mean that those ideals were for everyone. Racism, sexism and xenophobia – "hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture" - certainly played a role in the history of the American Labor Movement. Unions tended to be the bastion of the working-class white American male and the American Federation of Labor, founded in 1886, was often overtly racist and anti-communist. Scholars suggest some methods of overcoming racism, sexism and xenophobia in order to make unions truly democratic and to help unions regain their power and relevance in modern America and the global economy.
Legal behaviors, criminalization, and hidden drawbacks of law
In the United States, laws that criminalize homosexual behaviors are known as sodomy laws. Before 2003, it was illegal to engage in homosexual behaviors. However, in Lawrence v. Texas case, the Supreme Court on June 26,…
Bathroom Sanitation System and Urban Life Fast Pace
In our present lives, in hi-technology living spaces or homes, most of us spend our days indoors. Commonly, a home physically means an indoor place, inside space, a room, an apartment, a mobile home such as trailer or…