How Did Organized Labor Occur During The Industrial Revolution

During the late 19th century, conflict with labor was very normal due to the harsh working conditions the workers had to overcome. The Industrial Revolution created many new job openings which led to owners of the companies only caring about financial issues or values, leaving their workers with dangerous conditions and low wages. As a result of this, labor unions and strikes occurred to challenge the owners about the unsanitary conditions, low wages and unfair pay. The Government introduced new laws and regulations to help the working communities receive better wages and working conditions. The “Factory Act” and the “Hours of Labor Regulation Act” did not allow for children under the age of eight to work in factories. Workers from the age of eight to thirteen were only permitted to work ten hours a day. The “Fair Labor Standards Act” (FSLA) created a limit on minimum wages and added more regulations to child labor. Children were required to attend school before they could start their job at the factory each day. …show more content…
Organized labor is a group of workers wanting to improve their social and economic rank as well as better hours and pay. Workers would join together and stop working creating a “strike”, demanding better conditions or pay. Many strikes became violent and the government would step in stopping the uprisings. The “Homestead Strike” was caused due to a wage cut, creating an uprising by the workers. The workers blockaded themselves until the government sent pinkertons to end this strike. Created in 1886, the American Federation of Labor was founded by Samuel Gompers. AFL became the largest labor union, advocating for higher wages, safer working conditions and better