Samuel Gompers made a great impact on the labor movement during his AFL leadership. He served as the longest president of the organization from 1886 to 1924 when he died. Before his election as head of the American Federation Leadership, the labor movement was facing issues such as low wage, long working hours, unsafe labor conditions and many other problems. People were frustrated and wanted to see a change in the labor movement.
Samuel Gompers main goal in solving work related problems was to turn the labor movement into an effective tool which would be use to change the lives of Americans workers economically, socially and politically.
Positive Effects of Gompers Response Strategies
When Gompers lead the AFL, it became the largest and most influential labor federation in the world. He also led the AFL to move from a marginal organization of 50000 in 1886 to and established organization of nearly 3 million in 1924 giving it a permanent place in the American society. His promotion of togetherness among the different craft unions of the AFL les to a decrease in jurisdictional battle. His strategies of organization and collective bargaining secure shorter working hours and lower wage for workers. Gompers active role in politics led to the passage of laws and acts which greatly impacted the labor force. In 1914 Gompers supported the passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act which gave union workers lawful permission to organize activities in their best interest. With this act passing, workers were happy and felt safe to know that they would not be stop or arrested for expressing their concern and dissatisfaction of employers. They became confident workers.
Negatives Effects of Gompers Response Strategies
Althogh Samuel Gompers made a great impact in the labor movement and brought about many changes, his strategies also had limitations and downside which affected many. First of all Gompers was a capitalist and anti-socialist who did show much interest in the entire working class population. The struggling common everyday worker issues were not so much of his concern. He was after the AFL becoming powerful economically and political therefore he needed the right people who would get him there. People who had a trade and was already making at least enough and those were people with special trade and craft, not the unskilled worker. Jansson (2012) points out that Gompers concentrate his effort on fringe benefits on organized skilled white native, male workers and demonstrated an abandonment of Unskilled, female, immigrants, and people of color. All these factors and the idea of only allowing some to the union brought about discrimination, racism and sexism within the organization.
u Racism The issue of racism which prevented many from being part of the AFL under Samuel Gompers may be due to many reasons unlisted but one fact that could have been insinuated is that Samuel Gompers could have had some personal issues with certain race. He had been recorded several times for making certain statement of his personal thoughts of other race in the past. For example against Chinese, he had made this statement “superior whites had to exclude the inferior Asiatic (Asians), by law, or if necessary, by force of arms” (Raskin, 1963). In another statement Gompers said “the presence and competition of Chinese (laborers) with free white labor is extremely dangerous and demands the passage of laws entirely prohibiting their importation.” (Raskin 1963). It was very obvious that the Chinese were not a favorite of Gompers. His reasons for being anti- Chinese may have been listed as seen them as competition and a treat in the labor movement but I think it goes farther than that. First of all Gompers was of a Jewish background and very aware of the issues which Chinese had with the Jews in the past and could have harbored some personal anger or hatred against the Chinese. In the 19th century over….Jews were massacred in Canton China Gompers during the Chinese Tang Dynasty. The massacre was thought to have been promoted due to Chinese belief of jealousy that the Jews were wealthy foreigners. Gompers supported many acts to banned Chinese success in doing business in America and their immigration to the U.S. In 1901 he petitioned Congress to reauthorize the Chinese Exclusion Act which had previously put a limit on Chinese Immigration to the U.S. In. 1901 Gompers also organize a boycott to discourage consumers from buying Chinese rolled Cigars.
Samuel Gompers also had some racism issue going on against blacks workers. Black workers were excluded almost entirely from the union membership. In many statement his views of blacks’ workers were recorded as: “convenient whip placed in the hands of the employers to cow the white man”. (Mendel, 1955) By this statement Gompers was referring to his concern that blacks woult take the whites jobs.
Sexism The AFL saw women as a hindrance, competition and strike breakers so women employment was opposed for the most part. The organization never had any official policy for gender discrimination. Even when it did hire women workers it was for the wrong reasons. The first female worker for the AFL named Mary Kenney O’Sullivan was hired in 1892 but let her go only five months after and failed to hired another woman worker until 1908. The AFL made it difficult for women to be hired. They would have meeting at odd time during the nights to prevent women from attending and if a woman was part of another union she would be asked to leave their union and join the AFL but even when they did they couldn’t stay in long because they would sense a hostile and discriminative feeling towards them.
From facts and record the AFL was clearly discriminative although it send out an egalitarian message of equality for all.
Society View about the Problem after Intervention
Gompers may have solve some problem in the labor movement however many were not
Happy. They wanted an organization which would include all workers and fight for their
Regardless of whether they were skilled or unskilled. This was a serious issue for works
And so important that a formal member of the AFL John Lewis separated from the union
In 1935 to formed another organization which would work for the non-skill or all workers.
Samuel Gompers main goal in solving work related problems was to turn the labor movement into an effective tool which would be use to change the lives of Americans workers economically, socially and politically.
Positive Effects of Gompers Response Strategies
When Gompers lead the AFL, it became the largest and most influential labor federation in the world. He also led the AFL to move from a marginal organization of 50000 in 1886 to and established organization of nearly 3 million in 1924 giving it a permanent place in the American society. His promotion of togetherness among the different craft unions of the AFL les to a decrease in jurisdictional battle. His strategies of organization and collective bargaining secure shorter working hours and lower wage for workers. Gompers active role in politics led to the passage of laws and acts which greatly impacted the labor force. In 1914 Gompers supported the passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act which gave union workers lawful permission to organize activities in their best interest. With this act passing, workers were happy and felt safe to know that they would not be stop or arrested for expressing their concern and dissatisfaction of employers. They became confident workers.
Negatives Effects of Gompers Response Strategies
Althogh Samuel Gompers made a great impact in the labor movement and brought about many changes, his strategies also had limitations and downside which affected many. First of all Gompers was a capitalist and anti-socialist who did show much interest in the entire working class population. The struggling common everyday worker issues were not so much of his concern. He was after the AFL becoming powerful economically and political therefore he needed the right people who would get him there. People who had a trade and was already making at least enough and those were people with special trade and craft, not the unskilled worker. Jansson (2012) points out that Gompers concentrate his effort on fringe benefits on organized skilled white native, male workers and demonstrated an abandonment of Unskilled, female, immigrants, and people of color. All these factors and the idea of only allowing some to the union brought about discrimination, racism and sexism within the organization.
u Racism The issue of racism which prevented many from being part of the AFL under Samuel Gompers may be due to many reasons unlisted but one fact that could have been insinuated is that Samuel Gompers could have had some personal issues with certain race. He had been recorded several times for making certain statement of his personal thoughts of other race in the past. For example against Chinese, he had made this statement “superior whites had to exclude the inferior Asiatic (Asians), by law, or if necessary, by force of arms” (Raskin, 1963). In another statement Gompers said “the presence and competition of Chinese (laborers) with free white labor is extremely dangerous and demands the passage of laws entirely prohibiting their importation.” (Raskin 1963). It was very obvious that the Chinese were not a favorite of Gompers. His reasons for being anti- Chinese may have been listed as seen them as competition and a treat in the labor movement but I think it goes farther than that. First of all Gompers was of a Jewish background and very aware of the issues which Chinese had with the Jews in the past and could have harbored some personal anger or hatred against the Chinese. In the 19th century over….Jews were massacred in Canton China Gompers during the Chinese Tang Dynasty. The massacre was thought to have been promoted due to Chinese belief of jealousy that the Jews were wealthy foreigners. Gompers supported many acts to banned Chinese success in doing business in America and their immigration to the U.S. In 1901 he petitioned Congress to reauthorize the Chinese Exclusion Act which had previously put a limit on Chinese Immigration to the U.S. In. 1901 Gompers also organize a boycott to discourage consumers from buying Chinese rolled Cigars.
Samuel Gompers also had some racism issue going on against blacks workers. Black workers were excluded almost entirely from the union membership. In many statement his views of blacks’ workers were recorded as: “convenient whip placed in the hands of the employers to cow the white man”. (Mendel, 1955) By this statement Gompers was referring to his concern that blacks woult take the whites jobs.
Sexism The AFL saw women as a hindrance, competition and strike breakers so women employment was opposed for the most part. The organization never had any official policy for gender discrimination. Even when it did hire women workers it was for the wrong reasons. The first female worker for the AFL named Mary Kenney O’Sullivan was hired in 1892 but let her go only five months after and failed to hired another woman worker until 1908. The AFL made it difficult for women to be hired. They would have meeting at odd time during the nights to prevent women from attending and if a woman was part of another union she would be asked to leave their union and join the AFL but even when they did they couldn’t stay in long because they would sense a hostile and discriminative feeling towards them.
From facts and record the AFL was clearly discriminative although it send out an egalitarian message of equality for all.
Society View about the Problem after Intervention
Gompers may have solve some problem in the labor movement however many were not
Happy. They wanted an organization which would include all workers and fight for their
Regardless of whether they were skilled or unskilled. This was a serious issue for works
And so important that a formal member of the AFL John Lewis separated from the union
In 1935 to formed another organization which would work for the non-skill or all workers.