Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
Chapter 15, Lesson 3: The Workers' Changing World(pp. 455-461)
I. Production Speeds Up
B. The assembly line permitted the production of large quantities of the same item, which increased investors' profits.
C. Jobs on assembly lines used fewer skills, were very repetitious, and paid less than most skilled jobs.
II. The Workers Struggle
B. Workers faced many hazards in the workplace, such as high temperatures, poisonous gases, and machines without safety devices.
C. Some businesses set up company towns for their workers in which the housing, schools, shops, and even churches were controlled by the company.
B. The first influential union in the United States was the Knights of Labor, which was founded in 1869 and tried to organize all workers in society.
C. The American Federation of Labor, founded in 1886, organized skilled workers into many local unions, and used the threat of strikes and boycotts to push for reform.
B. To fight against organized labor, companies locked striking workers out of the factories or hired strikebreakers, which sometimes led to violence.
C. The federal government often sided with management, using federal troops or court orders to end strikes.
Lesson at a Glance Outline
A. When manufacturing plants began using assembly lines, each worker had only one specific task in the assembly process, so goods were produced much faster and cheaper.
A. Fear of losing their jobs made workers put up with poor working conditions, low pay, and long hours.
III. Unions Develop
A. Workers formed labor unions so they could join together to fight for better wages and working conditions.
IV. Unions Meet Opposition
A. Although the AFL succeeded in gaining higher wages for its members, unskilled workers still faced poor wages and working conditions and went on strike many times to improve their situation.
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