THE
HISTORY OF ORGANIZED LABOR
AND
THE
UAW
THE
ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN WORKER
The history of the American worker
dates back to early colonial times
when
the principle vocation was farming. When immigrants
came to the United States and lacked the capital to
start their own farm they often became hired for the
established farmers.
As farming settlements grew,
merchants came and established businesses that provided
goods and services to the surrounding communities.
Tailors, Blacksmiths, Tinsmiths and other craftsmen
performed individual services for their customers.
As demand for services grew, it became more practical
for the merchant to mass produce their products in
advance and have them immediately available for sale.
In larger communities this practice
expanded and companies were formed to mass produce
products for sale to retail merchants. These manufacturers
established the initial industrialization of the United
States and created the demand for factory workers.
The first factory workers were
predominately immigrants, slaves and children and
they were easily exploited by many of the factory
owners. Slaves had no constitutional rights and were
treated at the will of their owners.
Immigrants lacking the funds for passage to the United
States, often signed indentured servant contracts.
These contracts allowed factory owners to pay the
immigrant's passage, the individual would agree to
repay their debt by working in the owners factory
after they arrived in the United States. They were
traditionally required to live in community-owned
housing and their rents were deducted from their wages.
Because of the low wages paid, the immigrants often
were forced to borrow money from their employers in
order to purchase their basic necessities. As a result
of the poor wages, high rents and the loans from their
employers, they were seldom able to repay the factory
owners, and in effect became slaves.
In colonial times individuals who
could not repay debts incurred were sentenced to debtors
prisons. Factory owners frequently paid the debts
of the prisoners and then used them as forced labor
in the factories. The working conditions in most of
the factories were grossly unsafe and unsanitary.
Workers were customarily required to work between
75 and 80 hours per week.
The first unions in the United
States were predominately "craft unions"
that represented specific trades, (i.e. Shoemakers,
Blacksmiths, Tinsmiths, etc.). The first known union
formed in the United States was organized by Shoemakers,
or Cordwainers as they were known in 1972. Their goal
was to improve working conditions and wages. They
were forced to strike six times and unfortunately
failed to win their demands. In retaliation, the strikers
were charged with "criminal conspiracy".
The charges were dropped on the condition that they
returned to work and fully reimbursed employers for
all costs related to the strike.
By the mid 1800s small independent unions struggled
to form but were faced with the problem of increased
unemployment brought on by the continuation of mass
immigration. As organized workers protested for better
working conditions and wages, they were simply replaced
by the abundance of available workers.
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