"Strength in Numbers": The Rise of Labor Unions
- Rosie Jayde Uyola
- Jan 26
- 3 min read
Target: I can explain the goals of the American labor movement by comparing a speech by Samuel Gompers to a political cartoon about inequality.
Key Vocabulary
Labor Union: An organization of workers formed to protect their rights and interests (like higher pay and safety) by negotiating as a group.
Collective Bargaining: The process where a union negotiates with an employer for all workers at once.
American Federation of Labor (AFL): A major union led by Samuel Gompers that focused on "Bread and Butter" issues (higher wages, shorter hours, better conditions).
Strike: A refusal to work organized by a body of employees as a form of protest.
Part 1: Do Now (5 minutes)
Directions: Read the prompt below and write a 5-8 sentence response.
Prompt: Imagine you feel your homework load is too heavy.
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Sentence Starter: Scenario B is more likely to succeed because... When people act together, they have...
Part 2: Analyzing the Sources
Directions: Analyze the two documents below and then answer the questions that follow.
Source 1: Samuel Gompers, "What Does Labor Want?" (1893)
Context: Samuel Gompers was the founder of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Critics often asked him what the unions were really after. This was his famous answer.
Original Text | Simplified Text |
"What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures..." | "What do workers want? We want more schools and fewer jails. We want more books and fewer weapons. We want more free time and less greed from owners. We want more justice and less revenge. We want more chances to become better people." |
Source 2: Political Cartoon - "The Protectors of our Industries" (1883)
Context: This cartoon was published in a magazine during the Gilded Age, a time of great gap between the rich and poor.
Description: The top of the image shows fat, wealthy businessmen (like Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould) sitting comfortably on a raft filled with bags of money. The raft is being held up by the heads and hands of workers who are drowning in a rough ocean labeled "Hard Times."
Analysis Questions
Directions: Answer the writing questions and the two Multiple Choice questions.
1. According to Source 1, Samuel Gompers says labor wants "more schoolhouses and less jails." What does this mean about how a good job affects a worker's life?
Sentence Starter: This means that if workers have good jobs and education, they are less likely to...
2. Look at Source 2. How does the cartoonist view the relationship between the rich factory owners and the workers?
Sentence Starter: The cartoonist views the relationship as unfair because the rich are... while the workers are...
Regents-Style Multiple Choice
3. Which statement best summarizes the views of Samuel Gompers and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in Source 1?
(1) Workers should violently overthrow the government to create socialism.
(2) Unions should focus on "bread and butter" issues like higher wages and better hours.
(3) The government should ban all labor unions to protect the economy.
(4) Workers should accept whatever wages business owners offer them.
4. The situation shown in the cartoon (Source 2) was primarily caused by:
(1) The success of the Populist Party in helping farmers
(2) The rise of laissez-faire capitalism and monopolies
(3) The passage of the Wagner Act protecting unions
(4) The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction
Part 3: Exit Ticket (5 minutes)
Directions: Answer the following prompt in a complete paragraph (5-8 sentences).
Prompt: Using evidence from both sources, explain why labor unions like the AFL were formed. What problems were they trying to fix? |
Sentence Starter: Labor unions were formed because, as shown in Source 2, workers were... Meanwhile, business owners were... Samuel Gompers (Source 1) argued that unions were necessary to get "more..." By organizing together, workers hoped to fix the problem of...
