I had a very long week. September is the end of the fiscal year and I’m running up against several deadlines so I put 60 hours in at the office. I’ tired! If I was a worker in the 1890’s that would be part time. The usual work schedule was 10-16 hours six days a week. Workers started protesting and striking for shorter work days in the 1700’s. The Philadelphia carpenters staged an unsuccessful strike in 1791 with a goal of 10 hour days and a six day work week. Since I work in an office and was exhausted after a 60 hour work week, I can only imagine how difficult it was to work 10-16 hours a day doing manual labor.
The 1800’s were a time of incredible worker unrest throughout the world. In the US Captains of Industry, or Robber Barons, depending on your viewpoint, were making unimaginable amounts of money while their workers were paid wages that were barely enough to sustain the most impoverished life. I described typical worker conditions in ‘Longing for Home’ when the characters live in tenements. Men like Carnegie and J.P Morgan defended their right to oppress workers. During the Homestead strike of 1892 Carnegie allowed his foreman Henry Frick to manage the unrest. Frick locked the striking workers out of the steel mill and hired Pinkerton to defend it. The Pinkerton men opened fire. By the end of the conflict 9 strikers and 7 Pinkerton men were killed and many were injured.
Andrew Carnegie 1913
Haymarket Riot
One of the most famous strikes in the US in the 1890s was the Haymarket riots in May of 1886. May 1st had been an international day for labor marches and protests. In Chicago May 3rd 1886 peaceful labor marchers were wounded by police. The next day a rally was organized in the Haymarket Square to protest the killings. The protest turned violent when unknown persons detonated a bomb during a peaceful march and the police opened fire. Seven police and one protester was killed and may were injured. Eight labor organizers were arrested and four were hung, though there was very little evidence that they were involved in the bombing.
Labor also had marches in September. When the government wanted to honor labor they chose the first Monday of September instead of May 1st in part because of the Haymarket riots. May Day is about protests and higher pay. Labor Day is about honoring the dignity of the worker.
Labor Day New York 1882
1914 Ford Model T T1 Roadster
Though most company owners continued to protest shorter hours and better working conditions, Henry Ford instituted an 8 hour work day, and doubled the average pay to $5 a day in 1914. His motive was to allow his work force to become consumers of his product and thereby grow his customer base and his business. His profits soared.
This blog is not a labor history blog, so I won’t list all the strikes and unrest that went on after that. I will tell you that a universal 8 hour day for the American worker was enacted into law by FDR as part of the new deal in 1937. Work was, and still is hard. I am going to enjoy my Monday off. I’m also going to try to reap the benefits of those who fought for my right to a 40 hour week and work fewer hours!
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