Employers had no compassion or empathy for their workers who slaved away in their factories. Because immigrant labor was cheap, it was often exploited by the employer. Workers tried to better the situation by unionizing and have a show of strength with the numbers of workers. The big businesses, used government support to suppress the organization of strikes or work revolts. However, when unions rised up and demanded fair wages, employers would have to consider these demands and negotiations would have to take place.
These to document however do not represent the majority of the working class since they only include a little town and a village with small population. With the positive, there are also the negative including the exploitation of workers, mainly in children as testified in document 1 an 2. Testimonies of British workers portray the miserable condition in factories where they are subjected to work for as long as sixteen hours. Also safety regulation in the factories are neglected which often led to the death of the worker by accident or by infection. Doc 3 contradict doc 1 and 2.
As stated, without the laborers performing a strike the improvements would just benefit the employers and the employees had to work for every little thing they got. “The strike is apparently hopeless, and must be regarded as nothing more than a rash of resentment by men too ignorant to understand their interests” (Doc. B). This is saying if they are too reckless to realize that they can be replaced by others. Many of the strikes were crushed and just failed.
Labor Unions and working Conditions. Working conditions were part of the problems that Labor Unions took care of. At the beginning of the industrial Revolution there were not many laws made for working field, without laws or having being told how to have a company/factory kept, owners were too uncaring and paid a little attention to the cleanliness of the business but more to the profit that was being made. Also owners were not paying their employees enough money, and the factories were unsafe. The cause of the problem was that owners were selfish and very greedy.
(Imperatone, W. 1992) American companies would negotiate with these countries because of cheap labor, which would allow American products to be made at a decreased cost. Another reason was that foreign land had an abundant of raw materials that could easily be used in the American Industries. American Imperialism gave a purpose to the US, versus what other countries were doing at the time. Countries like Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Spain, Panama and Japan were expanding their borders, negotiating new trade markets demonstrating their strength and power. As the Unites States was growing, they also sought to protect its overseas territories like the Midway Islands, Hawaii, Guam, and Samoa.
Those working for robber barons were beaten and threatened, and the working conditions were terrible. All that mattered to the robber barons was their paycheck, and because it was all about their own self-interest, the wellbeing of their workers did not concern them. Capitalism can be most effective when the balance between
But these immigrant children did not get any pay, this was child labor because the under aged immigrant worker was used and did not receive pay. It was more of a two for one deal for the factory owner because small bodies were needed to fit a certain job. “They are doing away with a great deal of mule-spinning there and putting in ring-spinning…for that reason it takes a good deal of small help…they get all the small help they can to run these ring-frames.” (65). These requirements cost many immigrants available work, leaving these immigrant men without pay unable to provide for their families. In an interview Thomas O’Donnell explains “…at Fall River if a man has not got a boy to act as “back-boy” it is very hard for him to get along…in many cases discharging men in that work and put in men who have boys…and that has brought my circumstances down very much…our children are very often sickly of not having sufficient clothes, shoes, food or something” (64, 65).
Working conditions and treatment in the work place at this time were harsh, poor and inadequate. Reforms that had been introduced were frequently ignored by employers. The hours were extensive and they worked for little pay. Yet the workers did not complain in fear of being sacked. Even though unions had moved to improve the rights, justice and conditions of the workplace, it was not surprising that many workers were sacked for simply joining the unions.
The earning of the workers even after inflation have risen by just a small margin, making the living standards of the workers low, some of them unable to even provide for their families while others stay with their parents even after employment. Other workers have faced and met their death at their places of wok for lack of proper precautions especially those working under dangerous conditions like construction sites. Exploitation has moved to a whole new level where safety standards have been totally disregarded and workers have been left t work in conditions not suitable to work in. The safety equipments that the firms invest in are cheap and unsafe which they acquire so that their profits margins remain high. They on the other hand cannot fail to work because they have people looking up to them to provide and support.
The South’s money was based off cotton and tobacco. Cotton was the most profitable. A machine was invented to speed up the time. Thus, meaning they needed cheap laborers to make bigger profit. On the other hand, the North’s economy was more industrial based.