During 1870 through 1900 workers joined together; responding to the power of their employers caused by the growth of industrialization. The worker did not always have the luxury of leaving after eight hours of work, the right to representation, or the even the right to work in a safe environment. The working people of nineteenth century America had to unite in struggle to achieve the gains that are often taken selfishly and taken for granted today. There were many successes and failures in organized labor; the successes were often obtained through the loss of the worker, often through lost wages, jobs, or even death.

The organization structure of the union during 1870 through 1900 went through different cycles and strategies to achieve what they wanted. One of the first effective regional organized unions was the Knights of Labor formed in 1869. The knights took in not only skilled workers but also any worker that could be truly classified as a producer. The knights took their peek in 1885 when strikes against Union Pacific, Southwest System, and Wabash railroads attracted public sympathy and succeeded in preventing a reduction in wages, at this time they boasted a membership

of 700,000. 1886 was a troubled year for labor relations. There were nearly 1,600 strikes involving 600,000 workers, with the eight-hour day being the important item for all of the strikes. Failure of some of the strikes and internal conflicts between the skilled workers and the unskilled led to a decline in the Knights popularity and influence.

The idea of demonstrations was often to get the attention of management to show that they mean business and can't be pushed around so easily. New York garment workers won the right to unionize after a seven-month strike. They secured agreements for a closed shop, and firing of all scabs. Striking miners in Idaho dynamited the Frisco Mill. Leaving it to ruins, getting the attention they wanted.

Many other activists died or received injuries for their cause all around the country. In July of 1877 strike riots halted the movement of U.S. railroads. After a few weeks of shutting down most of countries railroad system federal troops were sent in to try to end the nationwide strike. This resulted in more violence and death; in Chicago for example federal troops killed 30 workers and wounded over 100. On June 14, 1877 in Pennsylvania ten coal-mining activists were hanged. October 1887 the Louisiana militia shot 35 unarmed black sugar workers striking to gain a dollar-per-day wage and lynched two strike leaders. 1894 federal troops killed 34 American Railway Uni

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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)