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... ike's. These strikers sought not to run the entrepreneur out of business, but merely to protect what they had, which was very little. Unions were firstly formed in order to reassure laborers that they would have some protection to fall back on. The unions agreed only to strike when threatened.
The logic behind this was that if an entrepreneur had such disregard for his laborers, perhaps a strike would help to wake him up. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was an impeccable example of the nature and goals of these early labor unions. "Under Gompers, the AFL avoided politics. A former socialist, he concluded that capitalism was in American to stay. Whatever benefits wage earners gained they would have to get within the capitalist system. Taking up with radical movements would only alienate the middle class. Even engaging in middle-of-the-road politics was a mistake.
Better to stick to "pure and simple" trade unionism" (Burner 471). The AFL did not seek any grand riot or revolution, they simply wanted justice to be done. The strikes led by the AFL and other unions reflected these "humble" approaches to labor protests. The Homestead Strike of 1892 reflected a demand for greater wage for the hours worked. The Homestead strikers wanted to defend what they had. The price of living had gone up and their wages down (and plummeting continuously), so that it became almost impossible to support oneself let alone a family. "A man who has a family of normal size to support, can provide for them only a two-room tenement in a crowded court, with no sanitary conveniences; a supply of food below the minimum sufficient for mere physical well-being; insurance that makes provision which is utterly inadequate for the family left without a breadwinner; a meager expenditure for clothes and furniture, and an almost negligible margin for recreation, education and savings" (Meltzer 136).
The strikers were seeking to protect themselves economically, chiefly, but also physically. The disregard for working conditions by the company managers crated a very unsafe and risky workplace. By striking against economic and physical conditions the demonstrators were striking defensively, and only because they had been provoked for so long that they could not ignore it anymore. The Pullman Strike of 1894 was another example of an entire town uniting to defend itself against George Pullman himself who held a firm stranglehold on the throat of the citizens. The depression caused Pullman to reduce wages by a dire 25 to 40 percent.
The effects of such a great "chop" dealt a debilitating blow to the town's economy, however the citizens found themselves with nowhere else to go. "We are born in a Pullman house, fed form the Pullman shop, taught in the Pullman school, catechized in the Pullman church, and when we die we shall be buried in the Pullman cemetery and go to the Pullman hell" (Meltzer 151). For lack of a better action, the citizens of Pullman struck and fought to defend themselves from the drastic pay cuts. George Pullman, the unscrupulous businessman won out, however and the men returned back to work. The Lawrence Strike was no different in idea than these other two strikes. "Of all the mingled peoples of Lawrence, none are so humble as the Italians, none so eager for work at any price, and none so ill-paid. They are the last and the poorest of the successive waves of people from Europe, which have been surging upon our shores during the last thirty years. When these people opened their envelopes, they found that there was a reduction of pay corresponding to two hours of work in a week- the price, perhaps, of three or four loaves of bread" (Meltzer 172).
The strikers in Lawrence managed to improve their own conditions somewhat by their defensive strike, yet the exploitation of corporation still remained a dominant force. Society will always have these natural flaws of exploitation and gap between rich and poor. An economy thrives on the fact that the gap between rich and poor will never be completely bridged. From the time of Carnegie and Rockefeller to the present day, the aristocratic upper class has always been a world away from their workers and employees. Today, however, entrepreneurs have changed form as robber barons. Rather than thriving on the steel industry as Carnegie did or in investment banking as Morgan did, the super rich have now focused on new technological advancements.
The image of greedy bosses and corporate heads has been softened into images of CEOs. Entertainment giants have taken the place of steel robber barons, yet their abuses remain. The potency of entrepreneurship has changed a great deal over the years, however. "In December, Disney CEO Michael Eisner exercised 7. 3 million stock options worth over $ 400 million. But, since the sale came after the close of Disney's fiscal year.
Eisner's windfall won't show up until next year's pay survey. Eisner has more stock option fortunes to come. That's not the case for the families who save for years to visit Disney World, or the workers paid pennies an hour to make Disney toys in China and Vietnam" (Sklar 137). The US still grapples with many of the same issues it did over one hundred years ago- most importantly the issue of "who owes what to whom?" However, the US is not currently in constant strife between upper and lower class. Strikes are not a frequent occurrence as they were at the turn of the century happening at least every two years. To explain this one can only turn to the hypothesis that the US has shifted from a period of private interest to one of public purpose.
Even if some are still self-interested, the US as a nation has matured and handles labor issues more effectively, accomplishing more. One major difference is that the government has stopped practicing a laissez faire attitude that allows all branches of government to maintain a firm grasp on business using regulations. Now problems attack the economy and government from very different angles. One thing remains constant, however and that is that there will always be a contrast between classes and the struggle to succeed will take on different forms as history progresses.
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Research essay sample on Gap Between Rich Rich And Poor
