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CHAPTER 19: THE GROWTH OF TRADE UNIONS AND THE LABOUR PARTY TO 1914 -…
CHAPTER 19: THE GROWTH OF TRADE UNIONS AND THE LABOUR PARTY TO 1914
New Unionism for unskilled workers (1870s-1880s)
1889 Docker's strike
B. Tillett, T. Mann and J. Burns formed the
General Labourers’ Union
=> Claims = minimum wage (‘the Dockers’ tanner’) + right to work more hours (and not having to wait to be called and bribe the owners) BUT The docks owners refused to negotiate.
CQ:
Five-week successful strike
=> WHY? Skilled workers helped them + peaceful (public opinion sympathized with them) + Cardinal Manning supported them and convinced the employers.
Enormous consequences
: possible even for unskilled workers to get to their point IF they were organized enough => many workers joined New-Unionism
YET, problems => seamen and Dockers’ strikes to set up
closed shops
(= the employer agrees to hire union members only)
failed
BC OF depression => it was impossible to pressurize the employers (blacklegs) => 1890s: New unionism refocused on developing industries (gas, water, electricity).
Unskilled workers
suffered most of the great depression => not represented by skilled workers unions => spread of the factory had created big concentrations of urban workers =>
New unionism
registered its first successes.
Early trade Union
for centuries until 18th century and Indus Revo: local trade associations of labourers and workmen => skilled tradesmen combined together to protect their interest BUT considered as dangerous (fear of revolution, cf France: Rubinstein)
Consequences
Combination Act
of 1800 => illegal for workers to combine to gain new rights.
Amending Act
(1825) => trade unions = legal BUT illegal to obstruct or intimidate => almost impossible to hold a strike without breaking the law.
After 1825 =>
trade depression
=> strikes vs drop in the wages BUT employers broke them by bringing workers from nearby areas (blacklegs = briseurs de grève) => the idea of a combination of local trade unions rose BUT failed bc of cash shortages and ø coordination of activities
Robert Owen (1771-1858)
Tried to achieve this goal of combination => most remarkable industrialist and reformer of the 19th century (modest background, self-made industrialist)
A New View of Society
in 1813
Ricardo’s theory => value was only due to work => capitalist should not capture the profit => tried to set up a Co-operative movement in which the workers owned the means of production
People’s character depended on how good their living standards were => better coditions = peaceful society (tried this in his mills) (larger factories with more aeration, less working hours, local school, parks).
He proved that it was possible to continue to both make reasonable profit AND improve the conditions of living of the poor
Unpopular with employers ( refused to take on workers belonging to Unions)/very popular with unionists
Founded the
Grand National Consolidated Trades Union
(GNCTU) in 1833
Every existing trade union was invited to join it => wished to create a collaboration btw traders, manufacturers and the gov
HWV, many issues
Most important unions (builders) refused to join (afraid of losing their separate identities)
Problems of communication, disagreements between branches.
Employers were hostile => forced their employees to sign ‘the swearing document’ (promise not to join the GNCTU)
Whigs VS trade unionists => The
Tolpuddle Martyrs
from the Friendly Union of Agricultural workers were arrested and put into jail => fear of the workers.
=> The Union collapsed in 1834.
‘New Model’ Unions for skilled workers (1850s-1860s)
=> The Junta founded the
Trade Union Congress
(TUC) in 1868 => permanent organisation embodying New Model unionism.
Some secretaries of these unions (Applegrath or G. Odger) formed a small working class aristocracy nicknamed
‘the Junta’
=> made the society believe that New model unions = respectable and trustworthy (same for the
1867 Royal Commission Report
) => THUS picketing and negotiation became accepted (employers :unamused:)
However, difficulties arose in the mid-1860s
Hornby v Close
: a union sued its treasurer for having embezzled money => funds of the union were NOT protected by the 1855 Friendly society Union Act BC ruled that unions ≠ friendly unions => changed thanks to Applegrath’s skills (1867 Report)
‘Sheffield outrages’
: a member of the Unions was responsible of several scandalous actions of intimidation (explosions)
THUS skilled workers organized themselves => The 1st ‘New Model’ Union = 1851
Amalgamated Society of Engineers
(W. Allan &W. Newton) => wanted better wages, less working hours) => wanted to remain respectable: strike was their last-resort weapon
After 1834 => hardship for trade unions => Trade depression = unemployment, low wages etc.
Progress
Disraeli’s Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act (1875) / Employers Workmen Act.
1871: Gladstone’s trade Union Act / Criminal Law Amendment Act
The causes of the rise of the Labour party and the main stages of development until 1914
The Labour party = amalgamation of 3 socialist groups => all agreed on the necessity of representing the working class in the parliament.
=> Poverty had been worsened by the great depression.
=> American Economist
Henry George
’s
Progress and Poverty
(1881) = popular plea to improve working class conditions (by taxing landowners)
=> Gladstone disappointed the working class since he did not do social reforms (liberals lose pop)
3 socialist groups
Fabian society
led by Sydney & Beatrice Webb, George B Shaw => Middle-class, pro-cooperative organisation of the economy
=> BUT non-violent (progress was inevitable)
=> YET, came to the idea of a Labour party BC of Conservatives and Liberals hostility to their cause.
Independent Labour Party
created by James K. Hardie (Scottish miner)
=> Resented the Liberals bc did not pay attention to the working class
=> The final aim = collective ownership of the means of production (at first, more moderate, only abt improving conditions)
Social Democratic Federation
(SDF): workers’ movement led by General Labour Unionists (Mann, Burns) & H.M. Hyndman. => violent revolution and the destruction of capitalism. => 1887: demonstration in Trafalgar Square = Bloody Sunday.
The Labour Party
Creation helped by growth of trade unions (after 1890s issues, they realized how vital political representation was) => 1900: The TUC, the 3 socialists groups, and other unions met at the
Memorial Hall in London
=> foundation of the
Labour Representation Committee
to organize election campaigns => 1st secretary was James R MacDonald (future 1st Labour PM).
The Labour party
= name of the group of MPs from this committee at the assembly.
Not popular at 1st BUT electoral pact with the liberals in 1903 => way to prevent to give seats to the conservativ (helped them to get ~40 MPs!) => some successes:
the Trade Disputes Act
(1906) BUT action = little BC depended too much on the Liberals
=> In 1914, the Labour party was still too dependent on the Liberal party.
What were the new things about New Unionism?
influence of New Unionism was not that significant before 1914 but in politics => The necessity to enter in parliament was understood after several issues:
Taff Vale Case (1900)
= Taff Vale Railway Company leaders sued the
Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
for having picketed. => HoL ruled in favour of the company => ++money to pay => union in bankruptcy => unions kept joining the LRC => 1906, the Liberal gvt bill of
Trade and Dispute Act
ruled that it was illegal to sue a union only because it did picketing
1899 Lyons
(workshop owner)
v. Wilkins
(society of Fancy Leather Workers) => Appeal court issued that picketing not allowed => threat for unions => The
Labour Representation Committee
(LRC) was founded in 1900 to send
independent Labour candidates
to the parliament in order to protect the poor’s right.
Osborne judgment (1906)
: the HoL ruled that the political levy (union members paying the MPs wages) was illegal =>cash shortages =>
1911
: was voted a
400£ annual salary for MPs
(cf Chartism) => 1913:
Trade Union Act
authorized the political levy again
Poorer + many socialists + tackled real problems (unemployment)
HWR old unionism (New Model) was not reactionary and old-fashioned => lot of common points
During the 1890s, as New Unionism survived, both unionisms kind of merged.
Before WWI, some unionists were influenced by the French syndicalism => different philosophy: direct action (not in Parliament) => Strike = common weapon that had to be used => got popular bc unionism disappointing in the early 1900s.