History of the Labor Movement: Key Milestones and Impact
Origins of the Labor Movement
The labor movement emerged from the Industrial Revolution due to the lack of worker rights in factories. It began in England, where the establishment of factories prioritized maximizing production. In the absence of industrial regulations, workers faced long hours, and even children were employed at significantly lower wages.
Early Manifestations
Early labor movements manifested as Luddism (destruction of machines), blaming them for the loss of small artisans’ purchasing power. This term originates from Ned Ludd, an English worker who destroyed a power loom in 1779. Eventually, workers realized that the issue wasn’t the machines themselves but their exploitative use. This realization led to addressing grievances directly with employers, giving rise to unions as a resistance movement against capital.
Government Reaction and Worker Conditions
The British government reacted by prohibiting worker partnerships. Consequently, labor history has been marked by persecution and secrecy. The first decades of industrialization saw a deterioration of worker living conditions, including increased working hours, reduced salaries, widespread child labor, and a lack of economic aid for illness, unemployment, or old age. In response, unions formed, uniting workers of the same trade to defend their demands through strikes and mutual aid societies funded by membership fees.
The Great Trade Union and European Expansion
In 1834, the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union formed, but its high membership fees limited accessibility. Early British unionism focused on economic demands rather than revolutionary political ideals. During the 1830s and 1840s, worker associations emerged in other European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and Belgium. The labor movement also manifested through other organizations, such as cooperatives.
Chartism and Political Action
Between 1838 and 1848, the British labor movement engaged in political action through Chartism, organizing strikes. However, the movement faced setbacks due to repression, internal divisions, and the defeat of the 1848 European revolutions. Workers joined republican and leftist organizations advocating for universal male suffrage. Following the revolutions, socialist doctrines led to the creation of class-based, labor-focused political parties.
19th-Century Socialism
During the 19th century, contemporary socialism emerged, characterized by a radical critique of capitalism, deemed socially and economically unjust. It advocated for a social model with collective ownership of the means of production and identified the working class as agents of change. Key drivers of social mobilization included collective ownership of production, worker empowerment, rejection of capitalism, increased public transport fares, worker abuse, lack of holidays, and poor working conditions.
Class Struggle and the Rise of Unions
A significant concept was class struggle, involving workers’ awareness of belonging to a distinct social class and the need to fight for better conditions. Strikes became the primary weapon, demonstrating worker strength and paralyzing factory production to pressure employers.
The First International
The International Workingmen’s Association (IWA), or First International, was the first major organization to unite workers from different countries. Founded in London in 1864, it initially brought together British trade unionists, French and Italian anarchists, and socialist republicans. Its goals included the political organization of the proletariat globally and providing a forum to discuss common issues and propose solutions. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were involved. Tensions between Marx and Mikhail Bakunin led to a split between Marxists and anarchists, resulting in the expulsion of Bakunin’s supporters. In 1872, the IWA’s General Council moved from London to New York, and the organization officially dissolved in 1876.
The Second International and Beyond
The Second International, formed in 1889 by socialist parties, aimed to coordinate international labor movement activities, primarily in Europe. It continued the work of the First International until its dissolution in 1916. It was also initially known as the Labour and Socialist International. The International Socialist Bureau (ISB), established by the Fifth Congress in Paris in 1900, served as the Second International’s permanent organization, coordinating communication between member parties and organizing congresses. It was headquartered in Brussels. Notable achievements of the Second International include declaring May 1 as International Workers’ Day in 1889 and March 8 as International Women’s Day in 1910. The outbreak of World War I exposed contradictions between the revolutionary aspirations of the oppressed classes and the Second International’s policies (supporting some socialist war parties). This led to a split in the socialist movement. The Russian Revolution resulted in the creation of the Third International in 1919, which adopted the name Communist International (Comintern) to distinguish itself from the Second International’s electoral focus. The Second International reorganized in 1920, but many parties refused to rejoin, forming the Union of Socialist Parties for International Action (UPSAI, or Two and a Half International) as an alternative. The UPSAI was short-lived, merging with the Second International in 1923 to form the Labour and Socialist International. However, World War II led to its dissolution in 1940.