Freeman ch. 3

international expositions or exhibitions later became known as worlds fairs

similar to Epcot at Disney World, which celebrates technological innovation and international culture

but in the late 19th century technology was often described as sublime

iron and steel became the key symbols of modernity
as well as most of the very largest factories in the US
rolling mill

• very concentrated ownership--a few rich men determined to protect their power
• some equipment like blast furnaces needed to run continuously--workers worked 12 hour days 7 days a week with either 24 hours off or 24 hours straight at work on Sundays (with long waiting periods between steps when they might nap)
  

• the bigger a business, the more the individual workers don't have negotiating power
• unless they organize together to be on a more equal footing
• if the union negotiates a better contract for all workers, do non-union members benefit without having to pay dues
• are unions asking for too much and can the employer afford to pay for it
• balance of power between the workers and the employer
• as factories get bigger do you need different rules?
  

Scientific management:

• Frederick Winslow Taylor --proper Philadelphian who went to work for a machine shop with the idea of working his way to the top.
• he was appalled by how inefficient the workers were and set out to rationalize them.
• In 1895 he introduced the differential piece rate--you got a lower rate per piece if you worked slower.
• Taylor wanted not just to reward the worker but to tell him how to do the job--time studies. Also introduced high speed tool steel and patented improved metal cutting machines.  (Taylor's classic book is available on the web: The Principles of Scientific Management )
• Frank B. Gilbreth, who joined Taylor in 1907, extended this to motion study--watching how the worker moved and showing him how to eliminate waste motion
• his partner and wife, Lillian Gilbreth , realized that worker resistance was still a key issue and pioneered industrial psychology (they also had 12 children and raised them efficiently, as chronicled in the original book Cheaper by the Dozen)
• Scientific management was applied to skilled workers, not just workers on assembly lines

World War I changed the balance

• immigration had already been reduced
• The International Workers of the World (IWW or Wobblies, a union for unskilled workers) opposed the war as only for the benefit of the rich
• IWW leaders were accused of treason and executed or deported (most were immigrants who did not have American citizenship)
•   cartoon celebrating deporting of radicals
• but wages went up and working hours down during WW I--low unemployment (1.4%) meant that workers got what they wanted without radical fights
• By 1919 almost 50% of workers had 8 hour day, wages went up, often to a family wage (the husband can work and make enough money to support his wife and children)
• things got worse after the war ended and steel unions lost a key 1919 strike
  
• but more generally the balance was shifting to one where workers also saw the benefits of the capitalist system--they now had some leisure time and they had wages high enough to be able to buy more things
• by 1920 many workers could afford consumer goods made cheaper by mass production, including automobiles (next chapter)