As the business enterprise becomes large it operates on a scale of production th
As the business enterprise becomes large it operates on a scale of production that requires the labor of a proportionally large number of workers. The managers of the firm must ensure that they reliably and efficiently meet their production goals. To achieve this end, managers established methods for controlling their labor force so that rate of production remains within their full discretion. Introduction of mechanization into the production process serves as one historical example of the methods of controlling labor. Mechanization establishes the pace of production, by powering machine technology. For example, an assembly line sets the rate at which workers must labor. In this sense, workers on an assembly line must work at roughly the same pace, harmonizing their collected labor. By adjusting the speed of the machine, worker productivity may be adjusted across the board as desired, subject to physical limits of the labor force. Similarly, the machine process results in a “deskilling” process, which tends to homogenize the labor requirements for production. Deskilling transforms the labor process by removing the power that workers enjoy via their specialized knowledge of craft production. Machine production depends, to a much lesser degree, on the specialized knowledge of workers. Instead, this knowledge is transferred to the managerial class, who may possess knowledge of the machine and its technical requirements or retain the expertise of an engineer.
Loss of worker control over the production process results in the ability for the managerial class to retain a larger share of the monetary value of the output of the labor process. Managerial focus on cost efficiency and meeting its production targets, coupled with control over the labor process, resulted in dangerous and poor working conditions. The large business enterprise, by exercising its control over the labor process in order to exploit its workers, created the conditions for the emergence for an organized labor movement.
An exhaustive review of the labor history in the United States is beyond our reach, however, we may highlight some of the major themes and events that helped shape its development.
The Knights of Labor
Organized in 1869 by tailors in Pennsylvania, the secret organization named the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor would serve as an organizational body for workers seeking collective action following the Panic of 1873. Coal miners helped drive membership growth in the Knights of Labor through the depression of the 1870s. By 1884 there were 70,000 members of the Knights of Labor. By 1886 this figure exploded to 700,000.
The Knights of Labor participated in strikes in order to achieve their primary goal of an 8 hour workday. Most notably, the Knights of Labor won a struggle against Jay Gould over a dispute concerning the Wabash Railroad in 1885.
The Great Railway Strike of 1877
Railroads figure prominently in the course of American economic history for they have left las