CFC Day 36

LEARN – DAY 36
Construction Foundation Course

Week Eight: Day 36 (Monday)
Content for the day
• Blueprints
• History of Construction

Materials for the day
• Videos from Internet (see below). Please Note: Permission to use
these videos must be obtained from the source.
• Labor Timeline from
http://www.animatedatlas.com/timelineexp.html
• Resource 8.1 - Handout: The Week
• Handout: Time, September 1944: U.S. at War: The No Strike
Pledge at
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,796674,0
0.html
• Resource 8.2 - 1943 Coal Miners Strike
• Resource 8.3 - Handout: John L. Lewis
• Resource 8.4 - Handout: Samuel Gompers

First and Second Hours (7:30 – 9:30) - 1
• Check-in: Shake hands. Remind students:
binders, seating. Start class.
• Review the day: Review the day’s activities
from the list on the board or chart paper.
• Binder check: This can be done at any time
during the day.

10 min: Ask Teams to post their rail design and
costing. Give Work Teams 4 minutes to do a Gallery
Walk, particularly looking for any steps a Team might
have missed in the process.
Call on one Work Team for constructive feedback.
Call on others until all Work Teams have had a
chance to comment. Ask Teams what was most
difficult about this assignment and take notes so you
can help students more effectively next time.
Blueprints

First and Second Hours (7:30 – 9:30) -3
Preparation: On your computer, go to
http://www.animatedatlas.com/timelineexp.html. In
the left hand column, hit “Expand” under “Society.”
This takes a while to load; be patient! Fill the screen
with the dateline at the top and “Labor” at the
bottom. Now you have a timeline that parallels what
was happening in general history (society) with what
was happening with women and labor aligned to
presidential service. Note that wars are in red directly
under the dateline.
History of Construction

In the next 4 hours, you’ll be guiding students
through a study of labor history, using this timeline.
Minutes allocated are guidelines. Note that items on
the timeline that don’t have follow-up activities are
just listed; no action is needed.
20 min: Explain to students that they’re looking at a
timeline of American History. Point out the dateline,
wars, states/territories, presidents, society in general,
women, and labor. Because many construction jobs
are affiliated with labor unions, it’s important to
understand the origin and growth of unions and how
they have historically improved working conditions.

They’ll be concentrating on the 19th through 21st centuries,
but there is one item in 1790 that’s important to start with to
understand how far we’ve come. It’s essential that they take
notes.
1790 -First textile mill staffed by children under 12.
Explain that we’ve all heard about sweatshops in
foreign countries using child labor to make cheap goods
that we buy. But America has her own history of child
labor—some of which continues to today. 1790 marks a
major milestone because it was the first textile mill
primarily staffed with very young children. Think of
yourself at age 10 or 11. What were you doing? The
pictures they’re about to see actually come from the
period of 1908 to 1920; all are from the U.S.

Show the documentary, U.S. Child Labor 1908-
1920 found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tY1gk6J6zc.
Please Note: Permission to use these videos must
be obtained from the source.
Ask students to identify when child labor was
outlawed, as you move through the timeline. (Not
until 1949, though children were granted a 10-
hour day in some states, starting in 1842.)

5 min: 1835 -General strike for 10-hour day in
Philadelphia. Think about the cause—a 10 hour day! When
was it actually granted? [Scroll across timeline to
1847]—12 years later.
1842 -10-hour day for children under 12 in
Massachusetts
1842 -Massachusetts decision: labor unions not
necessarily illegal conspiracies
1847 -New Hampshire enacts first state 10-hour day
law
1860 -Great shoemakers strike in New England. Note
the date. Ask Work

Teams to take 2 minutes to consider: What else was
going on in the U.S. at this time (Beginning of Civil
War) and why this strike might have been particularly
important at the time (Need for soldiers’ boots).
5 min:
1860-1865- Top of the timeline: The Civil War. In
some ways, the Civil War was the greatest Labor
Movement of all time. Ask Work Teams to take 2
minutes to discuss this statement and explain the
meaning. Then call on a Work Team to initiate the
discussion.

5 min:
1866 -National Labor Union formed: first national
association of unions. Notice the date. Have students
look at the rest of the timeline. What just ended? Tell
students that there is a direct relationship historically
between war and major changes in the status of labor.
Ask them to watch for this again.
1869- Knights of Labor—a second national labor
union that had a short but important effect on the
Labor Movement.

10 min:
1877 -National uprising of Railroad Workers cripples nation;
the state militia refuses to use force. This was a major
milestone for several reasons:
1. the country was almost totally dependent on
railroads for movement of goods and people;
2. Railroad owners were among the richest people in
the U.S.; they were generally called “robber
barons.”
3. The government—from the President to the
Governors—sent in troops to quell the strike
and uprising, but many of the troops refused to
take action against the workers.
4. Ten people were killed.

Show the video, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 found at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds4cHgzN-S8. Please Note:
Permission to use these videos must be obtained from the source.
• Ask students what the pictures of the conflict look like—if they
didn’t know any different. (Looks like war.)
1877 -Ten "Molly Maguires" (Irish coal miners) hung;
arrested, prosecuted by minions of coal companies
Stretch Break: Everyone stands and the group does a full chorus
rendition of the metric rap.

40 min:
1886 - Haymarket Square labor riot in Chicago
kills eleven people. Ask students to take notes
while you show Haymarket Martyrs, Pt. 1,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OQxncb2ihQ.
Ask Work Teams to take 1 minute to consider
what happened that caused the actual riot, that
is, who started it? Why do you think the officer
gave that order? Call on one Team. Get other
opinions. Please Note: Permission to use these videos
must be obtained from the source.

Show Part 2,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wz8ud_9QU&featu
re=related. Ask Work Teams to take 2 minutes to
consider what happened to freedom of speech and why?
(When people get scared, they tend to ignore civil
rights.) Notice that Sandburg (one of America’s most
famous poets) says that everyone likened the anarchists
to animals. This is the same thing that happens in war:
the enemy becomes non-human.

Show Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKkEl9XzjFc&feature=related
. Ask Work Teams to take 3 minutes to consider these questions:
What does the historian say about the legitimacy of the trial?
Why was Marshall Field so opposed to clemency? What was the
world opinion? Who was right in the end—the 50 businessmen
and world leaders or the government and the court? Take 4
minutes to discuss differing opinions.
Notice that this is the beginning of May Day, the day celebrated
in many societies as the revolution of the workers. It was a major
holiday under the communist regimes in the USSR and still is
under the communists in China.

15 min:
1886 - AFL founded by S. Gompers.
Have Work Teams read Resource 8.4 - Samuel Gompers and take
notes particularly on the 3 beliefs about labor organizing and how
to achieve important results.
Ask students to keep this information in mind, as you show the
next 2 videos: “What Does the Working Man Want?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw1yRJ8qxrg, followed by
“Organizing Textile Workers,”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-PSRAA5oD4.
Ask Work Teams to take 2 minutes to relate what they heard in
Gompers’ speeches to one or more of his 3 beliefs about labor. Call
on one Work Team to open the discussion, followed by others.

5 min: Ask the Teams to take 3 minutes for a second look at the first paragraph on
p. 3: Gompers about the actions of the AFL during WWI and consider the
relationship of labor to war. Were Gompers and Wilson’s actions a win-win for labor
and for the country? Call on one Work Team to initiate a short discussion.
1888 - First federal labor relations law applies to Railroad workers
1892 - Strike at Carnegie Steel results in ten deaths
1898 - Erdman Act makes it illegal to fire workers for union membership
1903 - Department of Labor & Commerce created
1909 - Strike of 20,000 female shirt makers in New York against sweatshop
conditions. Remember Gompers’ speech organizing the textile workers?
1913 - Woodrow Wilson appoints first Secretary of Labor
1914 - Clayton Anti-trust Act declares picketing not illegal conspiracy
1919 - One of every five workers walk out in great strike wave
1926- Railroad Labor Act forbids discrimination of union members
1932- Norris-LaGuardia Act prohibits federal injunctions in labor disputes
1932- Madison, Wisconsin birthplace of AFSCME (public-sector workers)

10 min:
1935- CIO formed within AFL. Note that 2 years later, the CIO
broke with AFL, and their relationship was rocky for decades.
Discuss the fact that labor unions have had understandable
but significant disagreements among themselves since the
beginning of the movement. Ask students to take notes while
you read aloud William Hutcheson. Be sure students
understand the difference between the AFL’s support for all
labor—skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled—and the CIO’s
championship of skilled labor only, such as construction
craftsmen.

But the AFL and CIO had external competition also from
“company unions.” Sometimes known as a yellow union, a
company union is a group of employees associated with
one company that have organized into a union. This
localized business union has no affiliation with any type of
national trade union, but operates strictly within one
company. It is not unusual for a union of this type to be
proposed and initially organized by the owner of the
company. Depending on the model for the union,
management may or may not participate in the function of
the group of employees.

While a company union is related to a single company, that
union may in fact have several branches. This would be the
case if the business operates multiple facilities in different
geographical areas. As with any type of union organization,
the idea is to provide employees with a unified voice and
vote when it comes to matters that have a direct impact on
their livelihood and general economic well-being. For
example, the members of a single business union may
petition for an across the board hourly wage increase, or
present a unified demand for improved working conditions
within the facilities operated by the company. (Excerpt
from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-company-
union.htm)

Briefly discuss why a “company union” may not
provide the best representation for labor.
1938- Fair Labor Standards Act establishes first
minimum wage & 40-hour week
Snack Break (5 minutes later than usual)

Third and Fourth Hours (9:40 – 11:30) - 1
5 min: Ask Work Groups to jot down these questions and think
about them as you readthe following from
http://www.bookrags.com/research/no-strike-pledge-world-war-ii-
sjel-02/
The entry of the United States into World War II in December 1941
brought near-total unanimity among the varying factions of the
American labor movement in their support of the war effort. The
AFL and CIO, two of the country's largest and most influential
unions, were bitter enemies before the war, with antagonism over
such ideals as craft (skilled) versus industrial (semiskilled and
unskilled) unionism. Although not without conflicts during the war,
leaders from both unions joined together and promised "no-strike
pledges" for the duration of hostilities.

Stop here to tell students that labor tended to be very
patriotic during WWII. Play “UAW-CIO” from
http://www.laborarts.org/exhibits/laborsings/song.cf
m?id=20

Even though the country stood united against the Nazi
regime in Germany and the Imperial Japanese
government, the no-strike pledge complicated the lives of
union workers. The initial shock of being attacked on U.S.
territory by Japanese forces, along with early Allied
military setbacks, helped to control any pre-existing
tensions in the workplace. Beginning in 1943, however,
as Allied forces gradually gained superiority in the war,
disputes within labor, from the rank and file as well as
from the leaders, became more apparent. Union leaders,
especially within the AFL and CIO, were stuck in the
middle, on the one hand as allies of the government and
corporations, and on the other as representatives of their
members.

5 min: Read Resource 8.3 - John L. Lewis aloud while
students take notes. Stop periodically to check for
understanding by asking students what was going on and
what they think about Lewis’ motivations. Compare notes
for consistency.
20 min: Pass out copies of Time, September 1944: U.S. at
War: The No Strike Pledge
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,796
674,00.html and Resource 8.2 - 1943 Coal Miners Strike.
Explain that nothing is really black and white in history.
There are almost always differing views.

There are almost always differing views. Ask Work Teams
to take 15 minutes to read the articles, consider the
information provided earlier, and discuss the following
questions:
1. Should there be a “No Strike Pledge” by labor during
times of total war?
2. Could “national security” be used as an anti-labor
tool?
3. Did the “No Strike Pledge” work? If not, why not?
Then take 5 minutes to discuss the questions, calling on
individual Work Teams.

1946- Largest strike wave in U.S history. Note the year. What
had just ended? What is the relationship between the end of a
war and the demands of labor?
1947- Taft-Hartley Act restricts union members' activities—
And what are the predictable reactions of the public when they
are frightened?
1949- Child labor prohibited in Fair Labor Standards Act
1955- AFL and CIO merge
1959- Wisconsin gives public workers collective bargaining
rights
1962 - President Kennedy's order gives federal workers right to
bargain

15 min:
1962- Cesar Chavez forms United Farm Workers. In
one of the most poignant moves in recent labor
history, Cesar Chavez organized farm workers, one of
the last groups unorganized by the mid 1960s. Show
Cesar Chavez: the Legacy at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7GCCBIgFaQ
Remind students that Chavez had only an 8th grade
education. He knew that he had to learn how to speak
persuasively if he were to become an effective labor
organizer, so he taught himself by listening to speakers
like Martin Luther King, Jr.

Explain that you’re going to show a brief clip from Chavez’
Commonwealth Speech and you want student specifically to hear 3
things: 1) the main point that Chavez is making; 2) the rhetorical
techniques Chavez uses, particularly the ways in which he sounds a
little like Martin Luther King; and 3) his argument about why the
politicians will support Hispanics in the future. Play the segment of
the Commonwealth speech from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbxyvY8O_9c
Give Work Teams 2 minutes to discuss the question. Then open the
discussion by calling on one Work Team.
Stretch Break: Everyone stands and the group does a full chorus
rendition of the math rap.

5 min: Ask pair shares to discuss for 1 minute this question: from a
historical perspective, which organization, the AFL or CIO would have
embraced Chavez if he had been organizing in the 1930s? Call on one
pair-share for their answer and rationale. Get a second opinion.
5 min: In the last excerpt from the speech, Chavez says that you
can’t
• Humiliate people who feel pride in themselves
• Oppress people who are not afraid anymore
As Work Teams, take 2 minutes to discuss one of these two points
and come up with examples to show that the statement is true OR
false. Call on one Work Team to open the discussion.
1971- Occupational Safety and Health Act
1970s- Industry begins shifting production to low-wage
countries

5 min:
1981- President Reagan fires striking air traffic controllers. Note
that the Taft-Hartley act made strikes of public workers illegal
when public safety was at stake. The union contended that the
government had put public safety at stake by making air traffic
controllers work hours that were too long under intense
conditions. Ask Work Teams to consider this question while they
watch the video clip: What recourse do workers who handle
public safety have when they believe their working conditions
actually put public safety at risk? Show President Reagan Fires
Air Traffic Controllers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5JSToyiyr8&feature=related.
Ask Work Teams to discuss the question for 1 minute. Then call on a
Work Team and use the response to open a short discussion.

5 min.
1940s-2000s - Union density for private workers falls from apex
at 40% to 7.2% today. Ask Work Teams to take 3 minutes to
discuss why they think this has happened. Remind them of the
item under “1970s.” Have them look ahead to the item under
“1980-2000.” Ask them to think about what kinds of jobs were
“shipped overseas.” Conduct discussion, calling on Work Teams.
20 min.
1993: Family and Medical Leave Act. Ask students why the FMLA
is listed as part of labor’s history. Wait time. Call on students to
speculate. Discuss the fact that labor has long worked toward
health reform.

Present a mini-lecture focusing on one of the most interesting stories
about unions and health care came between 1943 and 1949, as
unions rallied behind creating a National Health Insurance program,
but at the same time negotiated better health care plans from
employers. Discuss this “catch 22” for labor. For background, read
articles at
http://www.pnhp.org/facts/a_brief_history_universal_health_care_ef
forts_in_the_us.php?page=3 starting with “Wagner, Murray, Dingell;
and http://www.kff.org/health reform/upload/7871.pdf , p. 3. Ask
Work Teams to come up with 2 big-picture questions while you’re
telling the story and to think about why major portions of the U.S.
fight against national health insurance.

Give the Work Teams 1 minute to agree on their two questions. Call
on the Work Teams for their questions and use those as a base for
discussion; include the national health insurance question.
1980-2000: AFSCME (government workers) and SEIU (sanitation
workers) grow
2005: Seven major unions representing six million workers
disaffiliate from AFL-CIO to form "Change to Win.” Is dissension
within the labor organizations something new?
10 min.
2011: Republican governors threaten public sector unions. Read
aloud the article from Resource 8.1 - The Week. Ask Work Teams
to take 3 minutes to discuss and come to consensus on which
side they feel is correct. Also, do they know what happened as a
result of the confrontation? Call on a Work Team to open the
discussion.

Announce topics for Pre-test tomorrow:
• Overview
• Tools and Equipment
• Safety/PPE
5 min. Give Work Teams 5 minutes to review Tools and
Equipment
5 min. Play Name That… or Blank Tool Wall
Reflection
Out the door:Model Notes,Reflection, binders on the
shelf, shake hands.

AFTER HOURS
• Work Teams review Blueprints and any other
sections they have time for.

END
If you continue to click forward, you will see links to
presentations of similar content available through
slideshare.com
Content prepared for the National Office of Job Corps through Contract No. DOLJ111A21695
Job Corps Professional Development Support - KUCRL

CFC Day 36

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