Student Question
Why were many workers forced to work in tenement factories instead of unionized workshops?
Quick answer:
Many workers were forced to work in tenement factories instead of unionized workshops due to the surplus of unskilled labor in the late 1800s, driven by high immigration rates. This oversupply made it difficult to form unionized shops in industries needing unskilled workers. In contrast, unionized craft workshops required skilled labor, giving those workers leverage to join unions, unlike the low-skilled workers in tenement factories who lacked such opportunities.
The main reason for this has to do with the supply and demand for labor.
During the late 1800s, there was a huge surplus of labor in the United States. Immigrants came in large numbers, creating a tremendous pool of unskilled labor. Because there was such a large supply of unskilled labor, it was very hard to form unionized shops in industries that required such workers. The unionized craft workshops were the domain of people who had more skills and therefore had some leverage against their employers. The majority of the jobs in the tenement factories were low-skilled jobs and so the people who worked there had no way to get themselves into the unions.
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