Workers’ Movements Flashcards
All 15 cards in this deck
What was the GNCTU?
The Grand National Consolidated Trades Union, founded in 1834 by Robert Owen to unite all workers in one union; it collapsed within a year.
Who were the Tolpuddle Martyrs?
Six Dorset farm labourers transported to Australia in 1834 after forming a trade union to resist falling wages; they were pardoned in 1836 after mass public protest.
True or false? The Tolpuddle Martyrs were convicted for going on strike.
False. They were convicted of swearing a secret oath when they formed their union — trade unions themselves were legal by 1834.
What were the New Model Unions?
Unions of skilled workers from the 1850s, such as the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (1851), with high subscriptions, sickness and unemployment benefits, and respectable, peaceful negotiation.
What was the match girls' strike of 1888?
Women and girls at Bryant and May's London match factory struck over low pay, unfair fines and 'phossy jaw'; they won better pay and conditions, a key success of new unionism.
What was the dockers' strike of 1889?
London dockers, led by Ben Tillett, struck for better pay and won the 'dockers' tanner' (sixpence an hour), showing unskilled workers could organise successfully.
Give one similarity between the Chartists and 19th-century trade unionists.
Both were working-class movements that challenged authority to improve the lives of ordinary workers: the Chartists through the vote, the unions through better pay and conditions.
What were the Combination Acts (1799–1800)?
Laws banning workers (and in theory employers) from combining in groups such as trade unions; they were repealed in 1824.
What was 'new unionism'?
Unions of unskilled workers from the late 1880s, with low subscriptions and a readiness to strike, unlike the craft unions of skilled men.
Who was Annie Besant?
A socialist journalist whose article on conditions at Bryant and May helped start the match girls' strike of 1888; she helped the women organise.
What did the London gas workers win in 1889?
An eight-hour working day, after forming a union and threatening to strike; their success encouraged the dockers.
What is the TUC, and when was it formed?
The Trades Union Congress, set up in 1868 as a national meeting of delegates from different unions to coordinate their work.
What did the Trade Union Act of 1871 do?
It made trade unions fully legal and protected their funds, though another 1871 law made picketing illegal.
Who was Joseph Arch?
A farm labourer who in 1872 founded an agricultural labourers' union, which became national with tens of thousands of members.
How did new unionism lead to a workers' political party?
Union leaders decided workers needed their own MPs; the Independent Labour Party was formed in 1893, led by Keir Hardie.