At the turn of the century
women earned approximately ten cents an hour,
and men were fortunate to receive twenty cents
an hour. The average work week was sixty to
seventy hours. During the thirties, wages were a
secondary issue; to have a job at all was the
difference between the agony of starvation and a
flicker of life. The nation, now so vigorous,
reeled and tottered almost to total collapse.
The labor movement was the principal force that
transformed misery and despair into hope and
progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic
and social reform gave birth to unemployment
insurance, old age pensions, government relief
for the destitute, and above all new wage levels
that meant not mere survival, but a tolerable
life. The captains of industry did not lead this
transformation; they resisted it until they were
overcome. When in the thirties the wave of union
organization crested over our nation, it carried
to secure shores not only itself but the whole
society.
Illinois AFL-CIO
Convention, October 1965
