Global Labor Movements: From Early Unionism to the Internationals
Early Labor Agitation & British Unionism
Early agitation coincided with years of war against Napoleon, periods of poor harvests, high prices, and reduced trading activity. From 1830, unionism saw several attempts to form a national labor union. A significant effort was led by Robert Owen, one of the first ideologues of utopian socialism.
The Grand National Consolidated Trades Union
In 1834, Owen founded the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union, aiming to unite over half a million agricultural and industrial workers. This large union dissolved two years later due to two main causes:
- Numerous local strikes that depleted its funds.
- The prosecution of some of its leaders.
The Chartist Movement
This failure led to widespread disappointment among unionists, many of whom then turned to Chartism. Chartism was a mass movement that demanded political rights, such as universal suffrage and an eight-hour workday. Its name derived from the People’s Charter, a document presented to the British Parliament in 1838. The ultimate failure of Chartism definitively pushed the British trade union movement toward peaceful methods and negotiation.
The First International Workers’ Association (IWA)
The diffusion of anarchist and socialist ideas favored the founding of the First International Workers’ Association (IWA) in London in 1864. This association brought together various trends within the labor movement to foster solidarity and empower workers against capitalism, with a similar impact across much of the world. The IWA, influenced by Marxist theories, encouraged the foundation of labor unions and political parties in each country. These organizations sought to achieve their objectives through:
- Negotiation
- Strikes
- Participation in elections to defend socialist programs
Dissolution of the First International
However, clashes between Marxists and anarchists over the most desirable type of organization caused disruption and led to the dissolution of the First International at the Hague Congress in 1872. Although a Second International emerged in 1889, the First International never again functioned as a unitary movement for all workers.
The Second International (1889-1914)
The experience of the First International demonstrated that a highly centralized partnership of all European labor groups was impractical. The Second International was very different; it moved beyond centralism to build a federation of national parties and unions, which were governed according to their own congresses, rather than dictating increasing issues from a central body. It established May 1st as an international labor holiday and adopted ‘The Internationale’ as its anthem.
Impact and Reforms
Despite internal divisions towards the end of the century, unions and workers’ political parties continued to grow, sometimes reaching affiliations of thousands, even millions of workers. The social and moral force of this movement compelled governments and employers to implement new labor reforms, including:
- Collective bargaining
- The eight-hour workday
- The ban on child labor
- The obligation of a Sabbath rest
The Second International and World War I
The Second International’s attitude towards the First World War was a subject of great debate. A significant anti-war stance viewed the conflict as a consequence of the capitalist system, serving only bourgeois interests. A second sector, led by figures like Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg, held a meeting in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, to condemn the war and the troops then fighting.
The Third International (Comintern) – 1919
The Third International (Comintern), founded in 1919, aimed to establish a revolutionary party and expel ‘dubious’ elements and divisions within the Marxist labor movement. Its formation also reflected the international isolation of the Bolshevik regime.