Well first off, the K.O.L had very ambitious goals. Among these goals:
-an
eight-hour work day
-end
child labor
-end
the use of prison labor, which deprived other workers of jobs
-equal
pay for women
-government
ownership of railroads and telegraph lines
-land
policy that benefited settlers instead of speculators
-a
graduated income tax
Although the KOL initially opposed using
strikes, they were common by the mid-1880s. The Knights won strikes against the
Union Pacific Railroad in 1884 and the Wabash Railroad in 1885. But they failed
to win the Missouri Pacific strike in 1886. That was the same year of the
Haymarket Square Riot, during which a bomb exploded, killing several policemen.
Secondly, there was a man named Samuel Gompers who had observed the Knights of Labor struggling. He also knew that what workers wanted most were higher wages and improved working conditions. So, in 1886, Gompers met with leaders from the masons' union, the hat makers' union, and other craft unions to form the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Unlike the Knights of Labor, the American Federation of Labor did not seek to include unskilled workers. Gompers believed the union would have more power if it represented only skilled workers. It also used strikes to force improvements for workers.
Gompers also recognized that support for the Knights of Labor had suffered because of the organization's radical ideas. As a result, the American Federation of Labor pursued a more moderate course. It provided strike relief, or support, to striking workers so they could continue to provide for their families. Successful strikes helped improve workers' wages and reduced the length of their workweek.By 1900, as the Knights were declining, Gompers' union had over 500,000 skilled tradespeople in its ranks. He was seen as the leader of labor, and until the Great Depression, the AFL was seen as the nation's most important labor organization. The AFL benefitted from Gompers' leadership and the realistic goals he set.
