One of the most notable effects of industrialization in the late nineteenth century was the great extent to which skilled craftsmen could work in factories. However, three major consequences were associated with the transformation of workers. First, workers lost the bargaining power that their expertise and tools had offered them. Second, the labor force in the new industrial establishments faced high levels of impersonality from their employers. Finally, there was a relatively high level of competition for available jobs due to the incorporation of liberated slaves, female personnel, and immigrants into the labor force. Unskilled workers were poorly remunerated although they worked long hours in factories. This paper discusses the roles of the six persons who were instrumental in the early labor movement. Besides, it explains whether the key people were the leading personalities in labor relations.

Uriah Smith Stephens was a great U.S. reformer who helped found the Knights of Labor, which is documented as the first labor body that advocated national workers’ interests in the United States. As the union became the most influential labor organization in the day, the social reformer was a target of individuals and industrial bodies; mainly, they were opposed to the leader’s use of secrecy and rituals in the labor union. Terence Powderly, who was a trained attorney, political leader as well as one of the earliest labor movement leaders in the U.S., succeeded him. He became a member of the Machinist and Blacksmiths Union in the early 1870s, and he was later chosen the president of a subsidiary laborers body in 1872. Owing to his prudent leadership, he gained the membership of the Knights of Labor (KOL), which he led and significantly influenced the roadmaps of workers’ unions and their numerical might in the U.S. He looked forward to achieving a workforce that comprised enthusiastic and creative laborers who worked for only six hours daily.

Samuel Gompers was an English-born workers’ movement leader, starting from his movement and later as the leading figure in the American Federation of Labor between the mid-1880s and mid-1920s. Gompers was a focused trade unionist who helped the labor movement to refine collective bargaining agreements a well as legislation that positively impacted the workforce while attempting to avoid issues in the broader social spectrum.

Adolf Strasser was instrumental in organizing trade unions in the republic, and he founded the United Cigar Makers Union in addition to the American Federation of Labor. Besides, he was the head of the Cigar Makers’ International Union, which he successfully led for fourteen years. During his tenure, the workers’ body gained its distinct union label and considerable organizational strength.

Eugene Debs was one of the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World and he was interested in becoming the president of the U.S., but he failed in five attempts. He also helped found the American Railway Union, which was among the first industrial unions. Although he was jailed for leading a workers’ strike, his resolve to improve the conditions of laborers did not vanish.

“Big Bill” Haywood can be described as a committed labor union organizer and leader who founded and led the Industrial Workers of the World. Notably, in the 1910s and 1920s, he was a remarkable figure in critical labor struggles that resulted in improvements in the welfare of workers. For instance, he provided key leadership in the Colorado Labor Wars as well as workers’ industrial boycotts in big textile factories in Massachusetts and New Jersey.

The unique leadership offered by the six early labor union leaders was important in gaining critical benefits in the working environments. Were it not for their exemplary qualities in labor relations, the laborers could have gained insignificant benefits. In fact, the six personalities were eloquent leaders and organizers who openly stated their goals both in the short-term and long-term.

In conclusion, the labor movement in the republic was founded to advocate better working conditions for laborers, but stiff resistance from the main industrial players met the efforts of labor movement leaders. The achievements of the early labor union leaders, as discussed in this paper, will be remembered for many centuries in the U.S and other nations.