C4-1

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

A Timeline of Labor History up to 1875

C4-2

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

FROM LOCAL TO NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

1866-National Labor Union:• Lasted only six years

• Established precedent for labor movement by uniting diverse unions into single federation.

• Emphasized political activity to bring about legal reform.

• Campaigned for 8 hour workday, currency & banking reform.

• Women’s suffrage

• National labor political party

C4-3

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

A Timeline of Labor History between 1875 and 1925

 

 

INSERT BOX 4.3.

C4-4

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

THE GREAT UPRISING OF 1877

The Great Uprising of 1877 is more notable for what it represented than what it accomplished: • Strikes clearly reflected pent-up grievances of workers • Represented the growing struggle between

industrialism, labor and capital • Shared concerns of workers   • Laid the foundation of for future labor-management

conflict, not cooperation. • Social implications.

• With use of Federal troops, big business was more likely to confront rather than bargain with labor.

C4-5

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

UPLIFT UNIONISM Knights of Labor:

• Federation of local assemblies• Concern for moral worth, not material wealth• Emphasized education and cooperation over conflict• Broadly inclusive membership• Emphasized the solidarity of all producers-including African-

Americans & women• Replace capitalism with producer cooperatives• Producers-not bankers and absentee owners-own and control• End labor conflict by harmonizing interests of capital and labor

C4-6

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

“PURE AND SIMPLE” CRAFT

UNIONISM American Federation of Labor (AFL):

• Response to failure of KoL to address everyday working issues.

• A federation, not a labor union.

• Member unions pursued primary labor relations functions, AFL provided support.

• Endorsed craft unionism.

• Openly hostile towards unskilled workers-only represented skilled workers.

• Guided by principle of exclusive jurisdiction.

C4-7

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) U.S. example of revolutionary unionism: • Both inclusive and radical• Goal was to form “One Big Union”• Skilled and unskilled, young and old• Native-born and immigrant• White and non-white• Male and female• Radicalism increased employer hostility towards unions

C4-8

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

THE OPEN SHOP MOVEMENT AND WELFARE CAPITALISM

The open shop movement was concerted drive by employers and their associations to create and maintain union-free workplaces.• Emphasized an ideology of individual freedom• Unions were portrayed as violating individual liberties

by denying workers the right to choose• Equated with “liberty and independence” of the

employer’s “natural and constitutional rights” • Entailed well-orchestrated collective activity by

business

C4-9

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

THE OPEN SHOP MOVEMENT AND WELFARE CAPITALISM

• Welfare capitalism- more positive approach to employer resistance to unionization:

• Improving supervisory practices.• Offering protective insurance benefits.• Implementing orderly hiring practices.• Improving physical work environment and safety.• Providing employee voice through nonunion

employee representation plans (“company unions”).

C4-10

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

A Timeline of Labor History since 1925

C4-11

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

A NEW DEAL FOR WORKERS: LEGAL PROTECTION & INDUSTRIAL UNIONS

• Passage of Norris-LaGuardia Act in 1932 began new era in U.S. labor-mngt relations (see ch. 5)– “Yellow dog” contracts made unenforceable

– Limited use of injunctions in labor disputes

C4-12

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

A NEW DEAL FOR WORKERS: LEGAL PROTECTION & INDUSTRIAL UNIONS

• In 1933 Congress passed National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA): • Encouraged and emboldened workers to form unions. • Employers established company unions to avoid independent

unionization. • In 1934, weakness of NIRA resulted in tremendous strikes

where workers clashed with employers who refused to recognize independent unions. • Minneapolis Teamsters Strike• San Francisco General Strike• East Coast Textile Strike

C4-13

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

A NEW DEAL FOR WORKERS: LEGAL PROTECTION & INDUSTRIAL UNIONS

• NIRA ruled unconstitutional in 1935• Same year, 1935, Congress passed the National Labor

Relations Act (Wagner Act).• Encouraged unionization• Enacted legal protections for workers• Outlawed company unions• Established the National Labor Relations Board

• By 1935, conflict between craft unionism and industrial unionism lead to the formation of the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO).

• By 1941, union membership tripled to about 8.4M, or 23 percent of workers.

C4-14

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

A NEW DEAL FOR WORKERS: LEGAL PROTECTION & INDUSTRIAL UNIONS

• General Motors Sit-Down Strike (December 1936-February 1937) was watershed event for both organized labor and the CIO. – Workers in Flint, Michigan took over two GM plants. – After the strike spread to other cities and several battles between

strikers and police, General Motors finally agreed to recognize the United Auto Workers (UAW).

– Industrial unionism further spread to steel and other manufacturing industries.

• Though not without some intense battles, such as the Memorial Day Massacre during the Little Steel Strike.

C4-15

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

WARTIME AND POSTWAR LABOR RELATIONS

• 1947-Taft-Hartley Act. • 1955-AFL-CIO merger.• 1959-Landrum-Griffin Act. • Private sector union density peaked at around 35 percent. • Public sector union membership dramatically increased, beginning

in 1960s.• 1981-Air traffic controllers fired during the illegal PATCO strike;

replacement workers hired.• Number of bitter strikes in the 1980s and 1990s involved

management use of permanent replacement workers. • Labor practices became more divergent -- some relationships

became more adversarial, while others tried to create stronger union-management partnerships.

C4-16

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

WARTIME AND POSTWAR LABOR RELATIONS

The labor movement at beginning of 21st century is struggling, yet has pockets of vibrancy:

• Globalization continues to undermine labor’s bargaining power. • Private sector union density has shrunk to <10 percent. • Public sector union density stable at 35+ percent. • Dunlop Commission (Clinton Administration) issued

recommendations for reducing conflict and improving productivity. • General unionism has largely replaced craft unionism and industrial

unionism. • 2005—disaffiliation of SEIU, Teamsters, UFCW, Unite Here from

AFL-CIO (~1/3 of membership), formation of Change to Win Coalition (includes Laborers, UFW, Carpenters)