1. Skilled and unskilled workers

Question 1

why were divisions bad

Answer 1

much easier for the government or employers to restrict the position of unions if workers were divided

Question 2

1860s unions that existed were to protect those in

Answer 2

skilled or craft industries

Question 3

how did unions ignore the idea of ‘strength through numbers’ at the start of the period/1860s

Answer 3

admitted only craftsmen

did not allow unskilled workers, AA or women to join

Question 4

at the start of the period what did skilled workers opposition to unskilled workers mean

Answer 4

limited the size of union membership and therefore the pressure the workers could exert on employers/gov during this period

Question 5

how were divisions between skilled and unskilled workers evident during the New Deal
(2 points)

Answer 5

1. large number of unskilled workers still denied rights

2. organisations such as AFL being more concerned with protecting and unifying craft unions

Question 6

when did the situtation begin to change/ more solidarity could be seen

Answer 6

during the 1930s

Question 7

what began the process of union solidarity in the 1930s

Answer 7

1935 some unions decide to break away from the AFL (AFL had been more interested than skilled workers\craft unions than unskilled workers)

Question 8

1. the breakaway group from the AFL in 1935 set up

2. this then became

Answer 8

1. Committee on Industrial Organization

2. 1937 Congress of Industrial Organisations (CIO)

Question 9

Initially, the fact that some unions broke away from the AFL

Answer 9

weakened the labour movement

Question 10

how did the splitting of unions from the AFL in 1935 give many unskilled workers representation

Answer 10

established unions in many of the new mass-production industries

Question 11

when did the AFL merge with the CIO (becoming AFL-CIO)

Answer 11

1955

Question 12

when the AFL and CIO merged what % of union membership did it bring into one unit / membership of how many workers?

Answer 12

85%

16 million workers

Question 13

what did the increased membership resulting from the merging of AFL and CIO allow

Answer 13

allowed it to exert pressure over wages and conditions

Question 14

why did the CIO and AFL merge in 1955

Answer 14

unions had recognised that changes in the American economy meant workers were under increasing pressure

and that best way to protect their intrest was through greater solidarity