How important was union unity in developing labour rights?

Question 1

What were the three aspects of union unity

Answer 1

• Skilled vs unskilled workers
• Ethnic divisions
• Gender divisions

Question 2

Skilled and Unskilled workers

Answer 2

• At the start of the period, in the 1860s, the unions that existed
  were to protect those in skilled or craft industries
• They admitted only craftsmen, and this meant the idea of
  strength through numbers was ignored
• Unions did not allow unskilled workers, women or African
  Americans to join
• Despite attempts to develop unions for unskilled workers, this
  was still a problem on the outbreak of the First World War
• Although skilled workers were trying to protect their positions,
  their opposition to unskilled workers limited the size of union
  membership and therefore the pressures that the workers
  could exert on both employers and governments in this period
• However, the situation began to change in the 1930s, and
  workers solidarity became more evident.
• The decision in 1935 by some unions to break away from the
  AFL, which was more interested in amalgamating craft unions
  than helping unskilled workers, began the process of union
  solidarity
• In 1955, the CIO merged with the AFL to become AFL-CIO,
  bringing 85% of union membership into one unit - this gave the
  organisation representation a membership of some 16 million
  workers and allowed it to exert pressures over wages and
  conditions
• However, after the second world war - divisions continued to limit
  the influence of the unions - change of American economy meant
  more white collar jobs - reducing union membership to 31% of
  workforce, limiting membership and the power it could exert
• Lack of worker solidarity furthered in 70s and 80s

Question 3

Ethnic Divisions

Answer 3

• The division between white workers and other ethnic groups
  remained throughout much of the period
• White workers were particularly concerned about African
  Americans, and immigrants from southern and central Europe
  and Asia, taking their jobs or working for lower rates of pay
• As a result, many unions did not allow these ethnic groups to
  join, especially in the early period or, when they did, offered
  little support to them
• Although some African Americans established their own
  unions, many remained non-unionised and this allowed
  employers to exploit the divisions and employ them for low
  wages and in poor conditions

Question 4

Abolition and immigration

Answer 4

• At the start of the period it was not only the division between
  white native-born Americans and African Americans that
  weakened the union movement, and prevented the
  development of unity needed to win workers’ rights, but also
  the arrival of immigrants from Europe
• The abolition of slavery meant that many African Americans
  joined the industrial workforce, but many whites were unwilling
  to work and them, as were many of the European immigrants.
• However, this meant that at times of industrial unrest the
  employers were able to lay off the white workers and replace
  them with African Americans, which limited the ability of
  workers to strike as they feared that they would be replaced
• It also meant that employers were able to sack any workers
  who attempted to organise action, which resulted in the
  removal of the very men who might have been able to
  effectively lead unions
• Therefore, at the very time workers’ organisations needed to
  be united in order to gain rights and be recognised, the
  employers were able to ignore their demands and exploit the
  divisions within the workforce
• This had been further exacerbated by the arrival of large
  numbers of immigrants who were willing to work for low pay,
  and this was a particular problem in some cities where they
  accounted for over half the population
• They made up much of the semi-skilled and unskilled
  workforce and therefore the refusal of white, native-born
  Americans to allow them to join unions further weakened
  organised labour