Midterm

Question 1

Affordable care act (Obamacare)

Answer 1

It created state and federal health insurance marketplaces that offered affordable plans to people who were previously uninsured or had limited finances (especially low-income familes). This can also be looked at as an example of a policy feedback because it was unpopular when it was initially passed but grew in popularity thereafter moreover, republican attempts to repeal it in 2017 were unpopular. The end of the individual mandate by the Supreme Court weakened the law and allowed for some states to reject federal funding for health insurance programs in their states despite them being often needed _ mostly rejected by Republican states with poorer populations.

Question 2

Alabama sharecroppers Union

Answer 2

the ASU (1931-1936) was organized by laborers in the states to both raise prices and wages that were suppressed by larger planters in the region and reduce inequities in New deal agricultural programs.it used marxist-leninist analysis to build power among workers. Moreover it laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement because this movement was during a time in which the New deal did not provide protections for workers of color - southern Dixiecrat votes were needed to pass federal legislation.

Question 3

ALEC, AFP, and Spn’s role in state politics

Answer 3

Recent declines in the strength of public sector unions are best understood as a consequence of conservative political advocacy.

The American legislative exchange council (ALEC) drafted model bills promoting the retrenchment of public sector union law and distributed those proposals among state lawmakers.

the state Policy Network (spn) of state-level conservative think tanks produced research and media commentary in support of ALEC proposals.

The federated advocacy group Americans for prosperity ( AFP) encouraged its grassroots members to lobby on behalf of ALEC model bill proposals. They were allowed to make gains due to labor exceptions carved out through the taft-hartley act and recent suppose court rulings. This emergence served as evidence against the notion that union power declined as a result of low support among Americans, it was actually a result of political organizing.

Question 4

brotherhood of sleeping car Porters

Answer 4

In 1925, it became the first labor organization in the United States led by African Americans to receive a charter from the American federation of labor (AFL). Scp organized porters who worked on the Pullman company’s luxury sleeper cars. These workers were primanty Black men who faced difficult working conditions, low wages, discrimination, and they were barred from joining white-dominated unions. In 1937, after over a decade of organizing, the scp won recognition from the Pullman company, securing wage increases and improved working conditions. Furthermore, it is significant because it marked a major turning point in the labor and civil rights movements.

Question 5

Changes in union policies on immigration in the 1990s-2000s

Answer 5

By the 1960s, unions started to become more supportive of some amount of ‘legal’ immigration but unions begin to support increased rights for undocumented immigrants because many unions were losing against corporations and the ongoing conservative movement. Moreover, many undocumented people were ideologically and strategically interested in joining unions. For instance, the Service Employee’s International Union (SEIU) partnered with justice for janitors. In 1995, New voices slate emerge as a part of the labor movement in order to reclaim its place as a powerful force for justice with an emphasis on community organizing. In 2000s, the group change to win (CTW) emerged as a more progressive alternative to AFL-CIO with a focus on social movement organizing and more confrontational actions (boycotts,strikes).

Question 6

Chinese exclusion act (1882)

Answer 6

U.S. federal law passed in 1882 that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers. Barred Chinese workers from entering the U.S. for ten years, and it was periodically renewed and made permanent in 1902. The Act also prevented Chinese immigrants already in the U.S. from obtaining citizenship and significantly limited their civil rights.
Sig → This act was the first significant law restricting immigration to the United States based on nationality or ethnicity.
Could also mention how most labor unions were actually anti-immigration largely until post-Civil Rights Movement
Ex: AFL and Knights of Labor supported the Chinese Exclusion Act (they were nativist and racist in 19th and early 20th centuries ) → labor in the U.S. has had a fraught racial history
Workingmen’s Party of California was also another nativist group that opposed Chinese immigration on labor grounds
Shift only began in the 1930s when the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) began aligning with civil rights movements → theory is that racism divides workers and benefits their bosses

Question 7

Civil rights act (1964)

Answer 7

This act banned state segregation laws in education and public accommodations (unfunded mandate). It stated that no federal funds will be given to stares/agencies that discriminate (shared federalism at work). Furthermore, it Barred job discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and gender and Created a federal EEOC (equal employment opportunity commission) to enforce.
It was a Landmark piece of U.S. legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Also ended segregation
Enforcement: no federal funds for agencies who practiced discrimination!
Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce as well

Sig?
Represents the growing power of African Americans in the US who moved to the north during the Great Migration in the early 20th century and Northern Democrats begin prioritizing Civil Rights
During a period in which it was unclear whether Civil Rights was a Democratic or Republican priority
FDR hesitated on Civil Rights due to Dixiecrat Coalition in the South
Ultimately passed under LBJ
Black enrollment in public schools skyrockets – but does not include voting rights protections! (becomes future Voting Rights Act of 1965)

Question 8

Duverger’s Law

Answer 8

Duverger’s Law is a principle in political science that suggests a strong relationship between electoral systems and party systems.

Two main components:
Single-Member District Plurality (SMDP) Systems → in systems where each electoral district elects one representative and the candidate with the most votes wins, a two-party system is likely to emerge
Proportional Representation (PR) Systems → electoral systems that use proportional representation—where seats in the legislature are allocated in proportion to the votes each party receives—tend to encourage multi-party systems; smaller parties have a better chance of winning representation, which incentivizes their formation and persistence.

Sig?
SMDP system in the US results in a two-party system
Unlike in European nations with PR systems that allow for smaller parties that focus specifically on Labor rights or issues impacting working people
Forces labor organizations and activists to work with and within the Democratic Party for political support – not strong enough to create their own parties

Question 9

Earned income tax credit (EITC)

Answer 9

Those that qualify can use it to lower the taxes they owe (‘negative taxes’)

Only eligible to employed people (incentive to work)
And…it’s not available to people who don’t file taxes
i.e., the very poor, illegal immigrants, etc.

A refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and families in the United States, designed to encourage and reward work while alleviating poverty.

Sig. → Attempts to reduce tax burden for those who work hard but don’t make very much
Alternative to job guarantee → state as employer of last resort
support higher labor force participation by incentivizing low-income individuals to seek employment.

Question 10

Education as a solution to inequality and poverty

Answer 10

When states increase their spending on poor public schools, this dramatically increases student performance
Large effects on social mobility, especially for low-income students, and likelihood of attending college
However, funding for public schooling in the U.S is not ideal because funding is often tied to property taxes

Prop 13 in California dramatically reduced property taxes → resulted in a decrease of state-administered education levels
Not a lot of federal funding allocated for public education
Wealthy people pay more in federal taxes (progressive) than in state taxes (regressive) even though more state funding goes to public education than federal funding – funding burden placed on middle and lower income communities

Three sources of education funding in U.S:
Property taxes (homes in the district)
State funding formula
How much is spread across school districts depends on the state
Federal funding (<10% of funds, mostly to extremely poor schools)

Question 11

Effect of minimum wage on racial inequality

Answer 11

Establishing a minimum wage and increasing it helps reduce racial wage inequality

In 1966, Fair Labor Standards Act passed by LBJ (amendments)
Ended a huge amount of the inequality/racial discrimination in the New Deal programs/policies

Ex: Expanded minimum wage coverage to all professions (including lots of the Southern black workforce), social security coverage, etc.
Generally, pushes for increased minimum wage reduce racial inequality by creating a standard that applies to all people

Question 12

Effect of unions on racial wage inequality

Answer 12

Unions help decrease racial wage inequality/gap

Union wage premium exists for all identity groups of workers but is largest for Black and Latino workers → taken together this means that unions reduce the racial wage gap
New quantitative evidence suggests that labor unions reduce racial resentment among white workers → better for equality in workplace, leads to less racial wage inequality

Question 13

Effect of unions on racism among workers

Answer 13

We find new quantitative evidence that labor unions reduce racial resentment among white workers

Why might unions reduce racism?
Union leaders’ incentives to expand membership in diverse workplaces:
(Ideological commitment, class identity formation)

Relationship with (relatively less racist) Democratic Party

Organizational structure

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka made anti-racist comments during the 2008 election

Unions have a variety of trainings which include education about anti-racism

Racial resentment statistically decreased with union membership → gaining union membership reduces racial resentment by ~4.6% of scale, union members are more supportive of policies that benefit African Americans by ~4% of scale

Question 14

Elasticity of labor supply

Answer 14

The elasticity of labor supply measures how responsive the quantity of labor supplied is to changes in the wage rate. Essentially, it indicates how willing workers are to enter or leave the labor market in response to changes in wages

If labor supply elasticity is low, then the labor market is uncompetitive, and employers can keep wages low without losing workers
Studies show that labor supply elasticity is low (even in gig economy)

From slides: One way to measure monopsony power is to look at the elasticity of labor supply:
– For each 1% increase in wages, how much more do people work?

If labor supply elasticity is low, then the labor market is uncompetitive, and employers can keep wages low without losing workers.
Employers don’t have to worry about workers leaving for other jobs with higher wages. studies show that labor supply elasticity is low.
People work for low wages because there are no better options, and gig economy firms don’t have to compete very much for workers.

Sig - low elasticity → workers taken advantage of, need min wage protections
These conditions give especially huge authority to companies with monopsony since they know that workers do not have an alternative location to work

Question 15

Fair Labor standards act

Answer 15

A U.S. federal law enacted in 1938 to establish basic labor standards and protect workers’ rights. Key provisions include:

Min Wage
Excluding tipped workers

Overtime pay
Time and a half overtime pay when ppl work over forty hours a week (excluding salaried managers)

Child labor protections
Prohibits employment of minors in “oppressive child labor”
___________________________________________________
DOES NOT COVER ALL WORKERS
Rectified through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and FLSA 1966 amendments to FLSA that extend protections to domestic and agricultural workers where black workers were overrepresented

Significant effects on racial inequality
Earning difference between white and black workers fell dramatically
Expansion of min wage played key role in this decline

Question 16

Feigenbaum, Hertel-Fernandez, and Williamson’s argument about right-to-work laws

Answer 16

They argue that RTW laws, which prohibit unions from requiring workers to pay union dues as a condition of employment, serve two primary purposes:

Economic diminishment of unions (weakens financial resources)

Political realignment (right to work laws have negatively impacted democratic candidates)
Unions are big campaign spenders often in favor of Democratic candidates that focus on more progressive economics that benefit union workers

Question 17

Filipino labor movement on the West Coast

Answer 17

The Cannery Unions were the first Filipino led unions in the US
Filipino immigrant workers faced low wages, racial discrimination, and poor working conditions, particularly in California’s farming industries.

The Delano Grape Strike, organized jointly by Filipino and Mexican laborers, highlighted the solidarity between ethnic groups and eventually led to the formation of the United Farm Workers (UFW)

pivotal role in advancing labor rights, addressing inequality, and promoting racial solidarity in the labor movement

Question 18

Fiscal federalism

Answer 18

The financial relationship between different levels of government in a federal system, typically involving national, state, and local governments.
Specifically, How funds are allocated across these levels to support government programs, public services, and infrastructure.

National government often collects most of the revenue, primarily through taxes, and then redistributes it to state and local governments through various mechanisms, including grants, subsidies, and revenue-sharing programs.

Sig → connecting to a lecture topic, some states denied federal funding for medicare programs due to extreme partisanship
States can leverage federal funding to require states to take action on various issues such as discrimination
Civil Rights Act of 1964 allowed for the federal government to halt funding to state governments that allowed for discrimination

Question 19

Frymer and Grumbach’s argument about labor and racial solidarity

Answer 19

Paul Frymer and Jacob Grumbach argue that U.S. labor movements have faced significant challenges in achieving racial solidarity. While unions have improved wages, working conditions, and political representation, their commitment to racial equality has often been inconsistent. Racial divides within unions, spurred by some white workers’ concerns about job competition, hindered cross-racial unity. This tension limited the labor movement’s ability to advocate both for economic and racial justice simultaneously. Frymer and Grumbach highlight that this struggle reflects broader difficulties in forming coalitions that address both class and race-based inequalities in the U.S.

Question 20

Immigration effects on (native-born) wages and employment

Answer 20

Immigration has a positive effect on wages in America and no crowding-out effect on employment
As per Caiumi and Peri’s “Immigration’s Effect on US Wages and Employment Redux”

For the most part, the argument was that immigrants compete for wages, which in turn drives wages down

This is hard to measure causally:
Immigrants move to places where housing is cheap, but may just be indicative of a declining economy (so the immigrants aren’t decreasing wages, but wages were already decreasing due to economy and this is the reason immigrants moved there in the first place)

Question 21

Inequality between immigrant groups in the U.S.

Answer 21

Case study: Why do Asian immigrants tend to have higher income than Latino immigrants?
Old theory: Asians have ‘superior culture’ / ‘genetics’
New theory: Immigrant outcomes best predicted by social capital in home country (Zhou and Lee 2015)

Education Stats
51% of recent Chinese immigrants have college degree (vs. 4% in China)
5% of recent Mexican immigrants have college degree (vs. 17% in Mexico)

Occupational backgrounds
Agriculture/service industry vs. technical

Immigrant networks/ethnic institutions
E.g., after school programs in Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Saigon (SF, LA, San Jose, etc.)

Sig. → old stereotypes of certain ethnicities being ‘smarter’ than others have been proven outdated and incorrect (must look at other factors)

Question 22

Institutional explanations for inequality in the US

Answer 22

The United States does not have a strong social safety net, which would help disenfranchised groups and overall decrease inequality

Ex: UK has government-provided healthcare & Canada has socialized insurance, whereas the U.S. operates on a primarily private-insurance healthcare system
The U.S. has worse health outcomes than other wealthy countries
Also, the history of slavery, racism, and segregation in the U.S.

Still seen today in the form of redlining/gerrymandering
Remnants of racist systems, especially in the South, which still serve to disenfranchise Black Americans + other historically underserved/underrepresented minorities

Question 23

Janus v. AFSCME (2018)

Answer 23

Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977) upheld interpretation of NLRA that public sector unions can also charge agency/fair share fees
Public sector unions grew rapidly after this decision

Janus decision overturned the Abood decision
Now public sector unions can no longer raise agency/fair share fees
Example of US shift towards right-to-work

Sig. → Represents waning power of unions
Agency fees bring them lots of money which allow them access to more resources → without these resources, much harder for them to defend workers’ right successfully
Public sector unions were already bigger than private sector unions – now only weakened

Question 24

Jim Crow Laws

Answer 24

After the abolition of slavery, the South enacted segregation laws…upheld by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 (‘separate but equal’)
Examples: White primaries, poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clause, etc.

Sig. → A slightly more subtle way that the South could continue to oppress black people after they were no longer allowed to enslave them post-Civil War

Important to note because it’s commonly misunderstood that things were good for African Americans after slavery was abolished

While better, still mass amounts of discrimination and vehement suppression
Seen through the rise of KKK

Only came to an end with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Question 25

Kim Kelly’s argument about worker misclassification

Answer 25

Kelly’s argument is that worker misclassification (specifically maybe workers in the gig economy being classified as ‘independent contractors’) allows for the unfair treatment of/exploitation of workers
This is because gig-economy companies (Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, etc.) do not have to provide their workers with benefits (healthcare, sick leave, maternity leave, etc.) since they are technically not salaried employees

Sig. → Independent contract work is often praised for its leniency and ability to pick one’s own hours, but the reality is that many gig-economy workers must work a lot regardless to survive

So this results in companies being able to hire workers who are essentially salaried employees, but without having to afford them any benefits whatsoever → this is utterly unfair

Question 26

Mass incarceration

Answer 26

Mass incarceration is considered by some to be ‘The New Jim Crow’
U.S. imprisons more people than all other countries, including dictatorships
More Black people under correctional control (jail, prison, parole) than were enslaved in 1850

Incarcerated people are forced to work for practically no pay
Brings up the question of what rights do they have? (clearly not many)

This is how many minorities remain subjugated in modern day America
Many minorities grow up in poor areas because of America’s history of oppression, and as a result, many are forced to turn to crime for fear of going hungry
Working class black men are the highest incarcerated populatioin in the U.S.

Question 27

Milkman’s argument about immigration and unions

Answer 27

Ruth Milkman argues that U.S. labor unions, once resistant to immigration, shifted significantly in their approach during the late 20th century. She highlights how unions, initially wary of immigrant workers due to fears of wage suppression and job competition, began to see immigrants as allies in the fight for workers’ rights. Milkman contends that this shift was motivated by demographic changes, especially in urban labor markets where immigrant labor became essential, as well as by the need to rebuild union membership, which had been declining.

Immigration didn’t cause the economic restructuring that began in the 1970s, or the inequality and labor degradation that came with it

pivot led unions to advocate for immigrant rights and push for protections like labor law reform and pathways to citizenship, seeing immigrants as integral to both the labor movement’s survival and its growth.

role of unions in reshaping U.S. immigration policy debates, emphasizing that a more inclusive approach toward immigrant workers aligned with the broader social justice goals of organized labor.

Question 28

Monopoly

Answer 28

A market structure where a single entity has significant control over the production or sale of goods or services in an industry

This results in low competition, and it means that the monopolistic entity has the price-setting power (Ex: If they raise prices, consumers have no other alternatives since they are the sole provider of that good)

Sig. → Monopolies are bad for consumers because they often result in higher prices (companies want to increase profits, and there is no threat of competition to stop them from doing so)
Bad for laborers too because low competition → low elasticity

Question 29

Monopsony

Answer 29

Monopsony: one buyer (of labor) → specifically one buyer of workers
GIVES WAGE SETTING POWER
A market structure where a single buyer controls the market for a good or service

In relation to labor, it is when an employer is the dominant buyer of labor in a particular market, giving them significant control over wages and essentially allowing them to pay workers less than they would in a competitive market due to a lack of alternative employment options (measured by labor elasticity)

Monopsony power helps to explain why the economy and stock market keep growing, but wages stay flat:
Ex. Nurses should be paid relatively high wages but nurses who live in rural areas (without many hospital options to work at) are forced to take lower wages due to the high cost of taking a new job/some might even drop out of nursing completely but hospital still earns a greater profit by shrinking and cutting wages

In much of rural US, nearly all jobs are in:
Meat processing plants
Prisons
Low wage service
Farmworking

Workers can either choose to take the jobs or move
This gives employers more power → specifically wage-setting power

Sig. → Studies show labor supply elasticity is low, meaning monopsony power is high
Even in the gig economy, where one might expect elasticity to be relatively high
This may be attributable to the waning power of unions, as they are unable to properly fight back against monopsonistic employers

Question 30

Non-compete clauses

Answer 30

When a worker’s contract bans working for a competing firm

Goal is to prevent workers from using information about their former employer’s operations, trade secrets, or sensitive information (e.g., customer lists, business practices, upcoming products, marketing plans, etc.)

In reality, even employees who don’t have sensitive information must sign, and this increases the monopsony power of employers by eliminating the risk that employees will work for competitors if their wages are low/benefits are underwhelming

Sig. → Non-compete clauses are another way that companies keep labor elasticity low, which allows them to be able to pay workers less + offer them less benefits so as to increase profits for shareholders

Has been used against even low wage workers such as security guards

Millions of fast food workers and manual laborers are covered by noncompete clauses

Hard for workers to know which firms are legally “competitors” so many workers dont take new jobs to avoid being sued. –? Increasing employer monopsony power

Question 31

Operation Dixie

Answer 31

Post-World War II campaign by the Congress of Industrial Organizations to unionize industry in the Southern United States, particularly the textile industry
In the long-term, the failure of Operation Dixie to end the South’s status as a low-wage, non-union haven impeded the ability of the union movement to maintain its strength in North and was a contributing factor in the decline of the American union movement in the second half of the 20th century as unions were unable to prevent businesses from holding back wage increases by either moving to the South or threatening to do so

Sig. → Failure of Dixie represents failure of labor movement to spread to the South, where racism/Jim Crow laws were still prevalent & African American labor was continuing to be exploited

Question 32

Policy feedbacks

Answer 32

Politics influences what policies are passed and implemented
E.g. elections change party in power, leading to polcy change.

BUT policy also influences politics → there are policy feedbacks.
Processes through which existing policies shape and influence political behavior, public opinion, and the development of future policies. This concept suggests that policies are not static but rather have dynamic effects that can alter the political landscape
Significance (example): ACA, deemed unpopular when it was first passed in 2010 but there was a buffer until it was implemented in 2014 and began to become popular once its benefits were instituted
Attempt by Trump administration to repeal the ACA in 2017 failed due to an increase in public support
Policy feedbacks especially important in the area of labor relations.

Labor policies can make it easier or harder to organize or join unions
e.g. make it harder to solve the free rider problem

By influencing the power of labor unions, these policies affect future politics.

Question 33

Policy feedbacks as a political weapon against public sector unions

Answer 33

Policies that restrict union activities, such as right-to-work laws, can shift public opinion against unions.
They also can limit funding for public services which weakens unions’ bargaining power.

Hertel-Fernandez
The passage of conservative network-backed legislation led to large and enduring declines in public sector union density and revenue
I further show that by curbing the power of public unions, the passage of conservative network-backed bills dampened the political participation of public sector employees
“Policy feedback as political weapon”
Corporations, wealthy individuals, and conservatives recognized the importance of policy feedbacks.
They organized into ALEC, AFP, and SPN networks (Focus on passing policies in the states)

Question 34

Progressive vs. regressive taxes

Answer 34

Progressive taxes → tax rate increases as the taxpayer’s income increases
Regressive taxes → impose a higher burden on lower-income individuals relative to their income, contribute to wider income disparities

Sig?
Can have a dramatic impact on social programs depending on what source of funding they draw from
Ex. – public education is often drawn from state taxation systems which are largely regressive
Even though federal taxation is largely progressive – public education only gets a minimal amount of funding from the federal government resulting in most of the funding burden being placed on middle or lower income communities

Question 35

Reconstruction (and how it set the stage for 20th century US politics)

Answer 35

First attempt at interracial democracy in the U.S.
Some successes:
13th Amendment: Banned slavery
14th Amendment: Equality under the law
15th Amendment: Equal suffrage

Was a failure in other senses:

Despite Radical Republicans in the North pushing for equality, Southern state governments quickly passed the Black Codes
Banned black people from renting/owning land, assembly voting, interracial marriage, etc.

Reconstruction was also expensive → North lost interest

Set the stage for the Jim Crow Era and rise of the KKK
African Americans continued to be disenfranchised:
White primaries, poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clause

Sig. → Reconstruction was not successful at integrating African Americans into American society/democracy
Rather, incentivized Southern states to find alternative methods (besides slavery) to continue to oppress black populations
Only resolved in the 1960s with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Question 36

Scheiber & Vogel’s argument about the Janus decision

Answer 36

Scheiber and Vogel argue that the Janus v. AFSCME decision significantly undermines public sector unions by prohibiting the collection of agency fees from non-members, which diminishes unions’ financial resources and threatens their collective bargaining power, making it harder to negotiate for better wages and working conditions. The authors suggest that the decision is part of a broader trend aimed at weakening labor unions in the U.S., leading to potential declines in union membership and influence in politics.

Question 37

Sharecropping

Answer 37

A legal arrangement where a landowner allowed a tenant to use their land in exchange for a share of the crops produced on that land

Sig. → Was a major part of the Jim Crow System after the abolition of slavery

Almost a form of pseudo-slavery
Some sharecroppers unionized in an attempt to fight against their abysmal working conditions (Alabama Sharecroppers Union)

Question 38

The “Conservative Troika” (ALEC, AFP, and SPN)

Answer 38

“Conservative Troika” refers to three influential organizations in American politics that have played a significant role in advancing conservative policies and agendas at the state level.
ALEC → focuses on issues such as tax cuts, deregulation, and limiting the power of labor unions. Aligns with corporate interests
AFP → advocates for free-market policies, limited government, and individual liberties. AFP has been particularly effective in promoting tax cuts, deregulation, and opposing government programs that they perceive as inefficient.
SPN → network of state-based think tanks providing research, policy analysis, and strategic support to lawmakers and advocacy groups. Aims to advance a free-market agenda

Question 39

Trump and white working class voters

Answer 39

Nationalist rhetoric → less solidarity in unions potentially more racial resentment?
Stricter immigration policies, generally anti immigrant
Political realignment – valuing cultural/political priorities over economic ones (white working class voters shift)

Question 40

Union effects on productivity

Answer 40

Nuanced
In theory, unions could lower productivity by protecting bad workers from being sanctioned or fired
Ex: Bargaining for ‘just cause’ termination instead of ‘at-will’ employment

On the other hand, unions might increase productivity
Ex: Improving working conditions and relationships with management

Evidence from Charter Schools:
Right as a union push happens, there is conflict (grades down during strikes)
However, unionization does not affect overall student productivity but it does improve teacher’s wages/working conditions

Sig. → Unions actually more likely to increase productivity than not (goes against common misconception that unions always decrease productivity)

Question 41

Unions in the Civil Rights Movement

Answer 41

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (Aug. 28, 1963) was led by labor unions
It was co-organized by civil rights leaders and prominent labor figures like A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly Black labor union.
Intertwining of labor movement with social justice movements
MLK assassinated marching with the Memphis janitor’s union

Sig. → the gravity of the Civil Rights Movement also helped gains with organized labor
Joint labor-social justice movements help boost support for both → economic justice and racial justice are interconnected

Question 42

Unions representing immigrant workers

Answer 42

Most American unions were anti-immigration until 1990’s
Until 1970s → Cesar Chavez encouraged workers to join “wet-lines” to prevent border crossing
Worry that immigrants compete for wages and drive down prices
AFL supported Chinese Exclusion Act
The AFL backed English literacy tests for immigratns and immigration quotas from non-Northern European countries.

Unions represented a lot of immigrant workers, became more open to “legal immigration” in the 60s

1990s → unions began to support undocumented immigrants more

Unions and organizations play a vital role in ensuring that immigrant workers have a voice in the labor movement, advocating for their rights, fair treatment, and access to better working conditions.

Question 43

United Farm Workers (UFW)

Answer 43

a labor union founded in 1962 by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and others to represent the interests of agricultural workers in the United States, particularly migrant farmworkers.
Racial solidarity in movements

Question 44

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Answer 44

Landmark U.S. legislation that aimed to eliminate racial discrimination in voting. Addressed widespread barriers that prevented Black Americans and other minorities, particularly in Southern states, from voting.
End state laws establishing literacy tests, poll taxes, etc.
Federal officers could be sent into the state to register voters directly.
Covered states had to obtain clearance from Justice Dept before changing election laws.

Results:
African american registration/turnout soard
Number of african american elected officials increased dramatically.

The Act significantly increased voter registration and participation among Black Americans and minorities.

Preclearance requirement overturned in Shelby v. Holder by SCOTUS in 2013

Section V of Voting Rights Act dismantled

Now states dont need federal approval to change election laws, even when it impacts people of color
Result: voter ID laws in republican-controlled states

Question 45

W.E.B. Du Bois on labor

Answer 45

Du Bois argued that labor movements needed to address racial divisions among workers to be truly effective. He believed that racial prejudice was used as a tool to divide and weaken the working class, preventing solidarity that could otherwise challenge capitalist and oppressive systems.

Prevents interracial labor solidarity and contributes to exploitation of both Black and white laborers

Highlights the necessity of linking labor struggles with racial justice!!!

Fighting the “psychological wage” of racism:
“I have tried to see a vast union, and hoped the black laborer and white laborer, instead of being used against each other as pawns, should unite to bring democracy.”

Question 46

Wage-setting power

Answer 46

The ability of employers, unions, or government entities to influence or determine the wages paid to employees. Entities with wage-setting power can adjust wages above or below the market rate, affecting income levels, employment rates, and labor market dynamics. Employers may hold wage-setting power in concentrated labor markets where they face little competition, which can lead to lower wages. Unions can exert wage-setting power by negotiating collectively for higher wages. Wage-setting power plays a critical role in labor economics → shapes the distribution of income and bargaining power between employers and employees.

Monopsony

Question 47

What’s missing in mainstream histories of the Civil Rights Movement

Answer 47

What’s largely missing is the emphasis on labor rights during the civil rights movement. The march on Washington was actually the march on Washington for jobs and freedom. Mainstream narratives miss how deeply interwoven economic and racial justice were in the Civil Rights Movement’s vision