The Great Depression And The New Deal Flashcards
How did the Great Depression affect workers rights?
. Employers took tough action against strikers during this period in order to maintain production and profits.
. Police were often called in to quell protests and as a result, the workers being unable to strike severely undermined the workers position and union strength.
What did the National Industry Recovery Act ( NIRA ) entail?
. The Act encouraged firms to agree to codes of practice which dealt with improving hours, wage rates and union rights.
. Perhaps the biggest change was that it enshrined in law the right of workers to organise unions and take part in collective bargaining.
What did the Wagner Act/ National Labour Relations Act entail?
. It established the National Labour Relations Board ( NLRB ) which could negotiate on behalf of workers and prevent companies from using their own unions. It also looked into accusations of unfair labour practices.
. Workers were given the right to elect their own representatives to undertake collective bargaining.
. Workers were also given the right to join unions, while using spies against unions was banned.
. Finally the Act recognised the role of unions, this led to a rapid rise in the expansion of union membership, rising from 3.7million in 1937 to 9million by 1938.
What did the Fair Labor Standards Act entail?
. This act gave workers a minimum wage.
How did the New Deal not benefit workers?
. Most improvements only really benefited some workers. Many unskilled workers did not have rights and therefore many in mass producing industries e.g. the car industries still lacked the gains made.
. Ethnic minorities and women were still in a very vulnerable position with New Deal legislation focusing almost entirely on white workers.
. The National Labor Relations Act did not give agricultural workers the right to join unions, as a result agricultural workers did not benefit.
What was the CIO and how as it important?
. The CIO or Congress of Industrial Organisations was essentially the union for unskilled industrial workers since the AFL had refused to accept them.
. The increase in the number of unionised workers led to an increase in their economic and political power.
. A sit in strike in 1936 resulted in the recognition of the United of the United Automobile Workers Union and then the Steel Workers Organising Committee by US steel in 1937
