Trade union and labor rights - position

Question 1

What were the problems with labour unions up to 1914?

Answer 1

• unions that did exist in 1865 only represented skilled workers in craft industries - many new workers were excluded

Question 2

What were early unions?

Answer 2

• The Knights of Labor - membership of 20,000 in 1881 to 700,000 by 1886.
• The American Federation of Labor (AFL) replaced it and attempted to unite unions - had 2 million members in 1914.

Question 3

How did the Haymarket Affair affect unions?

Answer 3

caused KOL membership to fall to 100,000.

Question 4

What progress was there up to WW1?

Answer 4

• union membership had grown to over 2 million members.

Question 5

What examples of no progress up to WW1 is there?

workforce stats

Answer 5

Unions represented only 20% of the non-agricultural workforce.

Question 6

What is the boom of the 1920s?

Answer 6

• rise in real wages and a fall in unemployment.

Question 7

What did Henry Ford do in the 1920s?

Answer 7

• Many employers including Ford refused to recognise unions.
• not until 1941 did he recognise any union.

Question 8

What did the Pullman Company porters do?

Answer 8

• They set up the (BSCP) union, under Randolph (1928)
• The company banned their meetings and did not recognise

Question 9

What is the NIRA?

Answer 9

National Industry Recovery Act: encouraged firms to agree to codes that improved hours, wages and union rights.
It let workers organise unions and collective bargain.

Question 10

What is the Wagner Act 1935?

Answer 10

• established the National Labor Relations Board, which could negotiate for worker.
• workers given the right to join unions.
• rapid rising of membership from 3.7 million in 1933 to 9 million in 1938.

Question 11

What is the Fair Labor Standards Act 1938?

Answer 11

• It set the minimum wage.

Question 12

effect of ww2

Answer 12

• Wages increased by 70%.
• Union membership grew from 9 million in 1938 to 15 million in 1944.

Question 13

Why did membership fall in the 50s?

Answer 13

Many workers were better off, gaining paid holidays, healthcare, pensions, and pay rises, so were less interested in unions.

Question 14

What is the legislation of the 1960s?

Answer 14

• Kennedy passed the Equal pay act (1963) giving men and women equal pay for equal work.
• Johnson’s great society (war on poverty) benefited those on the poverty line.
• The civil rights act (1964) outlawed discrimination based on race, religion or sex.

Question 15

What is the union merge? (1955)

Answer 15

AFL and CIO merged in 1955, bringing together 85% of members

Question 16

Why did African Americans not benefit in the 60s?

Answer 16

• AAs position decreased due to the increased demand for skilled workers.
• AAs lacked the necessary education from living in poverty.

Question 17

Who is Cesar Chavez?

Answer 17

• founded the UFW union in 1972 (salad bowl strike)
• Non-violence and a moral cause won them national sympathy.

Question 18

How were unions attacked in the 1980s and 90s?

Answer 18

• Both the government and employers opposed them.
• The decline in bluecollar labour meant it was more difficult to organise workers, and recruit them to unions.