Trade union and labour rights - in-depth studies Flashcards
How was the gilded age positive for workers?
Increases in transport and industry led to a greater demand for labour.
On average wages rose by 60%.
Some sickness clubs were established. Workers contributed to a fund which they paid out if they became ill.
How was the Gilded Age positive for workers - unions?
The number of craft-orientated unions grew.
Unions extended their influence into politics.
Unions such as the KOL saw a rapid growth in membership.
The AFL was formed in 1886 and sought to link all unions. Some businesses were willing to work with it.
How was the Gilded Age negative for workers - strikes?
2% of the workforce owned 30% of the wealth.
The courts supported employers and issued injunctions to end strikes.
Violent strikes, like the Haymarket affair, damaged unions.
How was the Gilded Age negative for workers?
The contract system meant workers could be laid off during quiet periods.
The slump in the economy in the 1880s weakened the position of workers as there was high unemployment.
Workers had few rights and worked long hours in dangerous conditions.
The government’s laissez-faire policy encouraged monopolies and meant there was no protective legislation for workers.
How was the Gilded Age negative for workers - skill?
Increased mechanisation meant the demand for skilled workers declined.
There were divisions in unions between white skilled workers and unskilled non-white workers.
Unskilled workers on average earned just 30% of the wages of skilled workers.
How was the New Deal positive for workers - legislation?
The Wagner Act 1935 gave workers the right to choose their own union reps to collective bargain and gave workers to right to join unions.
A minimum weekly wage was created by the Fair Labor Standards Act 1938.
The government passed the National Industry Recovery Act 1933 to improve employer-employee relations.
How was the New Deal positive for workers?
Union membership grew from 3.7 million in 1933 to 9 million in 1938.
The CIO was established in 1935. This encouraged whole-industry based unions, but also encouraged ethnic groups to join.
Some major industries, including car and steel manufacturers, started to recognise unions.
How was the New Deal negative for workers?
Some employers were prepared to use violence to break strikes and intimidate workers.
Women, unskilled and agricultural workers did not benefit from most new deal policies.
The supreme court ruled the NIRA unconstitutional in 1935.
Welfare reforms did benefit the poorest but the impact was limited because of the conflict between state and federal rights.
Many employers including Henry Ford did not recognise NIRA or Wagner Act.
How did Black Power benefit workers?
It helped focus concerns on poverty, which could be linked to Johnson’s ‘Great Society’.
The movement further encouraged the abandonment of any racist practices within unions.
It provided practical help for African Americans who lived in Ghettos and kept this issue on the political agenda.
It may have encouraged Nixon’s policy of affirmative action.
How did Black Power hinder workers - economic?
In the ten-point programme of the Black Panthers, only one focused on the economic position of African Americans.
Their main economic concern was poverty rather than advancing labour rights.
How did Black Power hinder workers?
Their militancy and violence lost support.
It further divided the civil rights movement and unions because of their impact on African American solidarity, rather than worker solidarity.
Most of their campaigning was about the differences from whites, rather than arguing for integration.
