Trade union and labour rights - in-depth studies

Question 1

How was the gilded age positive for workers?

Answer 1

* On average wages rose by 60%.

• Some sickness clubs were established.

Question 2

How was the Gilded Age positive for workers - unions?

Answer 2

• 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.

Question 3

How was the Gilded Age negative for workers - strikes?

Answer 3

• 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 (1886), damaged unions.

Question 4

How was the Gilded Age negative for workers?

Answer 4

• The contract system meant workers could be laid off during quiet periods - The slump in the economy in the 1880s
• The government’s laissez-faire policy encouraged monopolies and meant there was no protective legislation for workers.

Question 5

How was the New Deal positive for workers - legislation?

Answer 5

• The Wagner Act 1935 gave workers to right to join unions.
• Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) - ensured a minumum wage
• National Industry Recovery Act (1933) improved employer-employee relations.

Question 6

How was the New Deal positive for workers?

Answer 6

Union membership:

• 3.7 million in 1933
• 9 million in 1938.

CIO was established (1935) This encouraged whole-industry based unions, also encouraged ethnic groups to join.

• Major industries began to aknowledge unions

Question 7

How was the New Deal negative for workers?

Answer 7

• 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.

Question 8

How did Black Power benefit workers?

Answer 8

• The movement further encouraged the abandonment of any racist practices within unions.

Question 9

How did Black Power hinder workers - economic?

Answer 9

Their main economic concern was poverty rather than advancing labour rights.

Question 10

How did Black Power hinder workers?

Answer 10

Their militancy and violence lost support.

Question 11

how much do wages increase by during WW2

+ women in work

Answer 11

• 70% wage increase
• 50% increase in women workers

Question 12

what percentage of workers were unionised in 1954

Answer 12

35%