Trade Union Turning Points

Question 1

Identify the 3 rights

Answer 1

1. Membership and Right to exist- Formal recognition by government and employers
2. Right to strike and collectively bargain- Inc. willingness to strike action and reaction to strike action
3. Workers’ rights- E.g. Pay, conditions, job security, etc.

Question 2

Most important 3 TPs for Membership and Right to exist

Answer 2

1. New Deal and WW2
2. The 1960s
3. WW1 and 1920s

Question 3

Most important 3 TPs for Right to strike

Answer 3

1. WW1 and 1920s
2. The 1960s
3. New Deal and WW2

Question 4

Most important 3 TPs for Workers Rights

Answer 4

1. The 1960s
2. New Deal and WW2
3. WW1 and 1920s

Question 5

TU membership in 1900

Answer 5

500,000

Question 6

TU membership in 1916

Answer 6

2.7 million

Question 7

TU membership in 1920

Answer 7

5 million

Question 8

TU membership in 1933

Answer 8

3.7 million

Question 9

TU membership in 1941

Answer 9

9 million

Question 10

TU membership in 1945

Answer 10

14.8 million (35.5% of the workforce)

Question 11

TU membership in 1950

Answer 11

14.3 million (31.5% of the workforce)

Question 12

TU membership in 1953

Answer 12

18 million

Question 13

TU membership in 1960

Answer 13

17 million (31.4% of the workforce)

Question 14

TU membership in 1970

Answer 14

19.4 million (27.3% of the workforce)

Question 15

TU membership in 1980

Answer 15

19.8 million (25.5% of the workforce)

Question 16

TU membership in 1990

Answer 16

16.7 million (16.1% of the workforce)

Question 17

Membership and Right to exist TP- 1880s-90s (Period of Industrialisation) Key Points

Answer 17

AFL founded in 1886
1873 Depression caused a surge in Union membership
Between 1860 and 1900, US industrialisation accelerated and the number of industrial workers increased from 885,000 to 3.2 million.
Sherman Antitrust Act 1890- Restricted anti-competitive behaviour of employers and promoted the membership of unions
BUT: By 1900 only 500,000 Trade Union members
BUT: Failure of strike action due to the anti-union stance of the government and strong reaction of big business meant union growth was low in this period
As with the Homestead Steel strike of 1892, AA membership went from 24,000 in 1891 to 10,000 by 1894
Haymarket Affair in 1886 led to the KOLs membership to dwindle in the aftermath.
J: Not that significant

Question 18

Membership and Right to exist TP- WW1 and 1920s Key Points

Answer 18

Union membership increased from 2.7 million in 1916 to 5 million in 1920
National War Labour Board established in April 1918. Dissolved in May 1919
1925- Asa Philip Randolph established the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids (BSCP). Pullman Company still refused to recognise them
BUT: Decline in Union membership:
1920- 5 million TU members
1933- 3.7 million TU members
The 1920s was a period of welfare capitalism and ‘Yellow Dog Contracts
Coppage v. Kansas 1915
The 1920s was an age of welfare capitalists such as Henry Ford (Archetypal)- Deliberately undermined the support and influence of unions
J: Significant TP

Question 19

National War Labour Board (WW1)

Answer 19

President Wilson established the National War Labor Board in April 1918
This was to ensure high levels of uninterrupted production and enforce a no-strike policy. In return, the Board agreed to guarantee the rights of workers to join unions and to collectively bargain.
Dissolved in May 1918

Question 20

Coppage v. Kansas 1915

Answer 20

Coppage v. Kansas 1915 permitted ‘Yellow Dog Contracts’ which were contracts workers signed with employers that prevent them from joining trade unions. Characterised much of the 1920s

Question 21

Haymarket Affair of 1886

Answer 21

Violence broke out after a striker threw a bomb and killed a policeman. This resulted in a further 7 policeman to be killed causing widespread resentment for the strikers. Media coverage of the event was harsh, linking unionism with anarchism. This led to the KOLs membership to dwindle in the aftermath.

Question 22

When was the AFL founded

Answer 22

1886

Question 23

Membership and Right to exist TP- New Deal era Key Points

Answer 23

1935 Wagner Act- Recognised the right of workers to form trade unions
The BSCP was finally certified by the National Mediation Board (NMB) in 1935 and became representative of porters. 2 years later it signed its first collective bargaining agreement and was the first labour organisation led by African Americans
CIO Founded in 1935, renamed the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1937. Represented labour in mass production industries
Union membership grew:
1933- 3.7 million TU members
1938- 9 million TU members
BUT: CIO Split with AFL

Question 24

Wagner Act

Answer 24

1935
Initiated by Congress, not Roosevelt
Recognised the right of workers to elect their own representatives and take part in collective bargaining with employers. Hence it was the first national piece of legislation which recognised the right of workers to form trade unions
Also permitted closed shops
Spies and the blacklisting of alleged ‘agitators’ was banned
Committed the Federal government to an important labour relations role

Question 25

Membership and Right to exist TP- WW2 Key Points

Answer 25

Union membership grew from 9 million in 1941 to 14.8 million in 1945
Influx of women into the American workforce during WW2 also led to a dramatic increase in the number of women joining unions:
1940: 800,000
1944: 3 million
BUT: Increased proportion of women working especially after the Second World War, saw a decline in union membership as many were not interested in union activity or worked in the service industry where unions were absent

Question 26

Membership and Right to exist TP- 1960s (Work of Chavez) Key Points

Answer 26

Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers’ Association and joined the Filipino grape pickers strike in 1965.
1972- the union was renamed as the United Farm Workers (UFW)
He adopted policies of non-violence and went on a series of fasts, this forced growers to recognise the UFW as the bargaining organisation for field workers in California and Florida
Union recognition was fully achieved by 1972 after he called for a boycott in 1968 where 17 million Americans stopped buying grapes.
By 1975, the UFW had 50,000 members
The union also won passage of the California Agricultural Labor Relation Act in 1975 which gave collective bargaining rights to farm workers.
BUT: He died in 1993 after a fast for 35 days which damaged his health

Question 27

Membership and Right to exist TP- 1980s/ Reagan Presidency Key Points

Answer 27

The 1970s and 80s saw an upsurge in the union membership amongst public sector workers
The AFL-CIO responded to this by creating a public service department within its organisation
BUT: Changing economic climate meant an expanding service economy with a less organised workforce as well as relocation from urban to rural, making it harder to organise

Question 28

1919 Strike figures

Answer 28

4 million workers striking

Question 29

1921 Strike figures

Answer 29

Just over 1 million workers striking in 2,385 strikes

Question 30

1929 Strike figures

Answer 30

Just under 300,000 workers striking in 921 strikes

Question 31

1946 Strike figures

Answer 31

4.6 million workers striking in 4,985 strikes (peak)

Question 32

1950 Strike figures

Answer 32

3 million workers striking in 3,606 strikes

Question 33

1965 Strike figures

Answer 33

1.5 million workers striking in 4,511 strikes

Question 34

1970 Strike figures

Answer 34

2.5 million workers striking in 381 strikes

Question 35

1975 Strike figures

Answer 35

965,000 workers striking in 235 strikes

Question 36

1990 Strike figures

Answer 36

185,000 workers striking in 44 strikes

Question 37

1992 Strike figures

Answer 37

362,000 workers striking in 35 strikes

Question 38

Right to Strike TP- 1880s/90s

Answer 38

A successful strike by Knights of Labour (Established 1869) at the Wasbash Railroad 1885-86
BUT: Many Failed strikes
Haymarket Affair 1886
Homestead Steel Strike 1892- 300 Pinkerton detectives, State military, ‘scab’ labour used
President Cleveland sent in federal troops during the 1894 Pullman Strike
J: Activity shows high willingness to strike but strong responses mean this was not significant

Question 39

Pullman Strike

Answer 39

1894
Strike began following wage cuts of up to 40% and unfair dismissals- Led by American Railway Union (ARU) and its leader Eugene Debs
Strike had paralysed the economies of 27 states
Debs was arrested and the strike caused $340,000 dollars of damage (Around $8 million today)
Following the strike, courts would continuously support employers.