Trade Unions 1950-69 Flashcards
What was the economy like in the 1950s?
It was a period of unrivalled economic prosperity and economic expansion.
Between 1950 and 60, GNP rose from $318 billion to $488 billion.
Average real wage was 35% higher than in 1945 and 200% higher than 1920s.
What happened to blue-collar workers in the 1950s?
They decreased as a result of automation, their union membership dropped 50%, reflecting the reduction in the size of the workforce resulting from this new technology.
What happened to white-collar workers in the 1950s and why is this significant?
They increased due to new jobs in the service sector. They signed no-strike agreements and often barred from joining TUs. These restraints make it v. difficult to organise.
How did union membership change from 1953 to 1960?
Proportion of organised labour dropped from 35% to 31%.
Why was there a sense of complacency among trade union membership?
Partly as a result of the benefits which previously been earned in the 1930s and war years and also due to economic growth. High wages with average working week less than 40 hours, employee benefits, no need to be in a union.
What did the merger of the AFL and CIO do to the amount of union members in a single unit?
It raised it to 85%. The merger was born due to awareness that the impact of structural and economic change and there was an increasing need for greater solidarity within the workforce.
What was poverty like in 1960 for Americans?
Although many Americans were affluent, millions of others weren’t and needed strong labour unions.
As late as 1960, around 35 million Americans (20% of population) were below the poverty line. 1/3 lived in depressed rural areas where 2 million migrant workers lived in extreme poverty.
More affluent residents and businesses moved to the suburbs away from inner city.
As the 1950s closed, improving the lives of millions of poor African Americans represented the biggest challenge to trade unions and government.
What was Kennedy’s ‘New Frontier’ (1960-63)?
It was reform at home and victory abroad. His inauguration in 1961 symbolised the beginning of an era.
Was Kennedy’s ‘New Frontier’ successful?
It was only partly successful, his lack of support in congress meant that reform agenda was opposed by Republicans and Southern Democrats.
1961 bill to increase minimum wage was rejected by Congress, although those workers already subject to the act saw their hourly rate marginally increased from $1.15 in sept 1961 to $1.25 in sept 1963.
What did the Equal Pay Act of 1963 do to workers?
Made wage discrimination on the basis of gender illegal and established the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’. The act was an amendment to the Fair Labour Standards Act in 1938. Salaries of women compared to men rose dramatically.
