-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.
What was Johnson’s ‘Great Society’?
His first priority was to reduce the number of people living below the poverty line. This was achieved by the creation of millions of new jobs and increased social security benefits.
What was the effect of Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ on labour unions?
With the focus on reducing poverty, advancing labour rights seemingly assumed less importance. BUT THERE WERE POSITIVES
What were the positive effects on labour of Johnson’s ‘Great Society’?
Civil Rights Act 1964 - Prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin. This benefited African Americans, Hispanics and other ethnic minorities that had faced discrimination in work.
Economic Opportunity Act 1964 - Established the Office of Economic Opportunity to fund a coordinate a jobs corps to attract and train young people in vocational skills, or provide education that would prepare them for further education.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1968 - prohibited employment discrimination in hiring and firing against persons of between 40-65. Covered promotions, wage levels and lay-offs. Also became illegal to include a statement of age preferences in job notices.
How had unions gained in the 1960s?
Following AFL-CIO merge in 1955 uniting 16 million workers, unions began to bargain over wages and working conditions. Established unions could bargain with leading firms successfully and contracts were periodically negotiated covering workplace relations and regulation for promotions and lay-offs as well as giving employers the ability to voice greivances.
Wages rose steadily by over 2% a year and union members grew 20% more wage than non-members of a similar age.
How did the AFL-CIO support the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s?
They funded civil rights organisations and lobbied politicians for civil rights legislation. They encouraged unions to abandon policies that discriminated, even though it meant losing support from southern unions.
What was the key concern for unskilled workers in the 1950s and 60s and why is this important to African Americans?
They were concerned about the rise in technology that reduced the size of the workforce, as well as demanding new skills and higher levels of education. It exposed the poor standard of education given to black people and remained an issue to be addressed by government.
How were trade unions actually unhelpful in practice in promoting equal opportunities for the mass of black unskilled workers?
Whilst the AFL-CIO pursued a non-racial policy, black workers were poorly represented on the leadership body.
Smaller affiliated unions didn’t necessarily follow the policy.
Inadequate levels of education or lack of relevant experience could be used legitimately to exclude black people from jobs.
Racism was evident in large companies such as Ford, where 74/7665 workers were black.
What happened in the 1960s that showed it increasingly obvious that changes were underway that threatened to weaken power and influence of unions?
The relative comfort and prosperity made it less likely to have to use unions. Employers could exploit this is no-union clauses.
Union membership declined in private sector in the US immediately after WW2 although, after 1960, public sector workers won new opportunities to form unions.
From late 60s, union membership fell as a result of technological change and skilled workforce.
Organised labour was vulnerable to political swings as well as economic change. Close signs to Democrats whereas Republicans show open opposition.
