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My TU > TU Key events, stats and facts > Flashcards

TU Key events, stats and facts Flashcards

1
Q

Union membership by 1900

A

500,000

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2
Q

Union membership by 1990

A

16.7 million (16.1% of the workforce)

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3
Q

Union membership change over WW2 (1941 to 1945)

A 
1941 = 9 million 
1945 = 14.8 million
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4
Q

Union membership change over the 1930s (1933 to 1941)

A

1933- 3.7 million TU members

1941- 9 million TU members

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5
Q

Palmer Raids and subsequent decline in strikes

A

1919-20
President Wilson supported Attorney General Alexander Palmer to arrest 3,000 during these raids
1919: 4 million workers striking
1921: Just over 1 million workers striking in 2,385 strikes

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6
Q

PATCO strike

A

1981
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) declared a strike in August 1981 seeking better working conditions, better pay (a $10,000 wage increase) and a 32 hour week
Eval: Excessive demands
13,000 went on strike, violating the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, however, several government unions had declared strikes in the intervening period without incurring penalties.
Reagan declared the strike a “peril to national safety” and ordered the strikers back to work within 48 hours
He then fired the 11,345 workers who refused to return to work and banned them from federal service forever
Reagan was condemned as a “Union Buster”
In 1990 there were only 44 strikes involving 185,000 workers as Reagan had set a precedent for the power he had in the event of a strike.

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7
Q

Sherman Antitrust Act

A

1890
Prohibited anti-competitive agreements and unilateral conduct that monopolised or attempted to monopolise , market or sector of the industry
Restricted power of big business

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8
Q

Wagner Act (National Labour Relations Act)

A

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 , labour relations role
The act caused a rise in membership from 3.7 million in 1933 to 9 million by 1938
Following the act, General Motors and Chrysler recognised the Union of Auto Workers (UAW) in 1937. Ford eventually caved in in 1941

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9
Q

Coppage vs. Kansas

A

1915
Contracts that workers sign with employers that prevent them from joining trade unions know as ‘Yellow Dog Contracts’ became permitted and they then characterised much of the next period
(United Mine Workers: “reduces to the level of a yellow dog any man that signs it… for he signs away every right he possesses”)

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10
Q

1920s impact on Strikes

A

1921: Just over 1 million workers striking in 2,385 strikes
1929: Just under 300,000 workers striking in 921 strikes

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11
Q

When was the peak of strike action

A

1946: 4.6 million workers striking in 4,985 strikes (peak)

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12
Q

Number of strikes by 1992

A

362,000 workers striking in 35 strikes

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13
Q

Great Railroad Strike

A
  • 1877
  • Strike lasted 95 days and paralysed ⅔ of the rail network and was triggered by a 10% wage cut following the 1873 economic scare. But was crushed by President Hayes using federal troops
    Collapsed in 45 days
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14
Q

Pullman Strike

A

1894
President Cleveland sent in Federal troops
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 monopolise, caused $340,000 dollars of damage (Around $8 million today)

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15
Q

National War Labor Board (WW1)

A

Established by Wilson 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.

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16
Q

Philadelphia Transit Strike

A
  • 1944
  • Involved 10,000 workers
  • Roosevelt sent 8,000 US army troops to the city to seize and operate the transit system and threatened to draft any ‘Philadelphia Rapid Transit Employees Union’ (PRTEU) member who did not return to the job within 48 hours
  • The actions broke the strike and were symbolic of the government’s changing stance by the end of the war
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17
Q

Clayton Antitrust Act

A

1914
Attempt by Congress to limit the use of injunctions against striking workers and allowed peaceful picketing, provided protesters did not damage property
Act was not specifically about unions and was hated by big business.

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18
Q

Railway Labor Act

A

1924
Substituted bargaining, arbitration and mediation for strikes as a means of resolving labor disputes
Provisions were enforced under the National Mediation Board (NMB)
NMB was independent of the federal government

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19
Q

Smith-Connally Act

A

1943
United Mine Workers and rail workers went on strike in 1943, breaching the no-strike wartime agreement, leading to this act
The act authorized the President to requisition any plant where a strike threatened war production; made it illegal to instigate such strikes and required unions to give 30 days notice of all strikes and prohibited union contributions to political campaigns

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20
Q

Taft-Hartley Act ( Labor Management Relations Act)

A

1947
In response to strike action and the perceived Communist threat, a Republican dominated Congress introduced this act
Passed to restrict union activities in light of the wave of protests in 1946 and to purge organised labour of Communists
Weakened the CIO in particular

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21
Q

Impact of Reagan on Workers’ Rights

A
  • Following the PATCO strike, Reagan curbed the power of unions by ensuring that members of the Labor Relations Board were Presidential appointments who agreed to his conservative approach and found in favour of employers
  • He also lifted restrictive regulations imposed on businesses by the Fed, giving greater autonomy to employers
  • Also privatised publicly owned businesses and services
22
Q

Roosevelt’s New Deal on Workers’ Rights

A

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) is passed- Established the National Recovery Administration (NRA)
Aimed to foster cooperation between employer and workers to agree codes of practice about issues such as wages, working hours, prices, etc.
By 1935, 557 codes of practice had been agreed by joining companies, covering 23 million workers
Those who joined the NRA were allowed to display a blue eagle symbol, demonstrating government support
BUT: Positive effects were limited as several employers such as Henry Ford refused to sign the NRA code and codes still tended to favour employers
BUT: Unconstitutional by 1935

23
Q

Presidents Kennedy (‘New Frontier’) 1961 - 1963 and Johnson (‘Great Society’) 1963-69 on Workers’ Rights

A

Ambitious programme of social reform
1963 Equal Pay Act- Guaranteed ‘Equal pay for equal work’
1964 Civil Rights Act- Ends discrimination with AAs
1964 Economic Opportunity Act- Entitles everyone to training and to seek employment
1968 Age Discrimination in Employment Act- Couldn’t discriminate against anyone between 40 and 65.

24
Q

Occupational Safety and Health Act

A

1970
President Nixon
Guaranteed complete safety of labour

25
Q

Fair Labour Standards Act

A

1938
Created a $25 minimum weekly wage for industrial workers and a payment of 50% extra for hours in excess of 40 per week
Prohibited the employment of children under 16

26
Q

Lochner vs. New York

A

1905
Declared unconstitutional a New York Legislature’s Bakeshop Act of 1895 that limited the number of hours a baker could work each day and week.
Effectively undermines workers rights and exemplifies pro big business stance
Judgement invalidated laws that attempted to regulate working conditions in the period up to WW2.
In 1923, this judgement was upheld as minimum wage laws violated the due process clause in the Adkins v. Children’s Hospital case of 1923.

27
Q

State of Trade Unions and Labour Rights in 1865

A
  • In 1865, there were no national trade unions in the USA and only approximately 20 closed shop operations
  • First national union was National Labor Union (NLU) in 1866
  • In 1865 strikes were illegal and there are very few examples of success
  • 1865- Conditions were very poor, especially for unskilled workers (E.g. Southern mill workers earned $0.84/day)
28
Q

State of Trade Unions and Labour Rights in 1992

A
  • By 1992, peak had already passed and Percentage of workforce unionised was 16.1% in 1990.
  • By the end of the period, employers had regained the upper hand and the public and government were both anti-union.
  • Decline by the end of the period and only 35 strikes in 1992.
  • Came under scrutiny during the Republican era of 1968-1992 from anti-union Presidents such as Reagan who favoured employers
29
Q

The policy of gov. between 1865 and 1929

A

Laissez-faire

30
Q

Impact of Economy on Membership and right to exist

A
  • US industrialisation between 1860 and 1900 accelerated and number of industrial workers increased from 885,000 to 3.2 million.
  • Depressions cause a surge in Trade Union membership as with the 1873 Depression
  • 1930s saw a rise in newfound political influence by unions e.g. the governor of Michigan was reluctant to call in strike-breakers on a strike led by automobile workers
  • 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
    Why it was not the most important factor:
    A changing economy in the late 1970s saw an expanding service economy with a less organised workforce as well as relocation from urban to rural, making it harder to organise
    Higher technological unemployment in steel, coal and automobile industries as a result of automation during the 1950s meant that trade union membership in these industries dropped by over 50%.
    Increase in skilled and female workers in the 1970s saw a decline in union membership as women were less interested and often skilled workers were restricted by government contracts
31
Q

Wabash Railroad strike on union membership

A

1886
Successful
KOL membership soared to 700,000 in 1886

32
Q

Women’s Trade Union League on union membership

A

1903- Formation of Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) was significant in creating other female trade unions and helped to educate the public on the problems and needs of working women
BUT: AFL generally ignored the WTUL.

33
Q

Impact of Randolph on union membership

A

Established the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids (BSCP) in 1925 and was finally certified by the National Mediation Board (NMB) in 1935 and became representative of porters

34
Q

Merger of AFL and CIO on union membership

A

1955 Merger of the AFL and the CIO brought 85% of union members into a single unit.
By 1960s, the AFL-CIO had a joint membership of over 16 million

35
Q

Work of Chavez and UFW

A
  • 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
36
Q

Impact of Economy on Right to strike

A

Why it was the main factor:
The economy was closely linked to the number of strikes as with the panic of 1873
20% wage cut in December 1874→Workers wanted the security of job safety so joined unions→Led to a wave of strikes, highlighting the need for reform
Why it was not the most important factor:
Increase in the proportion of white collar workers in the 1950s and 60s meant fewer workers were striking. This is due to this type of worker was concentrated in state or local government occupations and they have all signed no-strike agreements and were barred from joining trade unions.
1950: 3 million workers striking
1965: 1.5 million workers striking

37
Q

Salad Bowl Strike

A

Initiated by Chavez and UFW
Largest farm worker strike in US history to protest for and win higher wages from farm workers who were working for grape and lettuce growers.

38
Q

Strike figures in the aftermath of war

A

Wave of strikes following WW1 involving over 4 million workers in 3,630 strikes
During WW2, control of industry was effectively taken away from manufacturers and owners, weakening their power
Wave of strikes following WW2, as there were 4,985 strikes and 4.6 million workers involved in 1946

39
Q

1950s economic expansion stats

A

Between 1950 and 1960, GNP rose from $318bn to $488bn
By the end of the 1950s, 60% of American families owned their own homes
Average worker’s income was 35% higher, adjusted for inflation, than in 1945 and 200% higher than in the 1920s

40
Q

1950s on the proportion of blue and white collar workers

A

1950s and 60s saw a decline in “blue collar workers” and a rise in “white collar workers” as education improved and the economy changed.
By 1980, there was a huge disparity in the USA as there were 50.5 million blue collar workers and 30.5 million white collar workers
New technology replaced blue collar workers

41
Q

“Wilmar 8”

A

1977 - 1979: The “Willmar 8” stage the longest bank strike in US history over sex discrimination and equal pay for working women

42
Q

Impact of war on Workers’ Rights

A
  • Between 1914 and 1918 factory production rose by 35% and as prices rose, real wages rose by 20%
  • National War Labor Board worked well with big businesses responding positively to implementing an 8 hour working day.
  • Unemployment fell from 9 million in June 1940 to 783,000 in September 1943
  • Number of women at work increased by 50% during the war
  • Wage rises and increases in overtime pay boosted the average industrial earnings by 70% during the war.
  • Wartime conditions in WW2 allowed for the progression of fringe benefits
43
Q

Boston Police Strike

A

1919

44
Q

Homestead Steel Strike

A

1892
AA (Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers) membership went from 24,000 in 1891 to 10,000 by 1894
During the 1892 Homestead Steel Strike, Frick only offered a 22% wage decrease and brought in 300 Pinkerton detectives to defend the plant as well as setting up barbed wire fences, sniper towers, etc.
State military and ‘scab’ labour arrived
Strike lasted 143 days in total
The strong reaction exemplifies the power of Big business

45
Q

Impact of Immigration on Right to strike

A
  • Immigration during the 1920s decreased the incentive to strike as they increased the supply of labour and gave weakened the power and solidarity of any union action
  • Increased the supply of ‘scab’ labour
  • Immigration during the Vietnam War 1955- 1975, saw many of these workers accepting lower wages, hence weakening strike action and the labour movement
  • They also would work for firms who ran non-union enterprises
46
Q

A.L.A Schechter Corp. v. US

A

1935

Declared NIRA unconstitutional

47
Q

Impact of 1873 Depression on Workers’ Rights

A
  • 89 of the country’s 364 railroads went bankrupt
  • 18,000 businesses failed between 1873 and 1875
  • Unemployment reached 14% by 1876
48
Q

Impact of Wall street crash on UE

A

Wall Street Crash of October 1929 led to meltdown of US economy and mass unemployment
1929- 3% unemployment
1933- 25% unemployment and 13 million Americans unemployed

49
Q

Impact of Internal Divisions on Workers’ Rights

A
  • Divisions during the period of Industrialisation (c. 1870- 1900) meant that often unskilled workers were unable to gain recognition or rights as Craft Unions refused them entry
  • African American workers were often subjected to poor pay and poor working conditions
  • Divisions between skilled and unskilled all the way up until 1955, limited development of wages, conditions, etc
  • Gender divisions continued into the 20th Century as more women took up jobs
  • As men saw them as a threat to their jobs, just like any minority, they were often discriminated against and paid lower wages
  • Women were also more concerned about equal pay and less about union activity, further hindering the labour movement
50
Q

Molly Maguires

A
  • Molly Maguires (1873-77)- Strike put down by Pinkerton agent James Mcparland- Led to execution of 10 men- Led to wage cut and decline in union membership in the mining industry.
51
Q

Number of railway deaths in 1889

A

2000

52
Q

Wages and economic growth during the Gilded Age

A

7% growth per year

Wages rose by 60%. BUT: Only for skilled workers

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