Turning Point Questions

Question 1

Context Early 1860-1914 (5)

Answer 1

• Trade Unions smaller + mostly focused on skilled workers in 1865.
• Unskilled workers were not represented in Unions
• No legal enforcement of unions (only small number of craft unions) before 1880
• From 1880 onwards- rise in unskilled blue-collar workers, so early unions began
• Many workplace accidents- 1889, 2000 railroad workers killed- little compensation

Question 2

Context Mid 1914-1968 (6)

Answer 2

• WW1 + Economic Boom = Rise in Union membership (Aside from ‘Red Scare’)
• 1929 Wall Street Crash + Economic Decline –> 1933 New Deal
• WW2 brought back a rise in unions
• After WW2 -> Worries unions = too powerful
• Led to attempts from Gov. to reduce influence of unions
• Union workers earnt 20% more than non

Question 3

Context Late 1968-1992 (3)

Answer 3

• Significant decline in union power with rise of ‘New Right’ ideologies
• Rise in service industry and ‘tech revolution’
• By 1992 11% of US citizens existed below the poverty line.

Question 4

Union Rights (Early) 1860-1914 (4)

Answer 4

• Trade Unions smaller + mostly focused on skilled workers in 1865.
• Unskilled workers were not represented in Unions
• No legal enforcement of unions (only small number of craft unions) before 1880
• Limited/No union rights, KOL collapsed

Question 5

Membership/Union Actions (Early) 1860-1914 (3)

Answer 5

• Early union- Knights of Labor 1869 - Wanted 8hr day, successfully gained 680,000 members following Wabash Railroad Strike
• Haymarket Affair 1886 - Unsuccessful strike in Chicago- ended in violence and 7 policeman deaths (KOL Blamed)
• AFL 1886 - United skilled/unskilled workers, caused some divisions. By 1914 had 2 mill members, less radical than KOL

Question 6

Individual Rights (Early) 1860-1992 (5)

Answer 6

• Increase in Industrial workers by over 2 mill (1860-1900)
• Children 8+ worked in coal mines + most workers - 12 hour days
• Many workplace accidents- 1889, 2000 railroad workers killed- little compensation
• Women had to work 70 hours for $5
• Long hours, no restrictions

Question 7

Union Rights (Mid) 1914-1968 (4)

Answer 7

• NIRA+NRA (National Indust. Recov. Act) 1933 - Declared unconstitutional 1935, encouraged co-operation + codes of practice
• Wagner 1935 (NLRA) - permitted union formation, representatives
• WW2 - Employers needed to avoid strikes so cooperated w/ unions, number of women working increase 50%, NWLB reestablished.
• Taft-Hartley Act 1947 - Restricted union activities, made closed shops illegal

Question 8

Membership/Union Actions (Mid) 1914-1968 (3)

Answer 8

• Wagner 1935 (NLRA) - permitted union formation, representatives, increased union membership, 1933=3.7mil 1938=9mill pro-worker legislation
• WW2 - Employers needed to avoid strikes so cooperated w/ unions, number of women working increase 50%, NWLB reestablished.
• AFL-CIO Unification 1955 - 85% joined, improved trade union unity

Question 9

Individual Rights (Mid) 1914-1968 (5)

Answer 9

• 1920s growth of ‘welfare capitalism’ (company unions, didnt allow strikes or pay negotiation)
• NWLB Wartime gains e.g. 8 hr day were somewhat reversed.
• Equal Pay Act 1963: Established ‘equal pay for equal work’
• Civil Rights Act 1964: Prohibited discrimination in employment on basis of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin.
• Economic Opportunity Act 1964: Created a fund for vocational training for the young to improve employment prospects.

Question 10

Taft-Hartley Act 1947 - Union Rights (3)

Answer 10

• Set tone until 1992 - echoed with Reagan’s Strike-busting PATCO 1981
• Previously seen with 1894 Pullman Strike - fed troops <3
• Restricted union activities & they never recovered <3

Question 11

Wagner Act 1935 - Membership/Union Actions (3)

Answer 11

• Permitted union formation
• BCSP finally recognised in 1935 after 10 years
• Increased union membership 1933=7mill, 1938=9mill

Question 12

Great Society 1960s - Individual Rights (4)

Answer 12

• Pro-Individual Legislation Introduced
• Equal pay for women, Civil Rights Act, Economic Opportunitity Act
• All improved workers conditions in an amount never seen again
• Improved in 1977 Minimum Wage

Question 13

Union Rights (Late) 1968-1992 (3)

Answer 13

• PATCO Strike 1981: BIG - 11,000/13,000 strikers were fired in 48 hrs. Reagan was strikebreaker & unions no longer able to meet demand
• Phelps-Dodge Strike 1983-6: Union workers lost their jobs, ‘scabs’ brought in following strikes due to declining wages, no longer able to provide wages
• Unions had lost their power, Government was now provididing those rights

Question 14

Membership/Union Actions (Late) 1968-1992 (3)

Answer 14

• PATCO Strike 1981: BIG - 11,000/13,000 strikers were fired in 48 hrs. Reagan was strikebreaker
• Phelps-Dodge Strike 1983-6: Union workers lost their jobs, ‘scabs’ brought in following strikes due to declining wages
• Decline in union membership

Question 15

Individual Rights Late (1968-1992) (2)

Answer 15

• Health and Safety Act 1970: Established safety regulations in workplace against hazards
• Minimum Wage 1977: $2.65 Jimmy Carter established it