Transcript The Labor Movement

 Students
will explain the conditions that led to
the need for labor unions in this country
 Students will explain why unions are still
important today
 Students will discuss the development of the
labor movement from the late 1700's to the
1930's
 Students will relate labor's successes during
the Great Depression
 Students will describe the major labor
developments since World War II
 Work
Life
• Work conditions were often unsafe
• Workers often were not provided adequate
training, safety equipment, or clothing
• Workers worked long hours, without adequate
breaks
• Workers at risk of injuries




Fatigue
Lack of skills
Dangerous machinery
No laws to protect workers from this
 Child
Labor
• Children as young as six worked long hours
for low pay
 Sometimes as much as 12 hour days
• Often worked with or near large, heavy,
dangerous equipment
• Wasn’t until 1912 that the United States set up
the Children’s Bureau to monitor these
situations
 Pay
and Benefits
• Employers paid a wage rate only high enough to
attract workers and seldom more than they had
to
• Henry Ford was the first to change this by paying
his workers better than his competitors which
increased productivity
• Employers offered few benefits other than a few
sick days and vacation days, which were often
unpaid
• Health insurance came much later
 Colonial
Times to the Civil War
• There were some attempts to organize labor
in America, but public opinion was against
labor activity so it was not successful
 Civil War
to the 1930’s
• Attitudes toward unions changed, however
many people still saw unions as trouble
makers
• It became more apparent that workers
needed protections in the workplace
 Civil War
to the 1930’s
• Knights of Labor
 First major labor union in the US
 Organized in 1869
 In less than 2 decades grew to more than 800,000
members
 Because anyone could join the union, from unskilled
workers to highly skilled workers, it was hard for the
union’s to control the organization
 Due to a dangerous situation caused by a strike
resulting in the Chicago Haymarket Riot of 1886, the
union lost favor with the public and many of its own
members
 By 1917 the union had collapsed
 Types
of Unions
• Labor Union – a legal group that is formed to
represent workers for the purpose of
collective bargaining
• Craft or trade union
 An association of skilled workers who perform the
same kind of work
 Plumbers
 Carpenters
 Electricians
 Types
of Unions
• Industrial Union
 An association of workers in the same industry,
regardless of the job each worker performs
 Union
Activities
• Collective Bargaining
 The process of negotiating with employers on
behalf of workers
 Seeks to protect workers from unfair practices
 Seeks to provide better pay and more favorable working
conditions
• Strike
 A legal action of a union where members refuse to
work until a labor agreement is reached
 Union
Activities
• Picket
 Parade in front of an employer’s business carrying
signs about a dispute
• Boycott
 A mass refusal to buy products from certain
employers or companies
 Employer
Resistance
• Lockout
 Refusal to let employees work until management
demands are met
• Company Union
 A union, organized, supported, or run by employers
to head off efforts by others to organize.
 Attitudes
of the Courts
• Historically the courts didn’t favor unions
• Legislation was often applied by the courts in
such a way as not to favor unions
 Great
Depression
• Largest period of economic decline and
•
•
•
•
stagnation in the history of the United State
Began with the collapse of the stock market
in 1929
Economy hits the bottom in 1933
1 of every 4 workers unemployed
Wages were cut
 Pro-union
legislation arose from this
economic environment
• Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932
 Cut back on court’s ability to issue injunctions
 Injunction – a court order requiring someone to stop a
certain activity – in the case of unions they were often
issued to stop strikes and other organized activities
 Reinforced workers’ rights to form unions and to
bargain collectively

Pro-union legislation arose from this
economic environment
• National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner
Act)
 Required employers to act in good faith in collective
bargaining
 Forced employers to accept labor unions that
succeeded in organizing more than half the workers
of a particular business
 Set up the National Labor Relations Board
 Given the power to investigate unfair labor practices
 Pro-union
legislation arose from this
economic environment
 As a result of these pieces of legislation, union
membership grew, as did the power of unions in the
workplace
 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938




Maximum work week
Minimum wage
Time and a half for overtime for certain jobs
Prohibited child labor for certain jobs
 Union
contracts would call for only
employing workers who were members
of the union
• Closed shop – a business that is required by
a union contract to hire only union members
(shut out anyone who would not join the
union)
• Union Shop – a business that requires
employees to join the union after they were
hired
 Antiunion
Legislation
• Taft-Hartley Act of 1947
 Monitor activities and limit the power of unions
 Made closed shops illegal, but did not outlaw union
shops
 Amended the Wagner Act by limiting the ability of
unions to strike
 Antiunion
Legislation
• Right to Work Laws
 State laws making it illegal to force workers to join
a union as a condition of employment
• Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959
 Controlled corrupt practices of union
 Regular elections of officers became required
 Any former convict prohibited from holding office
 AFL-CIO
• American Federation of Labor (AFL)
 Formed in 1886
 Headed by Samuel Gompers
 Focused on skilled workers seeking better pay and
working conditions
 Was a craft union
 Grew to more than 3 million members in the 1930’s
 AFL-CIO
• Congress of Industrial Organizations
 Formed in 1938 by John L. Lewis
 Broke from the AFL to represent workers in major
industries, such as steel and automobile
manufacturing
 CIO was an industrial union where all workers in a
company and in similar companies
• The two union merged into the AFL-CIO
 Independent
Unions
• Unions that do not belong to the AFL-CIO
 Today
many workers benefit from the
presence of unions even if they do not
pay dues or are members of a union
• Because of union employer pay wages and
benefits that are competitive so as to keep
unions away
 Unions
are significant in the development of
the economy
• Curbed abusive practices of employers
• Bargained for wages, benefits, and working
conditions
• Gave people in the labor market economic
power
 Better wages lead to people who care able to buy more
goods and service which helps the economy grow and
keeps other workers employed as businesses provide
products for the market economy, etc.
 Arguments
against unions
• Unions keep wages and benefits artificially
high
• Businesses committed to union contracts
have less flexibility in managing their
business
• With the high wages paid in union contracts,
the businesses must charge higher prices,
which makes a product higher to sell and
therefore business lose both sales and profits
The Fair Labor Standards Act
A. made it illegal to prosecute unions under the Sherman
Antitrust Act.
B. prevented courts from issuing injunctions against
unions engaged in peaceful strikes.
C. established the right of unions to collective
bargaining.
D. established a federal minimum wage.
The Fair Labor Standards Act
A. made it illegal to prosecute unions under the Sherman
Antitrust Act.
B. prevented courts from issuing injunctions against
unions engaged in peaceful strikes.
C. established the right of unions to collective
bargaining.
D. established a federal minimum wage.
The National Labor Relations Act
A. made it illegal to prosecute unions under the Sherman
Antitrust Act.
B. established the right of unions to collective
bargaining.
C. prevented courts from issuing injunctions against
unions engaged in peaceful strikes
D. established a federal minimum wage.
The National Labor Relations Act
A. made it illegal to prosecute unions under the Sherman
Antitrust Act.
B. established the right of unions to collective
bargaining.
C. prevented courts from issuing injunctions against
unions engaged in peaceful strikes
D. established a federal minimum wage.
Unions are important in today's economy because
A. they played a major role in promoting legislation
affecting wages today
B. they played a major role in promoting legislation
affecting working conditions today.
C. they have a membership of nearly 16.3 million people
D. all of the above
Unions are important in today's economy because
A. they played a major role in promoting legislation
affecting wages today
B. they played a major role in promoting legislation
affecting working conditions today.
C. they have a membership of nearly 16.3 million people
D. all of the above
The Great Depression
A.
B.
C.
D.
turned popular opinion against unions.
turned popular opinion in favor of unions.
destroyed the labor movement.
gave rise to the first unions.
The Great Depression
A.
B.
C.
D.
turned popular opinion against unions.
turned popular opinion in favor of unions.
destroyed the labor movement.
gave rise to the first unions.
All of the following factors helped give rise to unions
EXCEPT
A.
B.
C.
D.
early government support.
low pay.
little job security.
poor working conditions.
All of the following factors helped give rise to unions
EXCEPT
A.
B.
C.
D.
early government support.
low pay.
little job security.
poor working conditions.
A mass refusal to buy products from certain employers
or companies.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Lockout
Boycott
Strike
Embargo
A mass refusal to buy products from certain employers
or companies.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Lockout
Boycott
Strike
Embargo
A refusal to work until demands are met.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Boycott
Embargo
Lockout
Strike
A refusal to work until demands are met.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Boycott
Embargo
Lockout
Strike
What happened to unemployment and wages during the
Great Depression?
A. There were decreases in unemployment and
decreases in wages.
B. There were large increases in unemployment and
large decreases in wages.
C. There were decreases in unemployment and
increases in wages.
D. None of the above.
What happened to unemployment and wages during the
Great Depression?
A. There were decreases in unemployment and
decreases in wages.
B. There were large increases in unemployment and
large decreases in wages.
C. There were decreases in unemployment and
increases in wages.
D. None of the above.