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Unions
Unions were started in the 1700's, but became more popular in the mid/late 1800's. Unions declined in the 1930's during the Great Depression. Nowadays 12% of people are in Unions. -
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Great Southwest Railroad Strike
200,000 workers went on strike at the Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads for better pay and working conditions.The strike lacked commitment from the unions, and owner Gould hired non-union workers in their place. The strike ultimately failed and the union broke up. -
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Steel Strike of 1919
The American Federation of labor included 350,000 strikers.The strikes fought for better working conditions, shorter hours, higher wages and for corporate harassment regarding union involvement to stop.The strike shut down almost half of the steel industry. The strike ultimately failed due to the owners appealing to the public claiming the strike was communism. -
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Stock Market Crash
The stock Market crash caused the Great Depression. The day the stock market crashed is referred to as "Black Tuesday." Since jobs were few people were willing to work for less money and bad conditions. During this time union members decreased. -
Norris -La Guardia Act
This act outlawed the practice of only hiring workers who would agree to not join unions. The reason companies wanted to only hire workers that did not join unions because then they could pay them less and have poorer working conditions. -
The National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act is also known as the Wagner Act. This act gave workers the right to form unions. The workers were also allowed to bargain for better wages and working conditions. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
Franklin Roosevelt passed this act. The minimum wage was set at $0.25. The act also put restrictions on child labor and included overtime pay. -
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World War II
When the Japanse bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941 it led America into Joining WWII. When the United States joined WWII it pulled America out of the depression because the war effort created more jobs. When there are more steady jobs people are more likely to join unions. -
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Ronald Reagan Elected
When Reagan was elected president in 1980 there was now a power that was an administration that was anti-union. From 1975 to 1985 union members decreased by 5 million -
UPS Workers Strike
The largest strike in the 1990's had a total of 185,000 strikers. The workers were fighting for full-time work rather than part-time, increased pay, and the continue of the multiemployer pension plan. The strike gained support from the public and got their demands. However, the UPS company lost 600 million in business because of the strike.
