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The first attempt to organize labor in America
Printers in New York City joined
together to demand higher pay. This protest was
the first attempt to organize labor in America. -
Until about 1820
Most of America’s workforce
was made up of farmers, small business owners, and
the self-employed. Shortly after, however, immigrants
began to arrive in great numbers. Because they
provided a supply of cheap, unskilled labor, they
posed a threat to existing wage and labor standards. -
Civil war began
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Civil war ended
It led to
higher prices, a greater demand for goods and services,
and a shortage of workers. Industry expanded,
and the farm population declined. Hourly workers
in industrial jobs made up about one-fourth of the
country’s working population. Many of the cultural
and linguistic differences between immigrants
and American-born workers began to fade,
and the labor force became more unified. -
The American Federation of Labor (AFL)
began in 1886 as an organization of craft unions. Later, it
added several industrial unions. The trade and
industrial unions, however, did not always agree
over the future of the union movement. As a result,
eight of the AFL industrial unions formed the Committee for Industrial Organization in 1935. -
Sherman Antitrust Act was approved
first Federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices -
Danbury Hatters case
United Hatters Union called a
strike against a Danbury, Connecticut, hat manufacturer
that had rejected a union demand. The
union applied pressure on stores to not stock hats
made by the Danbury firm. The hat manufacturer,
charging a conspiracy in restraint of trade under the
Sherman Act, filed a damage suit in the state court
but lost. Later, the Supreme Court ruled that the
union had organized an illegal boycott that was in
restraint of trade. This ruling dealt a severe blow to
organized labor -
Clayton Antitrust Act
expressly exempts labor
unions from prosecution under the Sherman Act -
the average manufacturing wage was 55 cents per hour
-
Great Depression began
the greatest period
of economic decline and stagnation in
United States history—began with the collapse of
the stock market in October 1929 -
The Norris LaGuardia Act
prevented federal courts
from issuing rulings against unions engaged in
peaceful strikes, picketing, or boycotts. This forced
companies to negotiate directly with their unions,
rather than take them to court -
Wages plummeted to 5 cents per hour
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The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), or Wagner Act
established the right of unions
to collective bargaining. The act also created the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), giving it
the power to police unfair labor practices. The NLRB
also had the power to oversee and certify union election
results. -
Committee for Industrial Organization
goal was to bring
about greater unionization in industry -
The AFL and John L. Lewis
The AFL and Lewis, however, did not get along,
so the AFL expelled the Committee for Industrial
Organization unions -
Congress of Industrial Organizations
formed by the Committee for Industrial
Organization unions after they were expelled from the AFL The CIO quickly set up unions in industries
that had not been unionized before, such as the
steel and automobile industries. By the 1940s, the
CIO had nearly 7 million members. -
The Fair Labor Standards Act
applies to
businesses that engage in interstate commerce. The
act fixes a federal minimum wage for many workers
and establishes time-and-a-half pay for overtime,
which is defined as more than 40 hours per week.
It also prohibits oppressive child labor, which
includes any labor for a child under 16 and work
that is hazardous to the health of a child under 18. -
The economy recovered from the great depression
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result of loss of production resulting from strikes
more than 116 million workdays were lost
due to work stoppages. People began to feel that
management, not labor, was the victim. -
Labor Management Relations Act, or Taft-Hartley Act
puts limits on what unions can do in
labor-management disputes. Among its provisions,
Taft-Hartley gives employers the right to sue
unions for breaking contracts, and prohibits unions
from making union membership a condition for
hiring.
The Taft-Hartley Act had two other provisions
that worked against organized labor. The first was
an 80-day cooling-off period that federal courts
could use to delay a strike in the case of a national
emergency.
The second (Section 14(b)) was a tough antiunion
pr -
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations(AFL-CIO).
As the CIO grew stronger, it began to challenge
the dominance of the AFL. In 1955 the AFL and
the CIO joined to form the American Federation
of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO). -
The Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, or Landrum-Griffin Act
tried to protect individual
union members from unfair actions of
unions and union officials. The act requires unions
to file regular financial reports with the government,
and it limits the amount of money officials
can borrow from the union. -
civilian labor force
The population of the United States was approximately 274 million people.
Slightly more than half, or about 139 million,
belonged to the civilian labor force