History of American Labor and Management IRL 201

Cliff Donn Office – RH 416 Extension – Office Hours –Monday 9:00-10:20 –Wednesday 2:30-3:30

Course Web Page irl201.htm

Educational Background Bachelors Industrial and Labor Relations – Cornell Ph.D. Economics – MIT Permanent Faculty positions at Macquarie University and University of Tennessee At Le Moyne since 1982

Sources: Text Boris and Lichtenstein, Major Problems in the History of American Workers Others on reserve (most on electronic reserve)

Preparing for class How much time on each topic? See course outline! When to do the reading? Optional readings Definitions will be supplied

Conduct of class Class discussion and discussion of reading material Attendance – expect to be called upon every day Tardiness will not be tolerated Cell phones – TURNED OFF

Requirements - Essays Everyone must do one of first three topics (unless we agree on another) Can do second essay on any topic Note due dates Handout and web page specify format Research for essays Don’t hand in a poor essay! See essay rubric on home page NO LATE ESSAYS ACCEPTED

Requirements - Quizzes Cover only reading material 15 minutes at beginning of class No make ups except on final Must take two and freshmen must take the first Wise to prepare for them do well the first time

Requirement - Exams Final Exam: Thursday, May 8, 3:00 p.m. Comprehensive and enables you to make up quizzes and/or mid-term –No excuses and no make ups –Value of final depends on your choices Mid-term: March 19 (just prior to Easter break) Covers class and text material –Will take entire class –Can be retaken on final Copies of questions on Home Page

Why study history? For the sake of understanding the past For the sake of understanding the present

Current issues we can't understand without a background in labor history Why are strikes by construction workers strikes normally so peaceful while those by coal miners are so often violent? Why does the AFL ‑ CIO, which almost always supports exclusively Democrats, maintain an official stance of non ‑ partisanship? Why, when almost every trade union movement in the world at least nominally supports socialism, is the U.S. labor movement such a strong supporter of the private enterprise system?

What is Labor History? Old View ‑ History of worker organizations ‑ i.e. unions and their activities Newer View ‑ History of workers and their lives, at work, at home and in the community

How we shall study history? Disinterest in names, facts, dates Emphasis on themes

Examples of Themes Movement from agricultural to industrial to white collar labor force Impacts of immigration on work and the workforce Relationships between work life and community life Treatment of women and minorities by other workers and by management

Evolution of management and managerial authority Utopianism as an influence on the working class Origins and development of trade unions Development of craft & industrial union models Role of strikes in the evolution of unions and bargaining Evolution of public policy on employment issues

Modern Work: Ehrenreich, “Working Poor Blues” What to look for in this article? How does Ehrenreich find the work the poor people do? Would you like to do those jobs? Why or why not? How could they be made more satisfying? Do the poor people Ehrenreich meets have “tricks” to reduce their expenses?

Next Time Labor Market and Working Conditions in the early colonial period