ORGANIZED LABOR IN THE US

LABOR UNION An organization of workers who collectively seek to improve wages, working conditions, benefits, job security, and other work-related matters; Labor unions began in the late 1800’s due to working conditions in factories.

THE STRIKE: One of the early negotiating techniques used by workers was the strike or work stoppage. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began on July 17, 1877, in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Workers for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad went on strike, because the company had reduced workers' wages twice over the previous year. The strikers refused to let the trains run until the most recent pay cut was returned to the employees.

This strike affected many cities and managed to shut down the entire Northeastern US for a few days, and having lasting effects for months. By the end of August 1877, the strike had ended primarily due to federal government intervention, the use of state militias, and the employment of strikebreakers by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. The Great Railroad Strike was typical of most strikes during this era. The availability of laborers and government support for businesses limited workers' ability to gain concessions from their employers.

Haymarket Square The Haymarket riot was a demonstration and unrest that took place on Tuesday May 4, 1886, at the Haymarket Square in Chicago. It began as a rally in support of striking workers. An unknown person threw a bomb at police as they dispersed the public meeting. The bomb blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of eight police officers and an unknown number of civilians. Union membership started to DECLINE due to the VIOLENT nature of these strikes.

Slowly, new labor organizations started to form that found strength in numbers. During the Great Depression, unions lost membership due to the unemployment rate, but gained power because of legislation passed as part of the New Deal. Go to p. 276 in your textbook and name the legislation and explain it.

LEGISLATION PASSED UNDER THE NEW DEAL: NORRIS-LAGUARDIA ACT (1932)-outlawed the practice of hiring only workers who agreed not to join a union; also forbid employers from interfering with workers organizing NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT (1935)-protected the rights of workers to join unions, hold strikes, and other job actions FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (1938)-set minimum wage, required overtime pay, and made child labor illegal

What happened to unions after WWII? President Truman passed a series of anti-union legislation including the Taft-Hartley Act which limited union activities and increased government’s power to intervene during strikes. Also, due to the Red Scare of the late 40’s and early 50’s, the US wanted to get rid of all Communist-related groups, which sometimes included labor unions

STEADY DECLINE OF UNIONS: WHY DO YOU THINK LABOR UNIONS ARE DECLINING IN POWER AND POPULARITY? Strikes are tough on both businesses and families Union ties to organized crime Union membership usually tied to manufacturing jobs and those have decreased dramatically in the US Larger unions are splitting up because they have different objectives

: CLOSED SHOP-business in which an employer can only hire union workers; intended to maintain union standards for workers who only work at a business briefly UNION SHOP –business where workers are required to join a union within a set time period after being hired; allowed to hire nonunion workers without diluting the union RIGHT TO WORK LAWS- workers are free not to join a union

: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING- process of negotiation between businesses and their organized employees to establish wages and improve working conditions BINDING ARBITRATION– decision by a neutral third party that each side agrees ahead of time to accept