1. Labor & Judicial Heaches
Unions Get Stronger and the Supreme Court Enters the fray

2. Granting New Rights to Workers
Wagner Act (1935)
Recognized the right of workers to form and join unions
Gave workers the right to engage in collective bargaining
Created National Labor Relations Board
Body to consider and investigate workers’ complaints
Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
Established minimum wage (25¢/hour)
Established maximum workweek (44 hours)
One of the more controversial measures of the New Deal

3. Tensions within the Labor Community
AFL fails to represent majority of workers
Focus on skilled workers
Organized by trade rather than by shop
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) formed
John L. Lewis, head of the United Mine Workers split off from the AFL to found national union for unskilled laborers
CIO members lower-paid, more ethnically/racially diverse than AFL
Between 1930 and 1940, Union membership more than doubled to appx. 9 million

4. Workers Use Newfound Power
United Auto Workers (UAW) Strike (Dec. 1936)
Newly formed CIO member
Sit-down strike at GM plant in Flint
Primary Source Quote, pg. 409
Strike lasted 44 days until GM agreed to recognize UAW

5. Opposition from Supreme Court
SCOTUS strikes down New Deal programs
1935: NIRA ruled unconstitutional
1936: key provisions of the AAA struck down
“Horse-and-buggy” days
Composition of SCOTUS
Elderly
conservative

6. FDR’s Court-Packing Scheme (1937)
FDR proposes he be able to appoint a new justice for every member over 70 (6)
Justice Owen Roberts becomes swing vote
Justice Van Devanter retires
Court-Packing proposal rendered moot
Politically damaging to Roosevelt

7. Downturn Weakens New Deal Supporters
With the economy improving, FDR administration cuts back on gov’t spending
Unemployment surges back above 20%
Democratic Majority cut in both houses
No longer strong enough to dictate