1. Unionism at High Tide I.Working Class America A.Blue-collar culture B.The Risks of Respectability II.Postwar Activism A.Strike wave—1946 B.The Rise of Reuther-ism C.Operation Dixie, 1946-50 III.Labor at the Center A.Purge and Merge B.Growth and Clout IV.Models A.Reuther-ism B.Bureaucratic Unionism C.Militant Conservatism

2. Blue-collar culture William Wyler –The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Frank Capra –It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Jackie Gleason The Honeymooners 1955-6

3. The Limits of Respectability Race Gender Middle class norms weaken class-consciousness of workers –Nuclear families v. work group –More to lose through militancy –Forget past hardships –Consumerism erodes solidarity Rehm family, Levittown, NY, 1951

4. Strike Wave—1946 5,000,000 strike Wildcats General strikes –Oakland Union strikes –Coal –Auto Walter Reuther “Open the books” Youngstown steel strikers, January 1946

5. Operation Dixie Last burst of radicalism Southern textiles, tobacco, lumber, steel Failure– law, local government, coercion, race Organizing outside factory, Muscogee, GA Anti-union poster

6. Purge and Merge Purge –Communists control 14 of 31 CIO unions, 1/3 of all delegates –But only 15% of CIO members are Communists Merge –In February 1955—AFL and CIO reach accord

7. Growth & Clout By 1955, 1/3 of all workers belong to unions Gain role in national government –“The New Men of Power” –Arthur Goldberg

8. Reuther-ism Descends from model developed by Taylor, Brandeis, & Ford Fordism plus industrial unionism –Worker participation –Consumerism UAW President Walter Reuther

9. Bureaucratic Unionism AKA, “service unionism” Not concerned with organizing new workers Interested in preserving existing organizations, protecting members AFL-CIO president George Meany “Well, Kwusty”

10. Militancy without altruism International Brotherhood of Teamsters –Tough, aggressive –World’s largest union –1.6 million members Problems –Raiding –Corruption IBT president, Dave Beck, 1957