1970-1992

Question 1

What was the Air Traffic Controllers strike?

Answer 1

• in 1981
• The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organisation (PATCO) called a strike with the intention to bring air traffic to a standstill
• They wanted a $10,000 wage increase and shorter working week and better retirement benefits
• Out of 17,500, 13,000 obeyed and walked out
• Negotiations with the Federal Aviation Administration began however the idea of workers being paid more and fewer working hours was unacceptable to the the FG
• The strike as a result went ahead, purposely in summer the busiest vacation time of year and it damaged the national economy

Question 2

What was Reagan’s reaction to the PATCO strike ?

Answer 2

• He Publicly announced that if strikers did not return to work within 48 hours their employment contracts would be terminated
• Reagan fired over 11,000 air traffic controllers and banned them from federal employment.
• His actions were seen as union busting

Question 3

What is the significance of the PATCO strike and impact?

Answer 3

• The response of the FG is evidence of strike action being plummeted
• Led to significant decline in union member ship from 27% in 1970 to 12% by 1990
• it showed that the government would not longer tolerate strikes as they had in earlier decades

Question 4

Why was there a decline in organised labour in late 1970s?

Answer 4

• Changing economy - By mid 1970s, economic growth slowed down, due to increase in foreign competition in manufacturing goods
• Also because there was rising inflation which increased production costs as well as consumer prices and competitiveness of US industries

Question 5

What was the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)?

Answer 5

• Was passed in 1970 under Nixon and was a major piece of legislation aimed at ensuring safe and healthy working conditions for employees
• Trade Unions could now invoke OSHA regulations to push for improvements in workplace safety and allowed unions to give a legal foundation to advocate for protections for workers that had been previously dismissed by employers
• OSHA also guaranteed workers right to safe working conditions and it was an achievement for labor union rights
• However many workers in small businesses were not protected by OSHA and in non union workplaces they lacked the organised representation to push for this

Question 6

What did Carter do?

Answer 6

• In 1977, Carter and Congress established the hourly minimum wage at $2.65
• This was significant because at the time the US was experiencing high inflation rates and the minimum wage aimed to protect low income workers purchasing power
• However the following year the AFL-CIO attempted to persuade Carter to introduce reforms to the National Labor Relations Act ( 1935 ) and it failed and it reflected the extent that the democrats were more interested in gaining support of employers rather than the workers

Question 7

What was the Women’s Trade Union League ?

Answer 7

• It was established in 1903 and aimed to support and promote working class women unions and improve labor conditions for women
• Was under leadership of Mary Kenny O Sullivan
• It also wanted laws establishing 8 hour days and a minimum wage

Question 8

What was the Triangle Shirtwaist factory ?

Answer 8

• It was in 1911 and it was New York’s worst industrial disasters
• The Factory employed 500 workers, mainly young immigrant women and they worked long hours for very low wages
• And a fire broke out on the 8th floor and 146 women who were trapped there because of locked exit doors and the building lacked proper fire escapes and the women died
• It was significant because it exposed the dangerous working conditions as workers were in overcrowded, flammable environment with no safety regulations and it became of symbol of exploitation of immigrant and female labor

Question 9

How did the New Deal legislations fail?

Answer 9

• The National Industrial Recovery Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act both failed to deliver equal pay and this meant that women continued their protest

Question 10

What did women do by the 1960s?

Answer 10

• By the 1960s, the increasing number of women entering the workforce and the aspirations of many for a career resulted into trade union women becoming more directly involved in union and strike action
• An example of this was in 1962, women were active in the New York Hospital Workers strike.
• Female pressure contributed to the agreement by the state governor to recognise the right of hospital workers collective bargaining

Question 11

What was the Coalition of Labor Union Women?

Answer 11

• Formated in 1974
• Was to unite union women across different labor organisations to promote women’s rights in the workplace
• It was created in response to a conference organised by Olga Madar and Addie Wyatt which was held in Chicago to explore ways in which women in trade unions could have stronger voices and more influence and also because of the reluctance of the AFL-CIO leadership to recognise the growing presence of women trade unions
• Its aim’s were to increase the number of women in TU
• Its successes were it helped pass the Pregnancy discrimination act (1978)
• However CLUW struggled to bridge the gap between working class and middle class union women whos priorities did not always align