Presidents and Trade Unions Flashcards
(16 cards)
What attitude did Presidents have in the early period?
Laissez-faire attitude. Showed support for employers.
What was the action of Cleveland towards the Pullman Strike in 1894?
He sent federal troops, said to be to ensure movement of mail, but actually to break the strike.
Siding with employers.
How did Wilson affect Union and Labour rights?
He was supported by Gompers and when elected, set up a Department of Labour with a former union official as it’s head.
How did Roosevelt affect labour rights?
He was elected in 1932 and given unprecedented power by congress giving him 100 days to implement a programme to get people back to work.
The National Industry Recovery Act (1933) was passed under him and so was the Wagner Act of 1935.
What did Roosevelt’s Fair Employment Practices Commission in 1941 do?
It was an attempt to eliminate racial and ethnic discrimination in war-time industries.
What were Presidents allowed to do in 1943 in regards to strike action?
They were empowered to seize any plant where strike action threatened to interfere with wartime production.
What did President Truman do to the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947?
He attempted to veto it and was overruled by Congress. Showed how a Republican Congress did not want to support unions.
What was Kennedy’s ‘New Frontier’?
It was an ambitious programme of social reform.
He put forward a bill to increase the minimum wage in 1961 but was rejected by Congress.
His Equal Pay Act of 1963 made wage discrimination on the basis of gender illegal and established the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’.
By the 1970s, women were earning 62% of what men were.
What was Johnson’s ‘Great Society’?
He was determined to continue Kennedy’s policy of social reform. His primary concern was to reduce the number of people below the poverty line. This was done with the creation of millions of new jobs and increased social security benefits.
IT DID SEEM THAT LESS FOCUS WAS ON LABOUR RIGHTS,
BUT, some aspects had an impact on labour rights and the workforce.
- Civil Rights Act 1964
- Economic Opportunity Act 1964.
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1968
How did Nixon’s policy of Affirmative Action affect labour?
It reduced the discrimination felt by black and minority worker, although it was difficult for young blacks to obtain craft apprenticeships or join unions.
In the 1960s, what party supported unions and what opposed?
Democrats show support, Republicans show open hostility.
What did Reagan do in relation to the PATCO strike?
He responded quickly and decisively. On the same day, he publicly announced that if the strikers didn’t return to work within 48 hours, their contracts would be terminated. He followed through and even gave a lifetime employment ban.
What message did Reagan’s dealing with the PATCO strike give to employers?
It gave them a clear message that they had the government’s support.
How did Carter improve or try to improve labour position?
In 1977 he established the minimum wage at $2.65.
What did Nixon’s Occupational Health and Safety Act in 1970 do?
Established health and safety regulations in the workplace. This was big as it meant that standards were in control of the Department of Labour not another organisation that could be swayed by employers.
What did Wilson do to help unions in WW1?
He set up the National War Labour Board and for the first time the federal government recognised the unions as organisations representing labour and negotiated with them.
