trade unions key events

Question 1

attitude of federal gov 1865

Answer 1

employers had no obligation to recognise or negotiate and the government always took pro employer position

Question 2

early trade unions

Answer 2

small skilled groups of white workers in order to exclude people not of the specific profession

Question 3

knights of labour

Answer 3

1869 largest union of the time up to 700,000 members

Question 4

haymarket affair

Answer 4

1886 a rally for better working hours turned into a riot where 4 civillians were killed and four anarchists were hanged, had major damaging impacts on public support

Question 5

sherman anti-trust act

Answer 5

1890 made by gov in order to stop companies monopolising industries but was used against unions when they began to grow in popularity

Question 6

the pullman strike

Answer 6

ARU american railway union organised a strike against the pullman factory and after it was unsuccessful they widened it to a national boycott of all trains using pullman carriages. government got an injunction but it was ignored so they sent the army and chaos ended in four people being shot

Question 7

supreme court rulings 1900-14

Answer 7

yellow dog contracts in which workers agreed never to join a union as well as striking down the NYC attempt to set a limit on working hours

Question 8

clayton anti-trust act

Answer 8

1914 limited the ability of employers to prevent strikes and allowed peaceful protest

Question 9

world war one

Answer 9

increased demand for production meant workers were more inclined to be sympathetic and the federal goc recognised the 8 hour working day in exchange for no strike policies

Question 10

economic boom

Answer 10

1918-29 rise in real wages it saw a demand for new consumer goods like washing machines and cars which drove employment and this welfare capitalism led to negotiations to avoid strikes.

Question 11

brotherhood of sleeping car porters

Answer 11

1925 AA led union by A philip randolph

Question 12

wall street crash and great depression

Answer 12

1929-33 weakened position of workers and the high levels of unemployment put employers in a higher position

Question 13

new deal

Answer 13

1933 1935 roosevelt attempt to fix the economy after depression two main peices of legislation
-NIRA national industry recovery act
-Wagner act

Question 14

NIRA

Answer 14

protected the rights of workers to form unions and collective bargain set standards for wage and hours but was shot down by the supreme court

Question 15

Wagner act

Answer 15

1935 establishes the NATIONAL LABOUR RELATIONS BOARD NLRB to investigatge unfaair practices by employers and protected union rights

Question 16

increased union membership

Answer 16

1933-41 as a result of wagner act it increased to 9mil

Question 17

fair labour standards act

Answer 17

established a minimum wage and a standard for child labour

Question 18

taft hartley act

Answer 18

1947 after ww2 unions were seen as too powerful , limited power of unions by outlawing closed shops, which meant large unions were forced to break up

Question 19

industrial decline

Answer 19

1950s onward growth of white collar proffesions due to the economic prosperity brought by ww2, decline in union membership and a loss of influence

Question 20

civil rights movement

Answer 20

1960s
-equal pay act 1963
-civil rights act 1964
-age discrimination act 1968

Question 21

presidency of ronald reagan

Answer 21

1981-1989
-suspiciouis of unions and wanted rid of their power
-wanted privitisation of public sectors
-his influcence is evidenet in PATCO strike

Question 22

PATCO strike

Answer 22

federal air traffic workers strikes in 1981 against their legal contracts, reagan had all of them fired