TU synthesis pairings Flashcards
(8 cards)
SARG: Federal Govt use of violent opposition to right to exist - Haymarket 1886, Homestead 1892, Pullman 1894 & PATCO 1981
Opposition to right to exist can be seen as early as: Haymarket affair 1886, homestead strike 1892 & pullman strike 1894 – all were met with violent suppression from federal troops, demo fed govts unwillingness to recog. or coop w unions.
- By the end of the period fed. Govt support for unions right to exist was relatively limited as Reagan’s use of the Taft Hartley act legislation to crush the 1981 PATCO strikes, firing 11,000 workers firmly cemented the us govts attitude towards unions, returning to a state of violent unwillingness to cooperate.
SARG: Federal Govt use of restrictive legislation to oppose right to exist - Adair v. US 1908, Coppage V. Kansas 1915 & Taft-Hartley 1947
- the introduction of Coppage V. Kansas in 1915 as a legislative manifestation of the pernicious Federal government desire to eradicate trade union existence by allowing the use of yellow dog contracts by employers as a means of dismantling trade union membership.
- Adair v. Us 1908 ruling prevented the banning of yellow-dog contracts, forcing workers to abandon union movements.
- Wagner act’s gains for union recog. Reversed by Taft-Hartley (1947) = allowed states to pass ‘right to work’ laws.= again govt legislation infringing on right to join unions.
Both demo. govt’s unwillingness to grant full recog. to unions.
WARG: Federal Govt legislation showing recognition of right to exist - Wagner Act 1935 & New Deal and its implications & Order 10988 of 1962
- New Deal implemented legislation that overturned the denial of union right to exist such as the Wagner act in 1935 which was declared constitutional by the Supreme Court – in contrast to NIRA in 1933 which had been declared unconstitutional - and the 1932 Norris- Laguardia act which declared the use of yellow dog contracts illegal, thereby demonstrating a sustained governmental recognition of the legality of the existence of trade unions.
- Consequently, this led to a major boom in trade union membership, growing form 3.7 million in 1933 to 9 million by 1938, illustrating the significance of the New Deal period in establishing legally the right of unions to exist. This was further consolidated through the establishment of the National Labour relations board in 1935 which granted unions the right to collectively bargain, illustrating yet again that the Federal government had shifted away from its regressive, crushing behaviours prevalent in the 1890s.
- Exec. Order 10988 of 1962 which similarly granted fed employers right to unionise = short lived bc overturned by actions of successive govt.
- However, could be somewhat undermined in that this recognition of unions wasn’t always upheld in the long-term as whilst being significant in the short-term, the implementation of the restrictive Taft-Hartley act in 1947 indicated that the Federal Government had not infact fully switched to acknowledging Trade unions existence.
- Both 1930s & 60s legislation were reactions to teh economy, ND’s primary motivation was to resolve the fractured US economy due to the Great Depression & Exec. order potentially part of ‘Great society’ policies.
FG & legislation improving pay & conditions (30s, 60s & 70s)
- 1938 FLSA = over 700,000 workers received higher pay & 1.5 mil worked fewer hrs a week as a result.
- Under Kennedy and Johnson, a series of beneficial acts were implemented which secured better pay and conditions for workers such as the 1963 Equal Pay Act and the 1968 Age Discrimination act which significantly restructured union pay and conditions by enshrining a legal right to improved pay which was in complete contrast to the seemingly apathetic or vengeful attitudes of the 1890s federal government.
= introduction of the 1970 OSHA as a board to regulate the health and safety conditions of industries, illustrating the prolonged impact of a progressive and more receptive Federal Government.
FG improving pay & conditions (19th c & early 20th c)
Clearly some attempts (albeit quite limited in impact) to restructure workers rights as early as the 19th century:
- 1869 Grant’s 8 hr work day = fed workers
- 1916 Adamson act = interstate railroad workers
Although they clearly made some gains in terms of p & c for workers, ultimately they were not a proactive FG action but rather a reaction to the pressure of workers themselves.
FG limiting improvements to pay & conditions
- Lochner v. New York 1905 which revoked employers and states rights to regulate working hours for trade unions, signalling a complete distaste for the improvement of workers’ rights as the federal government was constantly motivated by financial gain and profit.
= LAISSEZ FAIRE ATTITUDE OF FG
FG & improving the right to strike
- 1932 Norris-La-Guardia Act and the 1935 National Labour Relations Board’s (NLRB) introduction allowed unions greater mobility in terms of taking strike action (Norris-LaGuardia allowing for more successful strike actions such as the Flint-sit down strike in 1936-37) and the NLRB allowing for the right to collectively bargain.
FG & impeding right to strike
- The vicious deployment of federal troops to quell the Pullman strike of 1894 and at the Ludlow Massacre in 1914 which saw 25 killed heralded in a continuous Federal government desire to viciously react to strike action rather than attempt to negotiate with trade unions.
- harsh legislation such as the Sherman antitrust act 1890 which the Supreme court and Federal Government used to justify the declaration of strike action as illegal.
- persistent governmental attitude of denial of right to strike and take genuine action that was mimicked across the period with the use of restrictive legislation to ignore strike action i.e. the likes of Eisenhower and Reagan invoking the Taft-Hartley act of 1947 during the 1959 steel strike and the 1980 PATCO strike to deny strike action and prevent any genuine gains of trade unions.
