Unit 3: Workers and the New Deal

Question 1

How did the National Recovery Administration generally work to advance the position of workers?

The NRA was established by FDR in 1933

Answer 1

• It ended the federal government’s laissez-faire policy, which had bipartisan support before 1933
• It did this by enforcing legislation that regulated businesses
• It established ‘wage codes’ to regulate salaries and limited working hours
• Both public and private organisations were obligated to follow these restrictions
• It also aimed to provide more jobs with these fair wages

Question 2

What did the NRA’s wage codes demand or restrict?

Answer 2

• It established minimum and standard wages for different industries
• The minimum weekly wage for all businesses was $12-$15

Question 3

What other regulations did the NRA introduce?

Answer 3

• Section 7(a) gave workers the right to bargain collectively for wages
• The working week was restricted to 40 hours
• Under-16 labour was outlawed

Question 4

What was the fate of the NRA?

Answer 4

• It was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935
• Despite its short life-span, it marked the beginning of elevated government involvement in business and helped prevent the unfair treatment of millions of workers

Question 5

What did the Wagner Act of 1935 stipulate?

• Congressional Democrats who supported organised labour provided the primary impetus for the act
• The Wagner Act was also known as the National Labour Relations Act

Answer 5

• After the NRA was ruled unconstitutional, new labour union legislation was needed
• The Wagner Act granted the right to collective bargaining, which provided a means to resolve labour disputes without violence
• It allowed workers to join unions without notifying their employer and provided further restrictions on ‘yellow-dog’ contracts
• It created the National Labour Relations Board, which upheld workers’ rights to collective bargaining
• Thus, it marked the first time that government’s formally recognised workers’ rights to unionise and labour unions as legitimate organisations

Question 6

What effects did the Wagner Act have on levels of unionisation?

Reference the impact on specific unions

Answer 6

• Union membership rose from 3.7 million in 1935 to 8.5 million in 1940
• The AFL grew, but remained committed to facilitating the unionisation of craft workers, not unskilled workers
• As a consequence, the Committee on Industrial Organisation (CIO) was formed, with the mission of uniting unskilled labourers