WW1

Question 1

examples of increased demand for products

Answer 1

• textiles for uniforms
• steel for weapons

Question 2

result of increased demand for certain products

Answer 2

• more opportunity to increase profits
• more willing to be conciliatory towards their workers

Question 3

what did the government do to ensure production was maintained

Answer 3

government recognised & negotiated with unions through national war labour board (NWLB)

Question 4

national war labour board (NWLB)

Answer 4

• created by president wilson in 1918
• aimed to settle disputes between workers & employers
• ensured production would not be interrupted by strikes

Question 5

what were workers granted & what did they agree to in return

Answer 5

length of working hours limited to 8 in return for workers agreeing to no-strike policy

Question 6

what was the development of welfare capitalism usually in return for

Answer 6

• no-strike agreements
• abandoning right to negotiate wages (employers feared workers would take advantage of low rates of unemployment to demand more money)

Question 6

what did the economic boom following the war result in

Answer 6

real wages & decline in unemployment

Question 7

define welfare capitalism

Answer 7

• policy followed by employers during boom of 1920s to reduce industrial unrest
• entailed offering workers improved working conditions & other benefits (eg. pensions) in return for establishment of unions under control/direction of employers

Question 8

what was set up in some industries

Answer 8

= company unions

• in practice, workers lost independence & some forced to sign yellow-dog contracts

Question 9

define yellow-dog contracts

Answer 9

contracts where workers agreed not to join a union

Question 10

example of employer which refused to recognise unions

Answer 10

• henry ford = tight control over workforce & took until 1941 before he would recognise any union for collective bargaining
• pullman company

Question 11

describe the pullman company & formation of the brotherhood of sleeping car porters

Answer 11

• pullman company employed significant number of AAs as porters
• AAs had few rights: poor working conditions, relied on tips for most of income, promotion denied as job of conductor limited to white people & company prevented any effort to organise union (sacked leaders/sometimes assaulted them)
• porters appointed phillip randolph to lead counter-campaign & established brotherhood of sleeping car porters (BSCP) union
• pullman company countered, established own union & banned meetings of BSCP
• even though nearly half the porters had joined BSCP, they had not gained recognition by 1928
• railway labour act (1934) = allowed BSCP to claim right to represent the porters
• randolph able to demand the national mediation board officially declare the BSCP the porters representative

Question 12

union membership in 1916 compared to 1920

Answer 12

1915 = 2.7 million
1920 = 5 million

Question 13

benefit of welfare capitalism example

Answer 13

henry ford = cut working day to 8 hours, doubled daily wage to $5 & introduced profit-sharing

Question 14

coppage v. kansas case of 1915 (SC)

Answer 14

allowed yellow-dog contracts

Question 15

industrial unrest post-WW1

Answer 15

1919 witnessed some 4 million workers involved in industrial action

Question 16

union created by women 1903

Answer 16

women’s trade union league (WTUL) created by mary kenney o’sullivan & rose schneiderman

• aim to encourage women to organise themselves into unions
• encouraged by fire at triangle shirtwaist factory in 1911 (killed 145 workers)
• also involved in franchise campaign = saw gaining of vote as best way to ensure working conditions improved
• also wanted 8 hour working day & minimum wage = conflict with male unions who believed it was their role to negotiate over such issues