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 Review on 
LU 2:  The History of US Labor; Labor Law & Federal Agencies, Pt. 1 
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  Syllabus 
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  Resources 
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Outline  LU 2:  Hist of US Labor   &   LU 3:  Labor Law & Fed Agencies,  Pt 1
 
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THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT   
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UNION STRATEGIES & PHILOSOPHIES  
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THE HISTORY OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT   
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         The Labor Movement in the Industrial Age:  1700 - present  
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         Commonwealth of Philadelphia v. Pullis aka the Cordwainers Case, 1805  
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         Mass v. Hunt:  The Boston Journeymen Bootmakers Case 1842  
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         The Molly Maguires, circa 1865  
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         The National Labor Union, 1866   (NLU)  
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         The Knights of Labor, 1869      (KOL)  
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         The American Federation of Labor, 1886      (AFL)  
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         May Day, & the Eight Hour League General Strike  
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         Labor Day  
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         The Haymarket Square Riot, 1886  
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         Vegelahgn v. Guntner, 1896  
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         Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890  
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         Homestead Strike, 1892  
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         Pullman Strike, 1894  
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         The American Railway Union     (ARU)  
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         Anthracite Coal Strike, 1902  
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         The International Workers of the World, 1905      (IWW)  
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         Lochner v. NY:  The Danbury Hatter Boycott, circa 1908  
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         Muller v. Oregon, 1908  
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         The Labor Movement & Global Capitalism:  circa 1910 - present  
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         The Triangle Fire & Strike Victory, 1911  
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         Clayton Antitrust Act, 1914  
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         Easter Strike:  Ludlow Massacre, 1914  
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         The American Plan & the Mohawk Valley Formula  
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         Business Unionism: "The Great Labor Compromise"  
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         The Railway Labor Act, 1926  
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         The Norris LaGuardia Act, 1932  

 
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 Outline on the Environment of the Labor Movement: 
Factors Impacting Unions & the Labor Movement
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  From a sociological perspective, the "environment" is made up of TWO aspects which have form & content, social structure & culture  
  a. Social structure is the form & shape of society which occurs on many levels from the personal level to the small group level to the organizational level to the societal level  
  In Labor relations, the primary concern is w/ TWO of the ten social structures including the:  
     i.  economic system  
     ii. government or political system  
  b. Culture is the content of society which is the societal aggregation, the collective consciousness of knowledge, beliefs, values, & norms  
  Culture is manifested in the values, ideology, interests, etc. of people inside & outside of the Labor Movement  
  History is constructed of, & constructs this environment of social structure & culture  
  More specifically, Labor has to struggle with:  
  employers who did not see them as legitimate  
  -  the media who did not see them as legitimate  
  -  a public who did not see them as legitimate  
  courts that enjoined & punished collective activity  
  Congress & the President who have no legislative support & first, then some mixed support  
  competition from immigrant labor  
  Unions arise as a collective response to exploitation & alienation
 
  The emergence of unions as a collective response to exploitation & alienation occurs w/ the development of class consciousness
 
  See Also:  Ideology, Class & False Consciousness  
  The first stage in the development of class consciousness at work it often a personal reaction to exploitation at work characterized by w/drawl, quitting, apathy, depression, etc.
 
  The second stage in the development of class consciousness at work is that often the informal wk grp becomes a medium for airing complaints, but actions are few & largely personal
 
  In the second stage, the wkr may come to rely on family, community, ethnic group, etc. for support in relation to problems at work  
  The third stage in the development of class consciousness at work is organized collective action which requires leadership from one or more workers
 
  In order for wkplace organizing to take place, wkrs must overcome the paralyzing fear of mgt, recognizing that some fear will always be present
 
  The reasons & development of collective responses to conditions at work are essentially the same throughout history whether the worker is a peasant in Egypt  in 2000 BC or a programmer in Redmond, OR at Microsoft in 2000 AD
 
  The dual economic development ( of agriculture & industry ) impacts unionization in US
 
  Agrarian capitalism allowed small farmers to grow
 
  Industrialization & urbanization & concentration of agriculture encouraged shift from small farmer to the industrial worker  
  Factory work was low pay & low status & employed mostly women & children  
  This established the mode of a high level of control in factory work  
  Early manufacturing work had been done by crafts & guilds  
  This system was destroyed by assembly line/division of labor  
  As males moved into the factory, family wage arose & status, authority, etc. increased marginally  

 
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 Outline on Labor Movement Strategies & Philosophies
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  -  Project:  Uplift Unionism v. Business Unionism
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  Union strategies & philosophies have evolved over time
 
  In any org, there is no strict dividing line btwn any of the types of strats or phils, rather, each org has it's own unique blend that ultimately defines it's character
 
  Today it is generally accepted that labor mgt relations are essentially a combination of corporatist & business unionism
 
  The corporatist philosophy & business unionism were arrived at during the struggle to establish Labor as a legitimate social actor & essentially came to be accepted through what has been called the Great Labor Compromise ( GLC )  
  The GLC held that unions deal only with traditional areas including wages, hours, benefits, & working conditions, & will not form a Labor party  
  Union Philosophies:
 
  The corporatist strat holds that the employment agenda is jointly governed by unions, employers & the govt
 
  The corporatist strategy is well established in Europe but has receded in US  
  The uplift unionism strat focuses on social issues & seeking improvement for working class
 
  An example of uplift unionism is seen in the practices of the NLU (Nat Labor Union) of the mid 1800s  
  The revolutionary unionism strat creates an alternative to the cap system through worker ownership of major means of production
 
  An example of rev unionism is seen in the practices of the IWW (International Workers of the World) in the US; as well as, Marx, Rosa Luxemborg, et al in Europe in the 1800s  
  The business unionism strat has an emphasis on short term, tangible objectives; aka bread & butter issues such as
     wages retirement
     working conditions health care
     job security disability
 
  An example of the biz union strat is seen in the practices of the AFL & Gompers, who lead  from 1886- 1924, wherein the AFL adopted a posture that came to be known as “business unionism.”   
  Following Gompers, who lead the AFL from 1886 - 1924, when he died, Am labor embodied a corporatist, business union philosophy
 
  The predatory unionism strat is seen in the practice of gaining members from other unions or worker orgs or of gaining strategic goals of the union at the expense of some or many members
 
  An example of the predatory unionism is seen in the practices of the UMWA & competing unions during many UMWA strikes  
  Today a common union focus is on:
-  wages & other "traditional issues"
-  helping the working class in general
-  & much less on creating a workers' owned system
other?
 
  Today a common union method includes:
 
  -  the individualist tactic called action by action, whereby the union is expanded on a strike by strike basis
 
  -  national actions & international actions
 
  -  political lobbying: whereby the Labor Mvmt supports the passage of  laws supporting the union focus, or to create trilateral systems to manage employment relationship
 
 
National Union Strategy & Planning  
  Unions have been closely examining strategy since before the Reagan admin (1980) because of loss of membership  
  Unions have taken on the best strategic planning methods known  
 
Strategic planning often conflicts w/ the democratic process because democratic processes are often short term in focus while strategic planning is often more long term in focus  
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See Also:  Figure 4 - 2:  A Union Strategic Planning Model  
  The Figure on the Union Strategic Planning Model delineates a clear, sophisticated planning process similar to those used by most modern, rational orgs  
  Alternative Representation  
  Alternative representation occurs when unions create associations and other forms of bargaining units w/ a variety of employees who have a varying level of union affiliation
 
  W/ alternative representation, associated members pay only service fee
 
  Alternative representation is popular among professionals, public sector workers, part time wkrs, et al
 
  Alternative representation addresses new issues which concern wkrs
 
  Alternative representation often a good precursor to unionization
 
  See Also:  Types of Bargaining Structure Units  
  Some Unions Strategies:  
  Corporate campaigns occur in difficult organizing situations, when Labor pressures a corp, w/ PR campaigns, as well as those corps whose officers are members of the boards of the target corps 
 
  Corp campaigns are often used on the banks of target corps
 
  A political action committee (PAC) is formed when employers, unions or whatever org raise & disburse $ to support political candidates & initiatives
 
  Unions which utilized PACs believe they need to move off of firm level bargaining as a principal mission towards a broader approach
 
  For unions which move from firm level bargaining, other strategy types include:
-  collective bargaining at the industrial level
-  legislation
-  mutual insurance
-  confrontation (strikes, etc.) at the ind level
 
  Most orgl analysts believe that strategy determines structure  
  Most orgl analysts agree that structure should ultimately be determined by strategy, though in many orgs there is a dysfunctional disjunction btwn the two  
  Strategy & structure are determined by goals  
  Goals must take into account the orgl mission & the env  
        see Figure 4 - 4  
 
The Business Approach  
  From the days of the AFL, most major unions have taken a business approach  
  The business approach attempts to enhance econ outcomes & address grievances  
  Unions have ceded the right to make innovations in the workplace to the firm  
  Unions have not intruded on the property rights of owners & mgrs  
  Firms make hiring decisions w/o union intervention except when union supplies workers (building trades)  
  Union have strongly pushed the regulation of health & safety OJT  
  Unions pushed legislation for the regulation of health & safety in the workplace  
  Unions have negotiated for some rules related health & safety in the workplace  
  Unions generally do not include health & safety regulation in the contract  
  Why not do it all as contract rules?   
  The Great Labor Compromise ( GLC ) established a form of the corporatist approach to labor relations   
  In the Am corp approach, employers, unions & govts. are all actors in the evolving employment relationship
 
  Prior to the Railway Labor Act ( RLA ) of 1926, w/ the exception of WW 1, employers & unions used their sheer bargaining power to deal w/ each other w/o govt involvement
 
  During this period, employers had more power & relied on property rights as enforced by the courts, to crush unions, except where workers controlled access to the acquisition of skills
 
  In 1926, the RLA established the National Mediation Board ( NMB ) which brought the govt into the labor relations in the transportation sector  
  In 1936, the Wagner Act established the legitimacy of unions for non transportation employees  
  In 1947 the Taft Hartley Act shifted the corporatist approach more toward employers advantage & established the FMCS  
  US labor relations have repeatedly seen the waxing & waning of the corporatist approach
 
  Federal govt involvement in labor relations generally increased through the passage of the: 
 
  -  RLA  
  -  Wagner Act
 
  -  Taft Hartley Act
 
  The courts have generally held that property rights take precedence over the right to organize & collectively bargain
 
  At the same time, courts & statutory law increasingly endorsed the legitimacy of unions & the role of collective bargaining in resolving labor mgt disputes
 
  Fed govt involvement in labor relations was at its peak btwn WW2 & the mid 1970s
 
  During WW 2 all wages & prices were administered, & strikes were prohibited
 
  Thus mgt & labor needed the approval of the Govt for all agreements, & disputes had to be settled w/o strikes even if govt intervention was required
 
  Taft Hartley laid the ground work for more Fed involvement in labor relations through the FMCS & national emergency dispute procedures
 
  Over the next 20 years, ( 1947 - late 60s ), Presidents have followed Truman & invoked cooling off periods, but only on a limited basis
 
  And it is common to call parties to Washington to "jawbone" them into settling  
  This corporatist approach worked reasonably well during the period in which productivity was growing at an annual rate of 3 % & inflation was low  
  By the end of the 1960, labor relations enter the Post Industrial Era, & inflation became an issue because it eroded the earning power of the average worker & thus began the unraveling of the GLC & the corporatist approach  
  In the Post Industrial Era, the parties began taking a harder line in negotiations  
  Labor was not willing to adhere to the wage & price controls of the Nixon administration  
  While it was not then readily apparent, the globalization of the econ was beginning, fueled by the Arab oil embargo of 1972 - 73  
  See Also:  Deindustrialization  
  See Also:  Globalization  
  The Western econ was becoming more integrated, bringing in labor & product competition from Europe & Japan  
  The Western econ was becoming more closely tied to the rest of the world, the second (developing ) & third world ( undeveloped )  
  The corporatist approach essentially ended w/ the election of Reagan in 1980  
  Reagan reduced the regulatory role of govt by cutting the number of govt workers  
  Mgt. had already begun taking a harder line since the late 1960s, but w/ Reagan, mgt. became even more aggressive   
  While mgt had taken a harder line on economic issues since the 1960s, they became even more aggressive & aggressively stepped up the tactics of union avoidance & union decertification  
  Reagan fired & replaced striking Federal Air Traffic Controllers w/ private sector employees  
  The confrontation w/ air traffic controllers threw down of the gauntlet to Labor since the controllers were both fed wkrs & skilled labor  
  No significant legislation or regulations have been enacted since Taft Hartley in 1947, & the Presidents following Reagan, ( Bush, Clinton, Bush ) have taken a laissez faire approach to labor relations thus leaving the corporatist approach balanced as Reagan designed it  

 
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Figure 4 - 2:  A Union Strategic Planning Model
1.  Define the mission & purpose 2.  Scan the environment 3.  Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
4.  Develop objectives, goals, targets 5.  Form strategy & an action plan 6.  Evaluate & reiterate
The Figure on the Union Strategic Planning Model delineates a clear, sophisticated planning process similar to those used by most modern, rational orgs

 
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Time 
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Outline on a  Historical Overview of the Labor Movement
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    IntroductionMarx       1818 -1883
Wealth could only be created by labor 
Another class:  owners:  monied aristocracy
10 % own 90 % of the wealth, & thus also have more power 
In a democracy, unions are necessary to help balance this power 
1999 in US:  richest 17 mm have same amount of wealth as poorest 100 mm 
Most of the Labor Movement want this inequality leveled out to a certain extent
 
    Summary:  Before unions, workers had almost no voice in determining wages, hours, working conditions, etc. 
Since the shift from agricultural econ to the industrial economy, there was a consistent surplus of labor
Workers always recognized that collective power was greater than individual power 
From the very beginning, those in power regarded unions/ guilds / prof assoc as immoral /illegal etc. 
The US the courts viewed unions as illegal until the late 1800s, & it wasn't until the early 1900s that actual union legality was established
 
 
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BC
Early Worker Associations formed estbing the Labor Movements prior in the Pre Empire Era    circa  10 K BC - 500 AD  
    Early Worker Associations, circa 1500 BC, were closed groups of profl assocs which arose as a collective response to exploitation  
    The qualities of the early professional associations influenced the modern Labor Movement  
 
500
Guilds were common in the Labor Movement in the Middle Ages         circa 500 - 1300  
    Craft Guilds developed during the Medieval Era, circa  400 - 1600  
 
 
Craft unions & guilds spread from Rome to Europe, & eventually to the US  
    Guilds evolved into other types of labor associations  
 
1300
The Labor Movement during the early industrial revolution began its move from craft guild to labor unions        circa 1300 - 1700  
    The Industrial Revolution created the decapitalization of Labor  
    Labor Parties first developed in Europe  
    Craft unions came to US via European immigrants  
    There were many early US Labor Movement actions  
 
1700
The Labor Movement during the Industrial Age gained power & legitimacy     circa  1700 - present  
    Illegality to Legality
In the early 1800s, unions were illegal & forced to exist as secret societies 
In the mid 1800s, unions became legal, but strikes were still illegal
 
    During the industrial age, many unions were born, some have gone out of existence 
NLU    1866 - 1872 
KOL     1869 - 1899 
AFL      1869 - 1955 
IWW     1905 
 
    During the industrial age, court cases were very important for the Labor Movement  
    There were many historic strikes, & other forms of labor unrest during this era 
Molly Maguires                   1865 
Haymarket Square Riot       1886 
Homestead Strike                1892 
Pullman Strike                     1894 
Danbury Hatters Boycott     1906
 
    During the indl age, some noteworthy legislation was passed, but legislation legalizing Labor Movement as we know it today does not occur until the next era  
 
1910
The Labor Movement & Global Capitalism, as global capitalism developed, Labor lost power  
    During the era of global cap, the Labor Movement gained full legitimacy in the form of all the rights & obligations it possesses today  
    During the era of global cap, more important unions were born including the
CIO      1935 - 1955 
AFL CIO merged in 1955
 
    During the era of global cap, there were many historic strikes, & other forms of labor unrest, especially the
Triangle Fire                       1911 
Ludlow Massacre               1914
 
 
  During the era of global cap, the cornerstone labor relations legislation was passed, legalizing Labor Mvmt as we know it today  
    Business Unionism, aka "The Great Labor Compromise," allowed the Labor Mvmt to gain legitimacy but limited Labor's options  
 
1970
The Labor Movement During the Post Industrial Age lost much influence & struggled to reinvent itself  
    During the post indl era, public employees unions came to the fore front  
    Labor law in the 1970s addressed the issues of public sector wkrs  
    During this era, the Labor Movement experienced its greatest decline & also began its resurgence  
 
2000
The Future of the Labor Movement  
    The Future of the Labor Mvmt is fraught w/ many challenges related to changes in the economy, govt support, etc., but the assets of the Labor movement, such as a committed leadership & membership, will find opportunities in new sectors of the economy & in unorganized workers  

 
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 Outline on the Labor Movement During the Industrial Age
circa 1700 - present
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    The development of the dual economy ( agriculture & industry ) impacts union development  
    Illegality to Legality
During the early 1800s, unions were illegal, forced to exist as secret societies
During the mid 1800s, unions became legal, but strikes were still illegal
 
    Opposition to Labor emerged from many spheres of society  
 
1805
Commonwealth of Philadelphia v. Pullis                aka The Cordwainers Case  
    The Cordwainers Case is known historically as the case which established the conspiracy doctrine  
    In the Cordwainers Case, the Court found that the shoemakers had conspired in pursuit of their personal interests, contrary to the public interest  
    Commons & Sumner (1910) labeled the years 1820-1840 as the "awakening period of the American Labor Movement."
 
 
1836
Union "conspiracy"
In NYC, 20 tailors convicted of conspiring against owners
The conviction of workers for conspiring to form a union spawned mass protests
People deserted the Tammany Hall Democratic machine as a result of union conspiracy convictions
 
    US unions never developed a national Labor Party, but there were many regional political parties which supported labor  
 
1840
The Whig Party had the campaign promise to protect labor rather than privilege & capital
 
 
1842
In Commonwealth of Mass v. Hunt  
    The Mass. v. Hunt case established the first legal union, the Boston Journeymen Bootmakers Society, though the union still did not have the right to strike  
    Early Labor Unrest 1870 - 1910  
 
1865
The Molly Maguires,  circa 1865 to 1877, were a union of coal miners in PN who used terrorist tactics to win concessions  
    The birth of national unions began in the US
 
           NLU    1866 - 1872
       KOL     1869 - 1899
       AFL      1869 - 1955
       IWW     1905
       CIO      1935 - 1955
      AFL CIO merged in 1955
 
 
1866
The National Labor Union (NLU), which was established in 1866, was more politically & reformist oriented than economically oriented 
 
    Railroads were largest & most centralized industry in 1800's in US  
 
1877
There were widespread strikes on the railroads, & Labor experienced widespread govt repression  
    The unions were active in the Railroad industry, employing both general & mass strikes  
    See Also:  Strikes  
    A general strike occurs when several trades strike simultaneously  
    A mass strike occurs when there is a revolt by general population against some major aspect of the social order  
 
1869
The Knight of Labor became very influential in this era     ( 1869 - 1899 )    by crossing craft lines, & favoring arbitration & compromise over strikes  
 
1886
The AFL became very influential in this era   
    The AFL, 1886 - present, was the first labor coalition & it developed the practices of collective bargaining & business unionism, & it merged w/ the CIO in 1955  
    On May Day the Eight Hour League called a general strike  
    The Haymarket Square Riot occurred on May 4th, 1886  
 
1896
In Vegelahgn v. Guntner, the AFL loses case of closed picket line   
 
1890
Sherman Antitrust Act  
 
1892
Homestead Strike  
 
1894
Pullman Strike  
 
1902
Anthracite Coal Strike  
 
1905
The IWW    "The Wobblies"             1905 - present  
 
1906
In his important work, The Jungle, Upton Sinclair ( 1906 ) depicts the participant observation he did in the meat packing industry which exposed rampant labor abuse & unsanitary conditions  
 
1908
Lochner v. NY:  The Danbury Hatter Boycott:  circa 1908  
    Muller v. Oregon  
    See Next:  The Labor Movement in the Age of Global Capitalism    1910 - present  

 
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 Outline on the   Commonwealth of Philadelphia v. Pullis:  The Cordwainers Case
1805
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  Philadelphia v. Pullis was the first Am labor case,  & it was aka the Cordwainers Case  
  The Cordwainers Case is known historically as the case which established the conspiracy doctrine  
  In the decision in the Philadelphia Cordwainers Case, it was found that collective action by labor indicated an underlying plan that was criminally conspiratorial  
  The court found that the shoemakers had conspired in pursuit of their personal interests, contrary to the public interest  
  W. Nelles, Yale Law Journal, Volume 41, 1931, notes that this was the first Am labor dispute to enter a courtroom for resolution  
  The Federal Society of Journeyman Cordwainers was organized in Philadelphia in 1794   
  Cordwainers means "leather worker" & also referred to boot & shoemakers, saddle & harness makers
 
  Term traced to Spanish city,  Cordova:  center for fine leather
 
  Today in Cordova, they are famous for Spanish leather, Swiss chocolate, French pastry, Russian Caviar, Irish linen
 
  The leather workers encountered three kinds of markets, w/ varying wages, including:
-  the shop where bespoke work was done (special order)
-  the order mkt which was only for wholesalers
-  the mkt which was the public market
 
  For leather workers each type of work in the various mkts earned a lower price in labor
 
  The journeymen struck against variable wages in different mkts
 
  Technically the cordwainers strike was not a mgt labor dispute, but rather a dispute among co owners  
  However, the court recognized the cordwainers strike as a mgt labor distinction because of the power of the masters  
  Even during its time, the cordwainers' case was considered a big case & prominent lawyers represented both sides, including
VP & running mate of DeWitt as the govt prosecutor
(The last Federalist party ticket was six yrs later)
 
  The Cordwainers lawyer became Thomas Jefferson's Attorney General within a year of the verdict  
  Strike demands: The Cordwainers went on strike to enforce demands for wage scale prevailing in NY & Baltimore, & demanded discontinuance of rebate of wages for exported work  
  Eight cordwainer leaders were arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy & charged w/ criminal conspiracy & tried in Philadelphia  
  The govt prosecution relied on British authorities, since refuted, to establish the conspiracy doctrine that "a conspiracy of workmen to raise their wages" was criminal at common law
 
  The British law on conspiracy supported the arguments of Jared Ingersoll for the prosecution  
  The defense of Caesar A. Rodney failed & the defendants were found guilty
 
  The guilty verdict had a major impact on labor law for decades  
  But court was chiefly concerned w/ establishing the conspiracy doctrine & so only fined each of the eight defendants $8.00 each
 
  This was a major blow to union organizing & the strike was broken  
  Precedent set for criminal prosecution of labor union activities
 
  This was the the 1st of 6 criminal conspiracy cases brought against union shoemakers in this period
 
  Four were decided against the journeymen  
  The Cordwainers Case had some positive outcomes for Labor  
  While the Cordwainers were fined, the court recognized the right of the individual worker to withhold labor to pressure for higher wages  
  Under the decision of the Cordwainers Case, wkrs could individually withhold labor for higher wages, they were only prohibited from just could not cooperate to do so  
  The Court viewed mgr worker agreements as a plethora of individual, discrete agreements  
  The Court did not accept an industrial pattern of agreements where the agreement is btwn the owner & the work force  
  Today, individual contracts are still the way labor agreements are viewed today in a non union setting  
  But the concept of an individual strike is an oxymoron  

 
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 Outline on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Hunt  1842
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  The first legal American union was the Boston Journeymen Bootmakers Society ( BJBS )
 
  The legality of the BJBS was established by the Supreme Court of Mass in 1842
 
  The defendants were the members of the BJBS, which was a a trade union
 
  The BJBS was arguing to become a lawful org
 
  Previously, the Cordwainers Case had determined that any association of workers had been judged to be unlawful conspiracies
 
  See Also:  The Cordwainers Case
 
  Mass v. Hunt weakened, but did not eliminate the conspiracy doctrine
 
  The specific argument of the Mass. v. Hunt justified the right of BJBS to organize to add members to its Society
 
  Mass. v. Hunt determined that strikes were subject to civil, not criminal penalties
 
  Mass. v. Hunt expanded the interpretation of Phil. v. Pullis, aka the Cordwainers Case
 
  Mass. v. Hunt determined that collective action by labor against the property interests of a master shopkeeper was not criminal
 
  Therefore workers should not be prosecuted in defense of the community
 
 
Strikers could not be sued for damages in criminal cases, only civil cases
 
 
But it also meant that strikes & unions were not illegal per se
 
  The first legal American union was the Boston Journeymen Bootmakers Society  
  Mass v. Hunt weakened the “conspiracy doctrine” in that strikes became legal   
 
Thus, strikes & unions became a civil issue
 
 
Mass. v. Hunt is considered to be a minor victory for the Labor Movement because it legalized powerless unions
 
 
The historical significance is the recognition of unions as lawful, providing that the methods of attaining their ends are "honorable & peaceful"
 
  In Commonwealth of Mass v Hunt unions became legal as long as their methods were peaceful  

 
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 Outline on the Molly Maguires circa 1865 to 1877
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Molly Maguires   aka the Buckshots, White Boys, Sleepers circa 1865 to 1877
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The Molly Maguires took their name from a group of anti landlord agitators in 1840s in Ireland led by a widow named Molly Maguire
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During the potato famine, the Molly Maguires & other groups fought against established interests
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The Molly Maguires were a secret organization of Irish American miners
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The Molly Maguires,  circa 1865 to 1877, were a union of coal miners in PN who used terrorist tactics to win concessions
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Most members were Irish
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Formed to deal w/ intolerable working conditions in PN coal mines
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The working conditions for miners were such that they were typically overworked, underpaid, & unsafe
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Coal mining conditions were intolerable
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Wages often did not cover expenses, as charged by the company:  "Workin' in the coal mine and what do you get?  Another day older and deeper in debt."
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The Molly Maguires used terrorist tactics
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The Molly Maguires assassinated company officials & committed other acts of terrorism
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The Molly Maguires were chastised by Church, owners, govt, media, but respected by miners
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Used their power for the benefit of members & intimidated or murdered recalcitrant mine bosses & colliery superintendents
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1874, at height of their power, Franklin B. Gowen, President of the Philadelphia Coal & Iron Co. & Reading Railroad hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency
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The Molly Maguires were infiltrated by James McParlan, a Pinkerton, who was is some sense sympathetic, but wanted a better life
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After a particularly outrageous murder in 1875, one assassin was condemned to death
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This was the first capital conviction of a Molly
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McParlan was suspected by the Mollies
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McParlan evaded 1 plot to murder him, then w/drew
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1877 trial based on McParlan's testimony crushed the Molly Maguires forever
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10 hung, 14 jailed
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 Outline on the  National Labor Union  circa 1866 - 1872
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  The National Labor Union, the NLU, circa  1866 - 1872, was oriented more toward politics & social reform than toward economic or business issues
 
  The NLU was active mostly in the railroads
 
  The  NLU had FIVE goals which included 
 
  a.  establishing an 8 hour workday
 
  b.  establishing consumer & producer coops
 
  c.  reforming immigration policy
 
  d.  establishing a Dept. of Labor
 
  e.  reforming the monetary system
 
  While the NLU did not accomplish many of these goals, these were important ideas that were later accepted
 
  The NLU failed to make important alliances, e.g., the Suffragettes failed to get their endorsement
 
  By 1872, the NLU was essentially dead
 
  In 1872, the NLU w/drew it's Presidential candidate & disbanded
 

 
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 Outline on the  Knights of Labor  circa 1869 - 1899
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  The Knights of Labor        circa 1869 - 1899
 
  The KOL were unique because they crossed craft lines
 
  The Knights favored political & social reform over strikes  
  The Knights thinned the ranks of craft unions  
  The KOL was part union & part fraternal org
 
  The KOL was a secret society w/ secret rites & ceremonies
 
  The KOL operated under the principles of one union, not divided by craft
 
  The leaders of the KOL were Terence Powderly & Uriah Stephens
 
  The primary tactics of the KOL were arbitration & compromise
 
  The KOL did not strike
 
  Because of it did not strike, the KOL lost most disputes & the membership became impatient & ultimately left
 
  The KOL had THREE goals including
 
  a.  improving conditions by education and social reform
 
  b.  focusing on direct producers
 
  c.  establishing worker cooperatives
 
  The Catholic Church opposed the Knights both because it was a secret society, & because it was a union
 
  The Church had a strong influence among workers, esp immigrants & ethnic groups
 
  In 1875 the KOL won acceptance by the Church because of the foresight of Cardinal Gibbons
 
  In 1885 financier Jay Gould attempted to break the union via layoffs
 
  The KOL carried out a limited strike whereby they would not handle Gould's rolling stock
 
  Gould agreed to stop discriminating against the KOL  
  The KOL, being one of the most visible unions of the time, was blamed for the Haymarket Square Riot  
  KOL's decline:   
  The KOL never won another major victory after the limited strike against Gould  
  The KOL was accused of housing anarchists & radicals  
  The press attacked the  KOL  
  The KOL provide FIVE lessons, which were heeded by the AFL & Gompers including that   
  astriking was necessary because employers are short on good will  
  b.  workers are not united enough to form one monolithic union & so there was a need for craft unions  
  c.  the strategy of arbitration & compromise did not work in this period of employer dominance  
  d.  the attempt to establish program for a broad based working class coalition was too aggressive for the development of the Labor Movement at the time  
  e.  unions needed shop floor action too  

 
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 Outline on the   American Federation of Labor  circa 1886  -  present
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  -  Project: The Radical Unionism & the AFL
Link
  In the beginning, circa 1886, 25 national labor groups representing 150,000 workers formed the AFL
 
  The AFL was established in 1886 by Samuel Gompers
 
  The AFL exists in the AFL - CIO today & is thus the oldest existing union in North America
 
  From its earliest days, the AFL was challenged by Marxist organizations like the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon & the Socialist Party of Eugene V. Debs  
  These leftist groups believed that the primary battle facing American workers was on the political rather than the economic front  
  The radicals believed that major structural changes in the capitalist system were required to end exploitation & wage slavery  
  Many of the AFL's own national unions were won over to the Socialist cause, yet none of these radical challenges ever succeeded in substituting its program for the procapitalist, job control unionism of the AFL majority  
  The AFL has SEVEN Characteristics including 
 
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a. a decentralized federation of unions & labor orgs
 
  b. a focus on craft or skilled workers only which therefore was antagonistic to industrial workers
 
  See Also:  Lower Level Employees  
  c. national unions retaining power over trade issues
 
  d. settling disputes among the craft unions  
  e. focusing on business unionism, that is, bread & butter issues  
  f. an emphasis on collective bargaining rather than mass strikes; thus, the AFL institutionalized labor conflict  
  g. utilizing strikes almost exclusively, & not arbitration nor legislation  
  Many of the characteristics of the AFL are still important today, especially decentralization & business unionism  
  The characteristic or practice of decentralization occurs when the focus on local issues by the local union is paramount while establishing some unity as offered by the federation  
  Business unionism has FOUR qualities including   
  a.  a goal to obtain more for the union workers, not all workers  
  In relation to the goal to obtain more for union wkrs, Gomper's motto was "More, more, more!"  
  b. no legislative agenda  
  c. no social programs
 
  d. the inclusion of skilled workers only  
  Gompers was the leader in the development of business unionism  
  Business Unionism has been termed the Great Compromise  
  The AFL learned from the KOL, creating a strategy & structure that was very different from it  
  The AFL was relatively decentralized compared to KOL  
  The AFL pursues political & social change as did the KOL
 
  The AFL used collective bargaining ( arbitration & compromise ) as did the KOL, but also used the strike  
  In Vegelahgn v. Guntner, 1896, the AFL loses the case of the closed picket line   
  Until the formation of the AFL CIO, 1955, employers played off the prejudices btwn skilled & unskilled workers  
  Industrial workers were considered to be a threat to the skilled craft workers  
  The AFL, Gompers, & other unions of this period believed that industrial workers could not be organized because they were considered so unskilled that a strike would be futile because scabs could always be found  
  The AFL was considered elitist in that it played off the prejudices between skilled & unskilled workers  
  It was not until the CIO formed, in 1935, that this belief was proven to be mistaken  
  The AFL also excluded women & minorities and unskilled workers, w/ exceptions:  ILGWU, Brotherhoods of Sleeping Car Porters
 
  This elitism still affects unions today
 
  Many people see union members as overpaid, feather bedders
 
  What can be done about this image?
 

 
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 Outline on May Day
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  May 1st is celebrated a a spring festival, as well as a labor holiday, in many countries
 
  While the US celebrates Labor Day in the fall, May Day is celebrated as "labor day" in many countries  
  It marks the revival of life in early spring after winter
 
  This practice probably began w/ the tree worship of the Druids
 
  The early Egyptians & Indians celebrated the first May festivals
 
  The Romans participated in the April celebration of Floria by gathering spring flowers to honor the goddess of springtime, Flora
 
  European's assimilate Spring Festivals:   
  The English & others whom the Romans conquered developed their May Day festivals from the Roman festival called Floralia
 
  Eventually, Floralia was combined w/ a Celtic celebration called Beltane held on May 1
 
  Celts believed that on Beltane, the fairies were especially active
 
  In medieval times, May Day became the favorite holiday of many English villages
 
  People gathered flowers to decorate their homes & churches, & sang spring carols and received gifts in return
 
  Villagers danced around a Maypole, holding the ends of ribbons that streamed from its top
 
  They chose a king and queen of May & wove the ribbons around the pole until it was covered with bright colors
 
  Dew collected on May Day morning was said to restore youth
 
  Other European countries had their own May Day customs, & often the day became a time for courting  
  In Italy, boys serenaded their sweethearts
 
  In Switzerland, a May pine tree was placed under a girl's window
 
  In France, May Day had religious importance in that they considered the month of May sacred to the Virgin Mary
 
  The French enshrined young girls as May queens in their churches & they led processions in honor of the Virgin Mary
 
 
The Puritans disapproved of May Day, & the day has never been celebrated with the same enthusiasm in the US as in Engl
 
 
But in many Am towns and cities, children celebrate the day with dancing & singing
 
  The festivity at merry Mount in Quincy, MA, 1627, market the first Maypole celebration in the US  
  Such frivolity could not continue in Puritan MA; nor was the medieval May Day, w/ its dance around the Maypole much celebrated anywhere else in early Am  
 
They often gather flowers in handmade paper baskets & hang them on the doorknobs of the homes of friends and neighbors on May Day morning
 
 
At May Day parties, children select May queens, dance around the Maypole, & sing May Day songs
 
  During the 19th C, May Day became the traditional family moving day in cities  
  May is also celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church by electing May queens who wear flowers and lead parades called May processions
 
  Such customs are probably pre Christian in origin  
  Walpurgis Night is the eve of May Day, when German people celebrate the feast of St. Walpurgis  
  According to legend, witches gather on this night and celebrate their Sabbath on mist covered Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains  
  May Day as a Labor Event:  
  May Day had been a day of organizing for Labor for some time after the Civil War
 
  In 1886, May Day events organizing for the 8 Hour Day Movement culminated in the Haymarket Square Riot  
  The anarchists, inspired by the martyrs of the Haymarket Square Riot, established May Day as an international workers day to remember their sacrifice
 
  In 1889, a congress of world Socialist parties held in Paris voted to support the US Labor Movement's demands for an 8 hour day 
 
  The Socialist Congress choose May 1 as a day of demonstrations in favor of the 8 hour day
 
  Afterward, May became a holiday called Labor Day in many nations, including the US
 
  Govt. & Labor orgs sponsor parades, speeches, & other celebrations to honor working people 
 
  May Day is especially important in socialist & Communist countries
 
  The US estb Labor Day on the 1st Monday in Sept in order to diffuse the influence more radical May Day celebration  

 
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 Outline on Labor Day
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  Labor Day is a holiday honoring working people
 
  It is observed as a legal holiday on the first Monday in September throughout the US, Puerto Rico, & Canada
 
  Labor organizations sponsor various celebrations, but for most people it is a day of rest & recreation
 
  The holiday also has become a symbol of the end of summer
 
  In Australia, Labor Day is called Eight Hour Day, & it commemorates the successful struggle for a shorter working day
 
  In Europe, Labor Day is observed on May 1
 
  Two men have been credited with suggesting a holiday to honor working people in the United States:  Matthew Maguire & Peter J. McGuire (no relation)
 
 
Maguire was a machinist from Paterson, New Jersey, & McGuire was a NYC carpenter who helped found the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners
 
 
Maguire & McGuire played an important part in staging the first Labor Day parade in New York City in September 1882
 
 
On May 8, 1882, McGuire proposed to the NYC Central labor Union the designation of an annual "labor day"  
 
McGuire recommended the 1st Monday in Sept, midway btwn the 4th of July & Thanksgiving Day  
 
In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day a legal holiday
 
  31 states followed OR when Pres Cleveland signed the bill passed by Congress making Labor Day a national holiday  
 
President Grover Cleveland signed a bill in 1894 making Labor Day a national holiday
 
 
The US estb Labor Day in the fall to diffuse the radical influence of the spring labor day as celebrated by many labor orgs, many European countries, etc.   
 
As organized labor became accepted, the holiday changed to a summer holiday, & there were fewer great parades, demonstrations, & wkrs' convocations, which labor leaders used as public forums  

 
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 Outline on the  Haymarket Square Bombing & Riot  May 4th, 1886
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  The strike that precipitated the Haymarket Square bombing & riot was at the McCormick Harvester plant strike which took place in Chicago, IL 
 
  The strike that precipitated the Haymarket Square bombing & riot was taking place w/in the militant Chicago movement for an 8 hour working day   
  The 8 Hour Movement was frequently accompanied by conflict btwn strikers & police   
  In protest against the shooting of several workmen, August Spies, editor of the semi anarchist Arbeiter Zeitung, issued circulars demanding revenge & announcing a mass meeting the Haymarket   
  The police expected trouble & so had a large presence   
  Mayor Harrison attended & found the Haymarket protest to be innocent enough   
  Despite his advice, 180 police advanced on the meeting at Haymarket Square & ordered the crowd to disperse   
  As the peaceful meeting dispersed, a bomb was thrown into the police   
  The Haymarket Square Riot involved a bombing for which no one was conclusively determined to be responsible   
  7 police & 4 workers were killed; over 100 were injured 
 
  The Knights of Labor (KOL) were blamed for the Haymarket Square bombing & ensuing riot, though history has since vindicated them 
 
  Fears of a general anarchist plot made an impartial investigation impossible   
  Many believe anarchists to be responsible 
 
  The investigation & trial ordered seven to be hanged, & one imprisoned, but only four were hanged, & historical review indicates they were all innocent of the bombing & drawn into the ensuing riot 
 
  Governor Altgeld pardoned the three surviving prisoners in 1893, declaring the trial a farce, charging the press w/ poisoning public opinion, praising organized Labor   
  The Haymarket Square bombing & riot still one of "history's mysteries" in that conclusive evidence as to the causes of the bombing are largely unknown, though it is clear that those convicted were innocent 
 
  The aftermath of the Haymarket Square decimated unions & the Labor Mvmt in general because the publicity had such an anti union bias 
 
  The 8 Hour Mvmt collapsed, & the KOL lost influence & also eventually failed 
 

 
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 Outline on  Vegelahgn v. Guntner  1896
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  In Vegelahgn v. Guntner, the AFL is sued for the right for strikers to enforce a strike line
 
  The AFL loses the case & does not obtain the right to have a closed picket line, so that even today scabs may cross picket lines  
  The Massachusetts Supreme Court rules strike lines can be crossed w/o harassment
 
  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Chief Justice of the MA Supreme Court, who later to joins the US Supreme Court, writes a dissenting opinion which influenced legislation & court rulings for the next 40 yrs
 
 
Holmes' Opinion:
 
  Chief Justice Holmes held that   
 
-  capital is inanimate, labor is personal
 
  -  capital is enduring, capable of being bequeathed  
  -  labor is transient & exists only for the moment  
  -  capital can be amassed by a few  
  -  labor cannot be aggregated except by workers banding together  
  -  concentrations of capital inevitably create social, political & economic power  
  -  so it is in society's interest to maintain a balance btwn interests of property & labor  
  -  to maintain this balance, labor must be allowed to organize  
  -  the law maintains that parties to a contract should be relatively equal  
  For Holmes, if indeed a single worker could ever have been deemed an equal partner in the employment relationship as implied by the Pullis decision (1794), that day passed w/ the emergence of the "robber barons"  Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, etc.  

 
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 Outline on the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 
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  The period late in the 1800s (1889 - 1900), is often called the Revolt of the Debtor because there was so much animosity by the small, common person toward big business, especially trusts  
  People believed the govt was on the side of business  
  At first states tried to control trusts (which were often corporations) through legislation, as they had earlier tried to control the railroads
 
  President Garrison & the "Billion Dollar" Congress passed the Pension Act of 1890 which gave pensions to all Union Civil War Vets, increasing the eligible number from 676,000 to 970,000, & increasing the cost from $81 mm to $135 mm  
  The Pension Act foreshadowed the coming "welfare state"  
  The Pension Act also disposed of a problematic govt surplus  
  On the other end of the spectrum, "Czar" Reed, the Senate Leader rammed through the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890  
  It was a long struggle, but the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was passed
 
  This pioneering law, along w/ the Pension Act, helped to quiet the mounting uproar against corporations & the belief that govt only served the wealthy  
  Sherman forbade combinations in restraint of trade, w/o any distinction btwn "good" & "bad" trusts
 
  Bigness, not badness, was the sin
 
  The law was ineffective because it had only baby teeth & because it contained loopholes
 
  But Sherman was unexpectedly effective in one respect
 
  Aimed at big business, trusts, and was also used against unions because they restricted trade
 
  Sherman was used to curb labor unions or labor combinations that were seen as a restriction of trade
 
  Early prosecution of trusts by the Justice Dept. were neither vigorous nor successful
 
  The first 7 of 8 cases went against the govt
 
  More new trusts were formed in the 1890s under President McKinley than during any other like period
 
  Taft became President in 1908  
  In 1911, Taft's Administration completed the prosecution of Standard Oil Co  
  In 1911, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil under the Sherman  
  At the same time, the Court handed down its famous "rule of reason" which held that only those combinations that "unreasonably" restrained trade were illegal  
  This proviso ripped a huge hole in the anti trust law  
  Also in 1911, Taft decided to prosecute US Steel under the Sherman  
  This infuriated T. Roosevelt, who was involved w/ the corporation  
  This prosecution was a contributing factor in TR's opposition to Taft's future Presidential runs  
  Though the Sherman lacked effectiveness, a revolutionary new principle had been written into law
 
  The Sherman Anti Trust Act as well as the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 wrote into law the principle that private greed must be subordinated to public need
 
  A landmark case involving the Danbury Hatters found that the union had restrained trade & assessed them triple damages under the Sherman Act  
  See Also: Lochner v. NY:  The Danbury Hatter Boycott, circa 1908  
  The Clayton Anti Trust Act of 1914 removed the anti labor section of the Sherman, & added more enforcement teeth for corps
 

 
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 Outline on the Homestead Strike  July, 1892
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  The US was a hotbed of nationwide strikes in 1892  
  Labor's pressure raised the prospect that the Populists could bring aggrieved workers together w/ indebted farmers in a revolutionary joint assault on the capitalist order  
  The Homestead Strike of 1892 is regarded as landmark in the development of labor organization in the steel industry and in the general history of organized labor  
  The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers at this time was a powerful labor organization, which had established working relations w/ the Carnegie Steel Co. at Homestead, PA  
  Henry Clay Frick, the chairman of the company, was determined to break the power of the union, demanding a wage cut  
  Henry Frick, Carnegie's general manager locked out strikers from a Carnegie Steel Plant
 
  Frick ordered 300 armed Pinkertons to take over the plant by launching a sneak attack by boating up the Monongahela River on barges
 
  There was a battle that lasted an entire day
 
  The strikers used guns, cannons, dynamite, burning oil & defeated the Pinkertons & forced them to surrender
 
  After the vicious battle, 10 were dead, over 60 were wounded  
  The Governor ordered the state militia to intervene, forcing the strikers to surrender
 
  The plant was reopened w/ strike breakers
 
  Union was so crushed that no steel mill was organized until the 1930s
 
  Thus, organized labor's first struggle w/ large scale capital ended in failure
 
  In the same month, a strike among silver miners in Coer d' Alene, ID was crushed
 

 
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 Outline on the Pullman Strike  1894
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  The Pullman Strike of 1894 was a general strike w/ a secondary boycott
 
  The Pullman Strike, also called the Chicago Strike, was a violent labor dispute that involved the Pullman Company, which manufactured railroad cars near Chicago, & the American Railway Union (ARU)  
  The ARU was a group of railroad workers who were led by Eugene V. Debs  
  The strike began when employees of the Pullman Company refused to return to work, to protest a reduction in their wages  
  The strike was against the manufacturers of Pullman cars because they cut wages, etc.  
  In sympathy with the employees, the ARU refused to haul railroad cars made by the company  
  The ARU refused to handle goods struck by the Pullman employees  
 
The strike by the Pullman employees is the general strike & the refusal to handle the stuck railway cars by the ARU is the secondary boycott  
 
The tactic of the sympathy strike is now illegal
 
 
Strikers got sympathy strikes from RR workers who refused to handle Pullman cars & was successful at first
 
 
Then mgt linked many empty mail cars to Pullman cars making removal of the cars a Fed offense
 
 
The Sherman Anti Trust Act was brought to bear against the strikers for the restriction of trade
 
  President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to protect the mail and maintain law and order  
 
Fed govt sent troops & the ARU leader Debs was jailed for conspiracy & for refusing to obey the court order
 
  When the troops arrived in the Chicago area, violence erupted and much railroad property was destroyed & the strike was crushed  
  The settlement demonstrated the power of the US govt to intervene against strikes that threatened the public interest.   

 
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 Outline on the  American Railway Union
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  The American Railway Union (ARU) was formed in 1893 by Eugene Victor Debs
 
  Debs  (1855-1926) was a colorful & eloquent spokesman for the Am labor mvmt & for socialism
 
  Debs formed the ARU in 1893 as an industrial union for all railroad wkrs
 
  The ARU ordered its members not to move Pullman cars in 1894, in support of a strike by the workers making Pullman cars
 
  President Grover Cleveland used fed troops to break the strike, charging that it interfered w/ the mails
 
  Debs went to prison for six months in 1895 because he had refused to comply w/ a fed court order to call off the strike
 
  In 1897, Debs announced that he was a socialist
 
  During World War I (1914-1918), Debs publicly condemned both war & the US govt's prosecution of individuals for sedition (inciting rebellion)
 
  As a result of condemning the war & inciting sedition, Debs was convicted under the Espionage Law in 1918
 
  Debs went to prison in 1919, on a 10 year sentence, but President Warren G. Harding commuted his sentence in 1921
 
  Debs ran for the presidency as a socialist candidate five times
 
  He was the nominee of the Social Democratic Party in 1900, and of the Socialist Party in 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920
 
  Debs ran his 1920 campaign while in prison, but still received nearly 1 million votes
 
  Biography of Debs:
 
  Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana  
  Debs became a locomotive fireman and from 1880 to 1893 was national secretary and treasurer of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen  
  In this period, Debs organized workers in many occupations  
  Debs served in the Indiana legislature in 1885  

 
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 Outline on the Anthracite Coal Strike  1902
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  In 1902 a crippling strike broke out in the anthracite coal mines of PN which became known as the infamous Anthracite Coal strike
 
  140,000 miners, many of them illiterate immigrants, had long been exploited & worked in very unsafe conditions
 
  The miners demanded a 20% increase in pay & a reduction in the day from 10 to 9 hours
 
  Owners were confident of public support & so refused to even negotiate
 
  Multi millionaire George F. Baer demonstrated the owners point of view that workers would be cared for "not by the labor agitators, but by the Christian men to whom God in His infinite wisdom has given the control of the property interest of this country."
 
  The strike had a big impact:  closed factories, schools, even hospitals
 
  T. Roosevelt summoned representatives to the White House & was annoyed by the arrogance of the owners
 
  Roosevelt finally threatened to seize the mines & operate them w/ federal troops
 
  During the Anthracite Coal Strike, the owners were faced w/ this first ever threat to use govt force against owners
 
  Because of the threat by the govt against the owners, the owners consented to arbitration  
  The miners won a 10% pay increase & a 9 hour day, but the union was not officially recognized
 
  As a result of this Labor conflict Roosevelt created a Dept. of Commerce & Labor in 1903, which was also useful in his trust busting activities
 

 
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 Outline on the Industrial Workers of the World  (IWW)   1905 - present
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  -  Project: The Preamble to the IWW
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The Industrial Workers of the World, aka the IWW, aka the "Wobblies," aka the "I Won't Work" were established in  1905
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The IWW organized unskilled workers & competed w/ craft unions
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The IWW was very radical as seen in their goal of overthrowing capitalism
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The IWW's radical orientation kept them out of the mainstream Am. Labor Mvmt, but were popular in fruit picking areas, mining towns & timber areas
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The IWW's workers experiences some of the worst working conditions in the country
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When they protested, the Wobblies were often arrested, beaten up, or run out of town
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Eugene Debs & "Big Bill" Haywood were early leaders
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Debs brought in the American Railroad Union ( ARU ) to join the IWW
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Haywood took Western Federation of Miners (WFM) out of the AFL & into the IWW
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The IWW advocated & organized for socialism, & still does so today
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However during a strike, the IWW bargains for traditional benefits
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The IWW's long term strategy is the abolition of wage system & an end to capitalism (transition to socialism)
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The IWW advocated the unpatriotic position that workers should not participate in "The Great War" ( WW I ) because only capitalists would benefit 
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This unpatriotic stance severely damaged the IWW
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  The IWW was discredited in the eyes of many American because it refused to support the US decision to enter World War One  
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The Am. Labor Movement has supported every US war ( through non opposition ) w/ the exception of Vietnam
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Even on Vietnam, the Labor Movement was split
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At first they supported it ( through non opposition ), but as popular support turned against the war, so did some factions of Am. Labor
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See Also:  The Social Effects of World War One, aka the Great War, the War to End all Wars  
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IWW Noteworthy Actions
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1912  Lawrence MA strike:  20,000 textile workers walk out
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IWW wins workers' demands
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This was the IWW's biggest victory
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1913  Paterson, NJ strike -- textiles -- lose this one
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1914  Easter Strike, Ludlow, CO  
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1920  "General strike"  All workers in a locale go on strike; especially in Seattle, WA & Minneapolis, MN
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The IWW still exists today
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Today the IWW is small & still very radical
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The IWW does still have a world presence
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They have little labor organizing activities in the US
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In the US, the IWW is primarily interested in rallying socialists
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In some less developed nations, the IWW does deal more directly w/ labor issues such as wages, hours, working conditions, etc.
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 Outline on Lochner v. New York:  The Danbury Hatter Boycott  circa 1908
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  In 1901-02, the United Hatters of No. Am. (UHNA) attempted to unionize Dietrich Loewe, a hatmaking firm in Danbury, CT
 
  Loewe resisted the UHNA & a strike & nationwide boycott were instituted by the union because of a state law passed which established a 10 hour working day
 
  Loewe sued the 191 members of the local union under the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890
 
  Loewe alleged that the workers were attempting to form a monopoly of labor & thereby resist trade
 
  The District Court agreed that the UHNA was monopolizing labor power & levied a $74,000 fine
 
  The Circuit Court overruled this verdict against the UHNA, thereby ruling that they did not monopolize labor power
 
  In 1908, The Supreme Court overruled the Circuit Court & sent the case back for retrial, thereby upholding the ruling that the UHNA did monopolize labor power
 
  The Supreme Court held that that a law limiting the number of working hours was unconstitutional because it restricted the right of an individual to contract for employment thus upholding the application of the Sherman Antitrust Act to labor law  
  The court based its decision on the principle that individuals had "liberty of contract" derived from the 14th Amendment  
  After this, the "liberty of contract" principle was used to defeat local minimum wage laws  
  Lochner v NY was later used to deny a contract for a 10 hour work day for NY Bakers  
  Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) used to levy triple damages against the union for restraint of trade  
  The Court of Appeals levied an $80,000 fine which was tripled to more than $250,000
 
  The union not being incorporated, resulted in individuals being liable
 
  The union's central org had agreed in 1903 to back the local & this obligation was taken over by the AFL
 
  So AFL passed the hat to pay the debt
 
  This financially injured the union
 
  In 1913, the AFL disclaimed further obligation
 
  In 1917, the District Court ordered the sale of 140 workmen's homes in Danbury, Bethel, & nearby towns
 
  The men had paid $60,000, but w/ interest they still owed $250,000
 
  The effect on the union & the city of Danbury was disastrous
 

 
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 Outline on  Muller v. Oregon  1908
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  Recall that as a result of the 1905 Lochner v. NY case of the Danbury Hatters, a law establishing a 10 hour day for bakers was invalidated   
  But in Muller v. Oregon, in 1908, crusading attorney Louis D. Brandeis persuaded the Supreme Court to accept the constitutionality of laws protecting women workers, because of "women's peculiar structure."
 
  While the reasoning of this case is sexist & discriminatory, it was a progressive triumph
 
  After the tragedy of the Triangle Fire, 1911, the legislature of NY & other states passed laws regulating the hours & conditions of work
 
  That is to say, as a result of this case the first laws to establish safety regulations at work were passed
 

 
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 Date
 Outline on the Labor Movement & Global Capitalism  circa 1910 - present
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    During the Era of Global Capitalism, the Labor Movement gained full legitimacy in the form of all the rights & obligations it possesses today
 
 
1911
The Triangle Fire empowers the Labor Mvmt & builds public sympathy setting the stage for a strike victory & the passage of the first workplace safety laws  
 
1913
The general increase of the power of the Labor Mvmt results in both victorious strikes resulting in improved wages, & the reduced exploitation of women & children in workplace
 
 
1914
World War One had a big impact on the Labor Movement in that most of organized Labor supported the war, & so reaped the benefits of a war economy, while radical factions did not, & so were persecuted  
    Clayton Antitrust Act  
    During the Easter Strike & the ensuing Ludlow Massacre, in Ludlow, CO, the Company burned out strikers’ families  
    Attacks on union leaders such as Bill Haywood, Mother Jones, Joe Hill, et al, corporate forces violently repressed, imprisoned, & deported Labor Mvmt leaders, resulting in the decimation of union leadership, creating a leadership vacuum which allowed the ascendancy of either 'business friendly' and or corrupt leadership which still impacts Labor today
 
    The American Plan was developed during WW 1 & the Mohawk Valley Formula was developed in the mid 1930s as corporate anti labor strategies  
 
1924
The end of an era occurred when Gompers retired from AFL in 1924
 
    The US shift from an agrl to indl econ has major social, technical, geographic, econ, & political implications  
    Despite the retirement of Gompers & the shift to the indl econ, the AFL remained adamant on the craft approach  
    Business Unionism, which resulted from "The Great Labor Compromise" became the dominate Labor Mvmt social structure  
    The Railway Labor Act  
 
1932
The Norris LaGuardia Act   
 
1933
The National Industrial Recovery Act  
 
1935
The NLRA (Wagner Act)  1935  
 
1937
The NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel upholds the constitutionality of the Wagner Act  
    Industrial Unions are Born
 
    The CIO             1935 - 1955
The CIO formed in 1935       Merged w/ AFL in 1955
 
 
 
The Flint Sit Down Strike:  GM & Battle of Running Bulls:  CIO victory, 1937  
    The UAW & the United Steel Workers are formed  
 
1940
Labor power & WW 2  
    The Smith Connally Anti Strike Act, aka the Dispute Act  
    Weakening of the GLC  
    Unionization creates a major demographic change in the movement of workers from the lower class to the middle class & creates the society & social structure we know today  
    Unionized workers have taken many most non unionized workers w/ them into the Middle Class  
 
1947
The Taft Hartley Act  
    McCarthyism forced purges in the Labor Movement & other spheres of American society  
 
1955
The AFL CIO is formed by Meany & Reuther when the AFL merges w/ the CIO in 1955  
    Corruption in labor becomes widespread  
 
1957
The graft ridden Teamsters, headed by Jimmy Hoffa, are expelled from the the AFL CIO  
 
1959
The Landrum Griffin Act encourages union democracy  
 
1960
Private sector organizing activity slowed in the late 50s & early 60s  
    The public employees sector became increasingly important  
    While membership grew dramatically in this sector, THREE factors limited organizing include:  
 
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a.  The Taft Hartley Act forbids strikes by federal workers  
 
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b.  Most states forbid strikes, & include summary discharge as a penalty  
 
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c.  Most federal & state orgs have no mechanism for recognizing bargaining representatives  
 
1962
JFK issued Executive Order in 10988 which allowed public sector workers to join a union  
 
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Cesar Chavez, a Mexican American labor leader, began to organize agricultural workers in CA during the 1960s  
 
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Chavez established what is now the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), a union of migrant workers & other farm workers  
 
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Union membership among black, Mexican Americans, and women also increased during this period  
 
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Unions helped them obtain equal pay & other rights  
 
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Labor leaders convinced their members that any group deprived of equal pay would form a cheap source of labor that would compete w/ union members for jobs  
 
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See Next:  The Labor Movement During the Post Industrial Age:  1970- present  

 
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 Outline on the Triangle Fire  1911
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  The Labor Movement, the Progressive Movement, muckrakers such as Upton Sinclair, who wrote The Jungle, all served to bring the conditions of the sweatshops to the public's attention
 
  The Triangle Shirtwaist Company occupied the top 3 floors of a ten story building in NYC
 
  On March 25, 1911 there was a fire that claimed an estimated 147 lives, mostly women & girls working there
 
  More than 50 jumped, others were burned or trampled
 
  Investigation revealed that little preparation had been made for fire prevention, safety or suppression
 
  There was only one narrow fire escape
 
  Doors through which escape could be made were locked, stairway entrances were cluttered
 
  The elevator men did their best but could not work rapidly enough
 
  The owners of the business were indicted, tried, but acquitted
 
  Public opinion had been aroused, & reforms were to follow
 
  After the tragedy of the Triangle Fire, 1911, the legislature of NY & other states passed laws regulating the hours & conditions of work
 

 
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 Outline on the Clayton Anti Trust Act  1914
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  -  Introduction:  The Clayton Anti Trust Act was passed to remove labor organizations from jurisdiction of the Sherman Anti Trust Act  
  The Clayton Anti Trust Act of 1914 reformed the Sherman Antitrust Act  
  Wilson arrived in office in 1912 calling for an all out assault on "the triple wall of privilege:" the tariff, the bank, & the trusts
 
  Late in 1913 a bill was passed creating the Underwood Tariff, which reduced import fees
 
  Wilson also pushed for & got a graduated income tax
 
  Also in 1913, Wilson pushed for & got the epochal Federal Reserve Act (FRA)
 
  The FRA established the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), appointed by the President, which oversees a nationwide system of 12 regional reserve districts, each w/ its own central bank  
  The FRB's most important power is the ability to issue paper money backed by commercial paper, such as promissory notes of business people
 
  The FRB had the power to swiftly increase the amount of money in circulation
 
  The FRB also makes short term loans to banks & may set the interest rate as it sees fit, thus ensuring that the govt can have some control over interest rates
 
  To attack the Trusts, Wilson began, early in 1914 w/ the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) of 1914
 
  The FTCA empowered a Presidentially appointed commission to regulate any businesses engaged in interstate commerce
 
  The FTC was expected to crush monopoly by regulating unfair trade practices, including unlawful competition, false advertising, mislabeling, adulteration, bribery, etc.
 
  The Clayton Anti Trust Act of 1914 lengthened the Sherman's list of illegal business practices to include price fixing and interlocking directorates whereby the same individuals served as directors of supposedly competing firms
 
  The Clayton Anti Trust Act of 1914 exempted unions from restriction of trade rules
 
  Conservative Courts had unexpectedly been ruling that unions fell under the anti-monopoly restraints of the Sherman Act
 
  A landmark case involving the Danbury Hatters found that the union had restrained trade & assessed them triple damages under the Sherman Act
 
  See Also:  Lochner v. NY:  The Danbury Hatter Boycott:  circa 1908  
  The Clayton Anti Trust Act of 1914 therefore sought to exempt labor & agricultural orgs from anti trust prosecution while explicitly legalizing strikes & peaceful picketing
 
  Gompers, head of the AFL, hailed the Clayton Anti Trust Act of 1914 as the Magna Carta of Labor because it legally lifted human labor out of the category of "a commodity or article of commerce"  
  But the rejoicing was premature, as conservative judges continued to restrict & outlaw unions & union activity  

 
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 Outline on  the Easter Strike in Ludlow, CO  1914
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  In 1914, the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., owned by J.D. Rockefeller, was struck by the workers under the direction of the IWW
 
  The workers were evicted from their company housing & were living w/ their families in tents
 
  On Easter night, April, 1914, while the workers were at a meeting, company gunmen set fire to the tents
 
  13 women & children died in the fire or were shot to death as they ran from the tents
 
  5 strikers were shot to death trying to help the women & children
 
  Tragedies such as this were historically important because they brought national attention to labor issues & to the strong arm tactics of business  

 
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 Outline on the American Plan
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  The American Plan was developed during WW 1 & the Mohawk Valley Formula was developed in the mid 1930s as a corporate anti labor strategy  
  After the WW 1, Labor Relations became more conflicted as seen in the development of the American Plan  
  While many factors eroded Labor's growth after WW 1, the American Plan was especially destructive
 
  The 1920s were a decade of relative prosperity, i.e. the "Roaring 20s"  
  A decline in immigration reduced competition for unskilled jobs  
  After the war, labor relations became more conflicted as seen in the development of the SEVEN points of the American Plan:
 
  a. Develop a program to associate union leaders w/ agitators, subversives & communists
 
  The Reuther Brothers (of the UAW, who helped start CIO) had visited Russia   
  The American John Reed is buried w/ Lenin near the Kremlin  
  The IWW & Big Bill Haywood had radical leanings   
  Gompers was opposed to any radicalism & helped develop business unionism  
  b. Push for open shop agreements
 
  c. Implement yellow dog contracts
 
  d.  Advocate company sponsored unions w/o  national linkage
 
  f.  Organize back to work drives during strikes (pay scabs, strike breakers, etc.)   
  g.  Precipitate picket line violence as pretext to call in police  
  h.  Organize local interests/govt against unions  
  Communities developed open shop committees to protect people from labor organizers  
  Employers improved wages & working conditions in unorganized plants  
  The development of the company union was quite successful  
  In the 1920 & 1930s, the push for company unions by business resulted in thousands of independent local unions under a single employer  
  W/ the prosecution of several leaders of the IWW for sedition, mgt. painted labor as politically extremist  
  While the IWW did not represent a large portion of the Labor Movement, it became a symbol of danger
 
  At the same time that the Bolsheviks gained power in Russia, Americans were warned that this could happen in the US if the unions gained too much power
 
  Attack on union leaders: Bill Haywood, Mother Jones, Joe Hill, et al violently repressed, imprisoned, deported:  resulted in decimation of union  
  Many of these attacks were also the result of war fears following WW 1  

 
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Outline on the Mohawk Valley Formula
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  The  Mohawk Valley Formula is very similar to the American Plan   
  The passage of the Wagner Act made employee organizations that were established & assisted by employers illegal, thus making a favorite employer anti union tactic, the company union, illegal
 
  The Mohawk Valley Formula, like the American Plan, linked unions w/ agitators, subversives & communists
 
  The Mohawk Valley Formula supplemented the American Plan w/ SIX additional anti labor strategies   
  a. Organized back to work drives during strikes
 
  b. Urged local police to break up strikes
 
  c. In general, align local interests against Labor
 
  d. Educated workers & the public about the right not to join a union
 
  e. Educated workers on the right to deal directly w/ their employers, rather than through outside agents
 
  f. Implement "warfare strategies"  
  Congressional investigations at the time of the Mohawk Valley Formula found that business spent $10 mm for spying, strikebreaking & munitions btwn 1933 & 1937
 
  Youngstown Sheet & Tube had 8 machine guns, 369 rifles, 190 shotguns, 450 revolvers, 109 gas guns, 3,000 rounds of gas, 10,000 rounds of shells & bullets  
  Republic Steel allegedly had the largest private arsenal in the US
 
  Ford had an internal police force of 3,500 to 5,000 or 1 officer for every 25 workers
 

 
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 Outline on the  Great Labor Compromise, Business Unionism, etc.
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  -  Project: The Compromise in the Great Labor Compromise
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  -  Project: The Causes, Make Up, & Effects of the Great Labor Compromise
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  -  Introduction:  The Great Labor Compromise is aka Business Unionism, or Wage Unionism, or Gomperism  
  -  Summary:  American labor agreed to give up socialism & socialist goals in exchange for the right to exist & bargain over only wages & benefits  
  Business Unionism: "The Great Labor Compromise" created FOUR facets of labor relations where
( Not called Business Unionism until the 50's )
1.  Unions deal only with traditional areas: wages, hours, benefits, working conditions
2.  Unions will not form labor party
3.  Unions will not strive for other management prerogatives: control of workplace, ownership, etc.  ( no socialism )
4.  Management will accept unions
 
  Unions made the dream of upward mobility possible for the working class & even gave many a middle class lifestyle
 
  If the American Dream fails, many will turn to radicalism, escapism or other negative social behaviors
 
  "The Players" agreed ( AFL: Gompers & CIO: Lewis, FDR, Big Biz ) that bargaining would occur over wages only & there would be no discussion of ownership, control or benefits
 
  When unionization became legal  ( 1880 - 1935 ), radical labor leaders were eliminated  
  After the Great Depression, after trust busting (Sherman & Clayton Acts, & court battles), Unions made dream of upward mobility possible for the working class & gave many a middle class lifestyle
 
  Within the framework of upward mobility & govt mediated Labor Mgt. relations, many unionists wanted their children & grandchildren to get higher ed and escape the factory
 
  The dream of upward social mobility has THREE effects: 
 
  a.  discouraging political activity
 
  b.  keeping workers' satisfaction levels high
 
  c.  working against unionist children becoming union members
 
  Has the aspiration of upward mobility been achieved?
 
  If the American Dream fails, many will turn to radicalism, escapism or other negative social behaviors
 
  A failure of the aspiration of the American Dream would have THREE effects:
 
  a.  encourages more political activity
 
  b.  lowers worker satisfaction  
  c.  increasing multi generational unionism  
  d.  turning people toward crime, deviance, retreatism, or revolution  
  See Also:  Merton:  Merton demonstrates that when people are given an aspiration like the American Dream, while the means to achieve it are unavailable, they turn to crime, deviance, retreatism, or revolution  
  Labor, the govt, & industry "agreed" on wage unionism as part of the Great Labor Compromise   
  Wage unionism is commonly held to have FIVE qualities including that collective bargaining shall   
  a.  deal only on wages (later expanded to benefits & job safety)  
  b.  deal w/ industrial workers  
  c.  not deal w/ ownership of industry, e.g. socialism  
  d.  not deal on control of the work process   
  The ceding of the control of the work process to industry dealt a death blow to crafts & allowed mgt to gain nearly total control of the wkplace  
  e.  not include radical union leaders   
  During the era of the Great Labor Compromise, many radical labor leaders are assassinated or expatriated  
  There are FIVE effects of Wage Unionism  
  a. Labor remains divided, divided by gender, race, class/skill  
  b.  US labor has no participation in workplace mgt while Europe has wk councils w/ Labor's participation on major workplace decisions  
  c.  Unions grew 5 fold by 1945  
  d.  labor orgs became corrupt  
  e.  the dual economy in US emerged which kept the LC, WC, MC fragmented  
  Why is the MC & the UMC not unionized?  
  a. part of “wage unionism” deal  
  b.  believe (wrongly) that they may move up  
  c.  less homogenized workforce:  harder to unionize  
  d.  professional orgs  
  e.  get paid more:  not so hungry as WC  
  The nature of the Dual Economy is in part responsible for Labor's elitism & the   
  Unionized workplaces became Core Industries  
  Core Industries have FIVE Characteristics  
  a. concentration of industry:  big corps  
  b.  higher productivity  
  c.  higher profits  
  d.  capital intensive (job elimination)  
  e.  less price competition (compete on marketing, features, etc.)  
  Non unionized become Peripheral Industries  
  Peripheral Industries have FIVE Characteristics  
  a. smaller businesses  
  b.  lower productivity  
  c.  lower profits (high business failure rate)  
  d.  labor intensive (service)  
  e.  more price competition  

 
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 Outline on the Railway Labor Act  1926
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  -  Summary:  The RLA established the NMB to inject the govt into transportation negotiations in situations where employers & unions could not agree on how to resolve an industrial conflict. The RLA could also establish emergency boards & allow Congress was empowered to impose solutions when the parties were unable to do so  
  The railroads had been a force in the US since the early 1800s
 
  The govt began in the 1890s to try to devise procedures to avoid railroad strikes & assure stable transportation w/o denying the rights of workers to organize  
  Labor agreements covered rail workers earlier than any other industry  
  Congress created labor mgt mediation procedures through the Erdman Act of 1898 & the Newlands Act of 1913  
  In the Adamson Act of 1916, the 8 hour day was established for rail workers  
  The Transportation Act of 1920 founded the Railroad Labor Board  
  After the Railroad Labor Board failed to prevent the strike of 1922, Congress passed the Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926  
  As amended in 1934, the RLA continues to be the basic legislation in the field  
  Thus, transportation & the distribution of goods has occupied a different niche in law & Labor Law than has manufacturing or services
 
  There are FIVE provisions of the Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926
 
  a. Avoid service interruptions
 
  b. Eliminate restrictions on joining a union
 
  c. Guarantee freedom of workers in any matter of self organization
 
  d. Provide for dispute settlement
 
  e. Enable prompt grievance settlement
 
  In 1996, the Federal Aviation Authorization Act extended jurisdiction to include air express companies & their ground employees
 
  The RLA established the National Railroad Adjustment Board (NRAB)
 
  The NRAB has an equal number of union & mgt members
 
  If the NRAB deadlocks on grievance, it calls in referee
 
  But most grievances are settled by the Public Law Boards (PLB) & Special Boards of Adjustment which are ad hoc arbitrators or rotating panels of industry neutrals  
  The RLA also established the National Mediation Board  (NMB)  
  The NMB is composed of 3 members appointed by the President  
  The NMB oversees elections  
  The NMB helps parties reach an agreement by mediating bargaining on request, interpreting mediated contracts or appointing an arbitrator if mediation fails  
  The NMB urges arbitration when mediation unsuccessful  
  No unilateral changes or strikes are permitted unless the NMB declares an impasse
 
  If strike would substantially disrupt interstate commerce then an Emergency Board can be convened which has 30 days to issue a report (This provision is similar to the cooling off power the President has today)
 
  There are TWO major effects of the RLA  
  a.  Requiring workers be organized by craft or occupational area  
  b.  Forcing carriers to negotiate w/ numerous unions which often have different/conflicting goals  
  Example:  firemen on trains:  eliminated by diesel  
  If org was along industrial lines, it would've been a phase out instead of a contentious "extinction" battle  
  Thus, the nature of the RLA helped foster the practice of "feather bedding"  

 
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 Outline on the Norris LaGuardia Anti Injunction Act  1932
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  In the midst of the Great Depression ( circa 1929 - 1940 ), the Hoover administration provided some indirect benefits for Labor
 
  By 1932, the legitimacy of collective bargaining had informally been accepted, but was not written into law  
  And labor mgt relations were not legalized until FDR was elected   
  After stormy debate, Congress passed the Norris LaGuardia Anti Injunction Act (NLGA)  in 1932
 
  The NLGA of 1932 sharply restricted the use of injunctions in labor disputes
 
  But well into the 1900s, govt interference in favor of owners represented a major barrier that workers had to overcome  
  The NLGA was one of the first laws that actually encouraged union activity
 
  The act was sponsored by Senator Norris of NE & Rep. LaGuardia of NY, both Republicans
 
  The NLGA was a legislative attempt to Supreme Court limitations on the activities of Labor, especially as those enacted btwn the Clayton Anti Trust Act in 1914 & the end of the 1920s  
  The NLGA was based on the theory that lower courts are creations not of the Constitution, but of Congress, & that Congress therefore has wide power in defining & restricting jurisdiction  
  Before the NLGA, a firm could get an injunction to stop any union activity that hurt the business in any way
 
  The NLGA banned injunctions unless the firm had made every possible effort to settle through negotiations w/ the union
 
  The NLGA required a firm to prove that the lack of an injunction would hurt the firm more than the union
 
  Thus, the NLGA begins the trend to balance the needs of business & labor  
  Provisions of the NLGA:
 
  a.  "Yellow dog" contracts are banned  
 
Yellow dog contracts required an assurance from applicants as a condition of hire that they were not members of a labor union at the time, nor would become so in the future
 
  b.  Business could not use injunctions against labor orgs for the following activities  
  -  strikes
-  picketing
-  refusing to work
-  union membership drives
-  strike benefits, unemployment benefits
-  aid for those being sued
-  publicizing a labor dispute
-  organizing
-  notifying people that any of this is occurring
-  agreeing to engage or not engage in these acts
-  advising others to engage or not engage in these acts
 
  cInjunctions may be issued: if there was 
 
  -  substantial injury to property will occur
 
  -  greater injury on party requesting injunction than on adversary
 
  -  no adequate legal remedy 
 
  -  a situation where authorities are unable or unwilling to give protection  
  -  an owner who agreed to deposit a bond for the possible damages of an injunction  
  The Taft Hartley Act of 1947 allows injunctions in certain other cases  
  The NLGA finally laid to rest the 18th C Conspiracy Doctrine as ruled in Commonwealth of Philadelphia v. Pullis, aka The Cordwainers Case  
  NLGA does not require an owner to recognize or bargain w/ a union  
  Boycott damages (as established in the Danbury Hatters Case) were reduced because no one is liable for another'sindependent acts  
  The NLGA made it impossible to enforce yellow dog contracts  
  Yellow dog contracts were promises by workers to not join or aid a union  
  The NLGA prevented firms from suing employees for breaking yellow dog contracts  
  Because firms could not enforce such contracts, they eventually stopped using them  

The End
 
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