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 Review Notes on 
LU 3:  The History of US Labor; Labor Law & Federal Agencies, Pt. 2 
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Outline on  LU 2:  Hist of US Labor   &   LU 3:  Labor Law & Fed Agencies,  Pt 2
  
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 THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY ACT, 1933           (NIRA)   
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 THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT  (Wagner Act)  1935     (NLRA)   
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           The NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel upholds the constitutionality of the Wagner Act, 1937  
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           The CIO             1935 - 1955  
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           The Flint Sit Down Strike:  GM & Battle of Running Bulls:  CIO victory, 1937  
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           The UAW & the United Steel Workers are formed  
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 LABOR MOVEMENT & WW 2   
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           The Smith Connally Anti Strike Act, aka the Dispute Act  
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 WEAKENING OF THE GLC   
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           The Taft Hartley Act, 1947  
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           McCarthyism forced purges in the Labor Movement & other spheres of American society  
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           The AFL CIO is formed by Meany & Reuther, 1955  
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           Corruption in Organized Labor, 1955  
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           Graft ridden Teamsters, headed by Jimmy Hoffa, are expelled from the the AFL CIO, 1957  
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           Landrum Griffin Act:  encourages union democracy, 1959  
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           Labor Related Executive Orders   
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 THE LABOR MOVEMENT DURING THE POST INDUSTRIAL AGE:  circa 1970 - present  
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           The Decline & Resurgence of the Labor Movement  
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           RICO, 1970  
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           Amended Taft Hartley Act of 1974  
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           Labor Law  
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           Labor Regulatory Agencies  
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           The Dept. of Labor ( DOL, estb 1913 )  
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           The Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service ( FMCS, estb  1947 )  
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           The National Mediation Board ( NMB, estb  1926 )  
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           The National Labor Relations Board ( NLRB, estb 1935 )  

 
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 Outline on the National Industrial Recovery Act  1933
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  The National Industrial Recovery Act ( NIRA ) was passed in 1933 by the Emergency Congress under President Hoover, implemented by President FDR
 
  The National Industrial Recovery Act was the most complex & far reaching effort by the New Dealers to combine immediate relief w/ long range recovery & reform by assisting industry, the unemployed, & Labor
 
  The NIRA had bi partisan support & was signed by Hoover, but since FDR didn't take office until March '33, it was not acted upon until then  
  This law was not aimed at Labor, but rather at getting business going during the Depression  
  The NIRA had THREE tasks:  to assist industry, Labor, & the unemployed
 
  The NIRA created the National Recovery Administration (NRA), who administered the three aims of the NIRA  
  200 industries worked out codes of "fair competition" under which hours would be reduced minimum wages were set
 
  The NIRA granted FIVE additional rights to Labor  
  a.  Workers were formally guaranteed the right to organize  
  b.  Workers were formally guaranteed the right to bargain collectively through representative of their own choosing, not through handpicked agents of the firm
 
  c.  Yellow Dog Contracts were forbidden
 
  d.  Limited injunctions  
  e.  Restrictions were placed on child labor except w/in family businesses, agriculture & other areas
 
  The unemployed were helped through the Public Works Administration (PWA)
 
  The primary purpose of the PWA was long term recovery through employing workers in over 34,000 labor projects ranging from side-walk construction to the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest human made structure since the Great Wall of China
 
  The NRA utilized patriotic appeals to get people to help in the recovery, using the symbol of the Eagle at link patriotism & helping the economy
 
  This is how the Philadelphia Eagles Football Team got its name
 
  Henry Ford called the Eagle "Roosevelt's damn buzzard!"
 
  In 1935 in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, the Supreme Court had invalidated the code making provisions of the act, thus the entire NRA was terminated
 
  Fossum states that it was fortunate that the NRA was declared unconstitutional, since it was a weak law;  later labor law was more effective  
  As the NIRA safeguards for Labor were lost, the Wagner Act of 1935 resecured these rights  

 
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 Outline on the Wagner Act, aka the National Labor Relations Act  1935
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  -  Introduction:  The Wagner Act, aka the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), was enacted in 1935 & is the cornerstone of our National Labor Policy  
  -  Summary:  The NLRA guarantees the rights of workers to organize & to bargain collectively w/ employers.  It encourages collective bargaining & provides govt processes for the selection of employee bargaining representatives. It established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)  
  From the Preamble to the National Labor Relations Act:  "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to eliminate the causes of certain substantial obstructions to the free flow of commerce and to mitigate and eliminate these obstructions when they have occurred by encouraging the practice of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection."
 
  The Wagner Act was passed in the throes of the Depression
 
  It was a period of of weakness for Labor
 
  The Great Depression & the Wagner Act sent a strong message to the people which was that things could change, & that the govt helped the small person too  
  Many people joined Marxist/socialist/communist related groups, but in effect FDR's New Deal reformed the system & headed off revolution  
  The Wagner Act can be seen as an important part of the New Deal  
  The Wagner Act of 1935 essentially legalized unions & union activities & founded the basis of the modern labor movement
 
 
 Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act, employees are entitled to form, join, or assist labor organizations
 
  There are TEN major provisions of the Wagner Act
 
  1.  Employees may form a union
 
  2.  Employees may join a union
 
  3.  Prohibits interference w/ assisting a union
 
  4.  Employees may financially contribute to a union
 
  5.  Prohibits discriminating against a union member
 
  6.  Employers must bargain in good faith
 
  7.  Employees may strike & have a right to open jobs upon their return  
  8.  Employers must recognize a union as having the right to exclusive representation of workers
 
  9.  The NLRB is created as an independent govt agency that reports only to Congress
 
  10.  Some workers are not covered by the Wagner Act & therefore have little right to organize:  supervisors & mgrs., agricultural workers, domestics, family workers, federal, state, & local employees, & employees covered by the RLA
 
  The provisions of the Wagner Act are often seen as establishing the rights of unions, the rules of collective bargaining, workers' rights to unionize, unfair labor practices  
  The NLRA does not spell out wages & working conditions  
  There are EIGHT minor provisions of the Wagner Act:
 
  1.  Must bargain in “good faith”   
  2.  Union becomes sole bargaining agent for workers  
  3.  Secret ballot elections for union representative
 
  4.  Workers cannot be fired/harassed for union activity   
  5.  Closed shops are allowed (but can only be mandated by state law)  
  6.  Made company unions illegal  
  7.  If strikers return to work, they must be rehired for open jobs that they qualify for  
  8.  If strikers return to work, they must be given preference when jobs become open  
 
 In essence the Wagner Act declared certain practices by employers against unions to be illegal
 
  A study tracking organizing success following the passage of the Wagner Act found that organized firms had a 20% lower rate of return than non union firms  
  Because the Supreme Court declared the NIRA void in 1935, employers thought the same would happen w/ the Wagner Act  
  Therefore employers were intransigent & did not obey the Wagner Act  
  Most of the strikes from 1935 to 1937 were over union attempts to be recognized & not over wages or other issues  
  In relation to the Wagner Act, employers fought back against the attempts to estb unions w/ programs such as the Mohawk Valley Formula  
  But in 1937, in NLRB v. Laughlin Steel Corp, the Supreme Court ruled the Wagner Act to be constitutional  
  The Wagner Act was amended for the first time in 1947 by the Labor Management Relations Act, commonly known as the Taft Hartley Act  
  The NLRA was again amended in 1959 by the Labor Management Reporting & Disclosure Act, commonly known at the Landrum Griffin Act  

 
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 Outline on the NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel  1937
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  The Wagner Act was very similar to the NIRA, which was declared unconstitutional, so many thought the Wagner Act would also be declared unconstitutional  
  Business advisors told business not to worry about compliance 
 
  Many national unions told locals to pick fights carefully, because they wanted the strongest possible case going to the Supreme Court
 
  A Report to Congress by a former US Attorney General, two Solicitor Generals, several Presidents of the Bar Association, many well known corporate lawyers, etc., all reported that the Wagner Act was clearly unconstitutional
 
  FDR would not even support the bill until after it passed the Senate
 
  But FDR added new, members to the Supreme Court that were friendly to his agenda, including support for the Labor Movement
 
  By a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Wagner Act
 
  The Supreme Court accepted the findings of the NLRB that Jones & Laughlin was engaged in interstate commerce & thereby upheld the Wagner Act
 
  Manufacturing, even when conducted w/in a state, is interstate commerce & therefore subject to federal law  
  By bringing raw materials from other states & then shipping its finished products to points outside the state, the Court ruled, the company was engaged in the "stream" of commerce
 
  The stoppage of these activities would have an effect on interstate commerce
 
  Therefore, the Court had "no doubt that Congress had constitutional authority to safeguard the right of respondent's employees to self organization & freedom in the choice of representatives for collective bargaining."
 
  This was the first of fifteen formal decisions won by the NLRB
 

 
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 Outline on the Congress of Industrial Organizations   estb 1935 
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  The AFL was racked w/ internal dissent
 
  The AFL was always in competition w/ the more radical unions that pushed a socialist agenda  
  The AFL would not move in this radical direction  
  Some believed that the AFL should include only skilled craft workers
 
  Others, including the CIO, believed that it should organize the semi skilled workers in the new mass production industries of autos, rubber, steel, glass, aluminum, chemical
 
  The AFL would not move in the direction of organizing semi skilled workers   
  After the Great Depression, 1935 John L. Lewis, chair of the UMW, broke the UMWA & 7 other unions from AFL & formed the CIO  
  The other unions in the newly formed CIO included the Clothier Union, the International Typographical Union, & the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC)  
  The battle inside the AFL was btwn John L. Lewis of the UMWA & "Big Bill" Hutcheson of the Carpenters' Union  
  The CIO did not pretend to challenge the AFL on radical ideological or philosophical grounds, & it was therefore a different movement from the AFL's earlier Labor opponents  
  The CIO differed w/ the AFL on structure, organizing, & power  
  The CIO's structure was seen in their strategy of organizing workers into industrial unions regardless of skills, rather than into the traditional craft unions of skilled workers  
  The success of the CIO was traceable to both the procapitalist philosophy it shared w/ the AFL & the effectiveness of its views on organizing & structure  
  Indeed, the AFL saw itself forced to abandon antiquated policies & compete w/ the CIO for the mass production industries  
  The CIO's momentum increased during the 1930s
 
  Both the AFL & the CIO & other unions raided each other's member / employers caught in the middle  
  This lead to some states outlawing certain union activities  
  By 1938, the CIO's membership of 3.7 mm was greater than that of the older AFL by 300,000
 
  John L. Lewis was the leader of the CIO from 1938 - 1940  
  Lewis was succeeded by Philip Murray who died in office in 1952
 
  Walter P. Reuther headed the union from 1952 - 1955, when the CIO merged w/ the AFL
 
  The Flint Sit Down Strike, e.g. the GM & Battle of Running Bulls was a major CIO victory in 1937  
  After the Flint Sit Down Strike, another major victory for the CIO was when Lewis & Taylor of US Steel signed a contract  

 
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 Outline on the Flint Sit Down Strike  1937
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  The most famous sit down strike was stage against GM in Flint, MI in 1937
 
  Homer Martin employed the sit down strike at GM   
  The sit down started in the Fisher Body Buildings I & II & the police attacked the strikers w/ tear gas
 
  The workers held their ground against three police assault by using fire hoses
 
  The police gunfire wounded 14 unarmed workers & the next day, the militia massed 
 
  The situation became very tense when the plants were surrounded by soldiers w/ gatling guns  
  Workers at the Fleetwood plant then went on strike
 
  The Governor of MI refused to escalate the situation & the siege continued for 44 days
 
  During the time of the siege, a confrontation called the "Battle of the Running Bulls" took place
 
  The police (Bulls) attacked the workers' wives who were smuggling food into the plant
 
  The police had to retreat from the workers' fire hoses
 
  Because of the sit down strike, the Battle of the Running Bulls, & the length of the siege, GM eventually gave in to the CIO
 
  This important victory enabled the CIO to organize most of the auto industry, & also most of the steel industry
 
  This victory may also be credited w/ two of the largest & most powerful unions in American history:
 
  See Also: The UAW  
  The United Steel Workers
 
  The tactics used in the Flint Sit Down Strike became widespread  
  By 1938 the CIO had 3.7 mm  while the AFL had 3.4 mm  members  

 
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 Outline on the United Auto Workers  estb. 1935
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  -  UAW's Website:  http://www.uaw.org/
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  UAW stands for the United Auto Workers  
  The UAW was founded in Detroit in 1935 after the Flint Sit Down Strike by the CIO  
  Walter Reuther was the important founding President of the UAW  
  Reuther was a skilled auto worker, a tool & die machinist  
  Reuther recognized that a transition to unskilled work was taking place in the auto industry  
  Reuther organized unskilled & was reviled by other skilled auto workers & others  
  Reuther & his brother visited USSR  
  The UAW was an early, important member of the CIO
 
  The UAW was part of the CIO merger w/ the AFL in 1955
 
  The UAW w/drew from the AFL CIO in 1968 but rejoined in 1981
 
  The UAW is one of the largest unions in the US w/ over 1,200 locals
 
  The UAW organizes auto workers, aerospace workers, agricultural implement workers, electronics workers, household appliance workers, allied metal working trades
 
  The UAW has more recently branched into services such as banking, insurance, hospitals, legal services, local govts, & universities
 
  Around 1980 virtually all US made auto were assembled by American Motors, Chrysler, Ford, & GM  
  Since then BMW, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan, & Toyota have opened US assembly plants  
  Chrysler has acquired American Motors and then merged w/ Daimler Benz  
  To serve members in a consistent manner across these major manufacturers, the UAW established national departments  
  Because US based domestic auto makers facilities were almost 100 % unionized, national departments concentrated on representation rather than organizing activities   
  Each UAW national department has a council consisting of delegates from that department's locals  
  Councils form subcommittees based on common interest of the members such as seniority & work rules  
  Subcommittees designate members to take part in the national negotiation council from that department  
  Staff departments provide information for the national departments & also assist local through international representatives  
  Besides having a "product line" approach in its national departments, the UAW is also broken into geographical regions based on the concentration of UAW members in a given area  
  Regional staff conduct organizing drives and assist remote local unions or those not closely affiliated w/ national departments in negotiation, administration, & grievance handling  
  Regional staff may also have experts in health & safety, industrial engineering, etc.  
  The centralized orgl makeup of the UAW is a function of employer concentration & the level at which economic bargaining occurs  
  As a result of the closure of many auto plants as their jobs were to other countries, locals have traded local economic concessions for job security  

 
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 Outline on the Labor Movement & WW 2
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  Prior to WW 2, there were many Labor jurisdictional disputes & membership raids
 
  In 1940, Labor split ranks during the Presidential election, some going to Wilke & some to FDR because FDR didn't help UAW w/ the GM strike
 
  The US was not out of the Great Depression, so there was widespread political & economic strife
 
  Radicals questioned the American capitalist system & the social order
 
  Increasing numbers of Labor staff & leaders were communists
 
  During WW 2, accommodation & innovation in bargaining were widespread
 
  Even overtly communist unions supported no strike agreements since this aided the Soviet American alliance in Europe
 
  In 1941, coal miners struck in both April & September, raising FDR's ire & turning public opinion against them  
  The public became disillusioned w/ strikes while soldiers died  
  When America entered the war, a no strike pledge was given, but not followed  
  In 1943 there were 4,300 strikes & Ford was organized
 
  Congress passed the War power Acts in 1941 & 1942 which established the National War Labor Board (NWLB) in January of 1942
 
  In 1945 there were 4,750 strikes & the govt seized coal mines & inducted miners into military 
 
  During the war, as labor employed unique negotiating strategies that did not focus on wages or hours, fringe benefits became routine
 
  The NWLB responded to Labor's demand for closed shop by devising a compromise of "maintenance of membership" by which unionized workers were obliged to remain in their unions to continue employment
 
  By the end of the war, some 4 mm workers were employed under the conditions of "maintenance of membership"
 
  The NWLB devised the Little Steel formula which tied wage increases to the cost of living
 
  FDR ordered the freezing of wages & prices in April 1943
 
  Lewis of the UMW refused to appear before the NWLB & called for a strike of soft coal miners in May 1943  
  These & other strikes spawned the passage of the Smith Connally Anti Strike Act, aka the War Labor Disputes Act over FDR's veto  
  The need to expand the labor force during the war meant more women & minorities worked  
  The Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) was designed to curb discrimination  
  Comparable Worth, i.e. equal pay for equal work became routine for women  
  The govt required nondiscrimination in all war contracts  
  Attempts failed to make these regulations permanent law after the War   
  During the War, the CIO was more aggressive in labor activities than was the AFL
 
  The CIO tried to get around the Smith Connally Anti Strike Act prohibition of union political activity by establishing the Political Action Committee to work for FDR's reelection
 
  The AFL refused to give open support for FDR  
  Union membership grew from 10 to 13 mm during the War  
  The Post WW 2 period saw the single greatest year of Labor conflict in US history in 1945  
  Pent up consumer demand was unleashed
People resumed family life & the American dream		  
  Women & minorities had gained seniority & were reluctant to give it up to white, male soldiers  
  Labor had traditionally followed the seniority system  
  Labor was btwn a rock & a hard place  
  There was contention all around & a conservative post War Congress was elected  
  In 1946 the UMW struck resulting in the union being held in contempt of court & fined $3.5 mm which was sustained by the Supreme Court but reduced to $700,000  
  Truman threatened to draft the railroad strikers  
  Walter Reuther, president of the UAW, demanded to look at GM's books to see if GM could increase pay w/o increasing prices  
  In all cases, the demands for wages were met when govt boards recommended both wage & price increases  
  Fringe benefits in the form of pension plans, insurance, & vacation grants became part of collective bargaining as a result of using these forms of compensation in lieu of wage increases during WW 2  
  Public hostility during the Post-War Era was inflamed by FIVE factors   
  a. Inflation  
  b. Soldier pay had not kept up w/ labor pay & soldiers were resentful  
  c. A belief that unions had grown to powerful  
  d. A few, corrupt labor officials  
  e. The control of some unions by communists  
  Because of this, in June of 1947, the Taft Hartley Act was passed over Truman's veto  

 
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 Outline on the Smith Connally Anti Strike Act, aka the War Labor Disputes Act  1943
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  In June of 1943 strikes became so widespread that Congress passed the Smith Connally Anti Strike Act, aka the War Labor Disputes Act over FDR's veto
 
  There were FIVE provisions of the War Labor Disputes Act
 
  a. seizure of plants if struck because of the necessity to keep going for the war effort
 
  b. strikes & lockouts in defense industries became a criminal offense
 
  c. the requirement of a 30 days notice to the NWLB of a pending dispute
 
  d. the requirement of the National War Labor Board to monitor all strikes
 
  e.  union funds may not be used for political purposes  
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 Under the act, the govt took over the coal mines &, for a brief period, the railroads
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 Work stoppages, although dangerous, accounted for less than 1 % of total working hours of the wartime laboring force, a record that was better than blockaded Britain
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 American workers were committed to the war effort & only struck when conditions became intolerable
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Outline on the Weakening of the Great Labor Compromise, Business Unionism, etc.
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  -  Project:  Opportunities & the Weakening of the GLC
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  Today, Labor bargains over wages, hours, working conditions, bilateral govt of the workplace, grievances, job security, political lobbying, etc.
 
  Fringe benefits in the form of pension plans, insurance, & vacation grants became part of collective bargaining as a result of using these forms of compensation in lieu of wage increases during WW 2  
  Union elitism still exists today which demonstrates the existence & effects of the Great Labor Compromise
 
  This split in union & non union workplaces still exists & is the source of much working class conflict
 
  Traditional industrial union workers remain better off than non unionized workers or non industrial workers, w/ the exception of some high tech workers
 
  Non industrial workers & non union workers are better off today than they were 100 yrs ago, but sill are behind the unionized industrial workers
 
  The impression of union elitism is moderated by TWO actions: 
 
  - the extent to which unions help others organize
 
  - the extent to which unions work for the benefit of the working class
 
  The GLC is weaker today & union membership fallen from 54% to 13% for TWO reasons  
  a.  - because of the sharp decline of the number of traditional union (industrial) jobs
 
  b.  - unions have been slow to change:  unions have been slow to organize service jobs, women, minorities, low wage jobs, etc.
 
  Just as Labor sought issues beyond wages, hours, & working conditions during WW 2, so they have sought issues of the 70s, 80s, etc.  
  Issues which unions are organizing around include comparable worth, civil rights, participation in decision making, the right to know, and more  

 
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 Outline on the Taft Hartley Act  1947
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  -  Summary:  While the Wagner Act declared certain practices by employers against unions to be illegal, the Taft Hartley Act (THA) declared certain practices by unions against employers to be illegal  
  The Taft Hartley Act (THA) of 1947 is officially known at the Labor Management Relations Act
 
  Sponsored by Senator Robert Taft & Rep. Fred Hartley, it amended the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, the Wagner Act
 
  The THA was a reaction to the unregulated growth of Labor & certain alleged abuses of power by some Labor leaders
 
  For the first time since 1930, Republicans held both houses of Congress which allowed passage of the Act over the veto of Truman
 
  Congressional adoption of the THA over President Truman's veto came about in large part because of perceived excesses by Labor during WW II  
  Labor had been steadily building power through the NIRA & then the Wagner Act
 
  Opponents had succeeded in getting the NIRA declared unconstitutional
 
  Opponents had tried but failed to get the Wagner act declared unconstitutional in the NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp
 
  The opponents began a Congressional drive to have the act amended but were delayed by the problems of WW 2
 
  From 1935 (the Wagner Act is enacted) & 1947 (the THA), unions expanded from 3 to 15 mm
 
  In industries such as coal, construction, railroads, & trucking over 80% of the workers were unionized
 
  Factors contributing to the climate that prompted the passage of the THA  
  a. 1945 had more strikes than any year in history  
  b. In 1946 a wave of strikes closed steel mills, ports, auto factories, etc.  
  c. The birth of the Cold War, fears of Communist dominated unions  
  Red Scare:  Alger Hiss, John Reed, etc.  
  d. Public reaction against strikes during WW 2 while solders fought & died  
  e. Public image of labor was gruff & influenced by the American Plan, the Mohawk Valley Formula, etc.  
  Many believed that Wagner Act had tipped the scales to far in Labor's favor  
  f. Poor legislative tactics by Labor & Labor Supporters  
  Democrats in Congress were not Labor supporters  
  Truman tired to veto the act, but he & Labor were surprised at the resistance (unaware of opposition)  
  Labor didn't count noses, i.e. manage the legislative process  
  Senator Taft displayed a mastery of parliamentarianism  
  Where the preamble of the Wagner Act limited the blame for labor disputes obstructing commerce to employers, the THA extended the blame to the conduct of the union
 
  The definition of unfair labor practices by employers was tightened, allowing employers to speak more openly in labor controversies
 
  The freedom of unions in the exercise of economic pressure was limited by the designation of unfair labor practices
 
  The workers gained the right to reject a union
 
  There NINE Major Provisions of the Taft Hartley Labor Act of  1947:  
  a. Designated unfair labor practices by unions  
    i.   jurisdictional raids  
    ii.  featherbedding  
    iii. refusal to bargain in good faith  
    iv. secondary strikes, boycotts & sympathy strikes  
    v.  Labor leaders must certify they are not communists  
  b. Protects right of workers not to join union  
  The states may pass right to work laws-- closed shops are illegal  
  c. Established the process to decertify a union  
  d. Fed govt may issue injunction to end strike for an 80 day cooling off period if a strike threatens the national interest  
  e.  Establishes the Fed Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS)  
  f. Authorized union to sue & be sued  
  g. Expanded the NLRB from 3 to 5 & established the General Counsel seat  
  h. Prohibited strikes by federal workers  
  i. Corporations & unions are prohibited from making political contributions ( both have found loop holes )  
  See Also:  The Amended Taft Hartley Act  
  There are FOUR Lessons of the Taft Hartley Act of 1947  
  a. Labor needs to be prepared to advocate /or thwart a legislative agenda  
  b. Labor needs to take a visible stand on legislation  
  c. The balance changed:  Labor cannot afford to fight amongst selves  
  d. Labor must seek public support  

 
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 Outline on McCarthyism & Right Wing Attacks
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  -  Project:  McCarthyism, It's Causes, & Today
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  McCarthyism is a term for the widespread accusations & investigations of suspected communists & communist activities in the US during the 1950s
 
  The term McCarthyism comes from Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin Republican who made numerous charges, usually w/ little evidence, that certain public officials & other individuals were communists or communist sympathizers
 
  Joseph McCarthy & McCarthyism should not be confused w/ the liberal Eugene McCarthy, a sociologist who became the democratic Senator from MN from 1959 to 1971
 
  McCarthy's activities themselves were restricted to 36 days of Senate hearings that he headed in the search for communists w/in the govt, however the term McCarthyism has been used to describe any "communist witch hunt"  
  McCarthyism developed during the Cold War, when in the 1940s & 1950s Americans became alarmed & frustrated
 
  During this era, communists took over Czechoslovakia & China
 
  The Soviets exploded their first A bomb sooner that anyone guessed (as revealed in the 1990s they had help from spies w/in the Los Alamos bomb development center)
 
  The Soviets equipped the North Korean Communists that invaded So. Korea resulting in the Korean War from 1950 - 1953
 
  Charges that Americans had served as Soviet spies received wide attention
 
  Alger Hiss, a former official of the State Dept, was accused of giving secrets to the Soviets in the 1930s
 
  Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, an American couple were convicted of passing military secrets to the Soviets in the 1940s  (controversy surrounds this conviction)
 
  McCarthyism itself was preceded by many similar more widespread govt "communist witch hunts"
 
  The Fed Govt began the search for communists among its employees when Truman established the Loyalty Boards in 1947
 
  The Loyalty Boards dismissed any govt worker who had questionable loyalties
 
  Also in 1947 the US Attorney General established a list of organizations that the Dept of Justice considered disloyal
 
  There was no defense against these types of accusations
 
  McCarthy himself searched for communists, primarily w/in the Army
 
  The 1940s & 1930s saw the growth of anti communism, McCarthyism, & right wing attacks on many liberal elements of American society including labor unions
 
  To confront this, the Labor Movement closed ranks & carried out a series of internal purges
 
  In 1949 & 1950 the CIO expelled eleven unions that had substantial communist membership  
  The AFL & CIO merged in 1955, under the leadership of George Meany & Walter Reuther, partially from concerns about a leveling off of membership & also from a narrowing of ideological differences  
  In 1957, the AFL CIO expelled the graft ridden Teamsters led by Jimmy Hoffa   
  In 1959, Congress passed a major piece of Labor related legislation, the Landrum Griffin Act which regulates the internal practices of unions including the election of officers, & the encourages democracy w/in unions  

 
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 Outline on the AFL CIO 1955 - present
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  -  AFL CIO Website:  http://www.aflcio.org/
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  The AFL had formed in 1869 as a federation of craft unions  
  The CIO had formed in 1935 as it broke away from the AFL to form the first industrial union  
  The AFL CIO is similar to a trade association, a chamber of commerce, or a national association of manufacturers  
  It coordinates activities among the Nationals & amplifies their voices  
  The federation of the AFL CIO's prime functions are information, integration, and advocacy  
  It's greatest areas of autonomy relate to legislative & political processes  
  NINE factors set the stage for the merger of the AFL & the CIO into the AFL CIO in 1955
 
 
 One of the factors that set the stage for the AFL CIO merger was that:  
  1.  late in the 1940s there were strong economic conditions w/ higher wages & profits & living standards 
 
  2.  mgt. & Labor were working for peaceful labor relations
 
  3.  in 1952, both William Green (AFL) & Philip Murray (CIO) died   
  4.  successors to the AFL & the CIO, George Meany (AFL) & Walter Reuther (CIO) were able to close ranks as predecessors would have found impossible 
 
  5.  in 1954 the new leaders of the AFL & CIO signed a no raid agreement
 
  6.  the declining growth of membership made Labor pull together
 
  Unionization as a fraction of labor peaked in 56 at 1/3   
  7.  the passage of the 1947 Landrum Griffin Act 
 
  8.  Labor corruption could be more easily dealt w/ if Labor pulled together  
  9.  one of the urgent tasks facing the AFL CIO was the elimination of corrupt elements from the Labor Movement  
  A Brief History of the AFL CIO:  
  In the 1960s the AFL CIO supported the New Frontier & the Great Society domestic programs of presidents Kennedy & Johnson
 
  The support of the AFL CIO contributed to legislative successes in civil rights, voting rights, housing, education, health & medical care, urban redevelopment, & poverty programs
 
  But the AFL CIO failed to get section 14b of the Taft Hartley Act repealed
 
  The AFL CIO opposed much of Nixon's agenda, especially his anti inflationary wage & price controls
 
  Never-the-less, Labor was neutral in the Nixon - McGovern election of 1972, the first time that a Democratic candidate did not gain support & $$ from Labor
 
  After the election & Watergate, the AFL CIO moved quickly for its reassertion of influence in the Democratic Party & of the impeachment of Nixon
 
  In 1974 the AFL CIO had 13 mm members, w/ the two biggest unions being independent: the Teamsters & the UAW
 
  While Labor had stabilized in the 1950s, by the mid 70s, the trend was one of decline  
  George Meany retired in 1979 & was succeeded by Lane Kirkland  
  Under Kirkland, the UAW which was disaffiliated in 1968, reaffiliated in 1981  
  1982 is considered the Centennial Year of the AFL CIO  
  The Teamsters, who were ejected in 1957, were reaffiliated in 1987  
  In 1994, Sweeney takes the Presidency and advocates more militancy  
  The Org Structure the AFL - CIO:  
  The merger did not change in any fundamental way the decentralized & essentially economic nature of the Labor Movement  
  The AFL CIO consists of about 100 national & international trade & industrial unions w/ a total membership of about 13 mm  
  The nationals are self governing, but cooperate w/ one another within the federation  
  Each national union has local unions in the US & its territories  
  Each international unions also have local unions in Canada, Puerto Rico, & Panama  
  The national & international labor unions have more than 60,000 local unions  
  States & Local Central Bodies
AFL CIO interacts w/ 800 state and local central bodies
These orgs are mostly political/lobbyists		  
  All affiliated unions are entitled to representation at the AFL CIO's convention every two years  
  The convention is the supreme governing body  
  Delegates are appointed based on size of the national union from which they come  
  The delegates are elected or appointed according to the national's policy  
  Other delegates come from directly affiliated locals, state & city bodies, national industrial & trade dept.  
  The Convention elects the President, the Secretary Treasurer, and 33 vice Presidents who make up the Executive Council (ExCo)  
  The ExCo determines policy btwn conventions & carries out policies established by the convention  
  The AFL CIO has central bodies (federations) in all 50 states & Puerto Rico, and over 700 local central bodies  
  There are EIGHT trade & industrial depts. in the AFL CIO  
  a. Building & Construction 
b. Industrial Union Trade
c. Metal Trades
d. Union Label & Service Trades
e. Maritime Trade
f. Food & Allied Service Trades
g. Professional Employees
h. Public Employees Depts		  
  The AFL CIO constitution established committees & depts. to deal w/ 
a. legislation
b. civil rights
c. political education
d. ethical practices
e. international affairs
f. education
g. social security
h. economic policy		 i. community services
j. housing
k. research
l. public relations
m. safety & occupational health
n. veterans' affair
o. organization
 
  The Activities & Policies of the AFL CIO:  
  Assists its unions in organizing work, legal assistance in court, represents affiliates in govt, & nongovt agency dealings  
  The AFL CIO does not itself engage in collective bargaining or issue strike calls (w/ minor exceptions)
 
  This power resides, as it always has, in the autonomous national & international unions 
 
  Maintains research, information, & publicity services  
  Publishes an official magazine:  The American Federationist, & a weekly paper, The AFL CIO News, & pamphlets & organizing information  
  In the legislative field, the AFL CIO works for enactment of desired legislation on the national & state levels  
  Immediately after the merger, the AFL CIO created a single political arm: The Committee on Political Education ( COPE )  
  The AFL CIO re entered politics w/ $$ & person power in close alliance w/ the Democratic Party  
  In civic affairs, it promotes the activity of union members in such community projects as campaigns for voter registration, better schools, more hospitals, elimination of slums, & aid in combating juvenile delinquency  
  Internal Maintenance of the AFL - CIO:  
  The AFL CIO has a direct relationship w/ almost 800 state & local central bodies  
  These bodies reflect the composition of the parent AFL CIO and the particular industrial mix of their geographic areas  
  The state & local centrals are directly responsible to the AFL CIO, not to the internationals  
  The AFL CIO tries to resolve certain types of disputes among its member unions  
  The AFL CIO developed rules for unions to submit interunion disputes for mediation & adjudication  
  When  they merged, the power of the AFL CIO did expand to include the authority to expel unions for corruption or domination by Communist, Fascists, or other totalitarian forces
 
  The AFL CIO developed an Ethical Practices Code  
  The AFL CIO adopted a vigorous anti discrimination vow  
  The AFL CIO developed rules to avoid dominance by non democratic ideologies in any union  
  Policies of the AFL CIO:  
  Meany became the new President of the AFL CIO & re endorsed Gompers concept of "more" as it applied to the standard & quality of living  
  Meany reiterated the business unionism approach  
  Meany was unwilling to involve Labor in mgt & thereby forestalled in move toward employee participation, workplace democracy, etc.  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on Corruption in the Labor Movement
External
Links
  The eras of anti communism, McCarthyism, & right wing attacks set the stage for, beginning in 1957, Senate hearings on TV of labor officials accused of corruption & / or communist sympathy   
  The Senate Hearings by the Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field of 1957 were chaired by John McClellan & looked at both mgt. & Labor problems  
  Many Labor leaders took the 5th Amendment at the Senate Hearings
 
  The Teamsters took the lion's share of the spotlight   
  Other unions, including the Bakery & Confectionery Workers, Operating Engineers, Carpenters, & United Textile Workers were also involved in corruption
 
  Management contributed to corruption by providing payoffs for sweetheart contracts that prevented other unions from organizing while paying substandard rates
 
  The publicity w/ the Labor Hearings cast a pall over the entire Labor Movement
 
  By inference, all Labor was corrupt
 
  The Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor Mgt Field (SSCIALMF) convened in 1957  
  Notable members of the SSCIALMF included Senators John McClellan of AR, JFK & Barry Goldwater  
  The SSCIALMF uncovered corruption & demanded reform   
  Teamsters under Hoffa, were shown to be especially corrupt   
  The AFL CIO insisted on changes in internal operation to address the problems of corruption  
  Teamsters, Bakers, Laundry Workers did not accept this "interference w/ internal affairs" and were expelled in 1957   
  All of this exposure of corruption led Teamsters to support Republican Presidential candidates   
  Note:  corruption rarely occurred at the local level; most was at the higher levels  
  The work of the Senate Select Committee lead to the Landrum Griffin Act  
  The congressional investigations led to legislation to reduce the likelihood of corrupt practices in unions & to amend the Taft Hartley Act in the Form of the Landrum Griffin Act of 1959  
  One of the urgent tasks facing the AFL CIO was the elimination of corrupt elements from the Labor Movement  
  The AFL CIO investigated internally & considered charges against the Allied Industrial Workers, Bakers, Distillers, Laundry Workers, Textile Workers, & Teamsters
 
  An effort was made in the creation of an Ethical Practices Committee, which carried out the investigations  
  The Textile Workers, Distillers, & the Allied Industrial Workers agreed to changes
 
  The Bakers, Laundry Workers, & Teamsters were expelled
 
  Between the union leaders expelled or killed before the Wagner Act, the patriotic hysteria of WW 1 & 2, McCarthyism, & now this anti corruption campaign, Labor has lost many of its best & brightest 
 

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the Teamsters 1903
External
Links
  -  Project:  The Teamsters Strategy & Corruption 
Link
  -  Video:  Jimmy Hoffa:  The Man Behind the Mystery     A & E Biography     50 min      1993 
Link
  -  Teamsters Website:  http://www.teamster.org/ 
Link
  The Teamsters were chartered by the AFL in 1899 as the Team Drivers' Union 
 
  The groups split into two unions, which reunited at Niagra Fall, NY, in 1903, the official date of the founding of the Teamsters Union 
 
  The union grew rapidly under presidents David Beck & James Hoffa in the 1950s & 1960s 
 
  The Teamsters are the largest labor union in the US w/ 1.66 mm members   
  The Teamsters are organized into 800 locals   
  THE TEAMSTERS ARE RENOWNED FOR THEIR AGGRESSIVE ORGANIZING STRAT:  A.  ORGANIZE MANY TRADES & IND;  B. AGGRESSIVE FOCUS ON RAISING WAGES;  C. ESTB AFFILIATIONS W/ OTHER CONSTITUENCIES   
  a.  The Teamsters organize the many trades & industries, including: 
-  truck drivers                   -  garage & service station workers 
-  dairy workers                 -  food processing workers 
-  brewery workers            -  people who work w/ autos 
-  chauffeurs                       -  soft drink workers 
-  industrial workers           -  airline workers 
-  warehouse workers        -  public service employees 
-  auto salespeople             -  & more 		  
  b.  The Teamsters generally go w/ their strength of raising wages, knowing this only satisfies workers for a while   
  c.  The membership drives can be based on "revolving door:" or peripheral affiliations outside of the core constituencies   
 
 THE POSITIVES & NEGATIVES TO THE TEAMSTERS AGG ORG STRAT ARE ( + ) RAISING WAGES; FULL SERVICES; & ( - ) NOT RESPONSIVE TO WKRS; WKRS EXPECT INCREASING WAGES & THEN  IMPROVEMENT ON OTHER ISSUES; DECERTIFICATION DRIVES 
 
 
 1.  The aggressive organizing strategy is positive for workers because Teamsters are good at raising wages 
 
  2.  The Teamsters' membership drives can be based on full services:  meeting all needs   
 
 3.  The aggressive organizing strategy is negative for workers because they are not responsive to worker input 
 
 
 4.  Wkrs get used to higher wages; then want to move on to other issues but the Teamsters are not responsive, so they decertify them 
 
 
 5.  Teamster unions are often the subject of decertification drives 
 
 
 CORRUPTION IN THE TEAMSTERS HAD DELEGITIMIZED THEM TO THE WIDER PUBLIC 
 
  The ultimate effect of the Teamsters' corruption, of corruption of unions in general, is to discredit the Labor Mvmt, thus justifying the corporate position of anti unionism  
  The Teamsters were expelled from the AFL CIO in 1957 due to corruption & was reaffiliated in 1987 after they had reformed 
 
  See Also:  Corruption in the Labor Movement   
  The Teamsters are well known for its alleged corruption & its leadership by the Hoffas  
  Under examination by the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field of 1957, the Teamsters took the lion's share of the accusations   
  The Senate Select Committee was chaired by John McClellan of AR, w/ other significant members such as JFK & Barry Goldwater  
  JFK & Bobby Kennedy continued to lock horns w/ the Teamsters, & rumors have circulated that there may be some connection to JFK's assassination   
  There were FIVE types of corruption engaged in by the Teamsters: 
a. reprisal violence 
b. financial manipulation 
c. repression of members' democratic rights 
d. racketeering 
e. sweetheart contracts:  substandard benefits 		  
  Dave Beck had converted union funds to his own use, borrowed money from employers, & received kickbacks from labor "consultants"   
  Jimmy Hoffa was accused of breaking Teamster strikes & covertly running his own trucking operation   
  "Sweetheart" contracts w/ substandard benefits & guaranteeing labor peace were uncovered in the NY area Teamster locals operated by racketeers   
  All this has led Teamsters to support Republican Presidential candidates   
  In 1989, the Teamsters & the Dept. of Justice reached an out of court settlement of a federal racketeering lawsuit that was filed against the union 
 
  Some Teamster official had long been suspected of being tied to organized crime 
 
  The agreement changed election procedures to enable union members to vote directly for top union officials 
 
  Previously, these officers were elected by delegates to the union's international convention 
 
  The agreement also called for creation of a three member board to oversee union activities 
 
  One member would be appointed by the US Attorney General, one by the Teamsters, & another by mutual consent of both 
 
  In 1998, even after the govt oversight the Teamsters were found guilty of financial malfeasance 
 
  Teamsters President Ron Carey was seen as the clean-up man of the Teamsters after its govt oversight   
  Carey was found guilty of laundering in his re-election $$ in 1997  (under appeal) 
 
  Carey was barred from holding office   
  In 1993-95, the Teamsters were found guilty under fed law of 104 cases of embezzlement 
 
  Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. is now President   

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the Landrum Griffin Act  1959
External
Links
  The Landrum Griffin Act, (LGA) aka the Labor Management Reporting & Disclosure Act of 1959 resulted from Congressional hearings into corruption in labor mgt relations.  The LGA Senate Hearings by the Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field of 1957 were chaired by John McClellan of AR & other significant members such as JFK & Barry Goldwater 
 
  See Also:  Labor Corruption  
  The LGA gave the govt greater control over union affairs by providing for federal supervision of union elections & financial accounts
 
  Individuals who had been in prison could not run for union office until five years after their release
 
  At the insistence of Senator JFK of MA, the act also included a Bill of Rights for union members  
  It guaranteed freedom of speech, control over union dues, & other rights  
  Provisions of the Landrum Griffin Act:  
  The Bill of Rights for union members has SEVEN provisions.  Each union member has:
 
  1.  the right to attend meetings
 
  2.  freedom of speech
 
  3.  equal voting rights
 
  4.  control of dues increases
 
  5.  the right to copies of labor agreements 
 
  6.  the right to sue their union
 
  7.  a hearing before any punishment is instituted by the union
 
  Other provisions to limit corruption include
 
  1.  that unions had to publicly file the constitution, by laws, & financial reports
 
  2.  the regulation union elections
 
  3.  that felons are barred from holding office
 
  4.  penalties for employers for bribing unions
 
  5.  the embezzlement of union funds became a federal offense
 
  6.  the forbidding of secondary boycotts  
  7.  the forbidding of "hot cargo" clauses in union agreements  
  8.  the establishment of procedures for international union levels to put the local in trusteeship  
  9.  the disclosure of outside consultants (un enforced)  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on Labor Executive Orders
External
Links
  EO 10988    1962    President JFK 
 
  EO 10988, 1962, by President JFK, held that:  
  -  unions may bargain w/ govt agencies
 
  -  Labor is allowed to organize public sector employees  
  -  collective bargaining issues may include terms & conditions of employment, but NOT wages
 
  -  govt unions could not represent workers who advocated strikes or rights to strike
 
  -  grievance procedures may be established, but the final determination lies w/ the govt
 
  EO 10988 was codified into the Amended Taft Hartley Act in 1974  
  EO  11491    1970   President Nixon
 
  Modified EO 10988
 
  EO 11491, 1970, by President Nixon, held that:  
  -  the secret ballot for union recognition must be used
 
  -  unions must be in compliance w/ the Landrum Griffin Act  
  -  arbitration as final settlement for grievance may utilized
 
  -  unfair labor practices shall be delineated
 
  -  an Impasse Panel is authorized to issue decisions when a contract cannot be agreed upon
 
  -  the no strike clause may be relaxed on a case by case basis
 
  -  the Federal Labor Relations Council shall review & comment on the status of labor relations in the federal sector
 
  EO  11616   President Nixon    1971
 
  EO 11616, 1971, by President Nixon, held that:  
  -  professional workers in govt agencies shall have the option to join a bargaining unit
 
  -  there shall be a choice of grievance resolution procedures
 
  EO  11838   President Nixon    1974  
  EO 11838, 1974, by President Nixon, held that bargaining units shall be consolidated   
  EO 11838, 1974, by President Nixon, held that other Labor related 'housekeeping chores' shall be institutionalized  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the Labor Movement During the Post Industrial Age  circa 1970 - present
External
Links
  -  Project:  Compare the Labor Mvmt of WW 2 w/ the Labor of the Post Industrial Age 
Link
  During the Post Industrial Age (PIA), public employees unions came to the forefront  
  The Post Industrial Age is characterized by THREE major trends, including  
  a. the shift of the econ to services & high tech & the concomitant decline of heavy industry  
  b. Reaganism created govt deregulation & the growth of an anti Labor Mvmt climate  
  c. the decline & retrenchment of the Labor Mvmt  
  President Kennedy's Executive Order 10988 in the early 1960s & its codification in the Amended Taft Hartley Act of 1974 encouraged the rapid growth of unionism among public employees  
  In 1970 & following, strikes by police, teachers, & other govt workers affected many cities & states  
  The American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) a union of public workers, became the fastest growing US labor group  
  In the 1980s, collective bargaining:
 
  -  covered 150,000 labor contracts for over 18 mm workers
 
  -  covered half of the wkrs w/ only 2000 contracts
 
  -  resulted in give backs, down sizing, etc., as a result of deindustrialization, but this resulted in is less of a split btwn the core & the periphery
 
  As had begun in 1980 w/ the election of Reagan, the political climate continued to shift to the right (conservatives gained power; liberals lost power)  
   In the 90s public sector & professional unions:
 
  -  resulted in almost 2/3s of the public sector being unionized
 
  -  such as academics & doctors, are becoming more unionized
 
  -  retained the exemption of farm workers from much labor & safety legislation, resulting in a low rate of unionization 
 

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the Decline & Resurgence of the Labor Movement
External
Links
  -  Project:  The Decline & Resurgence of the Labor Movement 
Link
  -  Project:  Video: Walmart:  Factors Affecting Success & Decline of the Labor Movement 
Link
  -  Supplement:  Walmart:  The High Price of Low Cost 
Link
  -  Supplement:  Union Members in 2008
Link
  UNION MEMBERSHIP HAS DECLINED SINCE ITS PEAK IN THE 1940s, BUT IS RESURGING IN THE 00s   
  -  Summary:  Union membership peaked in the mid 1940s & 50s at approximately 1/3 of the workforce & has declined steadily since the mid 1950s to about half that level today.  Labor has been under attack & in decline since the 80s.  Deindustrialization & globalization have both affected labor negatively.  The political climate has shifted away from Labor in that there is less enforcement of  Labor laws & regulations & less public support for Labor.  Labor has succeeded so much that many workers are relatively satisfied w/ work conditions & outcomes   
Link
 The Table on US Union Membership shows that membership peaked in the mid 1940s & 50s at approximately 1/3 of the workforce & has declined steadily since the mid 1950s to about half that level today 
 
  Union membership in the US grew during the Great Depression, the 1950s, 1960s, the early 1970s, & now, the early 2000s  
  Union membership in the US declined during the 1980s, 1990s  
  But Labor is experiencing somewhat of a resurgence in the 2000s  
  In 2008, unions experience their second consecutive year of growth   
  For more on union demographics & growth rates see Union Membership  
  See Also: Union Membership  
  See Also:  Membership Trends  
  Strikes decline from 70s to 90s
 
  In 1971 at the peak of union membership, 2.5 mm workers struck
 
  In 1992, when Labor was weakened by political & economic factors, there were only 35 strikes of 364,000 workers
 
  Overall, only .1% of work time is lost to strikes
 
  Strikes are unpopular in today's climate of downsizing
 
  FACTORS AFFECTING DECLINE & RESURGENCE INCLUDE ECON, TECH, SOC, CULTURAL, DEMOGRAPHIC, POL, INTL COMP, CORPS, & UNION AFFAIRS   
  There are many factors affecting the success, the decline & the resurgence of the Labor Movement, including economic, technological, social, cultural, demographic, political factors & international competition, company resistance, & internal union affairs
 
  1.  IN THE ECON, A BOOM IS AN ADVANTAGE & A BUST IS A DISADVANTAGE FOR UNIONS   
  Economic Factors affect the success of the Labor Movement
 
  Deindustrialization, the movement of smokestack industries to foreign, low wage countries, has resulted in the loss of traditional union jobs in industry
 
  Globalization, the movement of all industries (industrial, agricultural, service, high tech, etc.), to low wage, foreign countries, has resulted in the loss of traditional union jobs as well as jobs in new, growth areas
 
  Traditional union jobs, i.e. industrial jobs, have largely disappeared  
  The decline of major "smokestack" industries, which were heavily organized, resulted in less union members  
  Unions have failed at limiting downsizing
 
  Wage inequality has continued / worsened by unions, as a result of large economic cycles (  Dual economy as created by the Great Labor Compromise )
 
  2.  TECH DISPLACES WKRS & DESKILLS WKRS & SO IS A DISADVANTAGE FOR UNIONS, BUT IT ALSO MAY INCREASE SKILL LEVELS & SO IS AN ADVANTAGE FOR UNIONS   
  Technological Factors affect the success of the Labor Movement
 
  For all of history up to the beginning of the industrial age, there was a labor shortage  
  Empires rose & fell based on how much labor they could gather  
  Since the industrial revolution, there has been a labor surplus in the modernized sectors  
  Labor from the non modernized sectors used as competition for modernized workers   
  Technology serves to increase the surplus of labor in the modernized sector  
  Unions have adapted to the contrasting sectors w/ their surpluses & deficits of labor w/ the traditional tactics of featherbedding & holdout  
  3.  SOC, CULTURAL, & DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS IMPACT UNIONS IN THAT THE WKING POP IS MORE DIVERSE & FRAGMENTED,  TRADL & CONSERVATIVE, MID & UP MID CLASS, PROFL, & HAS A 'VOICE' & SO IS LIKELY TO HAVE FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS: PURSUING 'COUNTER INTERESTS'   
  Social, cultural, & demographic factors affect the success of the Labor Movement  
  For the Labor Mvmt, saturation denotes that all "easy" unionization targets have been organized  
  The workforce has changed on many social, cultural, & demographic dimensions, including:
-  race 
-  skill
-  nationality
-  class		 -  gender
-  age
-  politics
-  status, etc.
 
  Unions have been slow to adapt to social, cultural, & demographic changes  
  Today the workforce is less homogenous, i.e. more diverse & is therefore harder to unionize, to create a community of interests  
  As workers moving into the middle class (MC) had made it easier for them to be easy to be free riders
 
 
 Unions entail costs such as dues, risk, cost of expansion, issue fragmentation, & others  
 
 MC wkrs see little benefit in incurring the costs of unionization since they get many of the benefits of unionization as firms provide them to prevent unionization
 
  Non unionized wkrs receive the spillover benefits from unionized wkrs in that the higher wages, benefits, safety programs, training & so on that organized Labor has won for its workforce have become the standard conditions for even the non unionized wkforce  
  Thus the key to organizing wkrs is to directly address practical membership concerns of traditional & non traditional wkrs  
 
 One reason the Labor Mvmt has declined is because of it's failure to address membership concerns of traditional union workers (white, working class, males in industry), as well as those non traditional wkrs
 
  Today there are more professional orgs which address Labor issues but fail to federate w/ unions  
  Labor has failed to organize the middle class (MC) & the upper middle class (UMC)  
  The demographic set of the middle class & the upper middle class has not been organized both because of demographic changes, but also because the Great Labor Compromise / Wage Unionism are inherently flawed ( See Below:  Internal, Union Factors affecting the success of the Labor Movement )  
  The MC & the UMC get paid more today & so are not as hungry as the WC  
  The MC & the UMC have false consciousness, i.e. they do not have a world view or ideology that supports the interests of their own class  
  False consciousness is similar to such concepts as inauthenticity in philosophy  
  The MC & the UMC believe (wrongly) that:
-  they may move up to the upper class
-  what happens to others, i.e. the LC, does not really affect them
-  (wrongly) in individualism is the most noble / best lifestyle
-  the position of the LC & below is their own fault; i.e. the MC & the UMC fail to understand the operation of the social forces of culture & social structure		  
  The MC & the UMC have a "voice" & so have less of a need for unionization, because they: 
-  understand the legal & social systems, thus understand their rights
-  have some political power
-  have some $$, & thus can afford a lawyer		  
  4.  POLITICAL FACTORS IMPACT UNIONS, WHICH HAVE A STRONGER, BUT IMPERFECT,  RELATIONSHIP W/ DEMS THAN REPS, & ARE GENERALLY OPPOSED BY REPS   
  Political Factors affect the success of the Labor Movement  
  As a result of the Great Labor Compromise, the American Labor Movement has never had a political party  
  Thus, the American Labor Movement has always had a rocky relationship w/ political parties  
  Labor lost of control of the NLRB through the election of sequential Republican Presidents: Reagan in 1980 & 1984; Bush Sr. in 1988
 
  Staffing of the NLRB has one Presidential appointment, one Labor, one mutually agreed to  
  Reagan Republican appealed to cross-over Democrats such as conservative, white males, including many unionized members  
  Reagan Democrats caused decreased member solidarity  
  The US population in general is believed to be more politically alienated  
  The political climate has shifted to the right, worldwide (conservatives gained power; liberals lost power)  
  Legislative acts (laws), regulatory agencies (govt agency rules), judicial ruling (judicial precedent), and public opinion have all moved to the right  
  This has made it more difficult for unions  
  Employers have been supported in their aggressive stance against unions  
  More specialized anti organizing mgt. consultants   
  During the Bush Jr. administration (2000- 2004 ) first week in office, he institutes new Executive Orders limiting union ability to use union dues for political purposes  
  5.  INTL COMP, GLOBALIZATION, DEINDUSTRIALIZATION, ETC. HAVE ALL MOVED UNIONIZED JOBS TO THE SO & SW & TO FOREIGN NATIONS 
 
  International Competition has resulted in the decline & resurgence of the Labor Movement  
 
 As a result of Deindustrialization & Globalization, competition among workers has increased as has competition among businesses
 
 
 Increased job pressure as seen in high unemployment, lay-offs, & downsizing have all made workers reluctant to join unions & to go on strike
 
  Job pressure resulted at least in part from international competition & the movement of factories & corporations overseas for cheap labor, low taxes, low environmental regs, & low safety & health regs  
  Because of job pressure many corporations have felt able to seeks contractual concessions from Labor or their total elimination  
  Wage concessions peaked in the early 1980s when unemployed was above 9% & have declined since then  
  Chronically high unemployment has created a new bargaining environment that creates an aggressive stance on the part of mgt.  
  Direct plant closings, layoffs, downsizing all replace demands for wage concessions & put fear into the workforce  
  6.  CORP RESISTANCE TO UNIONS HAS GROWN DRAMATICALLY & HAS UTILIZED CUTTING EDGE SOC SCIENCE   
  Increased Company Resistance has resulted in the decline of the Labor Movement  
  See Also:  Corporate Activity & the Labor Movement  
  Mgt is increasingly resistant to unions, & has activity used union busting strategies & tactics  
  7.  INTERNAL UNION DYNAMICS OF CORRUPTION, CRIME, STRONG ARMING, AUTHORITARIANISM, ETC., HAVE HURT UNIONS, WHILE DEMOCRACY, JUSTICE, & PROGRESSIVE SHORT & LONG TERM STRATS ARE AN ADVANTAGE   
 
 Internal Union Dynamics affect the success of the Labor Movement
 
  The Labor Mvmt is not a monolithic org, rather it continues to have deep internal schisms  
  Various unions had employed different strategies for articulating & realizing wkrs' goals (Form, 1985)  
  Labor embraces a variety of divergent view pts & needs, ranging from those of doctors & skilled craft wkrs to clerical wkrs & janitors  
  Labor often merely reacted to circumstances both because of the conservative nature of it's leadership, but also because of the power of corps, & the rapid changes in the socio historical landscape  
  Unions have been attacked physically, & w/ econ & social methods such as disinformation & propaganda  
  Unions have had to embrace innovative & risky strategies in the past to overcome adversity, & are doing so again  
  Risky strats imply that some will fail & some will succeed & at present, Labor is experiencing a modest, but important comeback  
 
 Unions reacted to technological displacement of workers w/ traditional strategies of "featherbedding," & hold-out
 
 
 Unions reacted to economic factors of downsizing, etc. w/ traditional strategies of "featherbedding," & hold-out
 
 
 Unions have not accepted economic change; unions should advocate retraining & organization of new industries
 
 
 Unions chose political allies based on interests other than those of the membership, i.e., rejection of politicians who fought corruption
 
 
 Unions have rejected, & not embraced political allies
 
 
 - Minorities & the Civil Rights Movement
 
 
 - The Environmental Movement
 
 
 - The Women's Movement
 
 
 The Labor Movement has been less aggressive at organizing
 
 
 Working together has the advantage that there is less "raiding", but it has the disadvantage that there is less competition for members
 
 
 Unions have been slow to change:  to organize service jobs,  women, minorities, etc.
 
 
 Union corruption has discouraged many workers from joining a union
 
 
 Lack of union democracy creates a lack of internal debate & domination by an old guard who is not always responsive to the desires of the membership
 
 
 The GLC & Wage Unionism are inherently flawed
 
 
 Union Strategy as controlled by the old guard needs revision / updating
 
 
 Great Labor Compromise / Wage Unionism are inherently flawed 
 
 
 Part of the "wage unionism deal"/ Great Labor Compromise was that Labor would unionize only craft & industrial workers, who at that time were Lower Class (LC)
 
 
 This strategy retards organization of non-traditional workers
 
 
 This strategy retards organization around non-traditional issues  
 
 See Next:  The Future of the Labor Movement  

 
Top  

Table on US Union Membership 1930 - 2000
Year
Total Wkrs
in millions
Union
in millions
% in Unions
% Change
1930
29.4
3.4
12 %
  
1935
27.1
3.6
13 %
+ 1 %
1940
32.4
8.7
27 %
+ 14 %
1945
40.4
14.3
36 %
+ 9 %
1950
45.2
14.3
32 %
- 4 %
1955
50.7
16.8
33 %
+ 1 %
1960
54.2
17.0
31 %
- 2 %
1965
60.8
17.3
28 %
- 3 %
1970
70.9
19.4
27 %
+ 1 %
1975
76.9
19.6
25 %
- 2 %
1980
87.5
20.1
23 %
- 2 %
1985
94.5
17.0
18 %
- 5 %
1988
101.4
17.0
17 %
- 1 %
1990
102.4
16.8
17 %
NC
1998
116.7
16.2
14 %
- 3 %
 1999
 
 16.2
 
 
2000
 
 
15.4 %
 
2007
129.7
  
12.1 %
+ %
2008
129.3
16.1
12.4 %
+ %
The Table on Union Membership shows that participation in the Labor Movement grew until the 1950s, declined slowly until the 1980s then rapidly declined & has recently stabilized
Red denotes the high in union membership in absolute numbers & in percentage, respectively.  Note that unions peaked in power from 1945 to 1955 when union membership percentages were the highest.  Note:  The wkforce shrank in 2008 because of the Bush recession. 

 
Internal
Links

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 Outline on  RICO 1970
External
Links
  The Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was passed in 1970
 
  RICO was focused on organized crime
 
  Penalties for corrupt gain are triple the damage
 
  Some businesses:
 
  - are more susceptible to org crime because of the complexity & monopolization of power
 
  - have a longer history of organized crime, e.g.  transportation & construction
 
  But RICO was also applied to some union activities
 

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the Amended Taft Hartley Act  1974
External
Links
  The Wagner Act of 1935 established the right to organize
 
  The Taft Hartley Act of 1947 extended & amended the Wagner Act
 
  The Landrum Griffin Act of 1959 rescinded some of Labor's power, estb a labor relations bill of rights for workers & businesses
 
  The Amended Taft Hartley Act of 1974 (ATHA) extends many of the rights & obligations of the earlier labor laws to private, non profit healthcare workers, & modified some features of these laws
 
  The Amended Taft Hartley Act gives public workers similar rights to private workers
 
  The ATHA codified (made into law) an EO, e.g. EO 10988  
  The ATHA defines who is & is not an employer, employee, & supervisor thus defining who can organize whom
 
  See Also:  Organizational Actors  
  Employer
 
  Under the ATHA, the employer:  
  -  must have 2 or more employees
 
-  can be fed, state, & local govts (except the PO which is covered under a separate law)
 
  -  must allow union representatives to function in their official capacity
 
  -  may be primary agriculture
 
  -  may have small gross receipts
 
  -  may be exclusive exporters
 
  -  may be primarily employing domestic wkrs  
  Employees
 
  Under the ATHA, the employees:  
  -  include the workers in the firm, but also those other wkrs affected by a strike
 
  -  include striking workers
 
  -  include those who struck & were discharged by unfair labor practices
 
  -  do NOT include workers who accepts a job elsewhere
 
  -  do NOT include a child being groomed for mgt.  
  -  do NOT include workers of employers not covered (see above)  
  Supervisor  
  Under the ATHA, a supervisor is one who possesses authority to change someone else's job, e.g.:
- hiring                       - adjust grievance
- firing                        - change pay
- promoting                - assign tasks
- demoting                 - impose discipline
- transferring		  
  Professional Employee  
  Under the ATHA, a prof employee:  
  -  does intellectual, abstract wk  
  -  has performance criteria which cannot be  measured in standardized fashion  
  -  has skills learned through prolonged, specialized instruction  
  -  may be organized, but cannot be included in a nonprofessional unit w/o the majority vote of professionals  
  -  includes those who work in non profit hospitals  
  -  includes such profs as physicians, attorneys, CPAs, engineers, & certain other employees  
  The ATHA also included additional rules for the health care sector  
  Unfair Labor Practices are defined under the Amended Taft Hartley Act  
  It is ironic that when many laws take up volumes, Section 7, the heart of these acts, is one sentence:  
  Employees shall have the right to self organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in concerted activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.
Section 7, Wagner Act
  
  Provisions:  Section 7  Employer Unfair Labor Practices  
  Employer may not:   
  -  deal w/ either of two unions vying for power  
  -  create a company union  
  -  form group of workers to set wages, hours, terms & conditions  
  -  penalize or discriminate against workers for charging employer w/ unfair labor practice  
  Employer MAY require union membership as condition of employment  
  Section 7  Union Unfair Labor Practices  
  Unions may not:  
  -  require employer to punish worker for anything but failure to pay dues  
  -  force self employed worker to join union  
  -  force employer to bargain w/ uncertified union  
  -  force employer to cease bargaining w/ cert. union  
  -  force employer to assign wk to union  
  -  require excessive fees  
  -  force employer to pay for services not rendered  
  -  picket to force recognition if  
     a.  group has not been certified  
     b.  either no union election has taken place w/in 12 mo or picketers request election w/in 30 days, bu  
     c.  union may picket to advise public that employer is not unionized, but may not interfere w/ operations  
  Other Provisions of the Amended Taft Hartley Act:  
  Right to express views in any form  
  Hot cargo:  no right to refuse to handle/use products of certain employers-- except for construction union  
  Construction workers can organize w/o majority status (many construction jobs are short run)  
  Must notify FMCS if picketing health care facilities  
  Representation Elections     S 9(b)  
  All workers regardless of union membership are represented  
  The NLRB determines which group of employees is to be represented, but cannot:  
  a.  include professional & nonprofessional in same unit unless majority of professionals agree  
  b.  deny representation to a craft.  Crafts may form own unit; NLRB interpreted this broadly so that crafts often are included in larger unit  
  c.  include plant guards in unit w/ other workers  
  d.  Supervisors & mgrs. may not be included in unit  
  National Emergency Disputes  
  This is a provision of the original Landrum Griffin act  
  President believes strike imperils national interest  
  Appoints board of inquiry to investigate  
  If board concurs, Attorney General directed to ask district Ct. to enjoin strike or lockout  
  If Court agrees, it issues injunction  
  Board monitors negotiation for 60 days  
  Next 15 days NLRB holds election to see if workers accept offer  
  5 more days to certify results  
  If no settlement President forwards info to Congress for action/inaction  

 
Internal
Links
blank
Outline on  Labor Legislation
External
Links
   
Types of Law: 
  
    Common or juridical law:  is law made by the decisions of courts, usually Fed District Cts or the Sup Ct; also includes unwritten law based on usage & custom as distinct from statute law   
    Statutory law is law established. by legislatures   
    Laws are made by fed, state, & local legislatures & by many courts   
    Civil law pertains to the private rights of individuals & to legal rights in the ordinary affairs of life   
    Rules are the "law" established by govt agencies as they implement common, statutory law, or executive orders   
    Executive Orders are "rules" written by the President which have the force of law in telling govt agencies how to operate   
    Examples of rules include 
-  the NLRB rules on elections 
-  the EPA's rules on emissions 
-  the school board's rules on the dress code 		  
    Criminal Law is law that govt will help an individual prosecute; it will be their advocate as typically embodied in the county, state, or fed prosecutor   
    In most cases, the govt will not help an individual prosecute civil laws, but the govt will prosecute criminal law for an individual 
 
    Examples of govtl involvement in law can be seen in that a prosecutor will prosecute someone who robs another, but if a person tricks an individual out of their money, the aggrieved person must sue   
   
Labor Law: 
  
 
1890
 The Sherman Anti Trust Act was designed to bust the trusts, but was used against Labor   
 
1914
 The Clayton Anti Trust Act revised the Sherman Anti Trust Act by removing the provisions that prevent Labor Organization & by adding more teeth to its anti trust aspects   
 
1926
 The Railway Labor Act estbed an early mediation board to resolve labor mgt conflict; involved the govt in the transportation sector; estbed emergency boards to impose solutions, all of which were labor mgt relations innovations which were embodied on other laws in other sectors   
 
1932
 The Norris LaGuardia Act, along w/ the Wagner Acts, set most rules for representation & bargaining rules & formed the NLRB   
 
1933
 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) presaged imp sections of the Wagner act in that it guaranteed the right to form a union, it assisted mgt & labor in resolving conflict, etc.   
 
1934
 The Copeland Anti Kickback Act prohibits kickbacks as required part of continued employment   
 
1935
 The Wagner Act, along w/ the Norris LaGuardia Act, set most rules for representation & bargaining rules & formed the NLRB   
 
1937
 Labor Court Cases:  In NLRB v Laughlin Steel, the Wagner Act was upheld because Roosevelt packed the Supreme Ct   
 
1936
 The Brynes Act made it illegal to recruit & / or transport people across state lines to interfere w/ picketing, organizing, etc.   
 
blank
 The Smith Connally Anti Strike Act, aka the War Labor Dispute Act minimized the impact of labor mgt conflict during WW 2   
 
1947
 The Taft Hartley Act (Truman) estbed unfair labor practices by unions   
 
1959
 The Landrum Griffin Act (Eisenhower) estbed a labor union member bill of rights   
 
1962
 Executive Order 10988 (JFK) allows public sector workers to join unions   
 
1970
 RICO was passed to fight organized crime & was also used to fight corruption in unions   
 
1974
 The Amended Wagner & Taft Hartley Acts (Nixon) wrote EO 10988 into law, estbing organizing rights for public employees   
 
1976
 The Civil Service Reform Act codified (made into law) EOs 10988, 11491, 11616, 11838 which estbed the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the equivalent of the NLRB, & estbed the requirements & mechanisms for impasses of contracts & grievances   
    Failed labor law in the 70s   
    The Common Situs Picketing Bill would have permitted unions to picket any site involved in a labor dispute   
    If the Common Situs Picketing Bill has passed, a a single union could've shut down a site, but it was vetoed by President Ford in 1976   
 
1977
 A bill authorizing punitive damages for employer violation of labor contract died in the Senate   
 
1990
 Alternative Dispute Resolution & Rulemaking Act helps the FMCS offer alternative dispute resolution   
    Labor Law Reform   
    The NLRB under Reagan & Bush had Labor leaders saying they would be better off w/o the NLRB!   
    Clinton has been more favorable to Labor than most recent Presidents w/ the exception of his support for NAFTA   
    Clinton recommended penalties for businesses who stall during organizing elections   
    The 1994 Republican Landslide, lead by Newt Gingrich, dashed hopes for labor law reform   
 
1992
 Work teams, QCs, etc.   
    In the court case, Electromation Inc.  309 NLRB No. 163 (1992) held that such practices as QCs, etc. violated the Wagner Act   
    Mgt & labor stay w/in the bounds of the Electromation decision by limiting the scope of employee involvement programs   
    The "Team Act" was vetoed by Clinton in 1996 to applause of Labor because it would have changed OT rules, allowing the owner schedule wkrs to work 4 10 hr days w/o your permission, with no OT   
    Currently Labor & Mgt. advocates want reform to allow work teams--   esp to Wagner Act Section 8(a)2   
 
1996
 NAFTA  
    - often include min labor standards that usually are not met by 3rd world countries, most treaties have few enforcement measures   
    - was vehemently opposed by Labor   
    - was supported by Clinton & Republicans (except Buchanan)  
    - was opposed by Labor because they feared losing jobs to Mexico   
    - supporters claimed it would be made up by more trade   
    A debate rages today on what has happened as the result of NAFTA   
 
2000
 Bush, Jr. Administration   2000 - 2008   
    During first week in office, the President issued an Executive Order limiting the use of unions dues for political purposes   
    Bush policies of the largest debt growth in history, & unprecedented dereg & lack of oversight of the financial sector results in the Bush Depression of 2007-2010   
 
2008
 Obama Administration  2008 -   
    During his first 2 yrs in office, Obama passes a universal healthcare program & attempts to pull the econ out of the Bush recession of 2007-2010   
    After midterm elections of 2010, Tea Party members in the House obstruct legislation of both Dems & Reps, creating the infamous "Do Nothing Congress" of this century   
    The Tea Party obstructs even routine procedures such as passing a budget, but also such govt housekeeping such as appointing members to the NLRB & the financial watchdog agency   

 
Internal
Links

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 Outline on  Labor Regulatory Agencies
External
Links
  All govt regulatory agencies are created by laws
 
  Most govt regulatory agencies are under the control of the executive branch of govt which is headed by the President
 
  A few govt regulatory agencies are under the control of the Legislative Branch of govt, i.e. the Congress  
  Some agencies are called "independent agencies" because they are less directly controlled by their estbing body in that members may have tenure, long terms, their decisions cannot be overturned, etc.  
  Courts have consistently interpreted laws to reinforce the prevailing market practices
 
  Regulatory agencies, the law & the courts are traditionally retrospective in nature: they are backward looking, & try to maintain the status quo & are reluctant to stake out new positions
 
  "Activist judges," in the courts & in regulatory agencies, are looked upon w/ suspicion  
  Activism by a judge, regulatory agency bureaucrat, etc., is often a political interpretation & is in the eye of the beholder  
  While the Supreme Court upheld the Wagner Act, it granted any rights not allocated to the bargaining process as the exclusive right of mgt
 
  Thus the relationship btwn mgt. & Labor parallels the relationship btwn State & Fed govt, i.e. states' rights issues
 
  The importance of the context of Labor Mgt conflict is seen in that where the difference btwn union & non union wages is the greatest, owners are most likely to engage in unfair labor practices
 
  Both parties have more at stake than when wages are relatively equal
 
  Complaints to the Dept. of Labor ( DOL ) & the NLRB & other regulatory agencies vary w/ economic & political factors
 
  Hard economic times means more complaints because businesses squeeze the workers more
 
  The political climate can be seen in the make-up of the NLRB & other regulatory agencies that affect Labor
 

 
Internal
Links

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 Outline on the  Department of Labor, estb 1913 
External
Links
  The Dept. of Labor ( DOL ) was founded in 1913 when the nation was in the midst of Labor turmoil
 
  The DOL's mission is to prepare the workforce for better jobs
 
  The DOL is an executive department of the fed govt that works to promote the welfare of wage earners  
  The DOL implements over 180 fed laws which regulate 10 mm employers, & over 100 mm wkrs who are both organized & unorganized labor  
  The DOL has 18 Offices in 33 Regions
 
  The DOL seeks to improve the econ position of wkrs in the US, to better their working conditions, & to advance their opportunities for employment  
  The secretary of labor, a member of the president's Cabinet, heads the DOL  
  The president appoints the DOL secretary subject to the approval of the US Senate  
  Adjudicatory Agencies
 
  The Occupational Safety & Health Admin (OSHA) develops & enforces job safety & health standards for most US industries
 
  Employment & Training Admin
 
  -  helps people find jobs  
  - also gives local governments funds to establish and maintain their own job training programs for disadvantaged and unemployed people  
  - it develops apprenticeship standards for the training of skilled workers  
  Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects, analyzes, & publishes information on employment & unemployment, wages & industrial relations, occupational safety and health, & productivity & tech  
  The BLS prepares the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the most widely used measurement of price trends in the US  
  Office of Small Business Programs  
  Mine Safety & Health Admin
 
  Pension & Welfare Benefits Admin
 
  Vet's Employment & Training Admin
 
  Labor Mgt Standards Admin
 
  Employment Standards Admin
 
  Women's Bureau
 
  Bureau of International Labor Affairs
 
  Office of Congressional & Intergovt. Affairs
 
  Office of Admin & Mgt. & CIO
 
  Office of Policy  
  CFO  
  Office of the Solicitor  
  Office of Inspector General  
  Office of Public Affairs  
  Functions  
  The DOL administers fed laws on minimum wages, overtime, child labor, & migrant workers & determines wage rates for work done under govt contracts  
  The DOL administers fed laws on workers' compensation programs & enforces legal standards for the funding & operation of private pension & welfare plans  
  The DOL also oversees the nation's unemployment insurance programs  
  The department works to reduce unemployment by providing job training for disadvantaged young men & women  
  The Labor Department enforces federal regulations that require businesses doing work for the U.S. government to maintain nondiscriminatory hiring and employment practices  
  These regulations are designed to guarantee equal employment opportunity to ethnic minor-ities, women, disabled people, and veterans  
  The DOL administers laws that require the fair election of labor leaders & the publication of accurate union financial reports  
  In addition, it promotes cooperation between labor unions & employers  
  Another important Labor Department function is that of serving as the US govt's chief fact finding agency in the field of labor econ  
  History  
  In 1884, Congress established a Bureau of Labor in the Dept of the Interior  
  In 1888, Congress gave the bureau independent status as the Dept of Labor  
  In 1903, Congress established the new Dept of Commerce and Labor and made the DOL a bureau in it  
  In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed a law creating an independent Department of Labor  
  The office of secretary of labor became the first Cabinet level office to be occupied by a woman when Frances Perkins was appointed to the post in 1933  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the  Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service  (FMCS, estb 1947) 
External
Links
  -  Project:  Mediation
Link
  The mission of the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service ( FMCS ) is to help parties resolve labor disputes  
  The FMCS was established by the Taft Hartley Act of 1947   
  The FMCS is an independent agency of the US govt  
  The FMCS may mediate via invitation... or invite itself
 
  Mediators assist, but have no power to impose a settlement
 
  A 1978 FMCS Act aids local labor mgt cooperation programs via grants & tech assistance
 
  The Alternative Dispute Resolution & Rulemaking Act of 1990 helps the FMCS offer preventative mediation & alt dispute resolution
 
  The FMCS also assists mediator training around the world
 
  The FMCS maintains a list of arbitrators 
 
  It helps prevent or settle disputes between labor unions & mgt that affect interstate commerce  
  Another govt agency, the National Mediation Board, handles such disputes in the airline & railroad industries  
  Mediation involves helping opposing sides in a dispute resolve their differences  
  The law requires either mgt or a union to give 60 day notice of any intention to end or change a labor contract  
  If the employer & union do not reach an agreement w/in 30 days after such notice, they must notify the FMCS  
  If the employer & union do not reach an agreement w/in 30 days, the FMCS then may offer its services to assist the parties  
  The FMCS is not a law enforcement or regulatory agency; it depends on persuasion  
  The FMCS has about 200 mediators in 77 offices in principal industrial areas  
  The agency also maintains a roster of qualified private citizens who arbitrate (judge) labor contract disputes  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the National Mediation Board ( NMB, estb 1926 )
External
Links
  The mission of the National Mediation Board ( NMB ) is to mediate contract disputes btwn mgt & labor in the transportation industry
 
  The NMB was established by the Railroad Labor Act (RLA) of 1926  
  The RLA, enacted in 1926, governs labor management relations in the railroad & airline industries  
  The National Mediation Board is a US govt agency that administers the Railway Labor Act  
  The NMB certifies representatives of workers for bargaining
 
  Grievances are mediated by the National Railroad Adjustment Board ( NRAB )
 
  The NMB notifies the President if dispute may threaten the transportation system & thus the national interest
 
  Then the President may order a cooling off period
 
  The board's two main functions are to:  
  a.  ensure the right of employees to organize into free & independent labor organizations  
  b.  help settle disputes over wages, rules, & working conditions  
  In a dispute, either side may ask the board to mediate by suggesting solutions  
  The board may also enter the dispute without invitation  
  If mediation fails, the board asks the two sides to accept voluntary arbitration  
  If the parties agree, the board appoints a referee, whose decision is binding  
  If the parties refuse to arbitrate, the board formally notifies them that it has not been able to settle the dispute  
  A 30 day cooling off period then follows while the board tries to settle the dispute  
  If an agreement is not reached by the end of this period, the parties are free to act on their own  
  As a last resort, the president of the United States may establish an emergency board to help end the dispute  
  Congress created the board in 1934  
  It has three members, who are appointed by the president subject to the approval of the Senate  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the  National Labor Relations Board ( NLRB )  estb 1935
External
Links
  Introduction:  
  The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was created as an independent agency by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act, often called the Wagner Act  
  The mission of the National Labor Relations Board is to regulate the relationship btwn Labor & Mgt., primarily, by regulating the rights of workers to organize  
  The NLRB works to correct or prevent unfair labor practices committed by either employers or unions  
  The NLRB was established by the Wagner Act in 1935  
  The NLRB administers the Wagner Act, but does not work out conflict btwn it & other laws
 
  Working out the conflict btwn the Wagner Act & the numerous other  labor laws is a task for the Courts, & Congress
 
  The NLRB is: 
 
  -  an independent or free standing agency  
  - not in the DOL
 
  - not accountable to the Secretary of Labor
 
  - not accountable to the President
 
  NLRB  Jurisdiction:
 
  The NLRB regulates for & non profit employers, hospitals & other healthcare orgs, & the USPO
 
  The NLRB does not initiate action; only responds to complaints
 
  The NLRB gives priority to representation cases, 45,000 cases per year
 
 
 Major Functions of the NLRB
 
  When a union represents 30 per cent or more of a group of employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB conducts secret ballot elections to determine whether employees wish to be represented in collective bargaining  
  There are FOUR major functions of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) 
     Note:  these are provisions in 2002, & have been amended by various laws		  
  A major function of the Nat Labor Relations Board is to:  
  a.  - investigate violations of the NLRB's rules & regs
 
  b.  - determine whether employees desired representation
 
  c.  - determine which union was the employee's choice
 
  The NLRB supervises representation elections  
  d.  - hear & rule on alleged unfair labor practices
 
  The NLRB determines & resolves unfair labor practices  
  Structure of the NLRB  
  The NLRB is composed of 5 members appointed by the President, approved by the Senate
 
  While the NLRB is considered to be an "independent agency" as is the Federal Reserve Board, all members are political appointees  
  Terms last 5 years & are staggered
 
  Each board member serves a five year term & the general counsel has a four year term  
  Thus a President cannot have a majority until his/her 3rd year in office
 
  And a President cannot have a total Board, unless reelected
 
  Members may be reappointed  
  One member is designated the Chair
 
  The NLRB's main offices are located in Washington, DC  
  The board has 33 regional offices, 52 field offices & petitions for elections & charges of unfair labor practices are filed at regional offices  
  The NLRB delegates authority to Regional Directors
 
  The NLRB has a General Council (lawyer)
 
  The NLRB is headquartered in Washington, DC, has 31 Regional Offices & 11 Field Offices 
 
  Btwn 1935 & 1974, the NLRB processed 300,000+ cases of which 190,000+ were unfair labor practices
 
  By 1967 more than 67 mm workers had voted in NLRB elections
 
  The Board Members act primarily as a quasi judical body in FOUR areas: 
 
  a.  Decides cases on formal records
 
  b.  Reviews finding of fact & decisions by the NLRB's administrative law judges (formerly called trial examiners)
 
  c.  Reviews  cases of unfair labor practice  
  d.  Reviews Regional Director decisions in representation cases  
  The NLRB has no independent power of enforcement, but may seek enforcement in the US courts of appeals  
  Parties aggrieved by the NLRB may seek judicial review  
  The NLRB certifies a union  
  The NLRB will conduct a Board supervised election to determine the majority status of a labor union, provided there is an adequate “showing of interest” on the part of  30 % of the employees in the affected group  
  Filing a Complaint  
  If complaint is made, found not to have merit, it's dismissed  
  2/3's are dismissed, but can be appealed  
  Of the remaining 1/3,  90% are settled  
  Of the 10% not settled, they are heard by Administrative Law Judge  
  The Judge's ruling can be appealed to NLRB  
  3 member panel in the NLRB decides case  
  If there is non-compliance w/ NLRB decision, parties may petition to US Court of Appeals for enforcement  
  The NLRB issues THREE types of decisions:
a.  cease & desist
b.  bargaining orders
c.  decision to make worker whole for illegal action		  
  The NLRB hears THREE major case types
a.  most are representation disputes
b.  complex or unsettled issue w/ no clear precedent
c.  issues that (usually) mgt. wishes to stall (until new President, Congress elected, or some other reason)		  
  The Politicization of the NLRB  
  Thus, members of the NLRB often represent, to a degree, the political views of the President who appointed them
 
  The appointments are political & reflect party in the White House
 
  The 5 year, staggered terms tries to lesson major swings
 
  The general counsel is powerful, & so the appointment here is important
 
  Thus, the politics of the NLRB swings back & fourth according to who wins the White House
 
  The politicization of the NLRB has the advantage that the NLRB is responsive to the changing political climate
 
  The politicization of the NLRB has the disadvantage that the NLRB is inconsistent, making the implementation of regulations chaotic
 
  The Inconsistency of the NLRB  
  Unions are often frustrated by the inconsistency of the NLRB 
 
  The NLRB is inconsistent in its
 
     a. interpretations of labor law
 
     b. delays in elections
 
     c. delays in hearing unfair labor practices cases
 
  Many unions believe the use of strikebreakers should be outlawed
 
  While strikebreakers have always been legal, the NLRB has considered outlawing them at times  
  Most Canadian provinces prohibit strikebreakers 
 
  Unions contend 10% of organizers are fired illegally
 
  The NLRB contends 1.7% of organizers are fired illegally  
  The NLRB notes that vast majority of its cases are handled quickly, but some do drag on
 

The End
 
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