the position of trade unions and organised labour

the position of tu's and organised labour

- during the period, unions and labour fought for the following:  the right of unions to exist and be legally recognised the right to negotiate pay and working conditions the establishment of systems for meditation the right of workers to withdraw labour without punishment

the position of unions and labour in 1865

- workers' rights depended upon what they could negotiate with employers. workers could be exploited and had no protection. unions represented skilled workers in craft industries, whereas those in new industries, such as steel, had no protection. workers could be laid off easily and there were few safety precautions. those injured at work received little support. 

unions in the late nineteenth century

- the growth in industrialisation witnessed a growth in unions, notably the knights of labour (kol) and the american federation of labour (afl). the kol reached a membership of 700,000 by 1886 because of successful strike action, but membership fell following the violence of the haymarket affair and social divisions within the workforce. the position of workers was undetermined by the availability of african american labour after slavery ended (as african americans were paid less than white workers) and the arrival of european immigrants, and then by the homestead strike of 1892 and the pullman strike of 1894. by the first world war, little had been achieved. unions represented only 20 percent of the non-agricultural workforce and were divided by ethnicity, skill and gender. despite this, union membership had grown to over 2 million members by 1910.

ww1 to the end of ww11

- the position of unions improved during the first world war, as there was increased demand for production - for example, steel - to help with the war. factory owners were more conciliatory and the government, wanting to maintain production, established the national war labour board (nwlb). this limited each working day to eight hours. in exchange, workers agreed not to strike. - the economic boom during the 1920's resulted in a rise in real wages and employers offered workers benefits (welfare capitalism) . however, some companies set up their own unions and forced workers to sign yellow-dog contracts.  

ww1 to the end of ww11

- the depression led to high unemployment , but roosevelt's new deal brought many gains to the position of workers with a series of measures, including the :  national industry recovery act (nira), 1933 wagner act, 1935 fair labour standards act, 1939. - however, the gains often benefited only skilled workers, so those in manufacturing often lost out - particularly those on lower pay. as with the first world war, improvements in union and labour rights continued during the second world war, as workers were essential for war production.

the period after ww11

- the end of the war saw a number of strikes and the position of unions declined as many thought they were too powerful. the taft-hartley act of 1947 limited their power, and they were further weakened by the decline in blue collared workers and the growth in the number of white collar workers. unions were also seen as less important, as many workers now had paid holidays, healthcare and pensions. - there were some gains in the 1960's with the equal pay act of 1963 and the age discrimination act of 1968. unions could now bargain over conditions , wages and contracts, and could gain medical and dental insurance, pensions and unemployment insurance. yet technological changes, which required more skilled workers, saw a decline in unions, as did the growth in female employment. 

1980 - 1992

- by the end of this period unions were being attacked by the government and the public, especially due to the events of the patco air traffic controllers' strike of 1981, and were divided among themselves. - overall they declined because :  the size of factories and businesses meant the workforce was more dispersed and harder to unionise employers now gave welfare provisions to employees the numbers of female and white collar workers grew - unions were traditionally made up of male, blue collar workers.