The U.S. Labor History in the 20th century - Essay Example

Economic Depressions Positive Role in Worker Solidarity It may seem counter-intuitive when we examine the actions of labor unions and their relative strength when examined against the economic times. Instinct tells us that in good economic times the union should hold more leverage on the company than in difficult times. This does not hold up to investigation. Increased production and a booming economy marked the period of 1920-1929. During this time, the unions membership remained flat and union activity was at a minimum. The great depression ushered in a new wave of union force. Great strikes and walkouts peppered the era. It would seem that high unemployment and a bleak economic outlook would discourage workers from uprising. However, worker solidarity will prevail over fears of economic outcome. During good economic times, the capital is benefiting more than the worker is. This puts the capital in a position of authority and the attendant perks that come with it. There are political considerations, a favorable judiciary, and enforcement techniques that discourage organization. Business has law enforcement and the system to back up their position. When difficult times hit with the economic downturn beginning in 1932, the unions were able to become more solidified. Union members were able to speak for the unemployed and disadvantaged and gained more interest and support. It was the direct connection between the union and the working class that was able to mobilize the unions during the depression. The Cold Wars Effect on Union Gains The Cold War decade of the 1950s brought about greater cooperation between workers and management which was more likely due to conciliatory attitudes than worker satisfaction. The unions had made strides through the ability to organize in the 1930s and the war effort of the 1940s. However, the post war period brought about some dissatisfaction among the public for the head of the AFL-CIO, John Lewis. A successful strike in 1943 at the height of the war had sparked public outrage that he had broken the war efforts no strike policy. This anger would not be forgotten when Congress overrode Trumans veto of the Labor-Management Relations Act, known as the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. The Labor-Management Relations Act set the stage for union activity during the 1950s. It severely limited the unions ability to organize and strike. Business was pushing for greater productivity at the expense of the workers. Strikes were generally short lived, local, and quickly suppressed. The closed shop was outlawed and companies would move plants to locations that were less labor friendly. The union became more of a mechanism to file grievances that an activist organization. Labors image also suffered during this period as they were gaining a reputation as being corrupt from their association with organized crime. They further suffered from their connection to socialist ideology that the McCarthy hearings had mislabeled as anti-American. These forces combined to see diminished power in the hands of the unions by 1960. Movement Alliances During the 1960s The turmoil of the 1960s resonated across many cultural and social lines. The dissatisfaction was felt in the ghettos as well as the Leave it to Beaver neighborhoods across the country. It touched many different movements that sought to bring social justice to groups such as the feminist movement, civil rights, anti-war, and poverty. These movements attracted rich and poor, white and black, schools and churches, the peaceful and the militant. The movements were tied together by an understanding that they all shared common ground. This was the mutual goal of correcting social oppression through organization. The movements had discovered the strength in numbers and had formed alliances to further their individual causes. These feelings would naturally spill over into the unions. The unions had a history and tradition of speaking for the working class and had an existing well-organized membership. Union members who began to use the unions to speak on a number of other issues were able to harness the deep felt sympathy for social change. Though labor leaders often dismissed the notion, it was the perception of most people that social oppression, and the fight against it, originated with the worker class. The unrest felt by America was a direct reflection of capitalism using the working class and the efforts to correct it could most effectively be waged by the working class in actions against the system. Racism was first and foremost felt in the workplace experience as an economic disadvantage. Labor Historys Continuing Presence The history of labor is the story of the continual class struggle that takes place under a capitalist system. Capital views labor as a commodity and extends no sympathy or natural rights to the group. Everything they gain needs to be fought for and demanded. Owners will not relent quietly. Favored classes will not cede the territory where they have an unfair advantage. This goal of most movements is to secure fair access to the judicial system, education, and employment. The civil rights movement, affirmative action, and immigration policy have all been central to the fight for equality and equal access. Affirmative action policies attempted to correct past unfairness in hiring practices and discriminatory processes. The policies have often been successful at placing students into programs that may have been inaccessible in the past. They prompted hiring and promotion of minorities on a pro-active basis. However, business and majority classes objected to the special treatment that was given to the selected members and viewed it as reverse discrimination. Immigrants are facing this struggle today. Business will gladly accept a minimum wage worker with no questions asked. Labor views business as exploiting the immigrant problem and pulling down the wage level of all workers, and business exploits this fear. Immigrants are not displacing jobs, this is being done by productivity and outsourcing. This class of workers is being used by the system, and as we have learned, when one class suffers, they all suffer. Businesss Exploitation of Internal Union Divisions After decades of growth within the unions, business began an assault on labor in the 1970s that continues today. Business was able to reverse the roles with labor and placed labor at a disadvantage. Labor came to view employment as a favor rather than a right. This notion that business was being charitable by offering a job was also echoed in the government, the educational system, and the capitalist press. Workers have come to be servants of the owner class and have been placed in a beggary position. Capital wants to continually remind labor that the only alternative is welfare, or someone else to take your job. To this end, the employer class has exploited internal divisions within the membership to divide any consensus or opposition. Business and government have used arguments against social fairness that are often hinged on reverse discrimination. Majority race, gender, and ethnic groups use these feelings to explain their own fear of losing their job. White male workers were told that minorities and women were displacing their jobs. Colorblind policy has been redefined in a way that eliminates any possibility of rectifying past differences. Discrimination, which had been previously defined as the outcome of a practice whether it was intended or not, has recently been remolded to say that to be discriminatory, the action must be motivated by prejudice. This has allowed de facto institutionalized discrimination to continue to pervade education and employment practices. Read More