Labors

Growth and
Decline 1950s-1980s

 An#-labor build up Ta1-Hartley

1952- Change in Leadership for both the AFL and the CIO
William Green (AFL) was replaced by George Meany
John L Lewis (CIO) was replaced by Walter Reuther

Both men were opposed to racial discrimina#on

Believed that labor needed work within the community degree of
social vision.
Personied the increased professionaliza#on, ins#tu#onaliza#on and
bureaucra#za#on of the labor movement
Both men wanted to see a united labor front

June 1953 signed a two-year no raiding clause
February 1955 the AFL and the CIO merged (made ocial in Dec.
1955)

New program with several goals in dealing with the three biggest issues
plaguing the labor movement:
Racial and gender discrimina#on
Communist inltra#on
Corrup#on

AFL-CIOs leadership hoped to double union membership within a decade

 Achieving their goals became a dicult agenda:

Communist Inltra#on
As separate en##es the AFL and the CIO had already successfully expelled
the communist-led unions. Now as a merged en#ty - the AFL-CIO became
the steadfast an#-communist ins#tu#on in the 60s.
The expulsion of the more militant, communist-led unions divided the labor
movement and moved labor further away from rank-and-le unionism.
This also became somewhat problema#c because of the public discourse
over the civil rights movements and the a]empts to villainize the
movement as led by communists. While some of the leadership in the labor
movement wanted to be suppor#ve the reinforcement of the an#-
communist message helped foster further antagonism between labors
rank-and-le and communi#es of color.

This posi#on also became problema#c for the AFL-CIO when the war in Viet
Nam (which the AFL-CIO fully endorsed) became unpopular with growing
segment of the youth. This gap between the labor movement and the new
emerging genera#ons became evident in the Spring of 1970 when
unionized building tradesmen clubbed an#-war demonstrators on Wall
Street.

 Racial and gender discrimina.on

In 1955 - AFL-CIO established the civil rights commi]ee to eliminated
discrimina#on among its aliates but had no real power over
interna#onal unions.

While some unions like the UAW, AFSCME and, to some degree, the
RCIAP supported the civil rights movement and vocalized support for
women in labor many unions s#ll proved resistant to opening their
doors.

Black consciousness and militancy in the 60s boiled over into the labor
movement
Building trades union were constantly embroiled in disputes with the black
community because of its refusal to accept blacks into its membership.
Black militants within the UAW formed DRUM (Dodge Revolu#onary Union
Movement) and the DRUM (Dodge Revolu#onary Union Movement)

In response to the failure of the AFL-CIO to deal with the issue of racism
with the labor community 1960 A. Philip Randolph formed the Negro
American Labor Council to keep the conscience of the AFL-CIO
disturbed.

One area of success was with the AFL-CIOs support of the UFWA

 Corrup.on
Interna#onal Longshoremens Associa#on expelled for racketeering
in 1953

1957 Select Commi]ee on Improper Ac#vi#es in the Labor or
Management Fields McClellan Commi]ee
Revealed dictatorial union leadership - which violated democra#c
principles, corrup#on, racketeering and gangsterism.
Teamsters (under both Beck and Hoa), Hotel and Restaurant
Employees, Bakery and Confec#onary Union, the Laundry Workers
union, The Opera#ng Engineers, the Allied Industrial Workers and the
United Tex#le Workers all came under a]ack.

AFL-CIO formed the Ethical Prac#ces Commi]ee to inves#gate

corrup#on.
Sept. 1957 Teamsters kicked out of AFL-CIO
1958 - Bakery and Confec#onary Union kicked out of AFL-CIO

 Landrum-Grin Act - 1959

Passed to regulate internal aairs of unions and establish a bill of
rights for union members.
Unions had to hold secret elec#ons, reviewable by the Department of
Labor.
Union members are protected against abuses by a bill of rights that
includes guarantees of freedom of speech and periodic secret elec#ons
of ocers.
Bar members of the Communist Party and convicted felons from
holding union oce. [Ruled uncons#tu#onal in 1965. U.S. v. Brown]
Require unions to submit annual nancial reports to the DOL. [LM-2]
Declare that every union ocer must act as a duciary in handling the
assets and conduc#ng the aairs of the union.
Limit the power of unions to put subordinate bodies in trusteeship, a
temporary suspension of democra#c processes within a union.
Provide certain minimum standards before a union may expel or take
other disciplinary ac#on against a member of the union.

 Union member
Peek at 1954 - 18 million; 1962 16.8 million
As the total size of the work force con#nued to grow labors numbers
either decline or remained stagnant causing the percentage of union
members in the popula#on to decline.
1945 14.3 Million 35.5% (of 132.5 million pop.) 1978 20.3 Million
20.2% (of 222.6 million pop.) 2014 14.6 11.1% (of 318.9 million
pop.)

 The new organiza#on was referred to as the sleepy

monopoly.
With long-term labor-management contracts, union security clauses
and direct dues check-o labor leaders had a vested interest in
developing a harmonious rela#onship with capital. [Agenda is only
one-sided]
Excess demands risked possible conicts that could lead to
instability and risk the survival of the union.
Labor leaders primary goal was to protect their own organiza#ons.
More idealis#c social purposes became secondary.

 The new organiza#on was referred to as the sleepy

monopoly.
With long-term labor-management contracts, union security clauses
and direct dues check-o labor leaders had a vested interest in
developing a harmonious rela#onship with capital. [Agenda is only
one-sided]
Excess demands risked possible conicts that could lead to
instability and risk the survival of the union.
Labor leaders primary goal was to protect their own organiza#ons.
More idealis#c social purposes became secondary.

Welfare state federal minimum wage and social security

along with a stabilized income and job security allowed
both unions and their workers in the 60s to be rela#vely
fat and happy.
For twenty-ve years a1er WWII, the US along with other
Western na#ons and Japan enjoyed a wave of economic
expansion and prosperity unseen in the history of modern
capitalism.

 This changed in the 70s supply outpaced demand, ina#on replaced

price stability and mass unemployment became a reality.

Economic condi#ons worsened with the energy crisis ini#ated with
the war between Israel and the Arab Na#ons. US support for Israel
became the pretext for OPEC to embargo shipments of oil to the US.
OPEC also dras#cally raised prices for crude oil.

Unemployment rose to 8% with families living in poverty increased

Ina#on caused real take home pay for workers to decline.

The economic theories that the country had relied on were put into
ques#on

Keynesian economics Demand-side economics - John Maynard
Keynes
Challenged the idea within classical economics that the balance between supply
and demand would ensure full employment. Economy is unstable and subject to
uctua#on.

 Keynes Thinking: Overall, Capitalism is good when it works.

Consumerism drives the economy. When people loose their jobs
they cannot purchase goods they save rather than purchase.
When people save there is less money out in the world and thus
we are not reaching our full economic poten#al.
When private industry fails - government should play more of a
role:
1. Welfare-State State helps create employment and stability
government spending war, public works all do the same spending
moves the economy.
2. Managed capitalism saving it form socialism and itself. Safeguards
and regula#on would help stabilize the economy.

Bre]on Woods Conference July 1944 established over

concerns from interwar years and the nancial instability
caused.

Develop system of rules and procedures to regulate the interna#onal

monetary system and to establish the Interna#onal Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank. Also #ed the worlds currency to the U.S.
dollar.
Founda#on of globaliza#on.
Ended in 1973 due to change in policy by Nixon.

Replaced by:
Free Market/Neo-Liberalism - Austrian school/ Chicago
School Friedrich Hayek. Milton Friedman ('guru' of the
Reagan administra#on.) Markets when le1 alone
unhindered by regula#ons of the state work. Recessions
are good because they purge failing enterprises and purify
the market. Deregula#on is needed in the free market.
State-owned should be priva#zed.

In 1971 poli#cians Republican and Democrat began
embracing the Neo-liberal economic posi#on and began
making movement to deregulate transporta#on.
Railroad Revitaliza#on and Regulatory Reform Act (1976)
Airline Deregula#on Act (1978)
Motor Carrier Act of 1980

Deregula#on spread to other areas energy,

communica#on, nance and food.

Reagan and PATCO

Professional Air Trac Controllers Organiza#on (PATCO)
August 3 1981 union declared strike over be]er working condi#ons,
pay and a 32-hour week. Also wanted the removal of the civil service
clause that banned government unions from striking.
Reagan used Ta1-Hartley arguing the strike was a peril to na#onal
safety order workers to return. Only 10% of the 13,000 did so.
On August 5 Reagan red 11,345 striking air trac controllers and
banned them from federal service for life. Ban was li1ed by Clinton in
1993.

Importance: The ring and replacement of an en#re workforce had not

been seen since the Great Depression. Ac#on was a signal to the
employers and to the unions whos side this president was on.

Side Note: PATCO (Along with the Teamsters and the Air Line
Pilots Associa#on) endorsed Reagan.

 Labor did not respond:

I personally do not think that the trade union movement should
undertake anything that would represent punishing, injuring or
inconveniencing the public at large for the sins or the transgressions
of the Reagan administra#on. Lane Kirkland

Our a]orneys warned us that if I, as Interna#onal president,
should sanc#on, encourage or approve of a sympathy strike under
these condi#ons, I would risk the IAMs en#re nancial reserves -
William Winpisinger (Machinist president)

Ques#on: Did labors ins#tu#onaliza#on/
professionaliza#on aect their militancy? If so, is this a
good thing or bad thing?

Ques#on: Does this incident have any eect today with
public employee for unions or the an#-labor side? (Think
Sco] Walker!)

 Trends of the 80s

A new emerging global economy, mixed with a policy of
deregula#on and trade caused deeper compe##on (example:
auto) and loss of manufacturing and jobs. [capital mobility]

Federal appointees in posi#ons like the NLRB openly take an#-
labor stances. (Example Donald Dotson chair of the NLRB
claims that he prefers deregula#on of industrial rela#ons sta#ng
that the Wagner act was intended to promote good rela#ons
between management and employees, not unionism and
collec#ve bargaining.) Courts shi1ed to the right making a series
of an#-union court decisions.
With increased unemployment and with a federal government
that was squarely in the pocket of capital Management was
able to engage in an oensive against labor and demand
concessions.

 Trends of the 80s

Overall labor avoids taking militant
ac#ons and begins to believe that
conven#onal strikes have lost their
eec#veness.

Many unions begin to see employers
posi#on that labor should abandon their
previous model of industry-wide
contracts and pa]ern bargaining and
instead help preserve jobs by making
American corpora#ons more compe##ve
in a global market. Unions accepted
concessions, promoted programs for
be]er coopera#on between
management and labor.
Unions promote Buy American, Buy
Union becoming more na#onalis#c
and in some cases outright racist.

Steady decline in union membership,
militancy and power

Labor in Crisis
In response to the crisis labor found itself in many in labor
began reuse tac#cs from the past as well as develop new ideas.

The Inside Game striking on the job/work to the rule or
the conscious withdrawal of eciency UAW and ILWU
even the AFL-CIO published a pamphlet called The Inside Game.

Community-Labor Coali.ons labor began working with
community and religious leaders to use public and moral
pressure against employers.

Corporate Campaigns conceived by Ray Rogers and the
Amalgamated Clothing and Tex#le Workers Union The
corporate campaign iden#ed and inuenced members of a
company's board of directors, or the company lenders,
customers and/or suppliers. The goal was to uncover conicts
of interest, ineciency, waste, fraud, or mismanagement and
use this informa#on, either publicly or privately, to win
economic leverage over an employer and achieve the union's
goals.

 New Vision Social Jus#ce building an all inclusive labor

movement. From workers at the university to the janitors
in the building.

Global Solidarity Use global society to add pressure
unions and workers throughout the globe pressure mul#-
na#onal companies (ex: Killer Coke)

Non-Violent Civil Disobedience

Resis.ng Concessions P-9 strike in Aus#n, Minnesota.

Worker Centers Black Workers Center, Koreatown
Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA) workers and
communi#es working outside of labors framework.