More handpicked essays just for you.
Historical context for the great depression essay
Historical context for the great depression essay
Essays on the history of labor unions
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
During the peak of the Great Depression, approximately one of every four workers was unemployed. For the greater part of the Depression, however employment in the auto industry remained steady, consisting of about half a million workers. But these jobs were plagued by terrible working conditions. Auto companies arbitrarily laid off and fired workers. Job security and safety standards were non-existent. In their enthusiasm to recoup Depression-era losses, auto companies worked their employees harder, faster, and longer. Families spoke of young men grown old from speed-up of the assembly line. These problems were compounded by an ever-increasing disparity between the economic status of auto workers and the affluence of upper management. In addition, the automobile companies were firmly controlled by millionaire autocratic owners who had a tight grip on the political and business worlds, and a predominance over the nation’s economy. …show more content…
Early unions formed to negotiate terms from their members, but employers and court opposed them.
Unions played a major role in creating legislation that affects our pay and working conditions today. The first attempt to organize labor was in 1778 with the printers in New York City. Most union up until 1820 were made up of skilled workers who possessed strong bargaining power. After 1820, immigrants began to arrive in great numbers and posed a threat to the unions, as did public opinion. From the Civil War to the 1930s manufacturing expanded and farming declined. Working conditions were difficult in some industries-hostile feelings about unions declined. Types of unions in industrial post-Civil War period were craft union or trade union and industrial union. Union helped workers by negotiating higher pay, helping job security, and achieving better hours and working conditions. Workers would like strike, picket, and even boycott if employers did not meet the
agreements. Employers fought back with the lockout or even a company union. Deadliest history was the Ludlow massacre of 1914. Courts during this period held an unfavorable attitude toward unions. Unions rose to prominence in the 1930s but several factors have led to declines in union membership since the 1950s. “Right to work” laws, Laws which ban mandatory union membership at the workplace. A union cannot force workers to join. Economic trends, Unions have traditionally been strongest in the manufacturing sector, representing workers who have industrial jobs. These jobs have been declining in numbers as the American economy becomes more service oriented. Less manufacturing jobs, less union workers, fulfillment of Union goals with the government setting standards for workplace safety, and with more benefits being provided by both private and government sources, some claim that the union membership has decreased simply because their goals have been fulfilled. Most of the significant labor laws in effect today were passed in the 1930s, 1940s, and the 1950s. The common problems from the Great Depression united factory workers and renewed union efforts. Congress passed a series of labor protection laws that supported organized labor during the 1930s, with many still in effect today were Norris-La Guardia Act of 1932, The National Labor Relations Act, or Wagner Act, and The Fair Standard Act. Union movement grew strong by the end of World War II. Public opinion of unions began to shift again. Taft Hardley Act of 1947 allowed individual states to pass a right-to-work law. At the turn of the 20th century working conditions were very harsh compared to today’s standard. Wages were low and working days were long, sometimes 10/12 hours a day, seven days a week. Business conditions were unsteady and competition for jobs was intense because so many Americans crowded into cities to find jobs and there was competitions from the increasing immigrants flooding the nation. There was no job security, no retirements, no worksmen compensation if you became sick or injured on the job. If you were too sick or injured work, you lost your job. The poor working conditions led to labor unrest and the growth of nations and the increase of strikes. Government usually took the side of management in labor disputes. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) merged in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO. In 2005 many of the trade and service unions making up the AFL-CIO left and formed the Change to Win Coalition. Unions unrelated to the AFL-CIO and change to Win Coalition are called Independent unions. The Organized labor today, Union workers can participate in several types of union agreements. Union arrangements were closed shop hires only union members (must be a member before hiring) these are now illegal, union shop will hire nonunion workers but requires them to join the union once hired, modified union shop, agency shop will hire nonunion workers, and does not require workers to join the union. However, nonunion workers must pay union dues and are covered by the union contract. About 150 millions people in the United States make up the civilian labor force. Approximately 13.7 million workers are union members or represented by unions. Union membership is uneven among the different demographic groups. Union membership differs considerably by state. Local state, and federal governments have the highest rate of unionization.
After the industrialization, machine became so important that workers’ excellent skill was not necessary anymore. So talented workers were no more valuable. Entrepreneurs could easily hire cheaper workers to run the machine, which lower the workers’ salaries in a certain degree. Then of course workers wanted to gain equality with their employers like what they lived before. Therefore, workers established Unions to protect their own benefits.
They concentrated on higher wages, shorter hours, and personal issues of workers. The American Federation of Labor’s main weapon was walkouts and boycotts to get industries to succeed to better conditions and higher wages. By the early 1900’s, its membership was up to ½ million workers. Through the years since The Great Depression, labor unions were responsible for several benefits for employees. Workers have safer conditions, higher paying jobs to choose from, and better benefits negotiated for them by their collective bargaining unit.
Something also known as the "American Plan" consisted of the corporate leaders wanting open shop, which received the support of the National Association of Manufacturers. It busted unions in the 20's because unions were viewed as un-American and subversive. Union power was also hurt by actions of the Justice Department and the Supreme Court. As a result, union membership seriously declined. One...
U.S. Labor History Unionism can be described as "a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment" (Smelser). This means that a group of workers can unite to gain more power and leverage in bargaining. The bargaining process may include many aspects but usually consists of wages, benefits, terms and conditions of employment. The notion of union came about in the 1700's. In the beginning, as it is today, workers united to "defend the autonomy and dignity of the craftsman against the growing power of the company" (Montgomery).
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.
strikes turned very bad with deaths and injuries. Having unions were good in some views
Union affiliation was first seen in the 1600’s when the roots of the United States were just being planted with skilled trade groups such as artisans, laborers, goldsmiths and printers. Over the next two hundred years, unions developed their desires for higher wages through the use of strikes and protests. The nation’s progress spurred the need for more labor and so began the Industrial Revolution. During the Revolution, many union members began to witness the power that employers had and as a result decided to make use of the concept of power in numbers. The National Labor Union formed in 1866 and worked to persuade congress to set a Federal eight-hour workday, which applied to government employees (Miller). Many large unions formed following in the NLU’s footsteps and uni...
The Great Depression was the worst period in the history of America’s economy. There is no way to overstate how tough this time was for the average worker and there was a feeling of desperation that hung over the entire country. Current political wisdom leading up to the Great Depression had been that the federal government does not get involved in business or the economy under any circumstances. Three Presidents in a row; Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover, all were cut from the same cloth of enacting pro-business policies to generate a powerful economy. Because the economy was doing so well during the “Roaring 20s”, there wasn’t much of a dispute
The unions were limited prior to the Civil War, there were limited efforts to establish a union by organized workforce at any scale, due to the lack of understanding of what a union represented. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the people who worked in rural settings, like the farmers faced deplorable conditions by working longer hours and were paid low wages. Women and children were paid very low wages, as well as men who barely made enough to live on or provide stability for their family. Business owners didn’t want fair pay for a decent day of work, company owners just wanted to exploit workers, men, women, children to work beyond eight hours a day, for low wages and no voice of opinion to anything.
Unions have an extensive history of standing up for workers. They have advocated rights of steelworkers, coal miners, clothing factory employees, teachers, health care workers, and many others. The labor movement is based on the idea that organized workers as a group have more power than individuals would have on their own. The key purpose of any union is to negotiate contracts, making sure workers are respected and fairly compensated for their work. “In theory” unions are democratic organizations, resulting in varying inner authority. Workers look for security within a job a...
It was only a matter of time before women received the right to vote in many belligerent countries. Strong forces are shaping the power and legal status of labor unions, too. The right of workers to organize is relatively new, about half a century. Employers fought to keep union organizers out of their plants, and armed force was often used against striking workers. The universal rallying of workers towards their flag at the beginning of the war led to wider acceptance of unions.
In the early days of trade unionism, there was a direct need for workers to be represented, in areas such as manufacturing, there were little channels of communication and as a result of this workers had little or no representation.
Labor unions are organization of workers actively seeking to improve the economic and social well-being of its members. Through group action and collective bargaining there is greater success in pressuring the employers of an industry to improve working conditions and wages. Logically, coming together as employees in a group there tends to be more power as a collective voice versus an individual. If run correctly with the focus on the employees and reasonable rights, labor unions are definitely positive. However, when either employees or the companies they work for begin to have unreasonable demands, each wanting more and more, unionization can be counterproductive for the nation as a whole.
...gregating millions of small-dollar donations from members (Sachs 152). When money has such a big impact on the government it is good that the middle and lower class can be represented because of unions. This gives them a voice in a government that they otherwise would not be heard in. Labor unions have had a huge impact in policymaking. Labor unions played a central role in the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “As Representative Richard Bolling, one of the Act’s leading supporters, put it, ‘We never would have passed the Civil Rights Act without labor. They had muscle; the other civil rights groups did not’”(Sachs 170). In addition “labor was the most powerful single source of pressure amongst supporters”(Sachs 170) for the enactment of Medicare. It is obvious that unions play a huge role in proving a voice in government for lower and middle class citizens.
Labor unions are legal representatives of workers in the United States. They mainly bargain with employers for higher wages, benefits, and better working conditions. However, there is a major controversy on whether labor unions should even exist. Some people are for labor unions because they benefit much from one. Others view unions as selfish organizations. The United States labor force wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for unions fighting for workers rights.