Labor Unions

Railroads and coal mining were the two industries in 1946 that had strikes that threatened the economy of the United States.

Showed workers that organized labor was powerful.

A fire that cost many lives

A practice used by labor unions that was successful in the early 1900s was not allowing companies to hire workers who did not belong to the union. This practice became known as a closed shop.

The trades union movement

In the United States, and many other nations, workers are allowed to freely choose whether to join a labor union or not. In some states in the US workers cannot be forced to join labor unions. These so called "right to work laws" prohibit unions from requiring that workers become union members as a condition of employment. In some states, workers must become a member of that union, that has negotiated a collective bargaining agreement, or lose their job. Today, even non union workers, have received the benefits that labor unions have gained for their members, like safe working conditions, better pay, pension plans, and health insurance. In some dictatorial nations, like China and North Korea, labor unions are either banned or controlled by the government.

Laborers of that union will pay "union dues," which are usually $15 to $30 per month.

They just bite their tongues because they know better. They know that Constitutional rights and democracy are part of being American but in the U.S. work place these are not allowed by the legal doctrine of "at will" employment. In 49 states an employer can fire an employee for any or not reason at all. Freedom of association, speech, assembly, etc. . . are all subject to the whim of the boss. The best workplaces are benevolent dictatorships and the worst are sweatshops. All power resides in the CEO. Good union members are patriots of the middle class promoting economic, social and political democracy using critical thinking skills, good contracts, grievance procedures and education to train fellow employees to be people and not sheeple. They vote at higher rates in elections than the general public and are far more aware of workplace safety, working conditions, workplace productivity and quality. Germany and the Scandinavian countries have over 60% unionization, yet lead the world in productivity, quality and quality of life. Yet they can out compete low wage, "race-to-the bottom" China. If you don't like unions, you probably don't like democracy. Unions are democracy in the workplace!

American federation of labor

Higher wages, shorter hours, and benefits

To conduct strikes

The attempts failed because there were no laws giving workers the right to organize or requiring owners to negotiate with them. And the courts frequently ruled that the strikes were "Conspiracies in restraint of trade," for which labor leaders might be fined or jailed.

Workers thought that forming labor unions would help get them what they wanted from their employers because the huge amount of people increased pressure on the employer, as huge numbers of people working for the same cause have more power over a small group of people. When angered, this group can wreak havoc, depending on their motives and passion, as demonstrated in the many riots that occured in the early 1900s.

Collective bargaining, strikes, and sabotage

The AFL and the CIO.

and the Mexicans

Actually, the proper name is the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which was founded in the 1930's by John L. Lewis. It, and the American Federation of Labor, disputed whether organized labor should be divided by the traditional "craft" method, or by industry. The dispute was ultimately resolved by a merger of the organizations into what is now known as the AFL-CIO.

A general strike was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Cheap labour means that the people who make the product work under unfair work trends - low wages and often underage workers.

A US union is a private association or club with internal rules. It is granted the legal right to attempt to "organize" a subset of workers at an employer, by asking them to join voluntarily. US law prohibits some workers from being a union member, so those NOT excluded at one workplace are called the bargaining unit. If 1/3 of the unit asks for a secret ballot election, the federal government oversees it after a campaign between the union and the employer.

If 50% +1 of those who VOTE on ballot day vote for Union X, then everyone in the bargaining unit is in the union, and bargaining a contract begins.

They wanted better pay and better conditions.

While not as prevalent as in the 20th century, unions remain important today for the same reasons as they were founded. They provide unity, organization, and direction to individual workers; they also provide bargaining resources and power for the sake of ensuring fair compensation and satisfactory working conditions.

After the Civil War

The closed-shop policy, which was outlawed by the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, forced workers to join the union in order to be hired at a company and to remain a union member in order to continue employment.

Labor Unions would pull a double standard and claim that they would protect the rights of "all workers" EXCLUDING: women, minorities, and unskilled workers. Many unionists feared that minorities were big competition only because bosses payed them lower wages, and more likely to hire them. The hostility of American born workers towards immigrants as well, kept the union weak.