Evolution of IR and Unions Preface

							 Evolution of U.S. IR and Unions:
 Preface


The facts do not tell their own story; they
must be cross-examined. They must be
carefully analyzed, systematized, compared,
and interpreted. -- Talcott Parsons


                      O si sesbili, si ergo,
                      Fortibuses in ero,
                      Nobili, demis trux,
                      Sewatis enim, cowsendux.
Themes in U.S. IR Evolution

Recurring impact of business cycles
Growing impact of industrialization
Ebb and flow of “radical” influence
Gradual emergence of a “mainstream”
 labor movement
Steady increase in government regulation
Shifting emphasis from property rights to
 human rights (not always steady)
Colonial Times and Early
Industrialization, circa 1700s-1860s
(Punctuating History)


 Organizations among skilled crafts, initially formed to
  face threat of “inferior goods”
 Interests of employees (EEs) and employers (ERs) part
  as markets extend (expand) to larger areas; competition
  intensifies
 “Union-like” movements come and go with the business
  cycle (pro-cyclical growth)
 Government and courts clearly on the side of ERs
 Still mainly a pre-industrial, agrarian society -- only 1/6
  of workers employed outside agriculture in early 1800s
Industrialization in Full Steam, c.
1860s-1910s

Civil War accelerates industrialization process;
 half work outside agriculture by 1865, 5/6 by
 end of World War I
Three relatively permanent labor orgs
   Knights of Labor (KOL), 1869-90s*
   American Federation of Labor (AFL), 1881-1955*
   Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), 1905--20s*
Other labor orgs, incl. friendly societies, utopian
 movements, farm-labor alliances, appear briefly
The Knights of Labor

Secret society origins
Reform-orientated (no drunks, gamblers, or lawyers)
    Educating for a better world; “don‟t strike, write essays” -- leaders
    Favored and set up “producer cooperatives”
    Wanted to abolish wage system through reform, not revolution
    Membership surged after successful strikes against Jay Gould‟s RRs

Noteworthy structure: Craft, industrial, and
 mixed “assemblies” (locals)
Demise by 1890s for various reasons
    Insensitive leaders, not in touch with desperate conditions
    Lost second strike against Gould RRs
    Association with Haymarket Riot and other “radicalism”
    Competition from AFL unions
American Federation of Labor
 Origins in FOTLU (formed in 1881; AFL in 1886)
 Principles (pure and simple unionism, business unionism, B&B unionism)
     Advance worker interests within existing wage system (capitalism)
     Craft unionism(occupational or skill-based) -- basic structural principle
     Craft autonomy and exclusive jurisdiction
     Advocated strike use as an economic weapon
     Relatively apolitical (“what government gives it can take away”)
 Leadership: Samuel Gompers (led 1881-1924)
 Late 1800s, early 1900s: unspectacular but steady
  growth
 Why didn‟t the AFL evolve toward industrial unionism?
 Some key events: Homestead, Pullman, 1919 steel strike
Pullman and Paternalism
 Outside Chicago, late 1800s, set up by George Pullman
 Pullman was the epitome of a “company town.” Workers toiled in
  Pullman‟s shops, lived in his houses, prayed in his churches, sent
  children to his schools, shopped in his stores, were buried in
  Pullman cemeteries (and some suggested, went to the Pullman
  hell).
 Pullman called it a “new departure and a new idea”
 Labor leaders called it a “slave pen without equal.”
 Wage cuts and layoffs in 1894, with no cuts in prices for company
  goods and services. Grievance committee was fired; workers struck
 Eugene V. Debs, President of the American Railway Union (ARU),
  an industrial union for RR workers, called a sympathy strike
 Injunctions and federal troops combine to crush the strike
 Aftermath and lessons from the Pullman Strike
At the Turn of the Century -- Signs of
the Times & Reasons for Radicalism
 Government, especially courts, clearly biased
    “Law must stand at all times [for] capital” (NY Sup Ct, 1919)
    Double standard for business vs. workers in pursuit of self-interest
    Injunctive powers often abused (“Era of the Injunction”)
 ER attitudes often harsh and arrogant
    Baer: “The interests of workers are to be looked after not by the labor
     agitators, but by the Christian men to whom God in his infinite wisdom has
     given control of the property interests of this country.” (c. 1902)
 Absentee ownership a new problem
    After touring his struck factories Mr. Shafner (Hart, Shafner, and Marx)
     said “Then I wasn‟t surprised they were on strike … I was only surprised
     they had waited so long” (c. 1910)
 Triangle Shirtwaist Co. Fire-- 150 women workers die
  behind locked doors (c. 1911)
Industrial Workers of the World,
IWW, a/k/a “The Wobblies”
 Origins in miners and socialists, formed in 1905
 Various interpretations
    IWW= I Won‟t Work (employers) / I Will Win (members)
    “Wobbly” term from Chinese immigrant members‟ pronunciation of “IWW”
     or vacillation on policy between revolutionary unionism versus pure and
     simple unionism for all workers, or “other”?
 Early principles
    Workers and capitalists have no common interests
    “One Big Union” for all workers (but later spelled out industrial divisions)
    Abolish wage system, with force if needed
    Refuse to sign contracts with employers
    Opposed US involvement in WW I
    Endorsed “direct action” tactics (including sit-down strike, sabotage)
 IWW raises a key issue on union roles: job-conscious
  unionism vs. revolutionary unionism (Perlman vs. Marx)
The IWW “Character”:      Impractical
Romantics, or Hoboes & Bums?
 “Self-portraits”
       Song: “Hallelujah I‟m a Bum!”
       Images: Drowned cat, organizer, champion of the underdog
 Organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn -- real-world inspiration
  for popular Broadway musical, “The Rebel Girl”
 Known for songs, posters, etc. Apparently the IWW drew a
  creative, poetic, melodious, and artistic following. Joe Hill
  (organizer) was most famous of their songwriters
    Hanged in Utah for murder,viewed as martyr to cause by IWW
    Joan Baez performed the song “Joe Hill” at Woodstock (1969): I dreamed I
     saw Joe Hill last night, alive as you and me … I never died, said he ... what
     they could never kill, went on to organize
 Loved (for their idealism) and hated (for their radicalism)
  by many. Two sides of the same coin?
 IWW Issues & Demise (1917-20)

 Why did the IWW fade away?
 Reasons commonly cited for their demise
   Failed to develop ideology appealing to most US workers (too
    radical); but succeeded in developing one that threatened powerful
    interests (employers, owners of capital, AFL unions, clergy, etc.)
    during the time of America‟s first “Red Scare”
   Impractical: Voluntary dues, refusing to sign CB contracts, neglect of
    union administration issues, tried to represent the least powerful and
    most oppressed in society
   Alienated many with egalitarianism, religious heresy during free
    speech fights (shouting “there is no god”), opposition to war, etc.
   Government and vigilante repression as illustrated in “The Great
    Roundup” and “Bisbee Deportation” and similar incidents
World War I to World War II, c.
1910s-1920s
   War-time developments and union roles
      Legitimation via participation and support for war effort (AFL
       unions)
   Post-WW I and the “Roaring 20s”
      Post-war strikes, severe recession, and a “Red Scare”
      General anti-union feelings -- business was providing (for many)
      Employer “counteroffensives” to roll back union war-time gains:
       “Open” shop movement, Mohawk Valley Formula, and the
       American Plan
   Railway Labor Act (1926)
      Major provisions
      Why RRs? (But note extension to airlines in 1934)
      Interventionist philosophy notable
   1929 Crash
World War I to World War II,
cont‟d, c. 1930s-1940s
  Critical period
     Legal framework established (NLRA, et al.)
     Union philosophy and structure firmed up
  The Great Depression -- how bad was it?
    Unemployment rate at 25% or higher in 1933
    Single-earner households
    Virtually no “safety net” at this time
  Legislative developments
     Secondary concerns: substantive legislation (e.g., min. wage)
     Primary concerns: labor relations law
        Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932)
        National Industrial Recovery Act (1933-35)
        Wagner or National Labor Relations Act (1935)
 Major Provisions of N-L and NIRA

Norris-LaGuardia or Federal Anti-Injunction Act
 (1932); Note noninterventionist nature
  Declared CB to be favored national policy
  Made “yellow dog” contracts unenforceable
  Greatly restricted injunctions in labor disputes
National Industrial Recovery Act (1933-35)
  Industry councils to develop codes of fair competition
  Labor provisions called for representation elections;
   banned certain ER practices, set up NLB
  Problem for labor section: No enforcement mechanism
  Unconstitutional: “Blue Eagle” done in by “Sick Chicken”
 Key Parts of “Wagner Act,” or
 National Labor Relations Act (1935)
 This is, as amended, still the “law of the land” with broad
  jurisdiction (“interstate commerce” w/ specific exclusions)
 Policy statements: Industrial strife impedes interstate
  commerce; CB favored to resolve
 Sec. 7 -- the “heart” of the act: Workers have the
  right to form, join, assist unions of their choice
 Sec. 8 -- ULPs for employers: Bans certain practices such
  as discrimination against unionists, refusal to bargain
 Specifies representation election procedures
 Creates NLRB to decide ULP cases and conduct elections;
  also gives it the power to seek enforcement of its orders
  through fed. Courts
Meanwhile, Back at the Union Hall ...
“Labor‟s Civil War” is Erupting

  Unionization is low and falling in 1933: Something must
   be done!
  Lewis (UMWA) and others argue the time is ripe for
   industrial unionism; form Committee on Industrial
   Organization (CIO) within the AFL
  AFL craft hard-liners favor temporary “Federal Locals”
  Confrontation at 1935 convention
     Lewis and Hutcheson (Carpenters) fight
     CIO ordered to dissolve, but instead the CIO‟ers secede and form
      Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Turbulent Years, 1933-45?

Following the CIO‟s breakaway, both feds grew
   Overall membership increased five-fold between 1933 and 1945
   AFL regained lead after initial CIO surge (partly via sit-downs), often
    persuading employers that an AFL union would be better than a more
    radical CIO union (CIO exploited communists as organizers)
   Many of today‟s major unions created by CIO organizing committees at
    this time (e.g., UAW, USWA), and many AFL craft unions became more
    diverse, “semi-industrial” or “general” unions (e.g., IBEW)

Wartime roles during WW II
   Both federations supported war effort, pledged not to strike
   Both participated in tripartite War Labor Board to settle disputes
   Grievance arbitration gets a big boost as a strike alternative
   Varied responses to “Rosy the Riveter” members and minorities
Since World War II, c. 1945-

 Post-war strike surge (1946)
 Taft-Hartley or LMRA (1947)
 McClellan hearings on union corruption and communist
  influence (1950s)
 AFL-CIO merger (1955)
 New unions: white collar and public sector
 Landrum-Griffin or LMRDA (1959)
 Other changes to labor law
 Employer offensive in the 1980s
Immediate Post-WW II Era,
1946-50

 Post-war strike surge: More than 1% of work time lost;
  1946 still holds record for U.S. strike activity
 Republicans regain Congressional control in „46 -- “New
  Deal” backlash (and 14 years of Democrat control)?
 Taft-Hartley or Labor-Management Relations Act passed
  over Truman‟s veto in 1947
 AFL and CIO continue to compete for members, but the
  pickings are slimmer
 Cold War settles in; concerns about “Reds” return and
  CIO tries to expel its own Reds
 Bargaining for new benefits and establishing patterns
Taft-Hartley Act or Labor
Management Relations Act (1947)

Amended NLRA of 1935
Major provisions
   Re-enacted NLRA policy statements, but added new ones stressing ER
    and individual EE rights (contrast to collective EE rights emphasis)
   Amends Sec. 7 rights to include right to refrain
   Sec. 8b specifies union ULPs (old Sec. 8 now becomes Sec. 8a)
   Sec. 301: CB agreements enforceable in Fed. Ct.
   Provisions for “National Emergency” disputes
   ER “free speech” rights and other election changes
   States allowed to pass “Right to Work” laws (banning “union shop”)

Also note that it says the amended law can be
 called the NLRA or LMRA
Evolving Through the „50s
 AFL-CIO Merger in 1955
 McClellan Hearings in Congress (late 50s) expose union
  corruption and undemocratic practices; link some unions
  with communists (during “Tailgunner Joe” Red Scare)
 Landrum-Griffin or Labor Management Reporting and
  Disclosure Act (1959)
    Mostly addresses internal union affairs -- governance and corruption
     issues: financial disclosure, member rights to vote, have contract, etc.
    Some changes to NLRA, incl. more union ULPs
 Bargaining stabilizing, maturing; membership stabilizes,
  density (%) declines slightly
 LR function is “top dog”; personnel keeps records
Evolving Through the 60s-70s

 Kennedy‟s Exec. Order in 1962
 Public sector unions surge while private sector unions
  stagnate; Leaders (e.g., Meany) seem unconcerned
 Nonlabor social issues take center stage (e.g., poverty,
  inequality, Viet Nam, drugs)
 Globalization is beginning to take off, imports surge
 Nonunion sector becoming more signif., innovative in HR
 Labor relations law
    Postal (1970) and health care sector (1974) amendments to NLRA
    General NLRA reform effort fails due to filibuster in 1978
    Civil Service Reform Act passes in 1978 -- an NLRA for fed employees
    Many states pass laws on S&L worker union rights, bargaining
Evolution of Unions & IR in the 1980s

 Great Recession (About 10% unemployed in 1981-82)
 Reagan fires 12,000 striking PATCO members in 1981 -- an
  important symbol?
 More conservatism, individualism
 Employers
    Elevate HR and demote LR
    Take more aggressive stances toward bargaining and unionization
     attempts -- the era of union busting and concession bargaining?
 Union density decline accelerates as unions‟ memberships
  shrink in absolute numbers; strikes becoming more rare
 Unions begin to face up to their decline and strategize
  about their future
Some Relatively Unchanged
Aspects of U.S. Unions and IR

 Bargaining issues and tactics largely unchanged since
  1940s, although strikes are much less frequent and
  often ineffective
 Unions are a powerful but shrinking force
 Great diversity in unions and members
 Bargaining still the main emphasis, politics secondary
 Union philosophy still mainly “business unionism”
 Union image problems: Corruption, autocracy, strikes,
  inefficiency, etc.
 Employers generally oppose unions, but learn to work
  with them when they must
What‟s New? Union and IR
Evolution in the 1990s-2000s
 “Downsizing” started in 80s, spreads in 90s
 Temp or contingent work grows rapidly too
 Globalization a key force, but not much international unionism or
  bargaining (yet?)
 “Information Revolution” a growing force on all the parties; unions
  lag but are catching on quickly
 HR pressured to show bottom line impacts; downsized in many
  companies; outsourcing HR?
 Dunlop Commission studies reform, but its report arrives “DOA”
 AFL-CIO coup by John Sweeney; vows to emphasize organizing
  (30% r.t. 3% of budgets) and to rebuild union political muscle, be
  more aggressive
 A “great expansion” in the economy?
 9-11 and beyond? United We Stand?