A Time of Labor Unrest

1
A Time of Labor Unrest

• Why did conflict between labor and management
  increase after the war?
• Why did the public turn against the strikers?
• Why did labor union membership decline in the
  1920s?

2
A Time of Labor Unrest

• During WWI, the US Labor Administration prevented
  labor unions from striking.
• In 1919, there were more than 3,000 strikes
  involving approximately 4 million workers
• Workers wanted better wages and working
  conditions (wages had not kept pace with
  inflation)

3
The "American Plan"

• the American Plan anti-labor policy advocated
  by employers
• it was un-American for a worker to have to join
  a union to get a job (a.k.a. no closed shop
  agreements)
• by refusing to negotiate with unions, employers
  were protecting workers rights to work (a.k.a.
  no collective bargaining)

4
The "American Plan"

• actions taken by American Plan companies
• offered benefits (higher wages, stock ownership,
  vacation time, etc.)
• allowed formation of local company-based unions
  with no outside affiliations and little power
• fired striking workers and union representatives
• disseminated propaganda associating unions with
  communists, socialists, and anarchists

5
The Boston Police Strike

• Boston police had not been given a raise since
  the start of WWI
• Representatives who asked for a raise were fired
• Remaining 1,117 officers went on strike in
  September 1919
• Fear for public safety generated national
  attention

6
The Boston Police Strike

• MA governor, Calvin Coolidge, called out the
  National Guard
• There is no right to strike against public
  safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.

7
The Boston Police Strike

• After the strike ended, the striking officers
  were not allowed to return to work
• New officers were hired and trained
• Coolidge was praised for saving Boston, if not
  the nation, from communism and anarchy

8
The Steel Mill Strike

• Steel workers wanted
• right to negotiate for shorter working hours and
  higher wages
• union recognition with collective bargaining
• U.S. Steel management refused to meet with
  workers (September 1919)
• Over 300,000 workers went on strike

9
The Steel Mill Strike

• Strikebreakers (employees who agreed to work
  during the strike) were hired
• Striking workers were beaten by police, federal
  troops, and state militias
• Management instituted a national propaganda
  campaign linking the strikers to communists

10
The Steel Mill Strike

• Strike ended in January 1920
• In 1923, a report on the harsh working conditions
  was made public
• In response, management agreed to an 8-hour day,
  though did not recognize the legitimacy of the
  union

11
The Coal Miners' Strike

• United Mine Workers of America (led by John
  Lewis) called for a strike on November 1, 1919
• Union wanted to protest low wages and long
  workdays and workweeks
• Attorney General Palmer obtained a court order
  sending the miners back to work

12
The Coal Miners' Strike

• Mines stayed closed for a month beyond the court
  order
• President Wilson ordered an arbitrator (judge) to
  settle the dispute
• Workers received a 27 wage increase, but did not
  get the shorter workday nor the shorter workweek

13
Labor Movement Loses Appeal

• Reasons for the decline
• unions were linked to Communists, socialists, and
  anarchists
• much of the work force consisted of immigrants
  willing to work in poor conditions
• immigrant workers were difficult to organize
  because they spoke many different languages (not
  English)
• farmers who had migrated to the cities to find
  factory jobs were used to self-reliance
• most unions excluded African-Americans