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.