A step backwards for labor unions in America

After making great advances before world war

one, labor unions in America declined in

membership and influence during the 1920s. In

1920, union memberships hit a peak, but at the

end of that decade membership had dropped

dramatically. For example, in metal and metal-

using industries, the number of union members

dropped by three-quarters during 1920-1924.

In the entire country, union membership

dropped 25 percent between 1920 and 1923.

The percentage of unionized soft-coal miners

working under union contract fell from 72% in

1919 to 40% in 1925. Union membership

continued to decline during the rest of the

decade.

There were several reasons for this

decrease. First of all, efforts at strikes were

defeated routinely in 1919-1920; the ruthless

violence that was used against the striking

workers discouraged further actions. Secondly,

there was a depression in 1921-1922, which led

to fewer jobs available and greater competition

among unemployed workers for those jobs.

Finally, fears about communism and the Red

Menace put union workers in an unfavorable

light as possible "socialists." Thus, union

activities were viewed with suspicion and found

little support from communities.

The 1920s were a great time for

capitalist and stock owners, but for the average

working man, wages fell steadily after 1920. For

instance, worker earnings in manufacturing

during the basically prosperous years 1923-

1929 rose by 5.1 percent, a rate that represents

less than one percent a year. Indeed, wage

declines over the period were not unusual.

In meat-packing jobs, for example, the 1929

average wage rates were as much as ten to

twenty percent lower than they had been at the

start of the decade.

Many workers lived near the edge of

poverty during the 1920s. Looking at the

decade as a whole, it becomes clear that the

wages of millions of workers (including more

than 30% of all non-farm family incomes)

were at or below the poverty line in 1929 and

the lowest paid sections of the working class,

such as unskilled railroad workers, probably did

not earn enough money to provide their

families with sufficient food on a regular basis.