In 1867, more than 2,000 Chinese workers who bulldozed and dug tunnels for the transcontinental railroad simultaneously threw away their pickaxes and shovels to protest their lower wages than white workers. Their strike failed after the railroad owner cut off all food and supplies. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Filipino and Japanese sugar plantation workers went on strike in Hawaii, as did Chinese garment workers in San Francisco and New York. Low wages and working conditions led to work stoppages by the Pullman Railroad Workers and the United Mine Workers, but both strikes were dispersed by the government. Eugene Debs, leader of the American Railway Union during the 1894 strike against the Pullman Company, failed to convince his union members to accept black railroaders. Blacks, in turn, served as strikebreakers for the Pullman Company and for the owners of Chicago`s meatpacking companies, whose cattle workers went on strike out of sympathy. In 1947, Congress passed legislation that significantly reduced the protections afforded by the Wagner Act by enacting the Labour-Management Relations Act, also known as the Taft-Hartley Act. The Taft-Hartley Act made “closed” businesses – those that employ only unionized workers – illegal. The law also prohibited certain types of actions, including secondary boycotts, sympathy strikes, and judicial strikes. Under the Act, trade unions were prohibited from participating in political campaigns.
The Taft-Hartley Act also gave each state the right to pass laws to restrict union activity. In 1935, Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act, which reaffirmed NIRA`s promises and established additional rights for workers and unions. That year, at the American Federation of Labor convention, the revived labor movement began to split. John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers, called for a new strategy. Unions should be organized on the basis of industry, not on the basis of crafts, which is intended for the more inclusive organization of non-white and unskilled workers. When the proposal was rejected, the UMW and three other unions went ahead, forming the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1937, a second trade union federation dedicated to industrial organizing. A New York Times/CBS poll found that 60 percent of Americans opposed restricting collective bargaining, while 33 percent were in favor. The poll also found that 56 percent of Americans opposed cutting public employees` salaries, compared to 37 percent who agreed. Survey details also revealed that 26% of respondents thought public sector employee salaries and benefits were too high, 25% were too low and 36% were right.
Mark Tapscott of the Washington Examiner criticized the survey, accusing it of overestimating the budgets of unions and public sector employees. [73] One explanation for the loss of public support is simply the lack of union power or critical mass. A significant percentage of American workers no longer belong to unions or no longer have family members who do. Unions no longer carry the “threat effect”: the power of unions to raise wages in non-unionized workplaces because of the unions` threat to organize these companies. [72] This law, also known as the Wagner Act, was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on July 5, 1935. It has established the National Labour Relations Board and is responsible for relations between unions and employers in the private sector. Founded in 1886, the American Federation of Labor, led by Samuel Gompers until his death in 1924, proved to be much more permanent. It emerged as an informal coalition of various local unions.
She helped coordinate and support strikes and eventually became a major player in national politics, usually on the Democratic side. The first documented case of labor strike in America occurred in 1768, when fellow tailors protested a wage cut. In 1794, Philadelphia shoemakers formed a union called the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers; Thanks to the efforts of trade unions, workers have achieved higher wages, more decent working hours, safer working conditions, health benefits and assistance to workers who have retired or been injured. Trade unions have also been instrumental in eliminating the practice of child labour. They exerted a broad influence on American life, including the political, economic, and cultural fabric of the country. Unions sometimes side with employers, although employers are often seen as opposed to unionization because no employer means jobs. [62] Unions sometimes worked against environmental groups when environmental activism was seen as a constraint on economic growth. [23] This opposition was encouraged by employers as part of a politically motivated strategy called “workplace blackmail” and effectively pitted the movements against each other.
[23] Safety concerns related to COVID-19 led McDonald`s, Amazon, daycares, hotels and other workplaces to take action at work in 2020. Unions, including National Nurses United, American Federation of Teachers and United Farm Workers, have spoken out on the safety of their members and all workers. Despite these successes and activities, it remains to be seen whether unions will increase their membership over the next decade. Section 164 of the Taft-Hartley Act laid the foundation for right-to-work laws by allowing states to prohibit union security agreements or compulsory union membership. Less than a year after the Taft-Hartley Act was passed, 12 states [PDF] passed right-to-work laws. Several more followed in the 1950s. As of December 2013, 24 states had enacted right-to-work laws. Michigan was the last state to pass a right-to-work law in December 2012. Michigan law applies to both public and private sector employees.