Struggle of Labor in the Great Depression

Rise of Unions

NIRA (1933) and Wagner Act (1935) legalized labor unions

Union membership grew from 3 million in early 30s to 10 million (25% of workforce) by 1941

Rise of Unions

Formation of the CIO› Union rivalries created tension› American Federation of Labor

white, skilled workers Organized by crafts

› Some wanted AFL extended to all workers› Committee/Congress of Industrial

Organizations breaks away from AFL Unskilled workers in auto/steel/textile

industries

Rise of Unions

Strikes› Auto

GM plant in Flint, MI Sit-down strike GM asked for troops, denied Eventually recognized as UAW

Ford plant Organizers beaten and driven away

› Steel Small steel companies resisted Republic Steel – four protesters killed by police

Rise of Unions

Fair Labor Standards Act› 1938› Established:

Minimum wage (40 cents/hour = $6.03/hour) 40 hour workweek (time and a half overtime) Child labor restrictions for under 16

› US v. Darby Lumber Co. Supreme Court reversed 1916 ruling

declaring child labor laws unconstitutional

Current

Current

Non-AP Test Labor Struggles

1.5 million strikers in 1934› West Coast longshoremen

Two killed by police› Teamsters in Minneapolis

2 killed by police› 300k+ in the South

7 killed in South Carolina 6 other deaths throughout the South

Non-AP Test Labor Struggles

Black sharecroppers› AAA hurt tenant and sharecropping

farmers› 2.8 million of 6.8 million total

48 sitdown strikes in 1936 477 in 1937 NLRB and Union leadership provide a

measure of control

New Deal Wrap-up

Some help (unemployment, banks, business earnings)

Recession 1937-1938› Programs cut/moderated› Trying to balance budget

New Deal weakened with Dem. majority

New Deal Wrap-up

Wealth still in the hands of a few System of inequality still intact Little to no feminist movement

› Added pressure› More seeking work› Lower pay for same jobs

New Deal Wrap-up African-Americans ignored

› Mostly tenant farmers, laborers, migrants, domestic workers No unemployment insurance, minimum

wages, social security, or farm subsidies› Roosevelt didn’t push an anti-lynching law› Segregation and discrimination in military

and jobs› African-Americans invisible› Only radicals tried to break racial barriers

Socialists, Communists, CIO

New Deal Wrap-Up

Native Americans› Wheeler-Howard Act of 1934

Repealed Dawes Act Returned land control to tribes

Mexican Americans› Lost many southern and western farm jobs

to whites moving west› Thousands returned to Mexico

Historical Perspective

Early – continuation of Populist, Progressive movements

Later – Halfway revolution› Helped some, ignored others› Moderate reforms

Later – Missed opportunity› Only preserved capitalist system of inequality

Modern – Piecemeal solution› Did what was necessary, no radical or

conservative agenda in mind