The tough part was just beginning when the huddled masses yearning to breathe free passed through Ellis Island. Their future had more to do with meager wages, deplorable working conditions, and 16-hour days than with unfettered opportunity. But labor unions gave workers collective bargaining power with which they won many of the employment rights that we enjoy today.
After a long, steady decline, however, the once powerful unions are now a shadow of their former selves and the benefits that they fought for are now required both by law and the free market. Perhaps the most telling sign of the decline of union power came in 1981 when Ronald Reagan fired 11,500 striking air traffic controllers.
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| (U.S. Dept. of Labor) |
The mass exodus from Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to the breakdown of cottage industry and the rise of the factory system while creating a huge pool of unskilled labor desperate for work. Those lucky enough to find jobs worked long hours in hazardous conditions, had few rights, no pensions, and received bare-sustenance wages. One of organized labor’s first priorities was getting a standard workday down to eight hours.
The first union to stick around and make a big impact was the American Federation of Labor (AFL), which was founded in 1886 by a group that included revered labor organizer Samuel Gompers. (Gompers began his working life as a "reader" for cigar makers — while they rolled, he would read articles and books aloud. In return, he received a certain number of cigars from each worker.)
An early champion of women’s rights, the AFL resolved in 1894 that "women should … receive equal compensation with men for equal services performed." But early struggles between unions and corporations were far from lady-like. In fact, they were a bloody affair often marked by violence between strikers on one side and replacement workers ("scabs"), police, and — in some cases — even federal troops on the other. Monopoly-buster Teddy Roosevelt found a better way in 1902, appointing a mediation and arbitration committee to settle a coal mining dispute. By 1904 the AFL and its affiliates had about 1.7 million members.
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Union strikes in the 1930s often were violent affairs. (National Archives)
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During WWI (and again in WWII) unions worked with the government to avoid labor interruptions that might hamper the war effort. After WWI, however, union fortunes waned as corporations sought to reassert their power. Among the factors against the unions: fear of communism in the wake of the Russian revolution; "yellow dog contracts" which, while required for employment, forbade workers from joining unions; rising unemployment; and the importation of black and Mexican workers to break strikes.
With Roosevelt’s support during the Depression, union membership went from about 3.4 million in 1930 to more than 10 million in 1941. It was during this era, in 1935, that the Committee for Industrial Organization — later Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) — was formed by AFL leaders who wanted to organize unions in traditionally non-union industries such as steel, auto, glass, rubber, and maritime, as well as other mass production industries. The next year, the National Labor Relations Act established a legal basis for unions, gave collective bargaining the force of law, and protected union members from coercion. The first federal minimum wage law passed in 1938, guaranteeing workers 25 cents an hour.
Numerous successful strikes after WWII – including the 116-day United Auto Workers strike against General Motors – led to the rise of anti-union sentiment and in 1947 the Taft-Hartley Act curbed the power of organized labor and permitted states to pass "right-to-work" laws. In 1955 the familiar acronym AFL-CIO was created when the two groups united, forming what is still the largest labor organization in the US. The merger occurred at labor’s high-water mark; in 1954 about 35% of workers were union members, the current figure is less than 10%. By this time typical collective bargaining agreements included 40-hour (or fewer) workweeks, company-sponsored pensions, insurance, health and welfare plans, and paid vacations, holidays, and sick leave.
No organized labor discussion would be complete without a mention of infamous Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared and (so some say) is either buried under the end zone at Giants stadium, was fed through a shredder/woodchipper, or is sleeping with the fishes — depending on whose account you believe. A few things may be said with some certainty, however. He was a popular and successful organizer and leader, he was in bed with organized crime and stood trial several times on criminal charges, he was convicted of jury tampering and had his sentence commuted by Richard Nixon, and he ain’t been seen around lately.
The air traffic controllers’ strike of 1981 has become the symbol of the decline of organized labor in the US. Within days of striking for a 32-hour workweek, a $10,000-a-year raise, and a better early retirement package, Ronald Reagan fired them en masse and began hiring and training replacements.
Ironically, unions have become victims of their own success as employers have been forced to offer similar benefits packages to non-union and union workers alike. In the case of union employees, the employer desires to avoid strikes or other work interruptions; in the case of non-union employees, the employer's goal is to avoid unionization and attract qualified workers. Other fundamental reasons for the decline of unions include a demographic shift away from cities and the conversion of the US from a manufacturing to a service economy.
The move to the 'burbs and the explosion of service businesses notwithstanding, outsourcing has become one of the most contentious issues in modern labor relations. Unions fight against outsourcing to protect members' jobs and to get their employer to invest more internally; corporations use outsourcing when other companies can do the same job cheaper or better, and to stay focused on core operations. The impetus behind the 1998 General Motors strike? Outsourcing.
While membership in private sector unions has declined, however, organizers have turned to the public sector where Uncle Sam, state, or local government is the boss. About 38% of government workers belong to a union. Teachers, sanitation and transportation workers, and federal employees are among the most-highly unionized occupations.
Joe Simonetta is a writer for Hoover's Manufacturing and Industry team.
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