8: Lecture September 24, 2007 Divided ranks of labor during the early part of the 20th century American labor movement, 15% of laborers who were active, participated in craft unions or labor unions You didnt have to engage in activist pursuits if government made things right Progressives proceeded to do so wanted to place constraints in the behavior of employers During periods of economic recovery craft union had always prospered 1897 craft union movement had only been 275,000 Americans Between 1898-1905 grew to 2 million members Larger economic activity Two kinds of unionism that emerged in the US is the early 20th century One is good and one is bad Good accepts capitalism Resigned to be politically active in the respects of the two party system Reward friends and punish enemies Happy to vote for republican or democrats Dont organize workers into a political faction Bad Unionism IWW Discontent with every aspect of American society Eliminate American democracy Transform America that will turn it into a socialist dictatorship Most employers dont believe that there are good unions, they believe that some are better than others but ultimately they dont believe that there is such a thing is as good unionism It poses a control over your business Labor cost is the most at your control and even unions wants to control this Offends your idea of property rights, if you own it you control it and unions challenge this In progressive era, period of reform and legislation, also a period of massive industrial conflict Comes at the expense of employer rights Want to dictate the function of employment
Craft unions find themselves being fought with employers Progressivism causes legislature and government less willingly to help employers Employers seeks court intervention in progressive era are Courts not subject to public will Federal judges have lifetime tenure Doesnt matter what people think about the decisions people seem to render To resist trade unions and progressives In 1890 Sherman Anti-trust act Passed in response to American belief that there were too many monopolies and people believed that they were being screwed. It had never been used against companies It started to be used against trade unions Courts were willing to make decisions to protect employers Here is new evidence that if you are involved in a dispute with unions you can go to court and being defended Employers used contracts to their defense They will force employees that before employment they will sign individual contract that state that they will have nothing to with unions and if violated then they will be subject to civil court Called yellow-dog contracts Way of keeping unions at bay Hitchmen Mine Company used yellow dog contracts Mine unions still continued to organize members Employers wanted an injunction Mine workers union are banned World War One People wanted to avoid being drawn into the war Isolationists We should take advantage of the blessing of geography of having wide oceans on both side of country European war couldnt be avoided War was a global war whether we liked it or not American people began to believe that they should intervene in this conflict in order to stop this war If America intervened and stopped the war then they could secure the views or democracy
Trade unions used war to its advantage Craft unions saw ways of demonstrating their patriotism IWW become something much more menacing in the eyes of Americans they didnt believe in the war except the war against capitalism They wanted to stay out of war and continue the destruction of capitalism AFL favors the war