U.S. Labor History

In Chapter 10, Greenhouse discusses increasing hours and stress levels in American jobs. Greenhouse talks about how some new technology actually causes further stress on workers. Blackberries, laptops, and e-mail all lead bosses to believe that they can (and should) be able to reach their employees at any time. Many Americans spend their little vacation time conducting business calls and doing other types of work. Americans’ vacations have become less relaxing, which is unfortunate since many workers receive very little time off. On average, Americans receive less vacation time then any other advanced industrialized nation. It’s like our country prides itself on being full of workaholics. No wonder there are so many widespread health problems in America. Obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease can all be contributed to by stress. As employers lay off employees, they begin to rely on fewer and fewer workers to get the same job done. I think its sad that so many Americans spend their entire lives working. I understand we have to work to get money to survive, but there should be more to life than work. These people are missing out on their children growing up. In my opinion, life is too short to be so stressed out and miserable all the time. Chapter 12 talks about the experiences of immigrant workers in the US. Many of the female immigrants were subjected to sexual harassment by their supervisors. These workers were not treated as people, but more like animals, and there was little they could do about the situation since many had entered the country illegally. But, of course many companies do not care that the workers are illegal immigrants or even that they are people at all. All they see is a source of cheap labor. It’s really sad but as long as illegal immigrants keep coming to America to work, it’s not going to stop. To them, their “high paying” job may be worth more than being safe and respected at their workplace. One of the workers, Gabriel Juarez, says he knew his job was dangerous but had to keep doing it to support his family (pg 225). Chapter 14 talks a little about wage scales and with the title “Starting Out Means a Steeper Climb”, it leaves little to be optimistic about. The quality of life for many working class families has decreased from when the workers were children. Everyone always wants their children to have better lives than they did, but with this situation it is hard to imagine what our children will be dealing with in the future.

This is my favorite book that we have read this semester. I like that the book is recent and Greenhouse discusses problems that are plaguing the country now. He talks about things like the sub-prime mortgages and rising health care costs. I also like that Greenhouse incorporated many different stories of people struggling in the workforce. Chapter 1 was an overview. Greenhouse gives many startling statistics and stories about workers. I was a little shocked when I read that the average rage for an American worker has only increased by 1 percent (after inflation) since 2001 (pg 5). Greenhouse also compared the economic inequality in America to a third world country. The rich keep getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The gap is constantly increasing. I also couldn’t believe how much more American workers work than workers from other countries. American workers work over 370 hours than the average German worker (pg 6). Americans work more than any workers from other advanced industrialized nations. That’s very unfortunate because many Americans have almost nothing to show for it. Chapter 2 tells the story of a woman named Kathy Saumier. Saumier took a job at a Landis Plastics factory. After witnessing the horrible conditions that women were forced to work in, she began trying to organize the workers. Landis did horrible things to her to try to stop her. They tried to bribe her with a supervisor position (much like in Blue Collar). Her supervisors mocked her for crying while giving a speech to the public. Anti-union workers accused her of theft and sabotage. Eventually, Landis fired her for allegedly pulling down a man’s pants at work (which she did not do). After a long battle in the court system, Saumier was given her job back. She returned briefly but soon found another job. The plant never unionized. In subsequent chapters, Greenhouse tells the stories of other workers that are feeling “the big squeeze”. I really like this book. With all of the statistics it could have been a very dry book. But, Greenhouse writes it very well and it is pretty easy to read and flows nicely.

Wellman’s main argument in The Union Makes Us Strong is that radical unionism still exists. I think his argument may have been a little more solid if he discussed other examples of radical unionism, instead of just focusing on the ILWU. I remember talking in class about how the ILWU was not a fan of universities. I found it interesting that Wellman discussed this in the appendix. In the conclusion, Wellman explains why he believes that the ILWU is a radical union. He says it is not because they permitted communists to join or were sympathetic to socialist causes. These things are what I typically thought of when I thought about a radical union. Maybe it’s because we read In Dubious Battle, but communism is the first thing that pops into my head when we talk about radical unions. Wellman goes on to say that the union is radical because “it promotes trade union values, because it is based on the principles of solidarity, equality, and democracy” (pg 306). He also says that the ILWU is radical because they insist their members be treated like human beings not as commodities. I would hope that most unions (today) would insist their workers be treated like human beings. But, I guess that is not always the case. I’m not sure I would consider this union to be very radical based on those principles alone. The bond between the longshoremen is a major focus in this book. I think their bond is the source of their power in negotiations. They show what collective action can accomplish. Overall, the  book was very interesting. I just think maybe if he wants to show that radical unionism is not dead, it would have worked better if he showed other unions as examples too. However, if you look at Wellman’s definition of a radical union, the ILWU does fit that definition.

How does Wellman define a radical union? Do you think the longshoreman would have been able to accomplish anything at negotiations if it were not for their strong bond? Do you think the ILWU promotes trade union values, as Wellman says?

Chapter 5 talked about the PATCO strike in 1981 and the slow downfall of the labor movement. After striking, President Ronald Reagan ordered for the strikers to be fired. I was on the fence a little about this strike. Obviously, the air traffic controllers needed better working conditions. Thousands of lives depended on these people everyday. They shouldn’t be forced to work 40 hours a week, plus overtime, and be understaffed. Their working conditions were not only affecting the workers themselves, but they could possibly affect all of the people traveling through the airports. The workers were developing hypertension and other heart problems at early ages. People shouldn’t have to work in conditions like that. Although their conditions were horrible, they had promised not to strike. If the air traffic controllers go on strike, flights would have to stop until replacements were found and trained. This wouldn’t just affect the FAA, it would greatly affect the general public. But, President Reagan had also promised in his campaign to “work very closely with you to bring about a spirit of cooperation” (pg 156). Promises were just broken all around in this strike. Although the workers had promised not to strike, the government was aware of the problems these workers were having. It wasn’t like this situation just popped up one day out of nowhere. Even Europe and Canada recognized the problem and only made their air traffic controllers work 32-38 hour weeks. Not 40 hours plus overtime. I just think its a little irresponsible to have so few air traffic controllers and make them work so many hours. The safety of the public relies on these controllers performing their job correctly.  Even the replacement strikers grew tired of the conditions and began to organize and negotiate with the FAA. I just think that obviously the ATC’s needed better working conditions. The FAA should have done more to encourage negotiation so that there would not have been a strike.

What happened to PATCO after the strike? Why did the Vietnam War fragment the labor movement in the 1960s? Why did the amount of organizing begin to decrease?

Before I started reading this book, it reminded me a lot of the Woolworth’s Strike. I guess that is because it is one of the only female strikes we had learned about. I found it very interesting that Cobble mentioned this strike in the introduction and especially that she talked so much about Myra Wolfgang. Cobble also mentioned that “labor feminists” are the granddaughters of “social feminists” such as Jane Addams, Florence Kelley, and Rose Schneiderman (pg 3). I agree with Cobble’s comparison. The “social feminists” fought against social problems such as homeless women and children. The “labor feminists” were not just fighting for equal rights in the workplace. They also had to struggle with class issues. I thought it was really unfair when Cobble discussed how many women were fired then rehired to lower paying jobs after the soldier’s return for WWII. Sure, the women were mostly doing a “man’s” job. And yes, these former soldiers would need to find jobs when they returned. It would be almost understandable for the companies to give the women different jobs, as long as the didn’t decrease their pay. To fire them and rehire them to lower paying jobs is just horrible. I also found it to be interesting when Cobble discussed the six-hour work day. I had never heard about this before. It does seem that many of these women spend so much time at work and taking care of their family that they work almost a “double-day”. Cobble pointed out that “there could be no equality without a transformation in the work patterns, norms, and practices of the work world itself” (pg. 122). The “labor feminists” fight was not just for equal wages.

Why was the “double-day” unsuccessful? Why were women fired when soldiers returned? What jobs did they work after the men returned? What did the “labor feminists” want?

Chapter 12 of Rainbow at Midnight discusses the relationship between hollywood and the working class. After 1945, the working class was depicted less often in feature films. When the working class was shown, they were shown in a less favorable light. The post WWII strike wave turned Hollywood against the labor movement. They didn’t want to risk upsetting their audience by showing all of these strikers in a positive light. So either they showed them as “bad” or they didn’t show them at all. Two new genres of film were created “film noir” and “film gris” to handle the labor issue. Many of these movies also handled class issues. Not only did new genres of film appear at this time, but previous genres underwent a transformation. Family dramas began to focus less on class and race and more on parent-child problems. Westerns even underwent a change during this period. John Wayne had once played rebellious characters. His new characters were good soldiers who obey their leaders. Issues such as anti-Semitism and segregation became major topics in social-problem films. Although labor would have liked to tell their story during this time, the motion-picture industry was out of their reach. However, many working class artists were able to express their opinions and feelings in popular music.

Why did Hollywood change after WWII? What changes occurred? Why was popular music a more accessible outlet than film?

I found the Political Action Committee mentioned in Chapter 10 to be interesting. African-American soldiers were returning home from fighting for our country. Was is really fair to expect them to return to business as usual in the white supremacist South? The Local 22 was working towards change through the ballot box. I think this really shows the connection between civil rights and civil unionism. If the African-Americans were going to be treated fairly at work, they also needed to gain respect outside of the workplace. They needed the law to be on their side. Otherwise, there would be no legal requirement guaranteeing them equity at work. The R.J. Reynold company was not just a small business that had little to do with the town. R.J. Reynold’s tobacco company pretty much ran Winston-Salem. It’s clear that civil rights and civil rights unionism had swept up the area. WInston-Salem soon had the largest NAACP chapter in North Carolina. Chapter 13 mentions the hardships that strikers were dealing with. The union’s bargaining position was weakened by the fact that the strikers were barely getting by. Some had found new employment but had yet to receive a check. Others were left with no source of income. The red scare was also weakening the Communist’s stronghold in the Local 22.

What was the role of the Communists in Local 22? Overall, do you think the Communists helped or hurt Local 22? What breakthroughs for the African-American community occurred during this period? What was the role of the PAC?

Chapter six begins by talking about the “Double V” campaign. The campaign supported conquering racism and fascism (it was used during WWII) at the same time. I had heard before that African-American were segregated into “Jim Crow units” in the armed forces. I was unaware of the “Double V” campaign supported by the NAACP and the African-American press. I think it sends a good message that the “Double V” campaign not only wanted to end racism, but also participate in World War II. It shows the supporters do not only support the end of racism, but they support our country in a time of war. I think its unfortunate that while our country was not really “supporting” the African-Americans, the African-Americans chose to support their country. Not that many African-Americans were allowed to actually fight for their country. Most African-American soldiers were limited to jobs as laborers and servants. When A. Phillip Randolph pressured Roosevelt into integrating the armed forces, Roosevelt obliged him just to prevent Randolph and other African-Americans from holding a march. A victory for the wrong reasons, but it was a victory nonetheless. I also found it interesting in Chapter 7 when Korstad says that in most jobs segregation was “so deeply entrenched that black workers sought only improvements in the race-typed positions they already held, not full integration”. It’s like they were almost afraid to reach too high, because the workers knew they would just be let down. All the African-American workers thought they could get was an improvement in their positions, not even the same positions that whites held.

Why did Roosevelt integrate the armed forces? Did he actually believe in integration? What was the “Double V” campaign? Was it successful? Why did the TWIU verbally attack the CIO? What did the TWIU’s campaign focus on?

This book follows the story of a man named Jim Nolan who recently joined the Communist Party. Jim has left his previous life behind and goes to live with members of the party. Mac tries to introduce Jim to the life as a party worker. Most of the workers try to convince workers to support the Communist Party. A young good-looking guy named Dick tries to get money  for the party from women using his charm. He is usually successful. I found it interesting the way Mac tries to become friends with the workers who he his trying to convince. For example, he pretends to have experience working in a hospital in order to win over the “leader” of the group of apple pickers. It was funny how once Mac gained the leader’s trust, everyone else trusted him almost automatically. It was also interesting how Mac tried to unite the men. He was delivering the leader’s daughter-in-law’s baby and he requested the help from all the men. The men gave him any white cloths they could find. After the baby was born, many of the cloths remained unused. Mac had the extra cloths burned instead of returning them to the men. He said that when each man gave some cloth, it made them feel as though they were helping deliver this baby. It inspired a collective thought among them. Giving the cloths back would destroy that group mentality.  While picking apples the next day, Jim began talking to an older man named Dan. Dan described the work struggles he had been dealing with all his life. Mac then tells Jim not to waste his time talking to Dan because he’s too old. But, Dan does manage to “start” the strike. After he falls out of a tree and breaks his hip, the strike starts.  As the strike progresses, I was shocked by the tactics used by the apple growing association. High school kids were sent to shoot at the strikers. “Fake” strike members were sent in to try to persuade other strikers to stop. Mr. Anderson’s barn was burnt down.

Why did Mac and other party workers constantly refer to themselves at “the Party”? Why did Mac want to create a group mentality among the men? Why did Mac feel it was necessary to gain the trust of the men before telling them his beliefs? Why were the business owners using dirty tactics to try to stop the strike? What tactics did Mac use to keep firing up the strikers?

Kelley discusses the fight of musicians to retain employment in the early to mid 1900s. The musicians were angry because they were being phased out of working in movie theaters as movies with sound included became popular. Over an eight year period the number of musicians employed in movie theaters dropped from 26,000 to 4,100. Few of these now unemployed workers were able to obtain studio jobs. In cities across the nation, local trade unions supported the AFM by refusing to cross the picket lines. In 1928, members of the AFM proposed solutions to laying off musicians. Among these solutions were increased admission prices and accepting lower wages. The AFM ultimately decided to use propaganda to encourage the public to support live music instead of “canned” music. This campaign was not very successful, leading the AFM to look for other ideas. The picketing was getting old among the musicians. I found it interesting that the union began giving 50 cent vouchers to picketers in order to keep them picketing. The union began to grow tired of spending money on vouchers, strike funds, and relief and called off the strike in 1937. I think its a little ironic to think about how rich and successful current musicians are compared to the musicians during this time.

Why were musicians seen as different from other workers? What made this strike so unsuccessful? Was it necessary to pay strikers to picket? Why did the AFM turn their attentions to radio broadcasting soon after the strike ended? Why did Weber propose a tax on studio films? Did the AFM actually accomplish anything truly beneficial for their workers?