History of Collective Bargaining in the United States

First Strike: Philadelphia printers in 1786New York printers in 1790

First unions: 1792: Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers, Philadelphia1794 Journeymen printers, New York

Employer and Union Tactics

• Craft union approaches firm, asks for agreed pay. Strike employers who refuse.

• Uncooperative workers ostracized, labeled rats, scabs• Early strikes successful

• 1806: Philadelphia Cordwainers union broken by court injunction against strike• Srikes declared “criminal conspiracy to disrupt managerial

prerogative to set wages”• Unions lose 4 of 6 similar cases in 1820s

• Other constraints: Immigrants, slow growth, mechanization, local unions

History (continued)1842 Commonwealth v. Hunt legalizes strikes

1850 First national union: printers

1866 National Labor UnionPrimarily politicalLasts 6 years

1869 Knights of LaborEmphasizes 3rd party actionsCombination of craft, industrial unionsEmbarassed by strikes, but Wabash strike leads to

rapid growth

History (continued)Violence

1875 Molly Maguires in mining, Pennsylvania and West Virginia

1886 Haymarket Riot, Chicago: Strike for 8 hour day

1892 Homestead Steel, Pennsylvania: Lockout when workers refuse wage cuts

1894 Pullman Strike, Illinois: strike over layoffs, wage cuts

1914 Ludlow, Colorado mines, lockout when union presses for recognition

History (continued)Other constraints on unions

• Sherman Anti-Trust Act1902 United Hatters of North America strike

against Loewe and Company

Yellow dog contractsIndustrial spiesBlacklistingCompany unionsSweetheart deals

A Tale of Two Unions

1886- American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Samuel Gompers and business unionismcrafts onlyinstituted collective bargainingsupport capitalismaudited booksuse of strikes supported by national

resources

A Tale of Two Unions (continued)

1905-1920 Industrial Workers of the World

Big Bill Haywood and Revolutionary unionism

Aim: overthrow capitalism, workers control capital

Industrial unions (agriculture, mining, loggers)lax duesEmbezzlement by organizersGreat songs

A Tale of Two Unions (continued)

By 1920, IWW all but gone (1,000 members today)

AFL had 280,000 members in 18981.5 million members by 19043 million members by 192013 million today

1926 Railway Labor Act

1936 Airlines covered under RLA

Include many of the features that were later added to the NLRA, Taft Hartley

1930 Texas & New Orleans Railroad Co v. Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks

Validate unions under the Commerce clauseCongress shall have the power to regulate commerce…among the several states

Congress can make collective action “an instrument of peace rather than strife.”

1931 Davis Bacon Act

• Must pay prevailing local wage on federal projects

• Prevailing wage defined as the wage that separates the lowest 70% from the top 30%

• Several states followed suit• Des Moines Iowa Events Center

• Most federal government projects employ union members

1932 Norris La Guardia Act

• Invalidates use of Sherman Anti-Trust act in labor disputes

• Declares “Yellow Dog” contracts unenforceable

1935 National Labor Relations ActWagner Act

Ushered in the era of the most rapid union gains in U.S. history

Between 1935-1947, Union density rises from 13% to 35%1700 company unions disbanded76,000 workers fired for union activity reinstated 5,070 bargaining units certified

Other reasons?

NLRA Features

Coverage

Exclude: federal, state employees

agricultural workers

domestic servants

independent contractors

supervisors

Include: U.S. Postal Service

Large private firms

NLRA Features

Section 7: Rights of employees

Employees shall have the right to self-organize, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activity except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment.

NLRA Features

Section 8: Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) for the employer

8(a)(1): to interfere with activities in Sect. 7

8(a)(2): to dominate or support a union

8(a)(3): to discriminate on the basis of union interest

8(a)(4): to punish worker(s) who file a ULP charge

8(a)(5): to refuse to bargain in good faith

NLRA Features

1937 NLRB v. Jones Laughlin Steel upholds NLRA 5-4

Under Commerce clause, Proper for Congress to prohibit employers from interfering with the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively because of the catastrophic effects that strikes could have on interstate commerce.

World War II and its immediate aftermath

• Rapid union growth• Wage and price controls, no-strike pledges• UMW refuses, 2 strikes led by John L. Lewis • Pent-up wage demands

1945 GM and Ford strike

1946 Strikes in oil, lumber, textiles, electrical industry, steel, coal; railroad workers threaten to walk out

Truman responds

1947 Taft Hartley Amendments

Unfair labor practice for union8(b)(1)(A): to coerce workers to join8(b)(1)(B): to coerce employer regarding representation8(b)(2): to coerce employer to punish employees8(b)(3): to refuse to bargain in good faith8(b)(4): to coerce “hot cargo” contracts

to engage in secondary boycottsto compel firm to bargain when another union is

already recognizedto strike over a jurisdictional dispute

1947 Taft Hartley Amendments

Unfair labor practice for union

8(b)(5): to charge excessive fees

8(b)(6): to coerce employer to pay for services not performed

8(b)(7): restrictions on representational and organizational pickets

informative pickets are ok

14(b): to require workers join a union in a right-to-work state

1947 Taft Hartley Amendments

Sect 202 Establishment of Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)

Sect 206: Cooling off period in national emergencies

1959 Landrum-Griffin Act

• Workers bill of rights• Democratic elections• Rules for trusteeships• Rules for financial reporting• Allows a form of closed shop for building trades

Other laws

1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act

1990 Americans with Disabilities Act

1965 Affirmative Action

1938 Fair Labor Standards Act

1974 Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA)

1975 Occupational Safety and Health Act

1986 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

Union declines since 1947

• Taft Hartley?• Demographics?• Economic growth in nonunion sectors?• Economic growth in the West and South?• Federal labor legislation?

Union declines since 1947

• Taft Hartley?• Mixed, perhaps it slowed growthMixed, perhaps it slowed growth

• Demographics?• Women? Not a big effect. Bigger in some European Women? Not a big effect. Bigger in some European

countriescountries

• Education? Not a big effect due to increases in union Education? Not a big effect due to increases in union strength in the public sectorstrength in the public sector

• Age? Unionization rises with age, so aging labor force Age? Unionization rises with age, so aging labor force should help unionsshould help unions

Union declines since 1947

• Economic growth in nonunion sectors• Rapid growth in service, F.I.R.E., trade sectors that had Rapid growth in service, F.I.R.E., trade sectors that had

low union densitylow union density

• Declines in manufacturing, Declines in manufacturing,

• Also decrease in union density within sectorsAlso decrease in union density within sectors

• Economic growth in the West and South• Strong evidence supporting role of regional growthStrong evidence supporting role of regional growth

• Federal Legislation• ERISA, OSHA, Title VII, SS, WC, UI, COBRA, ….ERISA, OSHA, Title VII, SS, WC, UI, COBRA, ….