In general, employers with whom they deal now have the most peaceful labor relations in industry. Today they have perhaps the best no-strike record of any section of organized labor they are the most vigorous proponents of labor-management cooperation they are the only serious labor advocates of incentive wages. Since Russia's involvement in the war, the leadership in these unions has moved from the extreme left-wing to the extreme right- wing position in the American labor movement. On the whole, the organizations involved are those which have been identified as Communist-dominated. "A more conciliatory attitude toward business is apparent in unions which once pursued intransigent policies. Interestingly, the unions with Communist leadership carried this policy furthest. The CIO announced it would "redouble its energies to promote and plan for ever-increasing production." Over the radio, Philip Murray of the CIO urged labor to "Work! Work! Work! Produce! Produce! Produce!" 3 "To cease production is to strike at the very heart of the nation," 2 Instead, they took on the function of administering government decisions affecting the workplace, disciplining the workforce, and keeping up production. and a short stoppage could secure immediate results," the unions renounced the principal method by which workers could have gained from the situation. Thus, at a time when profits were "high by any standard" and a great demand for labor meant "higher wages could be secured. When the United States entered the war, the leaders of both the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations pledged that there should be no strikes or walkouts for the duration of the war. With the coming of World War II, the divergence between unions and workers' own action deepened. Strikes during World War II and its aftermath share some but by no means all of the characteristics of earlier mass strikes. The institutional structures developed in the 1930s changed the relationships among workers, unions, employers, and government.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |