TU revision: Trade union groups

Molly Miguires

1873- Irish migrant workers who secretly fought for better conditions. Pinkerton agents infiltrated and 19 were arrested and hanged

KOL

Knights of Labor 1869-90s- key leader= Powderly. fought for 8 hour days, equal pay and abolition of child labour. He hated striking, but after some success he abandoned this principle. 1886- 700,000 workers. reputation destroyed by HM affair- only 100,000 by 1890. supported idea of blacks having rights, in 1890s 60,000 black members were in a separate branch

AFL

American Federal of Labour 1886-1955- founded by Samuel Gompers, fought for bargaining powers of skilled workers, reduced hours, wanting to unite work force. encouraged workers to vote for politicians who supported workers rights. 1914=2 million members. worked with influential businessmen e.g JP Morgan. 1890s- separate branches for Black/Immigrants. by 1930s- still wanting to preserve craft unions and excluded unskilled workers until merged with CIO

Wobblies

Industrial Workers of the World 1905- militant and regarded as suspicious. fought for rights of immigrants/unskilled workers. 1923- 100,000. tensions between leaders caused its decline

UAW

united automobile workers 1936- part of CIO, not formally recognised by Ford until 1941. 1970=1 million workers took part in Flint sit-down strike 1936-7, forcing also GM to recognise it to collectively bargain with. 1970= 1.5 million.

CIO

Congress of Industrial Organisation 1937- for unskilled workers, has previously been under AFL under different name. expelled in 1936 from it. gained an average of 3.7 million workers. used ‘sit-ins’- gave black/immigrants the confidence to strike too. 1949- expelled 10 communist-led unions and lost 1/3 workforce. Merged with AFL 1955.

BSCP

Brotherhood of sleeping car porters and maids 1925- founded by Phillip Randolph. first AA TU to be recognised by AFL. Previously- on average 1 porter would work around 350 hours a month. struggled to gain recognition with Pullman- were not allowed to ride in his carts during days off. pullman also denounced them and set up own company union ‘Employee Representation Plan’. 1925- 500 porters met secretly in Harlem and made a plan- ‘fight or be slaves’. 1934- fought so hard that they claimed that it was the only legit company to represent the workers when negotiating. got certified by national mediation board in 1935 and made first collective bargaining agreement with Pullman in 1937. Joined CIO in 1938 to fight against segregation policies in AFL.

WTUL

Women’s trade union league 1903- focussing on supporting women in factories/ opposing sweatshop working conditions. Triangle shirtwaist factory fire 1911- 145 women died- thanks to valuable help, airless factories with no fire escapes were phased out in NY.

AFL-CIO

1955- brought 85% union members together (15 mill). no raiding pact= couldn’t fight over workers. lobbies congressmen and helped to fund CR legislation.

UFW

United Farm Workers 1972- formed from National farm workers association 1902. founded by Chávez, acted as a bargaining organisation for agricultural workers as they were largely excluded from other trade unions. very successful Salad Bowl strike 1970 (largest strike in history). but struggled to gain momentum due to new tech meaning a lack of need for manual labour. Chavez clashed with other leaders.

PATCO

Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization 1968- militant organisation. damaged rep from strike 1981- 11,000 people fired by Reagan and received life long employment bans. forced to employ 900 military air traffic controllers briefly to stop the disruption. lost support of public and AFL refused to work with them= lead to decline in trade union membership overall. 27% unionised in 1970-12% in 1990. disbanded after strike.

CLUW

Coalition of Labour Union women 1974- made after Chicago conference of 3200 delegates. (Alice W- ‘we are not here to trade recipes’). wanted affirmative action and better relations with CIO-AFL.