National Industrial Recovery Act

1. (Brief) History of Worker Rights Struggles in the United States: 1930s- 2012Dr. Gary HytrekDepartment of SociologyCalifornia State University, Long Beach

2. National Industrial Recovery Act The NIRA (1933): Eleanor Roosevelt hanging an NRA sign: "We Do Our Part" The purpose of the NIRA was to put people back to work, raise the purchasing power of labor and elevate labor standards. Most importantly it was to create a unified American front in the domestic war against the Great Depression.

3. Government Regulation of Labor Relations NLRA: Evolved out of the National Industrial Recovery (1933) • The NRA had a two-year renewal charter that was set to expire in June 1935 if not renewed. • In 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously declared that the NRA law was unconstitutional, ruling that it infringed the separation of powers under the United States Constitution. • Wagner Act (1935): The Result was the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935.

4. The Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) of 1935 • Before the law, employers had liberty to spy upon, question, punish, blacklist, and fire union members. • Even with the NRA, which granted labor the right to organize, employers dogmatically resisted those attempts. • NLRA addressed these isses. • Welcomed as the Magna Carta of American labor.

5. The Wagner Act Basics • Protects employee rights to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their choice. • Created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) , an independent Board to govern business – labor relations in the U.S. as set by law • Called for secret ballot elections of union representatives. • Prevents and remedies unfair labor practices.

6. Coverage: Coverage all workers except: federal, state employees agricultural workers domestic servants independent contractors supervisors Include: U.S. Postal Service Large private firms

7. Workers’ Rights • Section 7 of the Act guarantees these rights: • To self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through freely chosen representatives. • To engage in concerted activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. • To refrain from any or all of such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment.

8. Unfair Labor Practices: Section 8: Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) for the employer to interfere with activities in Sect. 7 to dominate or support a union to discriminate on the basis of union interest to punish worker(s) who file a ULP charge to refuse to bargain in good faith

9. Legal Challenges 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.

10. Immediate Outcomes NLRB: Ushered in the era of the most rapid union gains in U.S. history Between 1935-1952, Union density rises from 13% to 35%; from 3.2 million to 10 million in 1942 to 16 million in 1952 Over 1700 company unions disbanded Over 76,000 workers fired for union activity reinstated Over 5,070 bargaining units certified

11. World War II and the immediate aftermath • Rapid union growth: Union Membership doubled from 7.2 million in 1940 to 14.5 million at war's end. • Wage and price controls, no-strike pledges during the War • Pent-up wage demands • Unresolved working conditions issues • Working conditions and the no-strike pledge that most labor unions took during WWII caused a build-up of labor disputes that exploded once the war had ended.

12. 1946 Strikes: • No year, before or since, saw so many strikes, and such a large percentage of people on strike, or so many industries effected by strikes, as 1946. 1945: GM and Ford strike 1946: Strikes in oil, lumber, textiles, electrical industry, steel, coal; railroad workers threaten to walk out • In total, 4.3 million workers participated in the strikes. According to Jeremy Brecher, they were "the closest thing to a national general strike of industry in the twentieth century.

13. Sugar Workers demonstrate a Olaa Plantation in Hawaii—one of Hawaii’s biggest employers Picketers (and dog) in jail during Rochester General Strike

14. Mounted police clear strikers from the street at Westinghouse strike Movie time news:

15. Blowback: • The GOP gained 55 seats in the 1946 mid-term elections and regained control of the House for the first time since Hoover was president. • The Republican dominated House passed the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 • Truman vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode Truman's veto on June 23. The law became known as the "slave-labor bill" in union circles

16. The 1947 Taft Hartley Amendments Prohibited jurisdictional strikes, secondary boycotts and "common situs" picketing*, closed shops, and monetary donations by unions to federal political campaigns. Unfair labor practice for union included to charge excessive fees restrictions on representational and organizational pickets informative pickets are ok to require workers join a union in a right-to-work state * The picketing of an entire construction site by a trade union having a grievance with only a single subcontractor working there.

17. Other laws 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act 1959 Landrum-Griffin Act 1963 The Equal Pay Act 1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1965 Affirmative Action 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act 1974 Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA) 1986 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act

18. Workers’ Rights in the Post 1960 Period

19. Union Decline since the 1950s: Context

20. Declining unionization: Private & Public Union Coverage in the United States, 1973-2009* * Coverage was 12.6% in 2012.

21. As Union Membership Decreases, Middle Class Incomes Shrink: Source: David Madland, Karla Walter, and Nick Bunker. 2011. “Unions Make the Middle Class: Without Unions, the Middle Class Withers. Center of American Progress Action Fund. (April) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eccQc9M1mc&feature=player_embedded

22. Minimum Wage and the Poverty Line The minimum wage has varied from a maximum of 90% of the poverty level in 1968 and has averaged two thirds of the poverty level since 1959, when the poverty level was established. The lowest percentage was 2006, just before Congress raised it for the first time in a decade; the longest period without an adjustment in the minimum wage.

23. Union And Shared Prosperity in the US. The divergence in income growth is especially noticeable since 1979 and corresponds with a decline in union influence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QSYOedwIjMU Source: Ross Eisenbrey and Colin Gordon 2012. “Union Decline and Rising Inequality.” Economic Policy Institute. (June 6).

24. Factors for the Decline: • Economic growth in nonunion sectors • Rapid growth in service, F.I.R.E., trade sectors that had low union density • Declines in manufacturing, • Economic growth in the West and South (right-to-work states) • Union Strategy • Many Unions transformed into “servicing bureaucracies”… • Emphasis on narrow “bread and butter” issues

25. At the Workplace Level: • Human Relations offices institutionalized workers rights as individual rights • Employer use of intimidation, firings, legal foot-dragging, consultants, sub-contracting, offshoring… • At the Federal Level: • Continued resistance to ratifying ILO Conventions 87 & 98 • Pro-business appointees to the NLRB • Federal Legislation • ERISA, OSHA, Title VII, SS, WC, UI, COBRA, …. • Neoliberal Policies shifting power to capital

26. Culture: • The emphasis on individual rights and the emphasis on freedom from bodily harm • We could also include labor as anti-American (against the basic “American values of individualism, meritocracy); solely concerned with narrow union issues of wages or with expanding membership to increase dues; • Politics: • Following Reagan the role of the state has shifted from protecting collective rights to emphasizing individual and negative rights • Framing: • Business vs Labor: Business as creators of the consumer economy; labor as the impediment by adding costs, resulting in poor-quality goods or delaying instance gratification of consumer of goods and services ( via strikes and inefficiencies). • Workers as resources not rights-bearing subjects

27. Living Wage Movement: Lessons for Workers’ Rights • One reaction is the Living Wage Movement intended to rebuild the reputation and power of labor & reduce income inequality by directly addressing these concerns.

28. Living Wage Practical Definition • What is a “Living Wage”? • A wage sufficient to maintain a decent standard of living (adequate food, shelter, and other necessities). With a living wage, a worker should be able to support him-or herself and their family without resorting to welfare or other public assistance. Living wage varies based on the area-specific cost of living.

29. Living Wage: Philosophical Definition: • Basic and narrow: That those working full time year-round should be paid enough to support a family at least at the poverty line. • Broad: Those working full time year-round should be paid enough to provide a level of affluence to allow the life of a civilized life according to the standards prevailing in the society. • This broader conceptualization is based on the fundamental human right to have the ability—or capabilities—to support a family, to maintain self-respect, and to have the means and the leisure to participate in the civic life of the community.

30. Living Wage Idea: • Grew out of the political difficulties to increase the minimum wage—we should keep in mind that the minimum wage reflects the distribution of power. • Intended to combat the local jobs at any costs development strategies by reframing the issue as a one in which a growing number of workers are unable to support their families. • Designed to create a larger local movement by winning limited victories through specifically targeted places—e.g., Ex: LAX Hotel Workers; LA City; Santa Monica. These limited victories will be used to build a broader coalition and address other community needs.

31. Living Wage Movement • Why Is it a Movement: • Ongoing Process: It isn’t simply about raising wages, but about creating a voice for the community in the public discourse. • Broad Repertoire: Campaigns employ a variety of means to achieve their goals, direct action, new coalitions, rallies, marches and etc. • Broad local Demands: Demands reflect the needs and concerns of the broader community, not just labor, or just faith-based issues and built upon existing orgs and network

32. Process: • Passed through city council or via ballot initiative. • Imposes a wage floor that is higher than federal and state minimum wages for specific category of workers—city or county employees or employees of any company doing business with or within that city or county, & etc; • Often explicitly pegged to the wage level needed for a family of 3 or 4, with one full-time, year-round worker to reach the federal poverty line— though ordinances that have passed range from $6.25 to $14.00 an hour, with some newer campaigns pushing for higher wages. • Coverage is typically narrow; specifically targets a limited number of workers.

33. Brief History: • Arrived on the scene in the late 1980s but is really a new formulation of an old concept. The term was used extensively in the early 20th century debates over the minimum wage, but the concept of a living wage has no necessary relationship to the minimum wage. The current usage is an attempt to move us beyond the old debates over minimum wages.

34. History Cont: • 1988: Des Moines: City Council set a $7.00/hr. minimum compensation policy for City-funded urban renewal and loan projects—Des Moines was the first, but Baltimore was the first city to use the language Living Wage; Des Moines used Min. Compensation Policy. • 1997: LA passed its Living Wage ordinances in 1997 through the city council: $7.25/hour, 45% above the existing statewide minimum wage of $5.00—today its $10.42/hour, with health benefits, or $11.67/hour without (adjusted annually). • 2007: Over 140 living wage ordinances in place throughout the country (implemented through city councils and by proposition). • 2012: Long Beach: $13/hour, tip protection, 5 PTO, COLA

35. Living Wage Versus Minimum Wage: • Focus: • Local City or County versus. National. • Workers: • Limited number of workers versus all U.S. workers—except some categories: ag workers, • Coverage: • wages—pegged to inflation, including benefits; prohibit harassing workers who chose to organize, local hiring preferences and etc. versus only wages.

36. Symbolic victories? • Are these symbolic victories with no real meaning? • Three points are important: • Coverage: Even if an ordinance only covers city workers, the number is often quite large, as Luce points out. • Perceptions: Even symbolic victories are important in putting the idea of fairness, what are we getting for our public investment and etc. on the table for discussion. And serving as a basis for other campaigns: asking why other workers aren’t covered. The re-framing issue. • Standards: Sets higher workplace standards

37. Standards: • Legislation that raises wages of the lowest workers puts pressure on wage levels above these workers—the rippling effects. • Additionally, low-wage workers are highly vulnerable to employer pressure, and living wage ordinances can explicitly address the issue of freedom of association. • These victories begin to raise the bar for other companies and industries creating a “wedge” for other broader campaigns. • Counter the existing strategy—the race to the bottom strategy that is part of the present form of globalization.

38. Coalitions: • Generates bonding and bridging social capital through coalition building • New coalitions bring hard to reach workers into the struggle; generates publicity about the issues and pursue campaigns beyond wages to other quality of life issues. • The campaigns create legal, economic, and political environments in which workers and communities can fight the power of money. • (Re)Builds Community by enhance community power and democracy because of the need for monitoring and enforcement.

39. Summary: Living-wage campaigns are innovative in four important respects. • Target communities thereby establishing a basis for broader appeals (such as questioning jobs-at-any-cost strategies). • Forge alliances based on multi issue campaigns which differs from previous actions where groups tended to focus on concerns unique to each one; consequently they acted alone on specific issues or in smaller coalitions. • Truly local community efforts that focus on the community rather than industry—embodied in community-based ordinances as the most common. By mobilizing the community these networks and coalitions can serve as the basis for other community campaigns focused and combat the individualizing effects of globalization. • Educate the community about unions and unions about the community.