M4. Labor Policy and Working Class America

Please respond to the following questions:

What were some of the most important aspects of U.S. labor policy in the early to mid-twentieth-century? Which was the single most important?

Which had more impact on America’s working people, The Great Depression or World War II? Support your answer.

Post at least one response to each question, and remember to respond to two other people’s postings.

Click here to review the discussion rubric, which will be used in evaluating your discussion posts.

Image : Illustration shows a donkey labeled “Democratic Party” and an elephant labeled “Republican Party” sitting on a porch; a stork carrying a bag labeled “Dr. Stork” is coming around the corner of the building. Titled “Awaiting the Third Party,” by J. Ottmann Lith. Co., Puck Bldg., 1906 August 8. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print.4. Overview

Topic Overview

In this module we will discuss the brief rise and fall of the Industrial Workers of the World, the ongoing activities of the American Federation of Labor, and the creation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. We will also discuss the impact of the two world wars on the labor movement, the creation of modern labor laws, and the ongoing influence of the South on work in America.

Module Objectives

This module will discuss the following themes:

The effects of the two world wars on the American labor movement;

The AFL schism in the 1930s and the creation of the CIO;

The introduction of the Wagner Act, and the overall impact of New Deal policies on workers;

Anti-communism;

Labor’s alliance with the Democratic party;

The failure of the 1934 textile strike across the South;

The introduction of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947;

The failure of Operation Dixie in the South, and

Urbanization and its impact on workers and their movements.

Readings/Preparation

Dubofsky and Dulles Labor in America History eighth edition 2010, chapters 12 to 18.

Rees and Pollack The Voice of the people 2004, pages 147 to 184.

Video: Rosie the Riveter Images

Karen Tucker Anderson: Last Hired, First Fired: Black Women Workers during World War II

Please reference the reading and page numbers in your reply

Thanks

Bill