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Labor History Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Labor History

Automobile Workers Strikes, Ian Greer Sep 2015

Automobile Workers Strikes, Ian Greer

Ian Greer

Automobile workers' strikes occurred in essentially four eras: the lost strikes by the industry's craft unions in the early twentieth century, the dramatic sit-down victories of the 1930s, the mixture of wildcat and authorized strikes during the postwar economic boom from the 1940s through the 1970s, and the decline of strikes that accompanied the policy of "jointness' between company and union after J9S0. Autoworkers' strike strategies reflected, in part, the particular structure of the industry, which took shape in the 1920s. Auto production is a complex process of interdependent operations to produce parts and assemble vehicles, each containing tens of …


Regional Integration And Transnational Politics: Popular Sector Strategies In The Nafta Era, Maria Lorena Cook Sep 2015

Regional Integration And Transnational Politics: Popular Sector Strategies In The Nafta Era, Maria Lorena Cook

Maria Lorena Cook

[Excerpt] This chapter argues that although economic integration between the United States and Mexico had been taking place for some time, it was the formal recognition of this process as represented by the discussions surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement that facilitated transnational political action by non-state actors. Whereas the globalization of the economy and the prevalence of neoliberal economic policies may be considered by some to undermine popular sector organization and actions, formal recognition of regional economic integration in North America has produced a ‘transnational political’ arena that has expanded the resources available to non-governmental groups, increased their …


War, Labor, And Dissent: Motivations Of American Labor Unions During The First World War, J. Alexander Killion Dec 2014

War, Labor, And Dissent: Motivations Of American Labor Unions During The First World War, J. Alexander Killion

J. Alexander Killion

On April 6, 1917, the United States formally entered the First World War, despite calls for a general strike among socialists and labor leaders to prevent this. There have been many attempts to understand why a coordinated effort by the working class failed to materialize, and this paper explores that topic by examining the relationship between American unions and the government, as well as their reaction to the outbreak of the war. By studying contemporary writings from labor leaders and government officials, as well as legislation such as the Espionage Act of 1917, I can show that several factors went …