Howard R. Stanger
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040818
- eISBN:
- 9780252099311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040818.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Howard Stanger brings a broad temporal perspective to Columbus employers in the printing industry and their varied strategies regarding activism. Here he makes the case for how employer activism did ...
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Howard Stanger brings a broad temporal perspective to Columbus employers in the printing industry and their varied strategies regarding activism. Here he makes the case for how employer activism did not always lead to an ability to counter unionism. Columbus printers made a collective decision to recognize unions for the first part of the twentieth century, and then later made a collective decision to initiate a campaign to counter unions. This counter-campaign benefitted from the long praxis of anti-unionism in other parts of the country, facilitated a vigorous belligerent drive against them based on strategies learned elsewhere, and in other industries.Less
Howard Stanger brings a broad temporal perspective to Columbus employers in the printing industry and their varied strategies regarding activism. Here he makes the case for how employer activism did not always lead to an ability to counter unionism. Columbus printers made a collective decision to recognize unions for the first part of the twentieth century, and then later made a collective decision to initiate a campaign to counter unions. This counter-campaign benefitted from the long praxis of anti-unionism in other parts of the country, facilitated a vigorous belligerent drive against them based on strategies learned elsewhere, and in other industries.
Thomas A. Klug
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040818
- eISBN:
- 9780252099311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040818.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Thomas Klug focuses on the city of Detroit, a major battleground in employers’ fight for open-shop conditions. Challenging the conventional story that seeks to show that the city’s employers, ...
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Thomas Klug focuses on the city of Detroit, a major battleground in employers’ fight for open-shop conditions. Challenging the conventional story that seeks to show that the city’s employers, organized in the Employers’ Association of Detroit, enjoyed victories with little difficulties during a major strike in 1907, Klug has discovered that the organization was characterized by considerable amounts of internal tension. While organization spokespersons promoted the open-shop publicly, some members quietly negotiated with skilled workers, recognizing that collective bargaining offered the promise of industrial peace. Yet all members of the Employers’ Association of Detroit proclaimed their support for the open-shop principle.Less
Thomas Klug focuses on the city of Detroit, a major battleground in employers’ fight for open-shop conditions. Challenging the conventional story that seeks to show that the city’s employers, organized in the Employers’ Association of Detroit, enjoyed victories with little difficulties during a major strike in 1907, Klug has discovered that the organization was characterized by considerable amounts of internal tension. While organization spokespersons promoted the open-shop publicly, some members quietly negotiated with skilled workers, recognizing that collective bargaining offered the promise of industrial peace. Yet all members of the Employers’ Association of Detroit proclaimed their support for the open-shop principle.
Chad Pearson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040818
- eISBN:
- 9780252099311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040818.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Chad Pearson explores the multidimensional ways anti-union activists worked to break strikes and bust unions while attempting to turn “scabs” into “heroes.” He examines this process from different ...
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Chad Pearson explores the multidimensional ways anti-union activists worked to break strikes and bust unions while attempting to turn “scabs” into “heroes.” He examines this process from different angles: from above, from below, and from somewhere in-between. Traditional employers’ associations were joined by unions of non-union workers and supposedly class-neutral Citizens’ Associations. Open-shop movement spokespersons frequently insisted that they were not engaged in a “class movement,” but Pearson disputes this claim by showing these organizations were formed by employers’ or by their middle-class allies.Less
Chad Pearson explores the multidimensional ways anti-union activists worked to break strikes and bust unions while attempting to turn “scabs” into “heroes.” He examines this process from different angles: from above, from below, and from somewhere in-between. Traditional employers’ associations were joined by unions of non-union workers and supposedly class-neutral Citizens’ Associations. Open-shop movement spokespersons frequently insisted that they were not engaged in a “class movement,” but Pearson disputes this claim by showing these organizations were formed by employers’ or by their middle-class allies.
Nick Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040023
- eISBN:
- 9780252098222
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040023.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter examines the role of the Better America Federation (BAF), a business lobby headquartered in Los Angeles, in promoting the doctrine and practice of anticommunism during the interwar ...
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This chapter examines the role of the Better America Federation (BAF), a business lobby headquartered in Los Angeles, in promoting the doctrine and practice of anticommunism during the interwar period. BAF and other business lobbies harnessed the passion and the infrastructure of the Red Scare to promote their economic and industrial agenda. They used anticommunism (and generous financial inducements) to revitalize and reorient urban police “Radical and Anarchist Squads.” This chapter first considers the open shop movement's fight against communism before discussing big business' domination of of economic and industrial policy during the 1920s. It then looks at the rise of the BAF and its use of the Red Squad and the California Criminal Syndicalism Act as instruments of labor suppression. It also describes the BAF's cultural war against Bolshevism, along with the scandal involving the BAF as well as the federation's demise and resurrection. The chapter shows that the BAF dominated anticommunism on the Pacific Coast from around 1920 until well into the Cold War as part of the Anticommunist Spider Web.Less
This chapter examines the role of the Better America Federation (BAF), a business lobby headquartered in Los Angeles, in promoting the doctrine and practice of anticommunism during the interwar period. BAF and other business lobbies harnessed the passion and the infrastructure of the Red Scare to promote their economic and industrial agenda. They used anticommunism (and generous financial inducements) to revitalize and reorient urban police “Radical and Anarchist Squads.” This chapter first considers the open shop movement's fight against communism before discussing big business' domination of of economic and industrial policy during the 1920s. It then looks at the rise of the BAF and its use of the Red Squad and the California Criminal Syndicalism Act as instruments of labor suppression. It also describes the BAF's cultural war against Bolshevism, along with the scandal involving the BAF as well as the federation's demise and resurrection. The chapter shows that the BAF dominated anticommunism on the Pacific Coast from around 1920 until well into the Cold War as part of the Anticommunist Spider Web.
Rosemary Feurer and Chad Pearson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040818
- eISBN:
- 9780252099311
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040818.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Employers have enjoyed a tremendous amount of power throughout American history. This nine-chapter collection examines that power as it relates to the so-called “labor question” or “labor problem,” ...
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Employers have enjoyed a tremendous amount of power throughout American history. This nine-chapter collection examines that power as it relates to the so-called “labor question” or “labor problem,” defined in the late nineteenth century by academics, clergymen, journalists, lawyers, politicians and employers to describe strikes, boycott campaigns, and union organization campaigns. Employers asserted their power in numerous ways; they organized with one another, busted unions, broke strikes, and blacklisted labor activists. They enjoyed largely favorable political climates; judges regularly granted them injunctions against protesting workers, politicians passed laws making union organizing difficult, and armed forces—police forces and National Guardsman--assisted them during strikes and boycott campaigns staged by workers. These chapters examine class conflicts on the local and national levels, demonstrating how employers contested labor in many different contexts—and usually won. The chapters explore how employers used race to divide the working class, how they sought to deflect attention away from their own privileged class positions, how they used the law to their advantages, and how they settled internal disagreements. Taken together, the chapters reveal a rich history of employer organizing, lobbying politicians, and creating new forms of public relations while enriching themselves at the expense of ordinary people.Less
Employers have enjoyed a tremendous amount of power throughout American history. This nine-chapter collection examines that power as it relates to the so-called “labor question” or “labor problem,” defined in the late nineteenth century by academics, clergymen, journalists, lawyers, politicians and employers to describe strikes, boycott campaigns, and union organization campaigns. Employers asserted their power in numerous ways; they organized with one another, busted unions, broke strikes, and blacklisted labor activists. They enjoyed largely favorable political climates; judges regularly granted them injunctions against protesting workers, politicians passed laws making union organizing difficult, and armed forces—police forces and National Guardsman--assisted them during strikes and boycott campaigns staged by workers. These chapters examine class conflicts on the local and national levels, demonstrating how employers contested labor in many different contexts—and usually won. The chapters explore how employers used race to divide the working class, how they sought to deflect attention away from their own privileged class positions, how they used the law to their advantages, and how they settled internal disagreements. Taken together, the chapters reveal a rich history of employer organizing, lobbying politicians, and creating new forms of public relations while enriching themselves at the expense of ordinary people.
Rosemary Feurer and Chad Pearson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040818
- eISBN:
- 9780252099311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040818.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Rosemary Feurer and Chad Pearson introduce the book by describing the importance of study employers, the historiography about this group, and the structure of the book. Feurer and Pearson highlight ...
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Rosemary Feurer and Chad Pearson introduce the book by describing the importance of study employers, the historiography about this group, and the structure of the book. Feurer and Pearson highlight scholarly trends, including the recent popularity of the study of capitalism and conservatism. They make a case of placing class at the center of their study. They note that few scholars of capitalism have focused extensively on the anti-union activities of employers, and that political historians of conservatism have overstated the differences between the Republicans and Democrats with respect to labor relations. This introduction makes a strong case emphasizing the role of employers in shaping politics, public relations, and labor relations.Less
Rosemary Feurer and Chad Pearson introduce the book by describing the importance of study employers, the historiography about this group, and the structure of the book. Feurer and Pearson highlight scholarly trends, including the recent popularity of the study of capitalism and conservatism. They make a case of placing class at the center of their study. They note that few scholars of capitalism have focused extensively on the anti-union activities of employers, and that political historians of conservatism have overstated the differences between the Republicans and Democrats with respect to labor relations. This introduction makes a strong case emphasizing the role of employers in shaping politics, public relations, and labor relations.
Robert H. Woodrum
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040818
- eISBN:
- 9780252099311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040818.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Robert Woodrum examines the clashes between waterfront employers and black longshore workers in Mobile, Alabama during the era of World War I. The regional Marine Employers’ Association, committed to ...
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Robert Woodrum examines the clashes between waterfront employers and black longshore workers in Mobile, Alabama during the era of World War I. The regional Marine Employers’ Association, committed to upholding open-shop conditions, enjoyed support from the U.S. Shipping Board and local vigilantes, including the Ku Klux Klan. During strikes, the employers benefited from the mobilization of white strikebreakers.Less
Robert Woodrum examines the clashes between waterfront employers and black longshore workers in Mobile, Alabama during the era of World War I. The regional Marine Employers’ Association, committed to upholding open-shop conditions, enjoyed support from the U.S. Shipping Board and local vigilantes, including the Ku Klux Klan. During strikes, the employers benefited from the mobilization of white strikebreakers.
Rosemary Feurer
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040818
- eISBN:
- 9780252099311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040818.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Rosemary Feurer traces the leading purveyor of anti-union services in the Midwest, A. A. Ahner, to frame employers’ antiunion strategies during the New Deal. She argues that the long learning curve ...
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Rosemary Feurer traces the leading purveyor of anti-union services in the Midwest, A. A. Ahner, to frame employers’ antiunion strategies during the New Deal. She argues that the long learning curve that took place over decades explains why a thug agency survived and thrived instead of being eradicated during what is usually considered the heroic era of liberal intervention. Ahner became an accepted industrial relations advisor and counselor for major firms during the New Deal, with the assistance of a liberal as well as conservative forces, networks and alliances. Ahner’s career path only seems strange because historians cling to a framework of the post New Deal “Rise of the Right” with Southern origins while ignoring longer antecedents, networks, and learningLess
Rosemary Feurer traces the leading purveyor of anti-union services in the Midwest, A. A. Ahner, to frame employers’ antiunion strategies during the New Deal. She argues that the long learning curve that took place over decades explains why a thug agency survived and thrived instead of being eradicated during what is usually considered the heroic era of liberal intervention. Ahner became an accepted industrial relations advisor and counselor for major firms during the New Deal, with the assistance of a liberal as well as conservative forces, networks and alliances. Ahner’s career path only seems strange because historians cling to a framework of the post New Deal “Rise of the Right” with Southern origins while ignoring longer antecedents, networks, and learning
Henry M. Mckiven
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807845240
- eISBN:
- 9781469603711
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807879719_mckiven.11
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter illustrates how advocates of the open shop argued that elimination of unions would enable southern industrialists to realize the benefits of a large and growing supply of cheap labor. An ...
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This chapter illustrates how advocates of the open shop argued that elimination of unions would enable southern industrialists to realize the benefits of a large and growing supply of cheap labor. An employer, however, could not simply walk out into the street and find men to operate cranes, lathes, or rammers. Much of the local labor force lacked the necessary knowledge and would have to be trained before the theoretical benefits of more up-to-date methods could be realized. Efficient operation of a modern foundry, machine shop, or steel plant required a large number of semiskilled operatives who could be trained quickly and would work twelve hours each day. Some companies continued to rely upon the market to supply them with the workers they needed and to use threats of dismissal and other forms of coercion to force workers to behave as they wanted.Less
This chapter illustrates how advocates of the open shop argued that elimination of unions would enable southern industrialists to realize the benefits of a large and growing supply of cheap labor. An employer, however, could not simply walk out into the street and find men to operate cranes, lathes, or rammers. Much of the local labor force lacked the necessary knowledge and would have to be trained before the theoretical benefits of more up-to-date methods could be realized. Efficient operation of a modern foundry, machine shop, or steel plant required a large number of semiskilled operatives who could be trained quickly and would work twelve hours each day. Some companies continued to rely upon the market to supply them with the workers they needed and to use threats of dismissal and other forms of coercion to force workers to behave as they wanted.
Beth Tompkins Bates
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807835647
- eISBN:
- 9781469601571
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807837450_bates
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
In the 1920s, Henry Ford hired thousands of African American men for his open-shop system of auto manufacturing. This move was a rejection of the notion that better jobs were for white men only. This ...
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In the 1920s, Henry Ford hired thousands of African American men for his open-shop system of auto manufacturing. This move was a rejection of the notion that better jobs were for white men only. This book explains how black Detroiters, newly arrived from the South, seized the economic opportunities offered by Ford in the hope of gaining greater economic security. As these workers came to realize that Ford's anti-union “American Plan” did not allow them full access to the American Dream, their loyalty eroded, and they sought empowerment by pursuing a broad activist agenda. This, in turn, led them to play a pivotal role in the United Auto Workers' challenge to Ford's interests. In order to fully understand this complex shift, the book traces allegiances among Detroit's African American community as reflected in its opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, challenges to unfair housing practices, and demands for increased and effective political participation. It demonstrates how by World War II Henry Ford and his company had helped kindle the civil rights movement in Detroit without intending to do so.Less
In the 1920s, Henry Ford hired thousands of African American men for his open-shop system of auto manufacturing. This move was a rejection of the notion that better jobs were for white men only. This book explains how black Detroiters, newly arrived from the South, seized the economic opportunities offered by Ford in the hope of gaining greater economic security. As these workers came to realize that Ford's anti-union “American Plan” did not allow them full access to the American Dream, their loyalty eroded, and they sought empowerment by pursuing a broad activist agenda. This, in turn, led them to play a pivotal role in the United Auto Workers' challenge to Ford's interests. In order to fully understand this complex shift, the book traces allegiances among Detroit's African American community as reflected in its opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, challenges to unfair housing practices, and demands for increased and effective political participation. It demonstrates how by World War II Henry Ford and his company had helped kindle the civil rights movement in Detroit without intending to do so.
Elizabeth Esch and David Roediger
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040818
- eISBN:
- 9780252099311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040818.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Elizabeth Esch and David Roediger highlight the ways employers and their allies used racism to divide the working classes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Such racist practices ...
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Elizabeth Esch and David Roediger highlight the ways employers and their allies used racism to divide the working classes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Such racist practices began under slavery, and continued well into the early twentieth century as they constructed hierarchical workplaces which they deemed as natural; unions and solidarity in their estimation subverted the natural order. They call this practice “race management.” Employers seeking control over the workforce benefited from racism.Less
Elizabeth Esch and David Roediger highlight the ways employers and their allies used racism to divide the working classes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Such racist practices began under slavery, and continued well into the early twentieth century as they constructed hierarchical workplaces which they deemed as natural; unions and solidarity in their estimation subverted the natural order. They call this practice “race management.” Employers seeking control over the workforce benefited from racism.
