The advance of trade unionism in the first part of the 20th
century to a dominant place in the American economy brought with it
a major change in the life of the nation. This phenomenal growth
has not hitherto been adequately studied. This is the first book to
deal with the actual process of unionization. Mr. Brody presents
here a detailed study of one industry meat packing and retailing
with implications that apply to unionization in general. Working
almost entirely from primary sources, he has had access to the
files of both the AFL and CIO unions in the industry.
In this new approach to American labor history, Mr. Brody
describes how and when the butcher workmen were organized, how
their unions attained internal stability, and how genuine
collective bargaining was finally achieved. In attempting to
explain why the process developed as it did, he examines union
tactics and employer opposition, industry characteristics and the
effects of change in the industry. He also pays close attention to
the alteration of the power balance brought about by the influence
and legislation of the New Deal.
Mr. Brody's story has two main strands. The more dramatic one
concerns the meat packing branch of the industry. Here the AFL
union twice captured the great packing centers and twice lost them
in climatic strikes in 1904 and 1921. It was not until World War
II, after the advent of the CIO and the New Deal, that organization
was finally secure. On the retail side unionization proceeded more
quietly with comparatively little progress until the 1930s. The
entry of the huge grocery chains such as A & P and Safeway,
into the meat field then made this part of the industry accessible
to organization.
The study of this particular industry illuminates the larger
process of unionization. The meat trade as a whole had the
characteristics not only of mass production industry but also those
of small scale, local, skilled labor operations that attracted AFL
unions of the old line. Also, the unions of the old line. Also, the
unions actually involved provide excellent examples of the rival
approaches if the AFL and the CIO to the challenge of unionization.
What emerges from the book is the complexity of the phenomenon of
unionization. The process covered much more than the recruitment of
members, and the causes sprang from a variety of elements, changing
in importance at different times and places.
General
Imprint: |
Harvard University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Wertheim Publications in Industrial Relations |
Release date: |
1964 |
First published: |
1964 |
Authors: |
David Brody
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 152 x 25mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards
|
Pages: |
336 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-674-08925-9 |
Categories: |
Books >
Business & Economics >
Business & management >
General
|
LSN: |
0-674-08925-1 |
Barcode: |
9780674089259 |
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