The podcast explores the impact of World War I on labor movements, the tumultuous 1919 coal strike, and the evolving relationship between organized labor and the Democratic Party. It delves into historical events like the Seattle general strike and the role of worker schools in shaping future social movements. The chapter also discusses the strategies of Communists in the labor movement and the symbolism of music in industrial unionism.
Labor unions suffered membership losses post-WWI due to corporate backlash and federal repression.
The 1920s saw a rise in mechanization, shifting towards mass production and impacting workforce composition.
Worker education through progressive labor colleges and Communist Party strategies influenced future labor movements.
Employers in the 1920s adapted to the working class revolution by experimenting with labor relations and welfare policies.
Deep dives
Impact of World War I on the American Working Class
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 led to a significant increase in labor demand, empowering workers and sparking strikes across industries. The wartime economy saw heightened leverage for workers, especially in industries like the Chicago stockyards and coal mining. The influx of African American workers from the South during the Great Migration further influenced labor dynamics. The war set the stage for intensified labor conflict, evolving relationships with the federal government, and the rise of industrial unionism.
Labor Movement and Political Shifts During the Wilson Administration
During the Wilson administration, the relationship between organized labor and the Democratic Party grew, leading to shifts in the state-class dynamic. The nexus of state and class began to evolve, with the AFL aligning closer with the Democratic Party's policies. Despite challenges, labor's increased involvement in politics hinted at a changing landscape with nascent social democratic inclinations. The Wilson era laid groundwork for future labor movements and political developments.
Labor Strikes and Repression Post-World War I
The post-World War I period witnessed a surge in labor strikes, notably in 1919, with unprecedented participation across industries. Strikes like the coal miner strike of 1919, the steel worker strike, and the general strike in Seattle highlighted workers' demands for improved wages and working conditions. However, despite strong mobilization, labor movements faced severe repression, legal injunctions, and challenges from employers and the government.
Challenges and Defeats in the 1920s Labor Movement
The 1920s presented a complex landscape for the labor movement, marked by economic downturns, heightened racial violence, and political repression. While wages increased during the war years, the post-war recession led to setbacks for labor. The defeat of significant strikes, like the steel strike and the battle for labor rights post-1919, cast a shadow over the era as workers faced intimidation and demobilization. The decade reflected a period of challenges and defeats entwined with glimpses of ongoing labor struggles and evolving political landscapes.
Exploration of Employers' Response to Industrial Relations in the 1920s
Employers in the 1920s acknowledged a need for change due to the ongoing working class revolution. Recognizing the impossibility of returning to the previous status quo, they embraced experimentation in labor relations. Company unions established during the war continued and grew, along with the development of personnel departments to rationalize employment. Employers introduced welfare policies like life insurance, medical care, and pensions, combined with leisure activities, to address the increasing wages and maintain control without drastically altering power dynamics.
Impact of Mechanization and Changing Workforce Structure
The 1920s marked a shift towards mechanization and mass production, enhancing productivity while altering the workforce composition. Skilled craftsmen declined, replaced by semi-skilled machine operators, often immigrants, and black workers. Increased industrial productivity aimed to balance rising wages, revealing a trend towards compromising to prevent wage reductions. The emergence of assembly lines and internal labor markets reshaped the labor force, impacting union demands and organizational structures.
Influence of Worker Education and Communist Party in Labor Movements
Worker education, emphasizing political awareness and collective bargaining skills, played a pivotal role in organizing labor movements in the 1920s. Progressive labor colleges like Highlander Folk School and Brookwood Labor College nurtured leftist ideologies and union strategies. The Communist Party's approach of 'boring from within' aimed to radicalize existing unions, leading to the formation of the Trade Union Education League. Despite internal factional battles, the Communist Party's strategy laid groundwork for future labor movements and influenced workers' engagement in collective action.
Episode three of Fragile Juggernaut explores the transformations within the working class brought about by World War I and its decade-long aftermath. A growing political alliance between the AF of L and Woodrow Wilson’s Democratic Party profoundly altered the labor movement of the Progressive Era, growing its size and militancy amid the rising prices of the war boom, culminating in the combustive strike-year of 1919. But in the corporate reaction and federal repression that followed, labor unions shed a third of their combined membership and entered the assembly-line era divided and dwindling in power. This society the Great War bequeathed was, as its contemporaries argued, unbalanced. The 1920s “return to normalcy” intensified, rather than counteracted, this lack of balance—swinging toward the struggles within organized labor that would elicit the CIO.
Fragile Juggernaut is a Haymarket Originals podcast exploring the history, politics, and strategic lessons of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the rank and file insurgency that produced it. Support Fragile Juggernaut on Patreon and receive our exclusive bimonthly newsletter, full of additional insights, reading recommendations, and archival materials we’ve amassed along the way.
