American Railroad Labor And The Genesis Of The New Deal, 1919-1935 (working In The Americas)
by Jon R. Huibregtse /
2010 / English / PDF
2.3 MB Download
American historians tend to believe that labor activism was
moribund in the years between the First World War and the New Deal.
Jon Huibregtse challenges this perspective in his examination of
the railroad unions of the time, arguing that not only were they
active, but that they made a big difference in American Labor
practices by helping to set legal precedents. Huibregtse explains
how efforts by the Plumb Plan League and the Railroad Labor
Executive Association created the Railroad Labor Act, its
amendments, and the Railroad Retirements Act. These laws became
models for the National Labor Relations Act and the Social Security
Act. Unfortunately, the significant contributions of the railroad
laws are, more often than not, overlooked when the NLRA or Social
Security are discussed. Offering a new perspective on labor unions
in the 1920s, Huibregtse describes how the railroad unions created
a model for union activism that workers' organizations followed for
the next two decades.
American historians tend to believe that labor activism was
moribund in the years between the First World War and the New Deal.
Jon Huibregtse challenges this perspective in his examination of
the railroad unions of the time, arguing that not only were they
active, but that they made a big difference in American Labor
practices by helping to set legal precedents. Huibregtse explains
how efforts by the Plumb Plan League and the Railroad Labor
Executive Association created the Railroad Labor Act, its
amendments, and the Railroad Retirements Act. These laws became
models for the National Labor Relations Act and the Social Security
Act. Unfortunately, the significant contributions of the railroad
laws are, more often than not, overlooked when the NLRA or Social
Security are discussed. Offering a new perspective on labor unions
in the 1920s, Huibregtse describes how the railroad unions created
a model for union activism that workers' organizations followed for
the next two decades.
