Guffey Coal Act
The Guffey-Snyder Coal Act was a law, officially known as the
It was replaced in 1937 with the Guffey-Vinson Coal Act, officially known as the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1937, which was not ruled unconstitutional. The act resurrected the Bituminous Coal Commission and reinstated the provisions regarding price fixing and the regulation of unfair practices[1] but removed the labor provisions of the previous act.[3] In 1939, the Bituminous Coal Commission was abolished, and its duties were transferred to the US Department of the Interior.[4]
The Act increased profits, wages, and union membership, and reduced strikes. However, it faced opposition from businesses, republicans and conservatives for too much government interference in business, many felt it was a socialist policy. Conservatives feared it would set a precedent for regulation to affect other industries and thus questioned if it was constitutional. Large consumers of coal also argued it would unreasonably increase prices, and operators from the south and west said it discriminated against low-wage and non-union mines.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "History Database Search - Guffey-Snyder Bituminous Coal Stabilization Act". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- ^ https://www.nber.org/chapters/c2882.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Search - the Encyclopedia of Earth".
- ^ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15760&st=&st1=#axzz1o0Kd9BZW
Further reading
- James P. Johnson. A "New Deal" for soft coal: the attempted revitalization of the bituminous coal industry under the New Deal (1979)