Steel Workers Organizing Committee
The Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) was one of two precursor
Early union organizing in steel
A wide variety of unions had formed in the brand-new steel industry in the 1900s. Local steel unions formed in steel mills here and there, but no national organization existed.
The
The AA was a founding member of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU) and its successor, the American Federation of Labor (AFL).[2]
While the AA had a good degree of success organizing steel workers, it also had some significant failures. In 1892, the union fought and lost the
AFL attempts to organize in steel
By mid-1933, the AA was almost moribund. Union president Michael F. Tighe, 76, was referred to as "Grandmother" due to his advanced age and timidity,[3] and he suspended locals that called for aggressive action.[4]
Passage of the
In 1934, an opposition group known as the Rank and File Movement formed within the AA. A number of militant local affiliates had sprung up across the nation or had joined existing lodges in large enough numbers to elect their own, militant leaders. The locals coalesced into the Rank and File Movement and challenged the conservative leadership to act, demanding that the AA reorganize along industrial union lines.[7]
At its annual convention in
The AFL seemed committed to organizing with FLUs, and to organizing the steel industry. Between 1932 and 1934, the number of FLUs had risen to 1,798 from 307.[9]
But no organizing drive in steel emerged. The AFL executive council meeting in January 1935 considered organizing steel workers into FLUs, but only Green and two other vice presidents supported the plan. Green pointed out to the council that the AA had no resources to organize new members, and was philosophically opposed to organizing any but skilled workers. But the council refused to authorize an AFL-led organizing drive. Instead, the council voted to initiate a joint organizing drive similar to the failed 1919 campaign.[10]
Green dared not refuse the AFL executive council's instructions to undertake a joint organizing drive, but he did not wholeheartedly implement a plan, either. For the first six months of the year, Green did nothing. After the creation of the federal Steel Labor Relations Board in late June 1935 (an independent labor relations board created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt because of the failures of the National Labor Board), Green worked with Tighe, steel industry executives and the steel board to create a plan to allow collective bargaining in the steel industry. The talks dragged on through the end of the year. The sticking point was the AFL's demand for representational exclusivity (the concept that if a majority of workers voted for the union then all employees in the bargaining unit should belong to the union).[citation needed]
By early 1935, what little organizing the AA had exhibited in the steel industry melted away. Continued pressure by the steel companies—including the widespread establishment of company unions, the use of violence, spies and unwarranted dismissal—had decimated the AA's membership.
Establishment of SWOC
Other events swiftly overtook the AA. The
Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) formed within the AFL on November 8, 1935. The AFL had long resisted industrial unionism, but the changing nature of work and the American economy were draining the AFL of members and inhibiting organizing.[14]
Under the leadership of John L. Lewis, the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) had rapidly expanded its membership. It had even gained a foothold in the so-called "captive mines"—those mines owned and operated by the steel industry to provide coke and coal for steel production. So long as the steel industry remained nonunion, pressure could be put on the captive mines to stay nonunion. And throughout the country, coal operators were using the competitive advantage of the captive mines to stonewall the UMW.[15]
CIO efforts to woo the AA
Lewis and the Congress of Industrial Organizations did not wish to leave the AFL. In order to avoid antagonizing the AFL but eager to begin an organizing drive in steel along industrial union lines, the CIO resolved to work through the AA instead.[16]
The CIO first attempted to push a steelworker industrial organizing plan through the January 1936 AFL executive council meeting. The CIO proposed raising $500,000 toward a $1 million goal to fund the organizing drive. The CIO also requested a jurisdictional waiver, so that skilled workers could be assigned to the AA and while other workers joined a new industrial steelworkers union. The executive council rejected the plan and demanded that the CIO disband. To maintain the pretense of action, the executive council then passed a resolution instructing Green to come up with his own organizing plan for the steel industry.[17]
The CIO then attempted to subvert the AA from within. If the AA changed its mind about organizing along industrial lines, Green and the AFL—which above all else respected each member union's autonomy—could do little to prevent the organizing campaign. The CIO approached President Tighe on April 15 and asked to speak to delegates at the AA's convention, but Tighe refused to say whether he would permit a CIO address. Fewer than 100 delegates gathered at the AA's convention in
Tighe remained uncertain as to what course to take. He sent AA international secretary Louis Leonard to consult with Green at Green's home in Coshocton, Ohio. Green countered the CIO offer with a pledge of 35 organizers and an undetermined amount of money. Leonard then met Lewis on June 3 in Washington, D.C. Lewis made it clear that the CIO would move ahead with an organizing drive in the steel industry with or without the AA.[19]
Leonard met with the AA executive board the following day. The AA officials accepted the CIO proposal. They voted to affiliate with the CIO, and a memorandum was drafted which established the AA as an administrative unit within the CIO's steelworker organizing committee. Subsequently, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) was formed in Pittsburgh on June 7, 1936.[20]
Green was outraged. He denounced what he saw as the takeover of the AA on June 5, and declared that the CIO steelworker organizing drive would fail. More importantly, however, Green interpreted the move as proof that the CIO was engaging in dual unionism. After specious charges were drawn up and an illegal trial conducted, the AFL suspended the 10 unions which belonged to the CIO—the AA among them.[21]
Structure of SWOC
SWOC's internal structure was dictated in most ways by the agreement with the AA. The AA gave SWOC the constitutional legitimacy it needed in order to function as a union. The AA remained inactive except for issuing charters and the approval of contracts for existing lodges. The AA authorized SWOC to handle all matters regarding organizing and to negotiate contracts on behalf of new locals. The only provision for internal governance was that the chairman of the CIO was empowered to appoint a director for SWOC and a policy committee.[22]
For all intents and purposes, the AA ceased to exist and function after it was subsumed by SWOC. Philip Murray was appointed director of SWOC, and ran the organization (and union) until his death. Murray oversaw a $500,000 budget and 36 organizers.[23]
Steel Labor was the official paper of SWOC. Its first editor was J. B. S. Hardman. The first issue was published was August 1, 1936. The newspaper's initial purpose was to promote social change, but this mission changed over time to become more moderate. Information provided about the labor movement in America to steelworkers was limited.[24]
Organizing successes
SWOC had a major success on March 2, 1937, when the union signed a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel. SWOC effectively infiltrated the employer's company unions and turned the unions against the employer. Green denigrated the contract for not achieving a closed shop.[25]
SWOC suffered its first defeat when it attempted to organize the 186,000 workers laboring for "Little Steel"—
The AA—and SWOC—had a role in the most important labor relations court case of the modern era. During SWOC's attempt to organize Jones and Laughlin Steel in 1936, the company summarily fired hundreds of union supporters. SWOC filed an
SWOC inspired a number of similarly-structured organizing committees in the CIO. But none of these were as successful as SWOC.[28]
Organizing slowed after the initial burst of success. By 1939, SWOC was in debt by $2.5 million. Little Steel continued to strongly resist unionization, establishing company unions and intimidating workers. SWOC made little inroad below the
Second wave of success
Little Steel capitulated in the spring of 1941. Improving economic conditions had not led to rising salaries, and worker walk-outs involving tens of thousands of employees lashed Bethlehem Steel in New York and Pennsylvania. Long-delayed court rulings forced the company to dismantle its company unions, and most of the company's plants voted for the union by the fall. Huge majorities voted for the union at Youngstown Sheet and Tube and at Inland Steel. Republic Steel quietly signed contracts soon thereafter, and the union expanded its membership at U.S. Steel. Wage increases in the contracts averaged 10 percent a year. Once only an organization which existed solely on paper, SWOC now had more members than the Mine Workers.[30]
SWOC had had little success at the historically important Homestead mill. But in April 1941, after layoffs sparked renewed interest in the union, U.S. Steel signed a contract with SWOC. It marked the successful return of a union to the plant for the first time since 1892.[31]
In 1940, SWOC director Philip Murray was elected president of the CIO.[citation needed]
Disbanding SWOC
SWOC and the AA were disbanded at a convention held in
Notes
- ^ Brody, 1969, p. 52; Foner, p. 218.
- ^ Dubofsky and Dulles, p. 145-46; Krause, p. 289.
- ^ Phelan, p. 100; Brody, "Origins...," 1987, p. 15-16; Schlesinger, p. 395; Marshall, 1936.
- ^ Phelan, p. 100; Marshall, 1936; Rose, 2001. The Steel Labor Relations Board was created on June 28, 1934.
- ^ See, generally, Pacchioli, 1999; Rose, 2001.
- ^ Brody, "Origins...," 1987, p. 16. Although most historians claim AA membership was only 50,000 in February 1934, Brody points out that record-keeping in the AA headquarters had broken down due to lack of funds and that the 150,000 number is a better estimate.
- ^ Brody, "Origins...," 1987, p. 16; Phelan, p. 100; Rose, 2001; Staughton Lynd, "The Possibility of Radicalism in the Early 1930s: The Case of Steel," Radical America 6 (Nov.-Dec. 1972), p. 36-35.
- ^ Zieger, 22–23; Phelan, p. 79-81.
- ^ Dubofsky and Dulles, p. 253; Phelan, p. 101; Rayback, 328-29.
- International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
- ^ Between 1933 and 1937, the four largest steel manufacturers in the U.S. had purchased more tear gas and nauseating gas than the United States government. Phelan, p. 103.
- Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495, (1935).
- ^ Brody, "Origins...," 1987, p. 16; Zieger, p. 35. AFL executive council report is cited in Rayback, p. 349. See also, generally, Pacchioli, 1999; and Rose, 2001.
- ^ Zieger, p. 23-24.
- ^ Zieger, p. 24-25.
- ^ Brody, "Origins...," 1987, p. 20; Zieger, p. 29-33; Phelan, p. 129-142.
- ^ Rayback, p. 350; Phelan, p. 135; Zieger, p. 35. Green's March 2, 1936 plan relied on a joint organizing committee and needed $750,000 in start-up costs alone. Only five of the AFL's 110 unions responded favorably, contributing but $8,625 and five organizers.
- ^ Phelan, p. 135-136; See also, generally, Marshall, 1936.
- ^ Phelan, p. 136.
- ^ Phelan, p. 136; Brody, "Origins...," 1987, p. 21.
- ^ Phelan, p. 136-142.
- ^ Brody, "Origins...," 1987, p. 26; Zieger, p. 36-37. Half the members of the governing policy committee were drawn from CIO unions, half from SWOC staff. Four of the committee's eight members came from the Mine Workers, two from the AA, and one each from the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union. The committee met infrequently and at the pleasure of the director of SWOC, and served to rubber-stamp the director's actions.
- ^ Zieger, p. 37. The number of organizers eventually swelled to more than 200.
- ISBN 978-0-19-976822-6.
- ^ Zieger, p. 38-39, 44, 54–65; Rayback, p. 351-52; Phelan, p. 144.
- ^ White, p. 130-225; Zieger, p. 38-39, 44, 54–65; Rayback, p. 351-52; Phelan, p. 144.
- ^ White, p. 230-231.
- ^ Zieger, p. 75, 80.
- ^ Zieger, p. 95, 105–06, 118, 228–29.
- ^ Zieger, p. 124-25, 139.
- ^ Zieger, p. 124.
- ^ Dubofsky and Dulles, p. 283.
References
- Brody, David. Labor in Crisis: The Steel Strike of 1919. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1987. ISBN 0-252-01373-5
- Brody, David. Steelworkers in America: The Nonunion Era. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1969. ISBN 0-252-06713-4
- Brody, David. "The Origins of Modern Steel Unionism: The SWOC Era." Forging a Union of Steel: Philip Murray, SWOC, and the United Steelworkers. Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, 1987. ISBN 0-87546-134-4
- Dubofsky, Melvyn and Dulles, Foster Rhea. Labor in America: A History. 6th ed. Wheeling, Ill.: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 1999. ISBN 0-88295-979-4
- Foner, Philip. History of the Labor Movement in the United States. Vol. 2: From the Founding of the A.F. of L. to the Emergence of American Imperialism. New York: International Publishers, 1955. ISBN 0-7178-0092-X
- Krause, Paul. The Battle for Homestead, 1890–1892: Politics, Culture, and Steel. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992. ISBN 0-8229-5466-4
- Marshall, Margaret. "Waiting for Lewis." The Nation. May 20, 1936.
- ISBN 0-8014-4317-2
- Pacchioli, David. "Forged in Steel." Research/Penn State. 20:1 (January 1999).
- Phelan, Craig. William Green: Biography of a Labor Leader. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1989. ISBN 0-88706-871-5
- Rayback, Joseph G. A History of American Labor. Rev. and exp. ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1966. ISBN 0-02-925850-2
- Rose, James D. Duquesne and the Rise of Steel Unionism. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 2001. ISBN 0-252-02660-8
- Schlesinger, Arthur M. The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal: 1933–1935. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1958. ISBN 0-618-34086-6
- White, Ahmed. The Last Great Strike: Little Steel, the CIO, and the Struggle for Labor Rights in New Deal America. Oakland: University of California, 2016. ISBN 0520285611
- Zieger, Robert H. The CIO, 1935–1955. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8078-2182-9