History of the Labor Movement: Labor and WWII

Crippling unemployment, low wages, and labor uncertainty characterized workers’ lives during the torturous years of the Great Depression. Although President Franklin. D Roosevelt’s New Deal created jobs and relief programs for millions of Americans, by 1940, the...
The Decline of Unions

The Decline of Unions

During World War II, the federal government kept labor unions on a tight leash for fear that their organizing might undermine industrial production for the war effort. However, with the end of the war, unions’ power and influence surged. By 1954—less than a decade...
The West Coast Longshoremen’s Strike of 1934

The West Coast Longshoremen’s Strike of 1934

Before their strike in 1934, dockhands on the West Coast were paid a pittance in exchange for performing bone-crushing physical labor. No matter how heavy or dangerous the cargo, it fell upon the longshoreman to haul it almost entirely by hand: Workers pulled and...
What is Universal Basic Income?

What is Universal Basic Income?

Suppose the government mailed you a no-strings-attached check for $1,200 every month. What would you do with the money? Stow it away in a contingency fund? Invest it? Given the additional spending power, would you be comfortable reducing your hours at work? Maybe...