How the Labor Movement and Labor Strife in Northwest Ohio in the 1930s shaped the Structure of American Labor

Abstract

The labor disputes of the 1930s involved more than just the traditional relationship between management and labor. In a way, these disputes were more about long-term gains and the realization of industrial labor achieving real power and influence versus gaining short-term outcomes such as wage increases and better working conditions. For over a century, craft unionism dominated the American system regarding representation, influence, and immense control over the economy, society, and the political system. At about the same time, many industrial-type unions were forming and evolving. Many of the monumental struggles of industrial and agricultural unions took place within the context of the Great Depression. Two such struggles took place within 75 miles of each other in Northwest Ohio. One significant outcome was the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations(CIO) as a labor representative to balance the older and more established American Federation of Labor (AFL). This paper is an account of two cases and how each brought about a significant paradigm shift in the American labor structure to better recognize the needs of industrial workers