In this Book

buy this book Buy This Book in Print
summary

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 Retirement 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.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. About the Series, Title Page
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Copyright
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Dedication
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. List of Illustrations
  2. p. ix
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Foreword
  2. p. xi
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. xiii-xiv
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Abbreviations
  2. p. xv
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. pp. 1-8
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 2. Railroading Prior to World War 1
  2. pp. 9-21
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 3. The Great War and its Aftermath
  2. pp. 22-33
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 4. Grassroots Political Organization
  2. pp. 34-50
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 5. The Road to Political Power, 1922-1924
  2. pp. 51-64
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 6. The Railway Labor Act
  2. pp. 65-77
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 7. Strengthening the Railway Labor Act
  2. pp. 78-91
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 8. Railroad Retirement and Social Security
  2. pp. 92-105
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 9. Railroad Unions and Labor Banks
  2. pp. 106-122
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 123-152
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 153-161
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 163-172
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. About the Author
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.