Reply #12: Unions were technically illegal in the US until 1938, but that didn't stop them

[Omaha Steve]

The FLSA stands for the Fair Labor Standards Act. It became a Federal law shortly after the Depression, in 1938. That was the door that opened unions to finally organize in the day light.

The first union labor in the US were printing journeymen. They banded together in the 1780's. Saying unions didn't build the US before the FLSA is a lie. Thousands that wanted a better life in the US died fighting for it for a full century before the FLSA. Many of them were children. My dad was an 11 year old scab in 1931 in Southern Indiana. He placed blasting caps in a rock quarry. It was cheaper to use children than buy the proper drilling equipment. The FLSA also ended child labor.

I don't have a link. Perhaps the UAW members can help me here. I do know that the strike at Ford started after an unusual event. Henry Ford told his workers in 1934(?) IF they could produce by Friday the average number of cars usually produced in a 6 day week, they could have Saturday off. They did it. When they came back the next week, Henry said You must produce the same number of cars by Friday AND produce the daily average on Saturday as well. IF not, he would replace them.

Unions: Safety, security, and a fair share of the bottom line. That built the country and the middle class. Sometimes we forget how good that system worked!

I'm not the Steve of the original OP.

OS