ABSTRACT

During the Second World War, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) agreed to a “no-strike pledge” committing their members to refrain from any work stoppages for the duration of the conflict and to settle all labor-management disputes through the National War Labor Board (NWLB). The Roosevelt administration instituted the board with the aim to maintain labor peace, which had become critical for war production. The no-strike pledge was both a patriotic and a strategic decision on the part of AFL and CIO. In fact, as the U.S. economy became the “arsenal of democracy,” strikes fueled anti-labor sentiments because they could be easily portrayed as undermining the war effort. However, embarrassingly for union leaders, “wildcat” strikes not authorized by union leaders did occur during the war. The disruption caused by these strikes, as well as a major coal strike led by the United Mine Workers (not affiliated to the CIO), prompted the passing of stricter legislation (the Smith-Connally Act in 1943) that gave the federal government the ability to seize industries threatened by strikers. The act also aimed at weakening the ties between labor and the Democratic Party, as it prohibited unions from making contributions in federal elections. Notwithstanding this restriction, the war represented a time of extraordinary growth for the labor movement. By the end of the conflict, union membership had risen to 14.7 million from 8.9 million in 1939, making unions powerful organizations that expected to be actors in the postwar transformation of American society.