Labor Watch

Labor Watch
The Era of Labor Reform and Unionism’s Height: The Conservative Response
The period of organized labor’s ascendancy and consolidation after the Great Depression began to slow on November 5, 1946. Big Labor faced increasing headwinds as the Depression era retreated and…
by Michael Watson on November 29, 2023

Labor Watch
The Era of Labor Reform and Unionism’s Height: The State of Big Labor, 1950
As the 20th century hit its midpoint, organized labor was both near its absolute height and riven by the issues that would start its long decline. At the forefront was…
by Michael Watson on November 29, 2023

Labor Watch
The Era of Labor Reform and Unionism’s Height: Labor’s Compromised Right
Moderate Republicans seeking to appeal to organized labor despite the faction’s nearly nine-decade-long clear loyalty to the Democrats are as old as labor’s partisan divide. Modern moderates have focused on…
by Michael Watson on November 29, 2023

Labor Watch
The Era of Labor Reform and Unionism’s Height: Responding to the Rackets
By 1959, the McClellan Committee investigations and public hearings had exposed enough misbehavior by labor union officials (most of which was in the Teamsters Union) that a bipartisan consensus had…
by Michael Watson on November 29, 2023

Labor Watch
New Jersey Schools’ Segregation Problem
The New Jersey Education Association often boasting that New Jersey has the nation's number one public educational system. This is somewhat true. New Jersey is currently the third-best state in…
by Kali Fontanilla on November 20, 2023

Labor Watch
Lessons from Hollywood’s Labor Strife
In September, the Writers Guild of America-West (WGA) ended its strike against the Hollywood studios; in early November, the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA reached its deal with the studios. The Hollywood…
by Michael Watson on November 13, 2023

Labor Watch
An Inside Look at the Threat of a Teachers’ Strike
The Fresno Teachers Association recently threatened to go on strike for salary increases, smaller class sizes, and reduced workload for special education teachers, along with a collection of ridiculous demands.
by Kali Fontanilla on November 6, 2023

Labor Watch
Why Are Some Social Justice Unionists Backing the Palestinians?
Since the horrific terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7, numerous left-wing institutions have disgraced themselves by taking actions that at least appeared to side with the terrorists against their…
by Michael Watson on October 20, 2023

Labor Watch
In Defense of Taft-Hartley: Why Taft-Hartley Came to Be
In 1947, organized labor reaped the whirlwind from the massive disruptions it inflicted on the American economy in 1945–46. Sen. Robert A. Taft (R-OH) shepherded passage of the Labor Management…
by Michael Watson on October 17, 2023

Labor Watch
In Defense of Taft-Hartley: The Taft-Hartley Consensus
Taft-Hartley accepted as fait accompli the Wagner Act’s framework of compulsory, monopoly-union bargaining. It also accepted as fait accompli numerous restrictions on employers’ conduct related to employee organization, including restrictions…
by Michael Watson on October 17, 2023