The Obama administration’s Council of Economic Advisers publishes landmark research ‘Labor Market Monopsony: Trends, Consequences, and Policy Responses’ documenting how employer market power (monopsony) and product market concentration (monopoly) systematically suppress American …
Council of Economic AdvisersWorkersDominant firmsmonopsonymonopolywage-suppressionmarket-powerwealth-extraction+1 more
On January 31, 1985, the Republican-controlled Idaho Legislature overrides Democratic Governor John Evans’ veto to enact so-called “Right-to-Work” legislation, making Idaho the 21st state to prohibit union security agreements that require workers to pay union dues or fees as a …
Idaho Republican PartyIdaho LegislatureGovernor John EvansIdaho Department of LaborMining unions+1 morelabor-suppressionright-to-workanti-unionwage-suppressionlegislative-capture
The Bracero Program officially ends on December 31, 1964, after labor and civil rights reformers successfully pressure Congress to terminate the 22-year guest worker system. The program’s conclusion comes as mechanization increases in agriculture and mounting evidence exposes systematic …
U.S. CongressUnited Farm WorkersLabor reformersCivil rights organizationsimmigration-policylabor-rightswage-suppressionunion-organizingcorporate-accountability
President Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9328, the “Hold the Line Order,” on April 8, 1943, directing the National War Labor Board to prohibit any further wage increases except to correct substandard conditions or inequities. The order freezes wages for most workers while corporate …
Franklin D. RooseveltNational War Labor BoardOffice of Price AdministrationAFLCIO+1 morewage-suppressionlabor-policywartime-controlsclass-warfareeconomic-inequality
The United States and Mexico sign the Mexican Farm Labor Program agreement, launching the Bracero Program to import temporary agricultural workers during World War II labor shortages. The program, which operates from 1942 to 1964, becomes the largest guest worker program in U.S. history with 4.6 …
U.S. Department of LaborMexican governmentAgricultural employersRailroad companiesimmigration-policylabor-exploitationwage-suppressioncorporate-capturehuman-rights
President Roosevelt establishes the National War Labor Board (NWLB) by executive order on January 12, 1942, creating a tripartite body of labor, industry, and public representatives to arbitrate wartime labor disputes. In exchange for labor’s “no-strike pledge” for the duration of …
Franklin D. RooseveltNational War Labor BoardAFLCIOWilliam Davis+1 morelabor-policywartime-controlsunion-powerwage-suppressioncorporate-influence