I. IMPACT ON LABOR AND THE ECONOMY

1. WARTIME LABOR SHORTAGE

World War I had an enormous impact on American domestic affairs. After August 1914 the European countries which were at war greatly restricted immigration. They wanted as many men as possible for their armies and the war effort. In 1917 more than 4 million Americans were in the armed forces. Thus in 1914 the supply of immigrant labor was greatly reduced, and in 1917 4 million Americans were removed from the labor force. The result was a severe labor shortage.
 
 

2. WAR BOOM

The war also created a boom in the economy. The government offered millions and millions in war contracts, which of course helped the munitions industry, and steel. It had to be clothed, which helped the cotton industry and textiles. The army had to be fed, which helped agriculture, the livestock or ranching industry and meatpacking. And all of this had to be transported, which was great for the railroads. There were profits to be made, and employers were eager to fill the war contracts for the government and the Allies, and needed workers to do so.

3. IMPROVED BARGAINING POSITION FOR LABOR

During periods of high unemployment, when the labor supply exceeds the demand for labor, workers are in a poor bargaining position. To put it bluntly, when the labor supply exceeds demand, workers have to take whatever crap the employer dishes out. And the employer says to you "If you don't like your job, or your hours, or your pay, you can leave: There are plenty of other people who don't have any job at all who would be happy to get your job." And it would be difficult to find a new job if you left the one you had. The attitude of the employer is "Oh, you are unhappy? Leave. It will be easy to find somebody to replace you."

During wars however, when a large number of men are removed from the domestic labor force, the demand and supply come closer together. Then the worker is in a better bargaining position.

Since more jobs are available you can quit a job and be reasonably certain of finding a nEw job. And to keep workers, employers are more inclined to make concessions by raising pay, reducing hours, improving conditions. Also, during war, employers fear that time lost to strikes will jeopardize profits, especially in industries receiving war contracts. The employer will agree to almost anything to avoid a strike and an interruption of production and profits. And realizing this, workers sometimes take advantage of wartime labor scarcity to force employers to recognize unions and make other concessions that workers desire. World War I was a perfect example of this.

The labor shortage dramatically changed the bargaining position of labor. James R. Green (The World of the Worker) notes that during the war 49% of American workers had an 8 hour day and union membership increased by 2 million (from 3 million to 5 million). In 1919 there were more strikes than in any year in US history. In that year some 4 million workers, or 22% of the entire workforce, was on strike. In 1918, in the temporary condition of wartime labor scarcity, only 1.4% of workers were unemployed. This was a full employment economy. Business was desperate to get any worker it could.

II. NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR NON-TRADITIONAL GROUPS

As conditions of labor scarcity intensified after 1914, employers turned to non-traditional sources of labor. The labor scarcity created new opportunities for women, blacks and Mexicans.

1. WOMEN

The two leading women's unions in this time period were the ILGWU (International Lady Garment Workers Union) and the WTUL (Women's Trade Union League). Two leaders of the ILGWU were Clara Lemlich and Pauline Newman, while the leading figure of the WTUL was Rose Schneiderman. In the 19 Teens some 8 million women were in the workforce. For them, the major impact of World War I was an increase in their wages.

2. MEXICANS

A second group that benefited from the temporary wartime condition of labor scarcity was Mexicans. Between 1910 and 1920 the Mexican-American population increased from 385,000 to 740,000. Between 1917 and 1920 over 100,000 Mexicans migrated into the US in response to job opportunities here. (America, Past and Present, Robert Divine, T.H. Breen, George Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, p. 708-709).

3. BLACKS

Meanwhile, in the South, an insect called the boll weevil invaded the US from Mexico and began destroying the cotton crop. Recall that until 1900, 90% of blacks lived in the South and 3/4ths of blacks were sharecroppers. Beginning in 1916 Northern employers sent recruiters to the South to advertise the availability of jobs in the North. Reduced rate fare was offered on trains to help Southerners come north. And wages in the North were much higher than in the South, especially for poor black sharecroppers. Between 1916 and 1918 450,000 blacks left the South. Between 1918 and 1925 another 150,000 blacks left the South (America, Past and Present, Robert Divine, T.H. Breen, George Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, p. 708). During the war Northern industry was desperate to get any worker it could. Blacks poured into the Northern cities, especially places like New York, Phila, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Detroit. They worked in the steel mills, coal mines, slaughterhouses, meatpacking, and so forth. Between 1910 and 1920 the black population in the North grew by 35%.

CITY BLACK POPULATION 1910 BLACK POPULATION 1920

Chicago 65,355 109,458

Pittsburgh 9,190 20,355

NY 60,758 152,467

Phila 25,894 69,854

Generally blacks were allowed only to live in certain neighborhoods, but there was no corresponding increase in housing construction as the flood of Southern immigrants came to the North. The result was terrible overcrowding and competition for housing.

When the war ended in 1919 the economy plunged into recession. Orders were cancelled. Factories began massive lay-offs of workers.