>>698• So despite the data showing a clear decline in work hours all occurring prior to Unions having successfully lobbied Congress to legislate the 40 hour standard, people still mistakenly believe that Unions were to thank for our 8 hour day and 40 hour workweek. Our graph, from the study "Trends in Hours: The U.S. from 1900 to 1950”, shows the decline from 1830 to 1990. We had already reached the 40 hour standard by 1938 WITHOUT the need for legislation. Furthermore, as this study states, the "decline was not even across workers: it benefited mostly low-wage earners who used to work the most in 1900.” [14]
THE REALITY?
Labor unions had been trying for decades to legislate a shorter workweek but their goals simply weren't mathematically feasible until per capita GDP and productivity had first increased. Once they DID increase the demands of Unions were finally possible. This is far different, however, from falsely concluding that their demands were the SOURCE of said advancement. Just as in 1791 when Philadelphia carpenters went on strike seeking a 10 hour work day or in 1835 when different Philadelphia strikers did the same. Just as in 1864, when the Chicago labor movement began demanding an 8 hour work day, similar to the National Labor Union in 1866 who declared it necessary to free people from "capitalist slavery." Just as with the Illinois strike of 1867, or the 8-hour proclamation declared by President Grant in 1869, the central demands of labor organizers in the 1870's, the objectives of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in 1884, or the American Federation of Labor in 1888, all of whom sought an 8 hour work day, little improvement could have resulted had the economic circumstances not first allowed it. Yes, unions demanded a shorter work day, and yes, unions demanded a shorter workweek, but PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES and ECONOMIC GROWTH gave it to us.
____Citations:
[1]
(note: figures may not add exactly up to 100% due to rounding.)
http://employees.csbsju.edu/jolson/ECON315/Whaples2123771.pdf
[2]
https://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/farmers_land.htm
[3]
https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2007/wp07105.pdf
(also the source of one of the graphs depicted in the video)
[4]
http://www.nber.org/chapters/c8007.pdf
[5]
http://www2.lawrence.edu/fast/finklerm/DeLong_Growth_History_Ch5.pdf
[6]
http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/CT1970p1-06.pdf
[7]
U.S. Department of Interior (1883) Census (a.k.a The Weeks Report)
https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1880a_v20-01.pdf
[8]
The Aldrich Report from the 1893 Senate Committee on Finance.
https://archive.org/details/wholesalepricesw03unit
[9]
http://www.nber.org/papers/w11931
[10]
Whaples (1990a)
http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI9026669/
[11]
Jones (1963)
https://goo.gl/GszkyY
[12]
Owen (1976, 1988)
https://goo.gl/7m0Xws
[13]
(source is cited merely to confirm when the FLSA was passed)
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/national-fair-labor-standards-act-2953.html
[14]
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.149.8647&rep=rep1&type=pdf