The U. S. trade unions: the struggle for higher wages, late 1946-1948

The article examines the U. S. labor union position on the wage issue which was the central one in the labor relations in 1946-1948 in the USA. The author analyses the causes of the U.S. labor union struggle for the wage increase, appraises its results, substantiates the validity of worker's demands to increase the wages at the expense of business profits on the condition of the preservation of prices on the same level. The serious attention is paid to the consideration of the position of business and government in the labor conflicts of those years. The stand of American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations on the wage issue is examined. The author analyses the strikes their results and impact on the political situation in the country and their effect on the image of trade unions. It is emphasized that in their struggle trade unions upheld not only the interests of working people but the interests of the majority of American citizens as well. It is shown that despite the increase in the wages labor unions achieved in 1946-1948 they couldn't ensure the more fair distribution of the national income of the USA. The author tells that labor unions didn't manage to make government and business to regard and treat trade unions as the influential economic and political force in the American society.