Pifer - City at War: Milwaukee Labor During World War II

O n December 7, 1941, an aroused America went to war. An evil force was loose in the world, and the time had come for the United States to marshal its industrial might, enter the fray, and crush the Axis. Americans won the war on the battlefront, in the factory, on the ration committee, and in the kitchen. Americas workers willingly shouldered their tools in the name of the war effort. They and their unions made daily sacrifices on behalf of the war and sought victory like everyone else on the home front. They bought bonds, donated scrap, and participated on numerous boards and committees. Their patriotic response to the world crisis fueled the production miracle that won the war.

Nonetheless, the nation did not rush to victory with single-minded devotion. The story is more complex. American society certainly was united in its effort to defeat Germany, Japan, and Italy; but that great common goal did not end industrial conflict any more than it eliminated social unrest or racism. Heroic posters promoting production symbolized labors and the nations support for the war, but these posters did not reflect the stresses of war, the industrial conflict that emanated from a lack of common interest between labor and management, or the concern workers felt about their future in the postwar world.

This book is about two responses to war. The attack on Pearl Harbor ended any illusions Americans may have had about the war in Asia and Europe. Americans greeted the onset of war with the resolve to see the conflict prosecuted to victory. On the home front they displayed this commitment through a myriad of daily actions ranging from participation in civil defense, to cooperating with rationing, to bond purchases, to working harder and longer hours. Women cared for their families and went to war in Americas factories. Patriotism was displayed in a willingness to forgo accustomed activities and commodities, as well as luxuries, until the future. Oddly, this same orientation to the future also produced a counterpoint to the national unity of wartime society. Americans look to the future. As powerful as wartime unity may have been, as dire as early losses on the battlefield were, Americans never really doubted that victory would be won and that they would get on with life. Americans sacrificed to win the war, but they never lost sight of the fact that the war would end and peace would return. As a consequence, actions during the war were shaped not only by patriotism and a commitment to the war effort, but also by a commitment to the future and a society returned to normal.

Industrial conflict, almost inexplicable to many observers at the time, stemmed from the fact that neither management nor labor was willing to sacrifice future economic security in the name of the war effort. They never lost sight of the fact that when the war ended companies would still be striving to produce good products at the lowest cost, and workers and their unions would be struggling with management to protect basic rights and economic security.

Strikes and less visible forms of industrial conflict continued throughout the war. Workers and unions, managers and companies protected their interests for the postwar future. As wartime wages fell behind inflation, workers and unions worried about jobs and earning power in a postwar world. In turn, as managers and companies profited from the war, they worried about low cost production and postwar competitors. Ultimately, wartime industrial conflict emanated from the fact that the postwar goals, interests, and concerns of workers and unions on the one hand and managers and companies on the other were incompatible. Workers looked to the future and sought to protect earning power while managers sought to maintain a competitive edge.

Because wars tend to unite people in a common cause, studying the home front during such conflicts offers an opportunity to understand not only what unites a population, but also what is perceived as important by groups within society. When a society is in crisis, conflict between groups within that society focuses on basic differences between those groups. World War II provides an ideal setting for understanding the nature of labor-management conflict and the issues that were most important to American workers and their unions. Several issues transcended the war itself and can be defined as basic to labor, because those issues marked the point beyond which workers would not compromise simply in the name of the war effort. Industrial workers reached such a point when they perceived that their future economic security was at stake. Similarly, unions refused to compromise their future power and existence on the altar of the war. Nor was labor unique in this regard. Management also balked at measures that limited traditional managerial prerogatives, and industrial leaders continually focused attention on their profit margins. Industrial conflict occurred because the basic interests of workers and unions never fully coincided with the basic interests of managers and companies.