Discussion Questions for The World of the Worker

Chapter 5 - "The Depression, the New Deal, and the New Industrial Unions"

1.) How did the Great Depression affect American workers?

2.) With what kinds of activities were the unemployed movement involved?

3.) How would you characterize the success of strikes from the unions' perspective from 1930 to 1934? Were there any important incidents of industrial conflict/strikes that helped reinvigorate the American trade union movement during this time frame? If yes, what were these strikes and why did they serve this role? If no, why not?

4.) What were the things that led to the revival of the American trade union movement in the 1930s?

5.) What was the role of the Communist Party in the American trade union movement during the 1930s?

6.) What types of tactics contributed to the initial growth of Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) unions? If there were any important incidents of industrial conflict/strikes that contributed to the initial growth of the CIO unions at this time, what were they and why did they serve this role?

7.) What was the relationship of black and women workers to the new CIO unions?