US History of Employee Relations 8-9-24

From the 1600s to the 1700s, what is now the US were colonies ruled by England, Spain and France.

Immigrants came from Europe to become land owners and farmers. The family was the basic economic unit.  Families and Neighbors took care of each other. Every family had a Bible and learned to read at an early age. The workforce included entire families working on their farms and businesses.

From the 1800s to 1900s, immigrants came to the US from Europe to continue building US infrastructure and fought in the Civil War.  Most work was done by hand by immigrant crews and was brutal. The Industrial Revolution was underway and emerging industries had no time for “employee relations”. The steam engine was allowing factories to spring up in cities and many farm families moved to the cities.  Unsanitary conditions became common in cities due to overcrowding and water pollution. Medical science had not developed effective treatments for the myriad of illnesses that set life expectancy at 39.4 years in 1860.

Labor Unions began to appear in the US in the 1880s. Populations had moved from the farms to the cities to work in factories. Established manufacturing industries had no time for “employee relations”.

Business owners were busy inventing the materials they needed to improve their products and competing with each other.

In the 1920s, individual investors bought stocks and pushed stock prices above their actual value.

In the 1930s, the Great Depression began with a stock market correction in 1929. The Dust Bowl drought in the 1930s bankrupted US farmers. US unemployment went to 25%.

In the 1940s, the US was the leading manufacturer of military equipment for the Allies during World War II.  Employee relations became less negative because workers were needed to support the “war effort”.

Right to Work States began to form in 1947.

In the 1950s, the US was the leading manufacturer, engaged in global trade and helping rebuild the economies that were ravaged in World War II. Employee relations was “top-down” and negative. Labor unions were antagonistic. Union membership peaked in the 1950s. More States passed Right to Work laws.

In the 1960s, US consultants like J Edwards Deming,  Abraham Maslow and Art Miller had developed models for better “employee relations” and I entered Personnel in 1967 to implement these processes.

Unions were corrosive to corporate cultures and manufacturing companies were looking to make Unions unnecessary.

In the 1970s, companies began using automation to increase productivity. The integrated circuit was developed at Texas Instruments and opened the door for the electronics revolution. Fiber optic cable was first installed in 1975 in California. US auto manufacturing declined due to poor quality and failure to deliver cars with better miles per gallon.  Employee relations improved in non-union companies.

In the 1980s, the electronics revolution had delivered the Personal Computer that would boost productivity and further automate financial transactions. The first cell phone was introduced in 1983. Japanese cars like Toyota and Honda began to take US market share and the US Auto Companies began to decline. US inflation reached 13% in 1980. Chemical and Pharma manufacturing moved off-shore. Employee relations continued to improve in non-union companies.

In the 1990s, the electronics revolution continued to build with the development of Cell Phones and digital signal processing that would revolutionize communication. The internet became widely available in 1993. In 1994, NAFTA was entered and US manufacturing began to move off-shore as China offered 50% discounts on circuit boards. The flat screen TV was introduced by Fujitsu in 1997. Electronics manufacturing moved off-shore. US auto manufacturing moved off-shore. UN Agenda 21 was implemented in the US.

In the 2000s, The I-phone was introduced by Apple for $499 in 2007 and is made in China. The flat screen TV was offered for $1000 to $2000 in 2005 and is made in other countries. Islamic terrorists hijacked commercial airliners and crashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon in 2001 and the US invaded Afghanistan. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq. The National Debt increased by $10 trillion. In 2008, the Mortgage Financial Meltdown occurred and Obama was elected.

In the 2010s, Microsoft, Google and other big companies offshored many operations in 2010. Trump expanded US oil and natural gas production in 2017 and the US became energy independent in 2019.

Gasoline went from $4/gal to $2/gal. Trump closed the border to allow US citizens to increase annual household income by $6000.

In the 2020s, flat screen TVs have been $500. Most are manufactured in other countries. In 2021, Biden opened the borders and spent $3 trillion on the US Climate Change Hoax and banned oil and natural gas production and Biden removed Iran sanctions. This resulted in global inflation and wars in Ukraine and Israel.

In 2024, Trump should retake the US government, close the borders, deport illegals, restore Iran sanctions, resume oil and natural gas production and lower inflation. Trump will use Tariffs to reshore US manufacturing starting with critical items like antibiotics.

Employee relations has been damaged with DEI, Woke company cultures and incompetent anti-American management. Trump will restore Free Market Capitalism and modern employee relations.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader