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1944: FDR seizes control of Montgomery Ward (and speaking of labor: Walmart wages in 2015)
Dec 27, 1944:
FDR seizes control of Montgomery Ward
On this day in 1944, as World War II dragged on, President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders his secretary of war to seize properties belonging to the Montgomery Ward company because the company refused to comply with a labor agreement.
In an effort to avert strikes in critical war-support industries, Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board in 1942. The board negotiated settlements between management and workers to avoid shut-downs in production that might cripple the war effort. During the war, the well-known retailer and manufacturer Montgomery Ward had supplied the Allies with everything from tractors to auto parts to workmen's clothing--items deemed as important to the war effort as bullets and ships. However, Montgomery Ward Chairman Sewell Avery refused to comply with the terms of three different collective bargaining agreements with the United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union hammered out between 1943 and 1944. In April 1944, after Sewell refused a second board order, Roosevelt called out the Army National Guard to seize the company's main plant in Chicago. Sewell himself had to be carried out of his office by National Guard troops. By December of that year, Roosevelt was fed up with Sewell's obstinacy and disrespect for the government's authority. (The uber-capitalist Sewell's favorite insult was to call someone a "New Dealer"--a direct reference to Roosevelt's Depression-era policies.) On December 27, Roosevelt ordered the secretary of war to seize Montgomery Ward's plants and facilities in New York, Michigan, California, Illinois, Colorado and Oregon.
<...>
For much of the 20th century, Montgomery Ward, founded in 1872, reigned as one of the country's largest department store and mail-order retail chains. Heavy competition from Wal-Mart, Target and similar discount stores forced the company to close all of its stores in 2000, though it retains a catalog and internet presence.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-seizes-control-of-montgomery-ward
FDR seizes control of Montgomery Ward
On this day in 1944, as World War II dragged on, President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders his secretary of war to seize properties belonging to the Montgomery Ward company because the company refused to comply with a labor agreement.
In an effort to avert strikes in critical war-support industries, Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board in 1942. The board negotiated settlements between management and workers to avoid shut-downs in production that might cripple the war effort. During the war, the well-known retailer and manufacturer Montgomery Ward had supplied the Allies with everything from tractors to auto parts to workmen's clothing--items deemed as important to the war effort as bullets and ships. However, Montgomery Ward Chairman Sewell Avery refused to comply with the terms of three different collective bargaining agreements with the United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union hammered out between 1943 and 1944. In April 1944, after Sewell refused a second board order, Roosevelt called out the Army National Guard to seize the company's main plant in Chicago. Sewell himself had to be carried out of his office by National Guard troops. By December of that year, Roosevelt was fed up with Sewell's obstinacy and disrespect for the government's authority. (The uber-capitalist Sewell's favorite insult was to call someone a "New Dealer"--a direct reference to Roosevelt's Depression-era policies.) On December 27, Roosevelt ordered the secretary of war to seize Montgomery Ward's plants and facilities in New York, Michigan, California, Illinois, Colorado and Oregon.
<...>
For much of the 20th century, Montgomery Ward, founded in 1872, reigned as one of the country's largest department store and mail-order retail chains. Heavy competition from Wal-Mart, Target and similar discount stores forced the company to close all of its stores in 2000, though it retains a catalog and internet presence.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-seizes-control-of-montgomery-ward
Krugman:
<...>
But why did Montgomery Ward ultimately disappear from the scene? It wasn’t the wartime obstructionism; it was bad macroeconomics. As the Times report on the final demise put it,
Or to put it a bit differently, Avery was a firm believer in secular stagnation, and a firm disbeliever in the ability of policymakers to do anything about it.
One interesting point here is that in the 1950s right-wingers like Avery didn’t necessarily believe that big government leads to hyperinflation; he seems to have believed that it would cause deflation instead.
Anyway, an interesting tale. In many ways, the history of Montgomery Ward from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries is the story of America.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/the-fall-of-montgomery-ward
But why did Montgomery Ward ultimately disappear from the scene? It wasn’t the wartime obstructionism; it was bad macroeconomics. As the Times report on the final demise put it,
Retail historians date the start of (Montgomery Ward’s) decline to the postwar boom of the 1950’s, when its rival, Sears, Roebuck & Company, moved aggressively into the then nascent suburbs, while Ward, under the steely leadership of its then chief executive, Sewell Avery, hoarded cash and waited for a second Great Depression.
Or to put it a bit differently, Avery was a firm believer in secular stagnation, and a firm disbeliever in the ability of policymakers to do anything about it.
One interesting point here is that in the 1950s right-wingers like Avery didn’t necessarily believe that big government leads to hyperinflation; he seems to have believed that it would cause deflation instead.
Anyway, an interesting tale. In many ways, the history of Montgomery Ward from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries is the story of America.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/the-fall-of-montgomery-ward
A Third Of Walmart Stores In The U.S. Must Raise Base Wages In 2015
Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S., will be forced to raise its wages thanks to new minimum wage hikes in 21 states that will take effect in the new year. Reuters reports that the retail giant is preparing to raise its base salary in about a third of its stores in the U.S. Currently, about 6,000 Walmart employees make $7.25 an hour.
According to Reuters, Walmart will change its pay structure in 1,434 stores to narrow the gap between low-paid workers and higher skilled positions. The company has also pledged to make more changes in 2015 to give workers more opportunity for advancement.
Walmart workers have been striking for years against the company’s notoriously poor treatment of employees. On Black Friday this year, thousands protested at 1,000 stores across the country, calling for a livable wage and more reliable working hours. Walmart keeps many employees on erratic part-time or temporary schedules to avoid giving them full benefits.
But even with base salaries adjusted to meet the new requirements, it won’t be enough for workers to survive. The Walmart strikes have called for a $15 an hour wage, which only a couple of cities have approved. Walmart’s home state, Arkansas, voted in November to raise its minimum wage to $8.50 — but the state’s low-wage workers told ThinkProgress that rate still leaves them in deep poverty.
- more -
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/12/26/3606959/walmart-minimum-wage-raise/
Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S., will be forced to raise its wages thanks to new minimum wage hikes in 21 states that will take effect in the new year. Reuters reports that the retail giant is preparing to raise its base salary in about a third of its stores in the U.S. Currently, about 6,000 Walmart employees make $7.25 an hour.
According to Reuters, Walmart will change its pay structure in 1,434 stores to narrow the gap between low-paid workers and higher skilled positions. The company has also pledged to make more changes in 2015 to give workers more opportunity for advancement.
Walmart workers have been striking for years against the company’s notoriously poor treatment of employees. On Black Friday this year, thousands protested at 1,000 stores across the country, calling for a livable wage and more reliable working hours. Walmart keeps many employees on erratic part-time or temporary schedules to avoid giving them full benefits.
But even with base salaries adjusted to meet the new requirements, it won’t be enough for workers to survive. The Walmart strikes have called for a $15 an hour wage, which only a couple of cities have approved. Walmart’s home state, Arkansas, voted in November to raise its minimum wage to $8.50 — but the state’s low-wage workers told ThinkProgress that rate still leaves them in deep poverty.
- more -
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/12/26/3606959/walmart-minimum-wage-raise/
16 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I wish we could make all our officials work for that amount for a while and see how they squeal.
K&R
Good to see you, ProSense! 
