In 1948, Inland Steel Co. sued the National Labor Relations Board asking for a redress of what it saw as an unfair demand from the United Steelworkers, a contract that included language providing for health and pension benefits for those steelworkers. The court ultimately ruled in favor of the USW, requiring companies to bargain in good faith with their employees over fringe benefits in addition to wages, hours, and working conditions.
But what if the ruling had went the other way? What if Inland Steel wasn't required to bargain in good faith with regard to fringe benefits? IOTL part of the reason why we never managed to get a national health insurance plan in the United States was because, for the most part, most Americans had health insurance through their employers, a result of labor-bargained contracts or companies seeking to undercut labor by offering these plans. Without employer sponsored health insurance or employer sponsored pensions, what will the 1950s, 1960s, and beyond look like?
Would there be a great impetus on the part of labor to spend political funds toward a real universal health care bill and towards expanding Social Security into an actual, universal pension program, rather than just an old age insurance program?
But what if the ruling had went the other way? What if Inland Steel wasn't required to bargain in good faith with regard to fringe benefits? IOTL part of the reason why we never managed to get a national health insurance plan in the United States was because, for the most part, most Americans had health insurance through their employers, a result of labor-bargained contracts or companies seeking to undercut labor by offering these plans. Without employer sponsored health insurance or employer sponsored pensions, what will the 1950s, 1960s, and beyond look like?
Would there be a great impetus on the part of labor to spend political funds toward a real universal health care bill and towards expanding Social Security into an actual, universal pension program, rather than just an old age insurance program?