Are coal strikes national emergencies?
Author InfoIrving Bernstein Hugh G. Lovell Abstract Strikes allegedly creating “national emergencies” are the events which evoke the keenest interest of legislators and the general public in labor relations. Such strikes have been extremely important, as the authors of this article point out, in influencing passage of legislation restricting the right to strike. The philosophy of such legislation is that work stoppages in certain industries may so imperil the functioning of the economy as to endanger national health, welfare, or safety. Strikes in the coal industry have been especially regarded as falling into this category. Strikes in bituminous coal mining, from 1937 to 1950, are analyzed here to determine what their actual effects have been upon coal production, important industries consuming coal, and general business activity. Readers may wish to compare the findings in this article with those of Edgar L. Warren, “Thirty-Six Years of ‘National Emergency’ Strikes,” “Industrial and
Author InfoIrving Bernstein Hugh G. Lovell Abstract Strikes allegedly creating “national emergencies” are the events which evoke the keenest interest of legislators and the general public in labor relations. Such strikes have been extremely important, as the authors of this article point out, in influencing passage of legislation restricting the right to strike. The philosophy of such legislation is that work stoppages in certain industries may so imperil the functioning of the economy as to endanger national health, welfare, or safety. Strikes in the coal industry have been especially regarded as falling into this category. Strikes in bituminous coal mining, from 1937 to 1950, are analyzed here to determine what their actual effects have been upon coal production, important industries consuming coal, and general business activity. Readers may wish to compare the findings in this article with those of Edgar L. Warren, “Thirty-Six Years of ‘National Emergency’ Strikes,” “Industrial and
