The effect of the World War 1 on the labour union activity in the USA

In my master thesis I focus on the effect of World War 1 on labour unions power in the United States of America. The goal is to answer these questions: What factors influenced position of labour unions at the beginning of the 20th century? How did the position of labour unions change during World War I? World War I was already a second experience with war economy in the history of the USA (remember American Civil War). For the first time, though, labour unions played important role in the American economy. I have decided to analyze the effect of World War I on position of labour unions because I consider it an important one. In Chapter one I will analyze the influence of war inflation on real wages of employees and on the ratio between wages of union workers and non-union workers. Chapter two is dedicated to labour conditions (social programs, safety, unemployment benefits) and to their modifications which took place because of World War I. Chapter three is about labour legislation development (regulation of hours and wages, yellow dog contracts, anti-trust and immigration legislation) and its adjustments during the war years. In the Conclusion I sum up all the evidence and evaluate the influence of the World War I on the labour unions and their members