Final answer:
Post-war America witnessed heightened conflicts between labor and management over wages and working conditions, leading to the formation and growth of labor unions. Unions, including the AFL and CIO, advocated for workers' rights, often through strikes, seeing significant but hard-fought gains in workers' benefits and pay.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rise of Organized Labor
The period following the war saw significant conflict between labor and management, primarily over issues of wages, working conditions, and the collective bargaining rights of workers. During the war, strikes had been largely prohibited to ensure that industrial production was not disrupted. However, after the war ended, labor unions became more assertive, using strikes as a means to demand better wages and conditions from management who were reluctant to make concessions.
As the cost of living increased post-war, so did labor's frustration, leading to a remarkable 3,000 strikes in 1919. The most significant of these strikes captured the public's attention and highlighted the growing chasm between workers and business leaders. Suspected labor organizers risked being blacklisted, but this did not dampen the push towards union organization. Groundbreaking labor organizations like the Knights of Labor and the National Labor Union advocated for the collective rights of workers, irrespective of race or gender, although they eventually faced public backlash after violent strike incidents.
Labor unions, such as the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), emerged to champion the rights of workers more effectively. Notable successes included the United Auto Workers' sit-down strike at General Motors, which concluded with GM negotiating with employees for better pay and benefits.