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46-542: The Public Employees Fair Employment Act (the Taylor Law) is a New York State statute, named after labor researcher George W. Taylor . It authorizes a governor-appointed State Public Employment Relations Board to resolve contract disputes for public employees while curtailing their right to strike. The law provides for mediation and binding arbitration to give voice to unions, but work stoppages are made punishable with fines and jail time. The United Federation of Teachers and

92-516: A bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School. His senior thesis was on the history and overdevelopment of the hosiery industry in Pennsylvania. He became a professor in the department of business administration at Albright College , and obtained his doctorate in economics from the Wharton School in 1929. The Hemline index theory is often erroneously attributed to Taylor. It

138-735: A consultant to the Commission on Reorganization of the Executive Branch from 1948 to 1949. In 1951, Truman appointed Taylor director of the Wage Stabilization Board . During the steel strike of 1959 , President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Taylor chairman of the Presidential Board of Inquiry created when Eisenhower invoked the cooling-off provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act. Despite Taylor's role in helping Eisenhower win

184-400: A court injunction stopping the strike for 90s days, Taylor became involved in helping end the strike. He assisted United Steelworkers of America counsel Arthur Goldberg and Kaiser Steel heir Edgar Kaiser negotiate an agreement which later formed the basis for the national collective bargaining agreement which settled the strike. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Taylor to

230-524: A frequent target for upstate New York anti-union activists; they claim that it severely limits the ability of governments to limit spending on unionized labor, with minimal recourse in the event the unions illegally strike. One particular clause, the Triborough Amendment, mandates that in the event of a lack of a contract, the terms of the previous contract continue indefinitely. This amendment protects workers when contracts expire before an agreement

276-670: A fund or insurer to provide an income for retirees. In addition, in the wake of the 2005 strike, the New York State Supreme Court in Kings County ( Brooklyn ), declared TWU Local 100 in violation of the Taylor Law, and issued a fine of $ 1,000,000 per day, pursuant with the guidelines set forth in the law. Two smaller unions also representing NYC Transit Authority workers, Amalgamated Transit Union Locals 726 and 1056, were fined smaller amounts. While government officials support

322-642: A letter to the local street railway unions in April 1892, and based on the positive response arranged for a convention of street railway workers. The convention began on September 12, 1892, in Indianapolis, Indiana, attended by fifty delegates from twenty-two locals. Many of the smaller unions were affiliated with the AFL, while four larger locals were affiliated with the Knights of Labor and two were independent. The first president

368-569: A settlement that led to collective bargaining for teachers in New York City . The subsequent election led to the founding of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). In 1965, Taylor led a fact-finding board which the UFT used to win its first collective bargaining agreement with the city. But Taylor's most famous (and, according to New York state labor leaders, notorious) act as a public official

414-476: Is a misunderstanding of his findings from his 1929 thesis Significant post-war changes in the full-fashioned hosiery industry. In 1930, Taylor received an appointment as an assistant professor at his alma mater, the Wharton School. In his first years as a professor at Wharton, Taylor founded the academic field of industrial relations, which covered labor arbitration, mediation, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution . In his lifetime, he became known as

460-400: Is reached, as otherwise, governments could simply wait until contracts expire, and then unilaterally alter the terms. The Conservative Party of New York State , which seeks the abolition of the amendment, argues that the amendment's guarantee of a perpetual contract eliminates any incentive for unions to negotiate in good faith. Others have made the argument that while there is no corollary to

506-583: The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America . He held that position until 1961. By 1940, Taylor had settled roughly 1,400 labor disputes without a strike. In 1941, Taylor served as an impartial arbitrator between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and General Motors . During this time, he became close with UAW president Walter Reuther . Taylor entered federal service again in 1951. He left it in 1952, and although he continued to teach at

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552-568: The Taylor Law . Taylor was born in the Kensington industrial neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , on July 10, 1901. His uncle owned a textile mill, and his father, Harry Taylor, was a superintendent at a hosiery mill. He graduated from Frankford High School in 1919. Taylor intended to go into the mills after graduating from high school, but his high school principal persuaded him to attend college instead. In 1921, Taylor graduated with

598-433: The U.S. Department of Labor Labor Hall of Fame for his contributions to industrial relations. During his life, Taylor became close friends with many of the most important labor and government officials of his day: Frances Perkins , Cyrus Ching , George Meany , Philip Murray , Clark Kerr , Walter Heller , Henry J. Kaiser , John L. Lewis , George Shultz , John Dunlop and W. Willard Wirtz . Taylor retired from

644-682: The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania , and is credited with founding the academic field of study known as industrial relations . He served in several capacities in the federal government, most notably as a mediator and arbitrator . During his career, Taylor settled more than 2,000 strikes . In 1967, he helped draft the New York state civil service law which legalized collective bargaining in that state but which also banned strikes by public employees—legislation widely known today as

690-558: The "Father of American Arbitration." Teaching was Taylor's first love throughout his life. He often said that he "had chalk in his veins" and hated to leave the classroom. He was recognized as a dynamic speaker and excellent lecturer, and remained a highly sought-after public speaker even at the time of his death. Taylor was named a full professor in 1944, and was eventually named to the Gaylord P. and Mary Louise Harnwell Professor of Industry. Upon his retirement from active teaching in 1964,

736-484: The "dues check-off", and imprisonment of the union's president. The law does not apply to Long Island Rail Road , Metro-North Railroad and Staten Island Railway employees, who are subjected to the jurisdiction of the federal Railway Labor Act of 1926. The law was put into effect in 1967, following costly transit strikes the previous year and is named for George W. Taylor, chairman of the commission appointed by NY Governor Nelson Rockefeller to propose amendments to

782-530: The 1930s. President Roosevelt appointed Taylor vice chairman of the National War Labor Board in 1942. He became the board's chairman in 1945. In July 1942, Taylor wrote the wage decision popularly known as the "Little Steel formula" which gave workers employed by smaller steel companies only modest pay increases for the duration of the war. The board applied the "Little Steel formula" to nearly every American industry during World War II . The decision

828-594: The 1947 Condon–Wadlin Act . Taylor was a professor of industrial research at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton school for forty years before his death in 1972. He served as an advisor on labor relations issues to Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. Taylor was a strong supporter of the strike in private sector bargaining. Since its passage, the Taylor Law has been cited in preventing public employee strikes. However, public employees have struck since

874-736: The ATU endorsed Hillary Clinton in her unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination; after she conceded defeat, the ATU endorsed Barack Obama in his bid to become president. The ATU was named the "Most Valuable National Union" in The Nation magazine's Progressive Honor Roll of 2012 for its support of the Occupy movement , the National Day of Action for Public Transportation, and other social justice issues. It lasted for 1 day until June 8, where

920-693: The Aberle Hosiery Mill near Reading, Pennsylvania . Taylor received national acclaim for helping mediate an end to a strike at Apex Hosiery in Philadelphia in 1932. Under the terms of the 1931 collective bargaining agreement between the Full Fashioned Hosiery Manufacturers of America and the American Federation of Hosiery Workers , he was appointed "impartial chairman" for the independent arbitration committee established by

966-520: The President's Advisory Committee on Labor Management Policy. During his tenure on the committee, Taylor helped craft a long-term contractual solution to a series of wildcat strikes which had plagued the aerospace industry since World War II. Taylor also resolved railroad disputes in 1964 and 1967, and in 1968 settled the long-running copper mining strike. In 1961, Taylor led a commission appointed by New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. which crafted

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1012-574: The Public Employees Fair Employment Act into law. Popularly known as the "Taylor Law," the Act is considered a model for public sector labor legislation. The law established collective bargaining rights for state-employed workers, and set up procedures and mechanisms for county and local public workers to establish unions and bargain collectively. Two aspects of the law, however, drew harsh criticism from organized labor. Section 210 prohibits public employees from striking, and fines

1058-473: The Taylor Law as a way of preventing strikes by municipal unions in New York, the unions contend that the law is harsh on them. The labor unions also contend that the Taylor Law does not provide government agencies the incentive to negotiate contracts on a timely basis and negotiate the terms of the contract in good faith. There have been lobbying efforts by municipal unions to the New York state legislature to change

1104-512: The Taylor Law, but there is some resistance or reluctance to modifying the law. With the creation and assistance of the Taylor Law, members of many organizations including the Albany, New York, Fire Department were able to unionize, becoming one of the strongest political organizations. In 1970 was the birth of Union Local 2007, which was also responsible in paving the way for all other public sector unions in Albany, New York . The Taylor Law has been

1150-522: The Transit Authority and also MTA Bus Company workers who were members of Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100. During the 2005 transit strike, both the strikers and the MTA violated portions of the Taylor Law. Section 210 states that the workers are not allowed to strike; Section 201, Part 4, states that employers are not allowed to negotiate benefits provided by a public retirement fund or payment to

1196-494: The Triborough Amendment under the National Labor Relations Act , which governs private sector workers, those workers may strike at impasse. Some unions believe it would be fundamentally unfair to eliminate the Triborough Amendment but at the same time continuing the Taylor Law's prohibition against strikes. To do so would provide no incentive for management to negotiate a fair contract since it could always just change

1242-536: The Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association challenged the Taylor Law at its inception in 1967. Following a 2005 strike, Transit Workers' president Roger Toussaint was incarcerated for three days under a Taylor Law ruling. The Taylor Law grants public employees the right to organize and elect their union representatives. It defines the boundaries for public employers in negotiating and entering into agreements with public unions. The law also defines

1288-455: The University of Pennsylvania named the endowed chair after him. He continued to lecture and speak to students on campus until his death in 1972. In 1928, Taylor received his first commission as an industrial relations specialist. His thesis on the hosiery industry in Pennsylvania led Emil Rieve , president of a Pennsylvania hosiery workers' union, to seek his help as an umpire in an organizing dispute. In 1929, he settled his first strike, at

1334-542: The Wharton School he also was the official arbitrator of internal Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) jurisdictional disputes. He served in this capacity for three years, and his work became a model for handling inter-union disputes after the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and CIO merged in 1955. During his lifetime, Taylor was credited with coining a number of common collective bargaining terms, including "tandem," "escalator clause," "productivity improvement," "interplant inequity," and "ability to pay." Taylor

1380-586: The Wharton School in 1971. He died at his home in Philadelphia on the evening of December 15, 1972. He was survived by his wife, the former Edith Ayling; he had no children. Amalgamated Transit Union The Amalgamated Transit Union ( ATU ) is a labor organization in the United States and Canada that represents employees in the public transit industry. Established in 1892 as the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America ,

1426-540: The contract as it saw fit after reaching impasse, leaving the workers and unions with no legal recourse. That would be completely unprecedented in American labor law. The Buffalo Teachers Federation, for instance, illegally struck in September 2000, which delayed the start of the school year. George W. Taylor (professor) George W. Taylor (July 10, 1901 – December 15, 1972) was a professor of industrial relations at

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1472-450: The contract. The position became a model for similar collective bargaining clauses nationwide. During his 10 years as impartial chairman, Taylor established a national minimum wage in the hosiery industry. In 1935, after a period of service to the federal government, Taylor become impartial chairman for a labor arbitration committee established by the Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association and

1518-511: The early years as the transit companies followed the practice of firing union activists. In the 1897 meeting in Dayton, Ohio, there were twenty delegates. The treasury of the union now had $ 4,008. An early achievement was to have laws passed in a dozen states by 1899 that mandated enclosed vestibules for the motormen. Wages were close to $ 2 a day where the union was established, and in Detroit and Worcester

1564-400: The event of an impasse in negotiations. For all others, except for law enforcement unions, it provides for non-binding "fact-finding," in which a panel of arbitrators make a recommendation to the parties on what is considered a fair settlement of the dispute. The penalties for striking is an additional day of pay for each day of a strike, totaling two days' loss for each strike day, removal of

1610-569: The introduction of the law: The United Federation of Teachers struck the New York City schools in 1968 , for which Albert Shanker and other union leaders were jailed for two weeks the following year. Teachers struck the city again for five days over the issue of class size in 1975. The fine was applied during the New York City Transit Authority 1980 transit strike and again in the 2005 transit strike . The latter involved

1656-557: The nine-hour day had been achieved, although in most cities ten- or eleven-hour days were common. At the start of the 20th century the Amalgamated Association launched a militant organizing program. Although the union was always willing to arbitrate in disputes, there were many strikes against the streetcar companies. Often these turned violent, as in St. Louis in 1900 or Denver in 1920 . The public and small businesses sympathized with

1702-654: The public and not a private good. As he once noted: In 1933, Taylor was appointed chairman for the Philadelphia regional office of the National Labor Board . Later that year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him assistant deputy administrator of the National Recovery Administration . Taylor left federal service in 1935, although he continued to serve as an advisor to the Fair Labor Standards Administration throughout

1748-615: The strikers, and passengers and other unions often became involved in the street actions. When buses began to replace streetcars, the association began to be challenged by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers . It was agreed that the Amalgamated Association would have jurisdiction over buses operated by street railway companies, while the Teamsters would have jurisdiction over independent bus lines and over road transportation of goods. In 2008,

1794-628: The terms for the foundation of the Public Employment Relations Board, a state agency that administers the law in matters related to public strike negotiation. The board consists of three members appointed by the governor. Each member must be approved by the senate, and only two may be of the same political party. One of the most controversial parts of the Taylor Law is Section 210, which prohibits New York state public employees from striking. For certain unions, primarily law enforcement, it provides for compelling binding PERB arbitration in

1840-469: The union double the amount of each striking employee's salary for each day the strike lasts. Section 201, Part 4, of the law prohibits employers from negotiating benefits provided by a public retirement fund or providing income to public sector retirees. President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Taylor the Presidential Medal of Freedom on December 3, 1963. On January 5, 1995, Taylor was inducted into

1886-530: The union was centered primarily in the Eastern United States; today, ATU has over 200,000 members throughout the United States and Canada. The union was founded in 1892 as the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America. The union has its origins in a meeting of the American Federation of Labor in 1891 at which president Samuel Gompers was asked to invite the local street railway associations to form an international union. Gompers sent

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1932-582: Was William J. Law from the AFL-affiliated local in Detroit. Detroit was chosen as the headquarters, using the same facilities as the Detroit local. Because the number of members affiliated with the Knights of Labor was greater than the numbers affiliated with the AFL, according to the claims of the delegates, the new international remained unaffiliated despite pleas by Gompers. The objectives included education, settlement of disputes with management, and securing good pay and working conditions. The international

1978-607: Was a strong advocate of private sector collective bargaining, but believed that governments had the right to significantly restrict collective bargaining and the right to strike in the public sector. He was a strong advocate of the National Labor Relations Act , and vehemently condemned the Taft-Hartley Act as poor public policy and an improper restriction on the right to strike. In many important labor disputes, however, Taylor often took positions opposed to those advocated by labor unions because Taylor believed strikes should serve

2024-533: Was given considerable authority over the locals. The second convention was held in Cleveland in October 1893, with just fifteen divisions represented by about twenty delegates. At this meeting William D. Mahon was named president, and he still held this position in 1937. By then the union had been renamed the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America. The union struggled in

2070-513: Was his role in crafting New York's "Taylor Law." In the wake of the formation of the UFT and (more immediately) a 1966 New York City transit strike , Governor Nelson Rockefeller appointed a Committee on Public Employment Relations to study the state's public employee collective bargaining laws. Taylor led the other five members of the panel in proposing new legislation which gave New York's public employees significantly stronger collective bargaining rights. On April 25, 1967, Gov. Rockefeller signed

2116-602: Was severely criticized by organized labor, but Taylor considered it to be one of the most significant, well-written, and well-founded policy decisions he ever made. President Harry S. Truman named Taylor secretary of the National Labor-Management Conference in 1946. The same year, Truman appointed Taylor chairman of the Advisory Board of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion. Taylor also served as

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