A Crowded Agenda
Labor Reform and Coalition Politics during the Great Society
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12178802 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Travis Johnston (0000-0001-5180-8067, University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author), Travis M Johnston |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 89-105 |
| Publication date | 2015-02-18 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in American Political Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0898-588X • E-ISSN: 1469-8692 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0898588x14000133 |
| OpenAlex | W2049255304 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 31 |
For much of the post-WWII era, conservative forces blocked progressive labor policy from reaching a floor vote. With huge Democratic majorities in Congress, the 1960s represented a rare opportunity for unions to substantively alter industrial relations policy. The decade served as an important moment of policy development for numerous groups in the coalition. Organized labor, however, made few gains during this prolific era. Despite labor's central position within the governing coalition, Democrats repeatedly failed to pass their most important legislative ambition, the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act's right-to-work clause. In 1965, Democrats nearly achieved this goal when such a bill passed the House, only to be blocked by a filibuster in the Senate. By analyzing the Democrats' legislative priorities during the Great Society, I show how coalitional politics structured the party's policy agenda and how this ordering affected legislation in turn. With the infusion of new coalitional demands, party elites strategically placed labor's controversial issue at the end of a long legislative agenda, effectively eliminating any chance for passage. Rather than locating all blame with the usual suspects, this rarely studied episode suggests that President Johnson and his leaders in Congress played a central role in the bill's failure. The study provides new insight into the process, and consequences, by which party leaders decide whose issues to prioritize when setting the agenda
Blame · Democracy · Economics · House of Representatives · Law and economics · Legislation · Legislative process · Legislature · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Repeal · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Fluctuating fortunes
State of the Union
The Party Decides
Setting the Agenda
Why Parties?
Pushing the Agenda
Party Position Change in American Politics
Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents
Uneasy Alliances
Filibuster
Labor-Management under the Johnson Administration
The Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order, 1930-1980
Black and Blue
The Southern Imposition
The “Problem of Preferences”
Platforms and Partners
Race, Class, and Community in Southern Labor History
The Crisis of American Labor
Everett Dirksen and His Presidents
The Years of Lyndon Johnson
The President's Agenda
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-64
A Theory of Political Parties
Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics
State of the Union
The Conservative Coalition in Congress
Race, Class, and Community in Southern Labor History
The New American Political Party
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2024 (7) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |