Collective Bargaining In Norma Raea

The process of forming unions and collective bargaining can be met with harsh opposition and challenges. This is due to the fact that unionization poses a serious threat to a company’s profitability, as employers have a vested interest in stopping any form of labour organization. As a result, employers utilize various strategies to disrupt the unionization of their workers. Over the span of the last century, many films illustrating the process of labour organization and the difficulties that come with it.

In the early years of the labour movement, worker protections and collective bargaining rights were either limited or nonexistent. This is reflected in the film Native Land (1942). Throughout the film, we observe various strategies and tactics

Similar to Bread and Roses (2000), a union organizer, Reuben, is sent to help start unionization efforts in the textile factory. Norma Rae, a textile worker in the factory, joins Reuben in the effort to unionize the shop. We see that Norma sacrifices a lot of her own time to support the unionization effort, showing how challenging unionizing can be. Attempts to organize the workers have been met with hostility from management despite the right to unionize. Management used various tricks to disrupt the movement, as they try to isolate Norma by promoting her, obscure crucial union information and attempt to intimidate Reuben from speaking to the workers. The film also demonstrates how a spontaneous strike can occur as the workers protest the arrest of Norma Rae by shutting off all the machines in the factory. Near the end of the film, Norma and Reuben successfully organize an election to unionize the factory. The workers then voted in favor of the union, making it officially recognized by management and officials. Hence the story of Norma Rae gives us a sense the process and challenges of unionizing a

The documentary Final Offer (1985) covers the 1984 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) and General Motors (GM). The film follows head and chief negotiator of the Canadian chapter of the UAW, Bob White, as he attempts to negotiate a reasonable contract with GM management for the Canadian union members. In contrast to the films previously mentioned, opposition comes not only from management, but from union members and even the American sector of the UAW. During contract negotiations, the ability to strike is a significant bargain tool for the Bob White as it gives him power over the managers. As the contract negotiations begin to threaten American jobs, the main branch of the UAW threatens to pull strike authorization. Clearly, contract negotiations can be a complex procedure as many factions and conflicting interests prove to be a challenge. The film contains many other details relevant to the collect bargaining process. Fraundorf (1990) lists some of these