Diana Borland’s situation is a representation a major problem occurring in the United States. Workers that are being classified as independent contractors are not being protected under the current labor laws even though they have a legal incoming paycheck. I believe that this is wrong. In 1938, the country passed minimum wage laws to protect all employees and now, in 2018, some people are being paid half of the minimum wage and there is nothing that they can do about it. As a country, we need to realize that companies are able to use loopholes in the law by simply calling their employees by a different name. As an at will employee, UPMC had no obligation to keep her around, however the new company, Nuance, should be forced to pay her at least …show more content…
If she earning a paycheck from another party, she should be able to seek benefit from existing labor laws. While she may not be entitled to the $19 per hour that she started with, the new company should be required to pay her a minimum wage salary. David Weil, a former head of the Department of Labor, sees this in the same light. Weil argues that alternative work agreements are causing the workplace to crack and become unstable for the labor force. He refers to this phenomenon as “The Fissured Workplace.” His main arguments stemmed form the fact that new independent contracting was undermining social protections and lowering wages. He also argued that workers are generally worse off in these positions as opposed to previous ones. Weil is correct when he says that social protections are being forgotten in …show more content…
Although an increase in pay leads to better productivity of employees, this is only because they feel they are being paid more than someone at other companies. By definition, efficiency wages are more than the normal wage for a specific job. If every company decided to implement efficiency wages, this would effectively become the new minimum wage and the increase in worker productivity would be non-existent. The textbook reinforces this idea by saying that productivity in the workplace stems from fear of taking a decline in salary if they were to lose their current jobs (178). Humans are naturally motivated through competitive nature. The desires to be better off than the person next you are something that all of us have, even if we don’t want to admit it. Therefore, if your wage is higher than other people in the same position as you, your productivity will also be higher. This entire mindset is seen in a real world setting through Walmart. By increasing their wages, they were able to see an increase in productivity out of their employees as well as a decrease in workers leaving the company. This is only the case because they knew that it was unlikely that they were going to get paid better anywhere else. "Walmart's Efficiency Wages Are Working," states that another benefit from paying higher wages is the access to a different
The leaders of big business didn’t give workers the rights they deserved. In the text, Captains of Industry or Robber Barons?, it states, “Workers were often forbidden to strike, paid very low wages, and forced to work very long hours.” This evidence is a perfect example of the dehumanization of workers. The employers treated their workers like interchangeable parts, which were easily replaced. The big business leaders started paying less attention to the working conditions, and more to the production rates, and money. They didn’t care about worker’s family or the worker’s wellbeing. Due to the horrible working conditions, the workers were more likely to be injured, and sometimes, die. The capitalists didn’t give their employees the rights and respect they deserved, because to them they were just unskilled, cheap labor. If the workers were unhappy, they would easily replace them with other unskilled workers. That’s why they were considered interchangeable parts. This evidence shows the big business leaders only cared about money, and didn’t treat their workers
Today we see the labor reforms put in place along with organizations that hold business to safety precautions like OSHA, Occupational Safety and Health Association. Today, worker’s fight for higher minimum wage but outside of America, there are worker’s fighting for the same rights we did back in the 1900’s. Back in 2013, in Bangladesh, a series of fires occurred. This raised questions about safety and treatment of workers. Within a few months, the government allowed the garment workers to form trade unions along with a plan to raise the minimum wage. And soon after, the United States pushed for Bangladesh to improve their labor standards. All of this happened within half a year, where back in the 1900’s it took over 50 years, starting with the coal miners. Without the workers as a sturdy base for the business, the company with crumble and fall. And without those businesses to help the economy grow, the government will cease to
Mainly, the article focuses on the injustices people have encountered in a work environment. Rhodes appeals to her audience as everyday “average” people who identify with the plight of another. Although she makes a compelling argument referencing studies and personal stories of people this has happened to, there are flaws in her argument that could discredit the validity of her reasoning. The logic in her article highly finds favor with the general working public. It is both consistent and appropriate. However, it is not complete, nor fully believable. I will discuss the following in the next paragraphs. Her use of research and anecdotes are mostly one-sided and while it brings valid points for the workers, fail to portray opposing views on the issue, that of the employer. She also neglects to further explore and compare the validity of this claim against wel...
The Industrial Revolution that took place after the Civil War made for a more economically sound country. American workers, however, were becoming more and more dependent upon their wages; a fear of unemployment also stemmed from this. Workers didn’t share in the benefits that their employers reaped. In a chart representing the hours and wages of industrial workers, from 1875 to 1891, it shows that even though their wages were subtly increasing, their 10-hour work day remained the same (Doc. A). Factories were headed by large corporations; this, in turn, meant that new machines lessened the amount of workers in certain fields. As a result of these unsuitable conditions, labor unions were formed. The challenges that these unions faced weren’t easy. If the workers involved in organized labor got too far out of line, these corporations could get federal authorities involved. Moreover, these companies could enforce “ironclad oaths” upon their employees. In a Western Union Telegraph Company employee contract, in 1883, it states that the employee will not be affiliated with any societies or organizations (Doc. E). Despite such setbacks, by 1872 there were over 32 national unions.
Within those two years of the coworker working there, she received a seventy- five cent raise and she doesn’t complain much because at the age she is at, it hinders her from being employed at a high-tip place. This is a prime example of oppression because in order to make ends meet, some family members have to stay with each other because they do not make enough money to afford rent. Also, she is older and she did not mention that she received any benefits such as Medicare or Social Security, therefore she has to continue working to provide for herself and help her
Throughout the history of the United States of America the continuation of misfortunes for the workforce has aggravated people to their apex, eventually leading to the development of labor unions.
Imagine a workforce without labor laws. Massive companies would still be in control of the major products, creating a nightmare for the American people. Workers would be drastically underpaid for their exhausting labor; children would still feel forced to work to help support their families. Now imagine a world without food safety laws. Meat packing companies could put ingredients in the product without labeling. They could even include toxic chemicals without any major government and legal repercussions. Not many people realize it, but these two simple laws are taken for granted. Barrack Obama displays this perfectly: “It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour workweek, the minimum wage. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label.” While the Union played a large part in securing labor laws and food safety requirements, there was one person who gave the much-needed monumental push for even more human rights. That person is author and human rights activist, Upton Sinclair. Without Upton Sinclair’s literature the United States would not have the same human rights as today.
Beginning in the late 1700’s and growing rapidly even today, labor unions form the backbone for the American workforce and continue to fight for the common interests of workers around the country. As we look at the history of these unions, we see powerful individuals such as Terrence Powderly, Samuel Gompers, and Eugene Debs rise up as leaders in a newfound movement that protected the rights of the common worker and ensured better wages, more reasonable hours, and safer working conditions for those people (History). The rise of these labor unions also warranted new legislation that would protect against child labor in factories and give health benefits to workers who were either retired or injured, but everyone was not on board with the idea of foundations working to protect the interests of the common worker. Conflict with their industries lead to many strikes across the country in the coal, steel, and railroad industries, and several of these would ultimately end up leading to bloodshed. However, the existence of labor unions in the United States and their influence on their respective industries still resonates today, and many of our modern ideals that we have today carry over from what these labor unions fought for during through the Industrial Revolution.
Have you ever wondered what life would have been like if labor unions never existed? Labor unions were originally formed to help improve the worker’s low wages, their horrible working conditions, and lower the hours they work a day. “ Unions are powerful by the power of members acting together, linking arms, figuratively and literally, taking a stand , and forcing their agenda on either their employers or political representatives” ( Asher 650).Unions are only powerful if everybody is working together, if one person does something wrong, the whole organization fails. Labor unions formed after the Civil War as a response to the modern Industrial Economy. Labor Unions impacted workers everywhere by helping increase wages, better working conditions, and better benefits.
... a reality. Big and small companies alike are starting look more at the labor union as a whole and not the individuals that make up the union. As stated earlier labor unions were formed to protect the rights of individuals and to keep businesses from taking advantage of their employees. Blacks now have many of the same rights because they stuck through the hard times to gain their reward. There are many people to thank for the state and make up of labor unions in America today. The next big hurdle, now that we are starting to front are problems with labor unions here in the U.S., is international labor unions. Maybe 80 to 90 years from now the same will be said about international labor unions as was said about interracial labor unions. America and the world are an ever-changing place. The make up of labor unions has taken many steps from all white or black to interracial to possibly international in the future. Thanks to the studies and the history of labor union diversity we can better handle the possibilities of an international labor union. Some may say change is bad, but I believe that the changes of the work force and labor unions are better for our economy and our society.
With WWII on the horizon in the early 1940’s, Americans knew they must produce goods for the cause. Production was greatly needed and worker’s shoes needed to be filled. Labor Unions stepped up and proved to be extremely productive and fruitful. Although productivity was high, Union strikes began to brake out. Labor Union employees felt suppressed under the growing power of the unions and work stoppages were at an all time high in 1944. Acts such as the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 were passed to protect Union workers, however the corrupt unions had left employees feeling used and disrespected. The abusive reputation of unions still stands today as the public and employees find it hard to trust such massive corporations with dishonest pasts.
Other changes that workers would embrace are pay increases and the addition of family-friendly work policies such as more free time, and on-site daycare. Since a number of large manufacturing and service firms are unionized, a motivation and goal for work reform, in this respect, would be for a company to integrate the union into its capital investment decisions to avoid the exploitation of workers at the expense of technology (Krahn, Lowe, Hughes, 2011 p. 266-267).... ... middle of paper ... ...
This happens when money is just their only motivation or if they’re trying to receive a promotion. Others try to increase their productivity due to just the satisfaction they obtain from their work socially. Another reason may also come from an employee getting a good, decent salary. This not only improves the job satisfaction, but gives the member of staff understanding of the fact that they get fair payment for their labors. “[But] if an employee does not get satisfaction in their work, they may seek for satisfaction in other work unrelated areas. He or she may also be content with work as it relates with those work unrelated areas. Job dissatisfaction may also cause an employee to quit” (Robbins). In addition, empowerment is a factor that can motivate others into enhancing their work productivity. Human empowerment leads to the job satisfaction. When management gives an employee the opportunity to work based off of their own standards, this amounts up to those in the company, resulting in the job productivity increasing. “An example of a way to motivate employees is the management offering them opportunities for promotions and pay rise negotiations. This will encourage job productivity since employees will want to receive [these] rewards” (Jackson,
The laws and regulations surrounding Industrial Relations since the 1900’s have, at each reform, placed tighter constraints on the amount of power unions are able to exert. The reforms have also radically increased managerial prerogative, through an increased use of individual bargaining, contracts and restrictions imposed on unions (Bray and Waring, 2006). Bray and W...
Labor relations emerged as response towards combating the economic unrest that accompanied the 1930 Great depression. At this period, massive unemployment, decreasing salary and wages, and over competition for jobs despite poor working conditions, was being experience; especially in the US. In turn employees were aggravated and therefore resorted to labor strike that often escalated to violence. To avoid such incident that could potentially harm further an ailing economy, the US government set precedent by passing their first related Labor relationship act, also referred to as the Wagner act. This act excluded public sector and some employees in the informal sector, farm workers to be specific. However, the progressive change in business and labor environment, necessitated changes in the labor laws to ensure they are more inclusive (Haywood & Sijtsma, 2000).