During the 1980s, Trade Unions encountered significant challenges and losses, this occurred against a backdrop of rapid expansion and influence. Before the 1979 conservative election victory it was distinctively voluntarist, with minor legislative intervention. (Gallie et al, 1996).Two strikes in particular, the miners’ strike and the News International industrial dispute changed the face of Industrial Relations in the UK. The conduct and outcome of the disputes led to significant changes with regards to the role of the state, the role of employers and the power of the unions in contemporary Industrial relations. This essay will critically evaluate the conduct of the unions, the state, the miners and the police, it will consider the changing role of the state and the police towards industrial action and the effect the conduct and outcome of the strike has had on present day industrial relations. Before the 1984 miners’ strike, the NUM was in a very strong powerful position, having defeated the government in 1972 and 1974 over wage levels. However unlike 1984, the miners voted overwhelmingly to back the union and strike, thus causing severe disruption as the UK was heavily dependent on coal at that time. Certainly, it was believed that these defeats contributed to the downfall of the previous conservative government in 1974. (Richards, 1996), since the Government had to call a state of emergency, the strikers remained united and not a single miner broke either strike. Consequently in 1974 the Government called the general election and famously asked “who governs Britain “the government or the miners? (Beynon) The 1984 strike, in comparison was a fight to save jobs and mining communities, the conservative government had regained po... ... middle of paper ... ...pular tactic is to threaten to damage an employer’s reputation. (Personnel today, 2012). ACAS, on the other hand point to the positive role played by unions in resolving workplace disputes and that union officials were more inclined to assume a conciliatory rather than antagonistic approach when negotiating with employers. (ACAS, 2011) In conclusion, employment relations have changed considerably since the 1980s. The falls in union membership triggered initially by the miners and print unions defeats, along with the legal constraints surrounding unions which were introduced by the conservative government and mostly retained by the labour party have all combined to reduce the impact of trade unions on present day employment relations. However unions and employers are adapting to these changes and adopting different approaches to managing industrial relations.
The Working Class felt further disillusioned and underrepresented by the current government by the Taff Vale case where Trade Unions could from then on be sued for ...
Tensions between union supporters and management began mounting in the years preceding the strike. In April of 1994, the International Union led a three-week strike against major tracking companies in the freight hauling industry in attempts to stop management from creating $9 per hour part-time positions. This would only foreshadow battles to come between management and union. Later, in 1995, teamsters mounted an unprecedented national union campaign in attempts to defeat the labor-management “cooperation” scheme that UPS management tried to establish in order to weaken the union before contract talks (Witt, Wilson). This strike was distinguished from other strikes of recent years in that it was an offensive strike, not a defensive one. It was a struggle in which the union was prepared, fought over issues which it defined, and one which relied overwhelmingly on the efforts of the members themselves (http://www.igc.org/dbacon/Strikes/07ups.htm).
The conflict over living conditions in Canada has been ongoing. Perhaps Canada’s most forceful movement towards change was the Winnipeg General Strike, during the summer of 1919. The strike was caused by the working class’ desire to rise out of poverty. The government hastily tried to suppress the strike by deporting the strike leaders, using gunfire to disperse crowds, and eventually ‘punishing’ the people by dismissing them from their jobs. The Winnipeg General Strike was ultimately detrimental to the wellbeing of working class Winnipeggers due to the government’s infringement of democratic ideals.
David Brody argues that the rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships during the post WWII era formalized the relationship between employers and unions, but simultaneously began to put a break on shop floor activism. Explain Brody’s argument and, where relevant, incorporate Weber’s theory of bureaucracy.
In their first attempt to get noticed, workers formed the National Labor Union in 1866. This union joined together various workers in order to create a group that would fight for what they wanted: higher wages and shorter workdays. As the years went by, the National Labor Union did their best in trying to achieve their goals, all while other groups took the matters into their own hands. In 1877, in what became known as the Great Railroad Strike, railroad workers from across America took part in a spontaneous strike on America’s railroads, an attempt that led to violence and, to their dismay, no changes to working conditions. In response to the strike, The New York Times published an article that stated “But if the strike on the Baltimore and Ohio Road is a foolish one, its history up to the present time shows that those who are engaged in it are not only bold and determined, but that they have the sympathy of a large part of the community in which they live…” (Document B). The editorial states that even if it wasn’t worth it, the Great Railroad Strike showed that there is something amiss in their daily lives, and whatever it is, they are trying to fix it for t...
Wallerstein, M. & Western, B. 2000. Unions in Decline? What Has Changed and Why? Annual Review of Political Science. 3: 355-377.
Unions have an extensive history of standing up for workers. They have advocated rights of steelworkers, coal miners, clothing factory employees, teachers, health care workers, and many others. The labor movement is based on the idea that organized workers as a group have more power than individuals would have on their own. The key purpose of any union is to negotiate contracts, making sure workers are respected and fairly compensated for their work. “In theory” unions are democratic organizations, resulting in varying inner authority. Workers look for security within a job a...
The white-collar union organizer affiliates in the case consist of: an office worker and the Office Employee International Union organizer, Nancy Rogers (Sloane & Witney, 2010). Base on Sloane & Witney (2010), “white-collar workers have long felt superior to their blue-collar-worker counterparts and tended to believe that joining a union decreases their occupational prestige” (p.13). It is synonymous to the office worker’s explanation to Rogers on the company’s culture as management’s influence toward nonunion workers to reframe from joining unions has resulted in paying them greater salaries, impose the idea of unions are only for manual workers and inappropriate for white-collar people to join (Sloane & Witney, 2010).This case provided a reference t...
Factories were known for their ill treatment of their employees, long hours and dirty and unsafe conditions. In 1866, unions started to form to improve working conditions for the workers. A fundamental problem faced by democratic societies is as long as people live their lives individually and go their separate ways and be selfish individuals, they are unlikely to meet collectively to resolve issues. There needs to be meaningful unity among people to alleviate this problem to get people obliged to one another, so there is a willingness to sacrifice for shared goals. Bonding of its citizens creates a democracy. Unions seemed to offer the middle class a chance to become a crucial part of fostering institutions of constitutional democracy. The unions have went through several transitions, but have always worked for the working force. I will discuss the history of the various unions, their wins and losses, and the struggle of the employee to achieve democracy in the workplace.
In addition to these street demonstrations, there were massive waves of workers’ strikes in the mines and steel mills. At first, the government tried to threaten the protesters; the Committee of National Defense announced preparations for a national state of emergency. By the determination of the workers, the Communist realized that talks with the unofficial trade union were unavoidable. The actions of the workers’ forced the Communist regime to begin talking about the trade union movement called Solidarity.... ... middle of paper ... ...(1989 Twenty Years
The lessons and insights from this case that are still relevant for young workers and their allies today is that the women workers Woolworth’s strike was an example of solidarity and how by coming together to fight for equality you can make a change. These women were ordinary people, with no history in activism, they saw the victory of the General Motors sit-in and what they won, and said yes we want that too. This proves that anyone can do this, if you are being taken advantage of as a worker, you have options to come together collectively and engage in solidarity to make a change. When the 99% backs each other up to fight the 1%, you can win battles you never thought were imaginable. This was proven in the GM strike victory, the legendary Women Woolworth’s victory and their ripple affect to all the other strikes and victories which occurred in many other workplaces after.
When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister the first thing she wanted to do was limit union power. She felt that union power applied to nationalized industrial monopolies resulted in poor service at exorbitant cost to the taxpayers. She pointed to inefficient work practices, overemployment and restrictive employment conditions such as the all union “closed shop”. These rules were dictated by union contracts and served to tie the hands of managers and the government alike. Mrs. Thatcher’s greatest grievance concerned the powers union leaders had over strikes ( Moskin 100).
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...
There are many different approaches and theories regarding industrial relations nowadays. In order to mount an opinion on which is the ‘best’ or most appropriate theory of industrial relations, each theory will have to be analyzed. The three most prevalent theories of industrial relations which exist are The Unitarist theory, The Pluralist theory and The Marxist theory. Each offers a particular perception of workplace relations and will therefore interpret such events as workplace conflict, the role of trade unions and job regulation very differently. I will examine each of these theories in turn and then formulate my own opinion regarding which is the ‘best’ or most appropriate theory.
Industrial Relations is a multidisciplinary field dealing with the study of employment relationship in union and non-union organizations. There have been various theories of industrial relations in place, but the first and most influential theory was put forward by John Thomas Dunlop. Dunlop, as a labor economist, remodelled the work of sociologists and developed a framework of industrial relations system. He developed the System’s Theory which stressed on the interrelationship of institutions and behaviors that enables one to understand and explain industrial relation rules.