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The role of unions presently
The role of unions presently
Unions in America today
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It was a late night in Jamaica and I was ready to go home after a relaxing weeklong vacation, however to my dismay I would find out that my flight would be delayed. You may think this was due to inclement weather or perhaps technical difficulties but, no, it was because the staff went on strike. This strike resulted in my flight being delayed 18 hours. Everyone was furious, not only did we not get to go home but we would also have to miss work, school, etc. Labor unions affect the lives of people in different demographics, from blue-collar workers, to white color workers, to students, to stay at home moms, and even retirees. Do labor unions have a positive or negative effect on the economy and human rights of a person? Even though my experience with labor unions has not been so pleasant, I am still indeed in favor of them because of all the positive effects that they bring. Through my research and analysis of labor unions, I have examined one side that provides that unions have a positive effect and the other side conversely stating that it has a negative effect. From all of my collected data I have deduced that the positives of labor unions significantly outweigh the negatives. In this paper I will first and foremost define labor unions and how they operate. Second, I will explain what happens when labor unions are not in place. Then, I will describe how unions advance and protect workers rights. Next, I will explain why labor unions are necessary for a middle class. Finally, I will explain why labor unions are productive in a democratic government. Before you can form an opinion on unions, you must first understand how they operate. Labor unions are organizations of wageworkers in a specific field that lobby their specific inte... ... middle of paper ... ...gregating millions of small-dollar donations from members (Sachs 152). When money has such a big impact on the government it is good that the middle and lower class can be represented because of unions. This gives them a voice in a government that they otherwise would not be heard in. Labor unions have had a huge impact in policymaking. Labor unions played a central role in the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “As Representative Richard Bolling, one of the Act’s leading supporters, put it, ‘We never would have passed the Civil Rights Act without labor. They had muscle; the other civil rights groups did not’”(Sachs 170). In addition “labor was the most powerful single source of pressure amongst supporters”(Sachs 170) for the enactment of Medicare. It is obvious that unions play a huge role in proving a voice in government for lower and middle class citizens.
The ethical issue in this situation is the willingness of the company’s director to prevent the employees from organizing in union. Among others, the company’s director try to use unfair tactic like diversion, intimidation, manipulation, termination of job contract and threat to shut down the company leading to massive loss of job. In an ethical standpoint, these tactics are wrong.
Before I took this class I had heard about unions in workplaces but did not know exactly what they were. In the museum it was said that the black Pullman Porter employees were able to form a union for the first time. When these employees met in secrecy to talk about their working conditions they were already a union; an informal union. In now days, they did not have to be recognized by their employer as a union to be a union. The Pullman Porters were coming together in solidarity as a brotherhood; standing together in strengthening numbers.
They concentrated on higher wages, shorter hours, and personal issues of workers. The American Federation of Labor’s main weapon was walkouts and boycotts to get industries to succeed to better conditions and higher wages. By the early 1900’s, its membership was up to ½ million workers. Through the years since The Great Depression, labor unions were responsible for several benefits for employees. Workers have safer conditions, higher paying jobs to choose from, and better benefits negotiated for them by their collective bargaining unit.
Modern democratic ideas were sprouting in America, especially within the organized labor movement from 1875 to 1900. During this period, blue-collar industrial Americans sought to abate their plight through the formal use of collective bargaining and the voice of the masses; seeking to use their strength in numbers against the pocket-heavy trusts. America’s rise in Unions can be traced back to 1792, when workers in Philadelphia formed America’s first union which instituted the avant garde method collective bargaining. It is because of these grass roots that America’s organized labor has continued to grow to this day, however not unchallenged. The challenges unions face today stem directly from the challenges faced in 1875. The organized labor movement from 1875 to 1900 is to blame for the problems unions face today as early labor unions crucified themselves politically, alienated themselves socially and failed to increase the socio-economic position of the worker, and in many cases only succeeded in worsening such positions.
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.
Domhoff discusses the prevalence of labor unions in the New Deal era. In fact, by 1945, with the help of the liberal-labor alliances, union membership had increased five-fold to fifteen million in that past decade (pg. 172). However, after 1945, the liberal-labor alliances never saw a victory against corporate conservatives. Because of the corporate world’s domination of policy implementation, politicians rules time and again against labor unions because it works in corporate America’s favor. Labor unions serve as many working class Americans’ avenue into the political sphere; denying them a right to unionize is not only a fundamental violation of free speech but also morally and ethically wrong. Overall, Domhoff’s critique of wealthy politicians (primarily Republicans) is merited considering he argues empirically with statistics supporting extremely skewed voting trends against unions. Additionally, Domhoff’s argument exudes sympathy toward those less fortunate; I share Domhoff’s sentiment that is imperative we promote equality amongst classes, one way in which we should do so is through advocacy of labor
Wallerstein, M. & Western, B. 2000. Unions in Decline? What Has Changed and Why? Annual Review of Political Science. 3: 355-377.
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.
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...
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.
The paper will discuss minicases on ‘The White-Collar Union Organizer’ and ‘The Frustrated Labor Historians’ by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney (2010), to understand the issues unions undergo in the marketplace. There is no predetermined statistical number reported of union memberships in this country. However, “the United Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) excludes almost 2 million U.S wages and salary employees, over half of whom are employed in the public sector, who are represented at their workplaces by a union but are not union members. Not being required to join a union as a condition of continued employment, these employees have for a variety of reasons chosen not to do so. Nor do the BLS estimates include union members who are currently unemployed” (Sloane & Witney, 2010, p.5). Given this important information, the examination of these minicases will provide answers to the problems unions face in organizational settings.
However, unions do take an active part in politics. Traditionally, unions have received more support from the NLRB during times during Democratic administrations. Fossum writes that Democrats in Congress are “more likely to promote legislation favored by labor unions and to appropriate funds for activities that unions support”. Union members, in general, tend to be more politically conservative than the union leaders, and between 20 to 40 percent of members believe that unions should not be overly involved in politics. However, there is evidence that the more political activity by unions in the public sector, the higher the salary levels and number of jobs available (Fossum,
After the Civil War, many ideologies developed into the United States of America. Some of these ideologies included the free labor ideology and the producerist ideology. Free labor endorsed the belief that by removing slavery, or any other kind of barrier, everyone had an equal chance to try to get wealth (Farless). The producerist ideology tried to stay to the customary view of society and it stressed the importance of viewing the community instead of an individual (Farless). With these two ideologies, they had an impact on labor. By believing in the producerist ideology, people would be staying with tradition, and that leaves no change for our world. Many laborers wanted change, which led to problems for the laborers.
Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).
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...