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Background of labour unions
Essay on the history of labor unions
Essay on the history of labor unions
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Introduction
Over the past thirty years or so, we have seen a great transformation in the world of work all over the world. Manufacturing as well as nationalization of industries and private sectors have largely expanded and employment has become more and more diverse. Memberships of trade unions has collapsed, for much of the private sector, collective bargaining has disappeared, as well as strikes. With these changes came a high rise in new human resource management and new employment practices too. The law that was once absent and in the background has now become increasingly dominant and influential. And the experience in the work place has now become even more pressured.
1. Labour organizations and Collective Bargaining
1.1. Collective Bargaining
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when employees/workers want an increase in their salaries). Human recourse management also plays a role in collective bargaining; their role is to serve as the middleman between the management (employer) and the unions. Human recourse also oversee that decisions between the two parties are mutual and they make sure that the decision made are in accordance with labour laws as well as their regulations. According to Derick (1998), collective bargaining extends to all negotiations which take place between employer, a group of employers, or one or more employer organizations on one hand and more workers on the other hand
This means that a group of workers can unite to gain more power and leverage in bargaining. The bargaining process may include many aspects but usually consists of wages, benefits, terms and conditions of employment. The notion of union came about in the 1700's. In the beginning, as it is today, workers united to "defend the autonomy and dignity of the craftsman against the growing power of the company" (Montgomery). These early unions had many names including societies, social societies and guilds.
Generally, the claims by the union are more persuasive than the counterclaims that were made by the company. This is because the union had credible arguments relating to the actual difficulties that the people were experiencing. For instance, the Union charged those who targeted the company through inappropriate labor approaches.
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.
The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease, starting in the 1960’s on to today. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries. The objective of this paper is to shine light upon labor unions, taking a closer look at the disputed issues of union ethics, concerns of union diversity, and the opposing viewpoints of labor unions.
Magic Carpet Airlines (MCA) is in the midst of a collective bargaining negotiation with a union and this paper will present the case from the union’s side of the bargaining table. First, one must understand the meaning of collective bargaining negotiations; this is when both sides of the negotiations discuss wages and others perks and then come to an amicable agreement. Collective bargaining is not a simple negotiation process, because the employer and the union usually meet on more than one occasion, due to the fact that union negotiators must keep their members informed during the process and they must also present any offers to their constituents for a yes or no vote to accept said terms being offered by the employer. The textbook offered the Magic Carpet collective bargaining as a case study and students were asked to analyze the issues being negotiated, determine ways
Precarious employment is work that is not secure, generally does not include any type of benefits, and is paid so lowly that it generally does not meet the living wage. This type of employment is unfortunately a growing trend in today’s societies due to many factors such as outsourcing, globalization, a saturated job market, shifts from manufacturing to the service sector and jobs also being replaced by computerized units. When speaking on precariousness these trends also affect European societies due to the fact that the outsourcing is generally to places where labour is extremely cheap in order to lower the costs of goods such as Asia and South America. This growing trend is also resulting in negative effects on the economy such as the bottoming out of the middle class and a large amount of citizens living below the poverty line and not able to earn a livable wage. Minimum Wage is on the incline, however, it is still not enough to live on practically and there are many other factors that make precarious work disadvantageous other than the wages such as job security and room for growth and promotion within the company. The negative changes to the job market brought on by the changes to it have resulted in higher expectations and demands from the employers which reduce the amount of people which are eligible for what are now known as “good jobs”. These good jobs generally entail a livable wage, benefits, more flexibility and better job security. Precarious work is categorized and gendered as women and immigrants make up the vast majority of employees in this type of work. Since precarious work affects citizens on a global scale, in this essay, there will be comparisons and contrasts drawn between precarious work in Canada ...
Sloane. A. A., Witney, F. (2010). LABOR RELATIONS (13th editions). Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ
The main themes addressed in this article are the generational changes within the workforce, the advancements in the economy that are affecting the workplaces and the changes in the work ethic of employees.
Work reform, as interpreted by the employer, is a modern concept that has at its core increases in efficiency and effectiveness and a content and stable workforce. Work reforms are a means to an end; the end being increases in efficiency, production, and profits in a volatile global market. Depending on which method is used, the goals are to motivate their workers to gain their compliance. By paying more attention to a workers values, attitudes, and psychological needs, etc. a company can set the foundation for a more militant workforce and perhaps circumvent unionization. A company can try to create a “corporate family”, for example, via a corporate culture to try to facilitate this type of reform. The implementation of a corporate culture is an attempt to get workers to “buy in” to the firm’s overall goals (Krahn, Lowe, Hughes, 2011 p. 244-248). Key themes include workers as human beings, organizational cultures, constant adaptation, co-operation, creativity, flexibility, work teams, doing more with less, continuous learning, flatter organizational structures, customer-service, and participative management, etc. The goals and motivations for work reform as it pertains to a workforce differ from those of firms. Workers see changes such as enhanced on the job decision-making, increased autonomy, a decrease in monotonous and arduous tasks, and more input into large company decisions(that will ultimately affect them) as positive. 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 co...
Working in today’s society has changed in the last few decades. The economy and technology are the main reasons for this change. The type of job and environment where one works has also changed. The fact that many people work from home via the internet has drastically changed the workforce and the environment surrounding it. With this change comes new demands, expectations, and opportunities for employers.
A collective bargaining agreement collectively sets the terms on which an employer offers individual work contracts to each of its employees in the bargaining unit. A bargaining agreement, also herein referred to as a labour agreement, is a legally enforceable written commitment, which states the rights and duties of all parties involved. The labour agreement should be made in good faith and is intended to be observed and not violated. The National Labour Relations Act obligates employers and unions to bargain in good faith concerning terms and conditions of employment, including hours and wages. Like any normal contract, competent parties must enter into a labour agreement. However, a labour agreement is unique from other legal contracts in that there is no consideration involved and nothing tangible is exchanged. Many, but not all, unions require formal ratification of a new labour contract by a majority membership acceptance, which is determined through vote by the members. Until majority approval of those voting in a ratification election is received, the proposed labour contract is not final. While each labour agreement is unique to the needs of an organization and its employees, most agreements include five issues: (1) Management Rights, (2) Union Security, (3) Wages and Benefits, (4) Individual Security (Seniority) Rights, and (5) Dispute Resolution. Management Rights “Management” is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals by making the best possible use of money, time, materials and people. The management process, when properly executed, involves a wide variety of activities including planning, organizing, directing and controlling. It is management’s role to perform all of these functions in order to maximize results.
It was once a common belief that if employees worked hard, showed up on time and followed the rules that they would be guaranteed a job for life. However, over the last decade there have been changes in the workplace. There are two main causes for this change. The changes in the work place in the twenty-first century are being caused by advancements in technology and expansions in globalization through the Internet.
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).
In Today’s world, the composition and how work is done has massively changed and is still continuing to change. Work is now more complex, more team base, depends greatly on technological and social skills and lastly more mobile and does not depend on geography. Companies are also opting for ways to help their employees perform their duties effectively so that huge profits are realized in the long term .The changes in the workplaces include Reduction in the structure of the hierarchy ,breakdown in the organization boundaries , improved and better management tactics and perspectives and lastly better workplace condition and health to the employees. (Frank Ackerman, Neva R. Goodwin, Laurie Dougherty, Kevin Gallagher, 2001)
The theory holds work to be governed by a wide range of formal and informal rules and regulations, which cover everything from recruitment, holidays, performance, wages, hours, and a myriad of other details of employment. It asserts that these rules are what industrial actors try to determine, that their establishment is influenced by the wider environmental context in which the actors operate, and that the actors themselves share an interest in maintaining the processes of negotiation and conflict resolution. On the back of these assertions four elements are held to make up the system of industrial relations rule-making. The first is industrial actors, which consists of employers and their representatives (i.e., employer associations), employees and their representatives (i.e., trade unions), and external agencies with an interest in industrial relations (i.e., government departments and labour courts). The second is the environmental context, which