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The Labor Unions Unions have become commonplace in the labor arena. They provide employees with a valuable tool that allows them to stand together against their employer to make sure that their rights are upheld in the workplace. This paper will focus on labor unions with regards to how they work in two very different companies, Ford Motor Company and United Airlines. Also, a brief history will be outlined as well as legislation regarding unions. Many unions are at battle with their respected employers. Some of these fights are better known than other fights. United Airlines is trying to renegotiate contracts to save their company money. This has been a long battle for United, that some may see as having begun with the events of September 11, 2001. In truth, the International Association of Machinists, the union that represents a majority of United employees and United have been locked in a heated battle for some time now, even before the events of that September. By contrast, Ford Motor Company has had very little trouble recently with the union that represents the majority of their employees. The UAW has not gone on strike at Ford since 1976. The last time that Ford-UAW relationship even made the news was in 1999, when the UAW was negotiating their new contract. Comparatively speaking, the two companies could not be further apart when it comes to working with their respective unions. History Although some people trace the beginning of labor unions in the United States to the very beginning, when guilds men got off the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock, the beginning of the modern labor movement began in 1886. That is the year when Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor. The statement of the founders of the AFL reads in part: The various trades have been affected by the introduction of machinery, the subdivision of labor, the use of women's and children's labor and the lack of an apprentice system-so that the skilled trades were rapidly sinking to the level of pauper labor. To protect the skilled labor of America from being reduced to beggary and to sustain the standard of American workmanship and skill, the trades unions of America have been established. (AFL-CIO, 2002) The first major union strike in this country was the P... ... middle of paper ... ...8/2004 at http://money.cnn.com/2002/11/18/news/companies/ual/ Commission for Labor Cooperation (2002) “ United States Labor Law.” Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at http://www.naalc.org/english/publications/labormain.htm Encyclopedia Britannica, Online Edition (2002) “Labor History: United States.” viewed online at http://www.britannica.com International Assocaition of Machinists (2002) “Union Member ights and Officer Responsibilities Under the LMRDA.” Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at http://www.goiam.org/memberadvantages.asp?c=884 U.S. Department of Labor (2002) “The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.” Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at http://www.doleta.gov/programs/factsht/warn.htm U.S. Department of Labor: Occupational Health and Safety Administration (2002) “OSHA’s Mission.” Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at http://www.osha.gov/oshinfo/mission.html. United Autoworkers of America (2002) Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at http://www.UAW.org
It is the first national organization raised by the American working class. Social Labor Party was founded in 1876 to form the center of the socialist movement in the United States, the decline of the late 19th century. In 1901, the American Socialist Party stead. 1919 suddenly decline. In the same year, the US Communist Labor Party and the Communist Party of the United States was born. In 1921 the two parties merged, said the US Communist Party. In the same year the rapid collapse after losing presidential campaign, only Minnesota agrarian labor longer exists, it is the history of the United States effective local third party. In the mid-1880s, it had a huge number of members. Later, due to the leadership class cooperation policy in the late 1980s it declined sharply. American Federation of Labor (the “AFL”) then took its place. Its predecessor was the trade unions and the Confederation of Labor of the United States and Canada organized. The organization was established in November 1881 in Pittsburgh. 1886, launched the “51” national general strike, the end of the restructuring is to AFL Gompers President. American Federation of Labor was founded in 1881 was a great influence of labor organizations. It was a loose coalition of various trade unions organized by industry for skilled workers. Because of the leadership’s extraordinary organizational skills and it lasted as long as 40 years, the AFL has absorbed many
The case study of GMFC provides an example of a company attempting to avoid unionization of its workers. GMFC is expanding by building a new U.S. plant which will manufacture motorized recreational equipment. The company plans to hire about 500 production workers to assemble mechanical components, fabricate fiberglass body parts, and assemble the final products. In order to avoid the expected union campaign by the United Automobile Workers (UAW) to organize its workers, GMFC must implement specific strategies to keep the new plant union-free. GMFC’s planning committee offers suggestions with regards to the plant’s size, location, staffing, wages and benefits, and other employee relations issues in order to defend the company against the negative effects of unionization and increase...
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).
U.S. Labor History Unionism can be described as "a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment" (Smelser). 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).
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...
Reviewing the editorial entitled “Not Just Public Unions: Private Sector Unions Hurting Business” written by Mr. Stephen DeMaura, the author presents the issue of American Airline (AA) pilots not receiving the support from the Allied Pilots Association (ALPA), the AA pilots’ union. The editorial describes how the AA pilots’ union failed them by “… rejecting a concessionary contract offered by management. The contract included pay raises and a 13.5 percent stake in the company… (DeMaura, 2012). In order to look at why ALPA refused a contract which the airlines’ management put on the table for the benefit of their pilots, a look at the state of union relations within the airline industry in the United States needs to be reviewed. Nevertheless, at the end of doing a review why ALPA refused such a contract, it was the relentless efforts of the pilots to fight for their rights which changed what would have been a bad outcome for the pilots if they would taken ALPA’s representation.
Unions provide a vital service for employees and management by negotiating contracts, ensuring workplace safety, and representing employees in grievance hearings. While there are hundreds of unions in the United States, this paper focuses on three major unions, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Furthermore, this paper will compare and contrast these agencies, summarize their roles in optimizing employee relations with organizations, describe four challenges management and union officials face, and evaluate privatization as a means of breaking public employee unions.
...etween unions. In term of governance and administration, trade unions members were more comfortable with maintaining the status quo and concerned about being disenfranchised, leaders who are more worried about losing political base and staff who are unsure of where they will fit in the new organization if there any structural change (Fletcher and Hurd 2001).
“A Sorrowful Woman”, a short story by Gail Godwin describes a woman's tragic battle with depression. Throughout the story, the woman becomes emotionally, and eventually physically, detached from her family while she also attempts to regain her identity. At first, it was a struggle to perform her daily tasks around the house, often requiring medicine before she slept. Fortunately, her husband, ever so caring and understanding, takes up many of her duties while caring for his wife. However, as the husband inevitably grew weary and the woman's mental health deteriorated further, exemplified as she breaks down and questions her state of mind after hitting her child, they eventually hire a maid to look after the house and their child. At this point,
Young girls in the year 1971 were being raised to hold a family and marriage to the highest regards (jezebel.com). Young girls in that day were taught to believe that because of the economic recession they were in, getting married was a way to secure a stable life (learningenglish.voanews.com). “A Sorrowful Woman” discarded that notion in the beginning of the story by having the nameless wife and mother disgusted by the sight of her husband and child. The wife/mother grew tired of her position that many females dreamed of being in. She felt smothered by the episteme that she should love all the responsibly that comes with being a wife and mother.
Gail Godwin’s “A Sorrowful Woman” represents the feminist thoughts of a woman oppressed by a male dominated society. In society, a woman’s role is as a homemaker, however Godwin’s character refuses to accept the role given to her. Through the use of character development, Godwin is effectively able to bring light to how one could oppress a female despite what appears to be a happy home life.
Instead of caring her children, live with a good husband, works with boldly inside home as well as outside home. She has no problems to work outside home because her husband is understandable. In the other hand, the narrator states the character of the husband in the story “A Sorrowful Woman” the real heart of being a loving father and a husband. In the story, the husband showed all his support and patience of his wife by doing his wife’s roles and responsibilities. “He got up hours early, did the shopping, cooked the breakfast, took the boy to nursery school (Godwin pg. 41).” This makes the obvious, the character of her husband is a real loving husband, loving father, showed all his support, and be patience. The author of the story balanced the characters’ roles by praising a patience and understanding husband with an unsatisfied and selfish wife. She chooses the wrong decision in her life. At the end, she completely withdraws her life from her happy
In a sense Unions are the established form of communication between employees and their jobs. It is their job to fight for their employees’ rights. At the same time their end goal is to return their members to work. So while they may fight for better wages and pay, in reality they are negotiating with our bosses for enough pay and benefits to get the employees back to work. The sail analogy refers to how they make progress but in reality it is not enough progress. The unions are formed in defense of their members. They are put in place to preserve what they have already agreed on not to make huge changes. This is why they encourage the port blockade and general strike. At the end of the day the real power comes from the people. By interfering with the flow of capitalism it gives them more power at the
Unions are an organization that was set up by employees for employees. They have a collective goal that is to provide a better workplace, better wages and benefits. They were first created to ensure that there was worker safety and to allow for employees to have a word in the company. They gave employees the power to negotiate for other benefits through a collective bargaining agreement, where both employers and employee representatives try to reach agreements for the best possible work situations for both sides.
Labour and Employment Law. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western Publishing Company.