Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
M2A1 Short Paper: Genesis of Labor Unions
What is the relevance of Unions in the year 2020 and looking beyond
Essay on labor unions in the united states
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: M2A1 Short Paper: Genesis of Labor Unions
The act of unionizing, in any sense, shows the strength and oneness of a group of people. Whether it is the unionization of a school group or on a larger scale the unionization internationally, it is the ideal step in forwarding a group effort to move away from despicable acts of inhumanity and into the world of liberation. Such is the step needed to be taken in Bangladesh; where children are forced to work, where “minimum wage” is non-existing and gender discrimination is a constant up rise. Unionists in Bangladesh are facing much scrutiny even till this day. There have been reports of torture, arrests and even deaths that went into the valiant effort to gain the basic working privileges they so rightfully deserve. Creation of labor unions in the Bangladeshi textile industries are necessary to bring about better working conditions and protection of equal employment opportunities for the country’s people. These include labor regulations such as, child labor laws and gender wage regulation, which can be brought about by lobbying the government and organized striking by labor unions.
Beginning with the post- Civil War response to a deficit in the social and economic impact of the industrial revolution, a labor Union is a representative for the work force of a specific industry. They provide actions that deal with management over violations regarding the work force. These activities include regulation of workers rights, minimum wage, benefits, and better working conditions for the members of said labor union. The U.S is the leader in exemplifying a labor union - they have proven labor unions to be the best way to handle a course of action. Upon need, a labor union provides access to striking, lobbying the government and petitioning ...
... middle of paper ...
...should be the first step in organizing a labor union. Showing that a group can unite and make a difference by notifying their elected officals proves to a nation that not only is change necessary but the people are willing to get their voice heard.
Gender Wage Regulations
In Bangladesh the wages of women are significantly lower than that of men. Within this gender discrimination is a factor that plays a role. In Gener Wage Discrimination in Rural and Urban Labour Markets of Bangladesh by Salma Ahmed and Pshkar Maitra it is stated that, “few opportunities are made available to [women] at the workplace and they are significantly under-represented in the political sphere,” (83). Statistics show that women earn about 50% of a mans income. Such inequality is the result of a governmental problem, that can be fixed through actions that only a labor union can provide.
To conclude this analysis on the basis of the labor’s extensive history, Sloane & Witney (2010) propose, “it is entirely possible that labor’s remarkable staying power has been because of the simple fact that to many workers, from the nineteenth century to the present, there really has been no acceptable substitute for collective bargaining as a means of maintaining and improving employment conditions” (p.80). In the end, it is important to anticipate unions and employers presently work together to find solutions that will enhance collective bargaining strategies and practices to serve the interest of both parties.
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 of collective bargaining. It is because of these grass roots that America’s organized labor has continued to grow to this day, however unchallenged. The challenges unions face today stem directly from the challenges faced in 1875.
Previous to the fire, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union took a stand with the Women’s Trade Union League to strike against the their working conditions. Unfortunately, even though their voices were heard, many of the sweat shop owners disregarded all basic workers’ rights. Management had no fear from
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.
Union affiliation was first seen in the 1600’s when the roots of the United States were just being planted with skilled trade groups such as artisans, laborers, goldsmiths and printers. Over the next two hundred years, unions developed their desires for higher wages through the use of strikes and protests. The nation’s progress spurred the need for more labor and so began the Industrial Revolution. During the Revolution, many union members began to witness the power that employers had and as a result decided to make use of the concept of power in numbers. The National Labor Union formed in 1866 and worked to persuade congress to set a Federal eight-hour workday, which applied to government employees (Miller). Many large unions formed following in the NLU’s footsteps and uni...
The development of the current worker has as well changed the functions of unions. The normal concentration of union officials has been working on the behalf of employees when discussing with bosses, however when urbanized economies move away from a dependence on manufacturing, the line separating manager and worker becomes unclear. In addition, mechanization, computers and improved worker efficiency results in lesser number of staffs being required to sort out a similar occupation. Union insists for least pay rises that the management finally approves, if it is impossible due to the current situation then it would be granted. Smallest amount salary increases the work expenses for companies using low-skilled workers. This reduces the breach connecting the earnings proportion of less experienced and more experienced staff; staffs that are more knowledgeable are expected to be epitomized by a union. ...
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).
The 1930-50’s golden era of organized labor is over and has lost the energy it had once had as a unifying factor in the lives of workers in the U.S. There are many factors to this decline, but image is very influential in the creation and influence of unions in two ways: externally and internally. Externally, the union’s ideology and actions attract workers into becoming members of a union and how government responds to a union’s beliefs and actions. Internally, union’s are run democratically, where workers choose who will represent them in negotiations with employers, which should give some benefits to the majority of the workers in the union. Organized crime's infiltration into labor unions has rotted the image of unions who represent workers looking to defend themselves against employers and achieve a stable livelihood. The history of labor and organized crime are undoubtedly linked because at times they would use each other to further their own means: the most famous of these links would have to be on James Hoffa. Organized crime and corrupt union officials influence on unions will still exists and although crackdowns throughout the decades have made some progress I doubt that they will be removed entirely from labor.
Unions are voluntary associations joined by workers. The Combination Act of 1800, which hindered the growth of unions, states that every workman's goal, who are entering into any combination should not be obtaining an advance of wages, or to lessen or alter the hours, or influencing any other to quit his work. Any workman who did so shall be committed to jail (Doc 1). Although the Combination Act of 1800 prevented the growth of unions, Ralph Chaplin believes that a worker should join the union. He states that there can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun, but the unions, which makes it strong (Doc 2). Since there's so many workers working in bad conditions, the labor laws came to action.
Organized labor, during the period from 1875-1900, had drastic effects on the lives of factory workers. Labor unions not only sought to improve working conditions; they wanted to have a large impact on society as a whole as well. These unions also altered feelings toward organized labor.
The balance of power between management and labor has long been an issue. Historically, employers had the upper hand, and workers were afforded few rights in terms of pay, working conditions, or fair treatment (Fossum, 2012). Individual workers found that they had little influence over their own work situations and were frequently at the mercy of employers. Over time though, some progress was made in drawing attention to the plight of workers. The power of organizing began to give groups of workers some voice in workplace matters. Unfortunately, however, initial attempts at unionization of workers during the nineteenth century were short-lived and often marked by violence (Fossum, 2012). It was not until the twentieth century that major legislation gave unions a sense of legitimacy and workers slowly gained some leverage in the employer-employee relationship.
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 modern world has resulted in earnings, wages and salaries for the women similar to that of men, but the women are continuously facing inequalities in the work force (Andal 2002). This2 can be attributed to the pre-established notion that women shall not be given access to finance or communication with the world outside of the home which is highly unethical and unfair (Eisenhower, 2002). In the past, they were considered as the underprivileged ones which were not thought of having equal rights but this fact has changed now. The status of women can be explicitly defined as the equality and the freedom of the women.
...ds & Gelleny, 2007). Moreover, the status of women is independent on policy adjustments in developing countries. Governments in developing countries should organize an economically and political stable environment, to be economically attractive (Maxfield, 1998 as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Other critics state governments are forced to cut expenditures in education and social programs. This phenomenon especially affects women (Ayres and McCalla, 1997, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Since the public sector is one of the main employers of females, women are often the most disadvantaged by governmental efforts to cut expenditures in the public sector (Hemmati and Gardiner, 2004, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). As a result, women will become unemployed and unable to expanded education among themselves or their children. (Richards & Gelleny, 2007)