Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Trade unions modern studies
Disadvantages of trade unions
Trade unions modern studies
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Trade unions modern studies
Union renewal depends largely on increased member participation, generating and maintaining strong collective identities and mobilization of union resources. It was further contended that collective identities are not given, but constructed and sustained through narrative framing and engagement of individuals. These processes highlighted the importance of trade union leaders’ ability to construct and sustain workers’ collective identity and interest via strategies which seek to broaden the relevancy of trade unionism. In a time when worker collectivism is in a decline, the relevant question is to what extent is this possible? According to Muckenberger (1995), the decline of trade unionism in terms of density and the importance of trade unions as socio-political actors are often interpreted as representing the decline of worker collectivism. The underlying assumption that were put forth of the decline from literature has been the ascendancy of individualization over collectivism. There has a socio-cultural transformation whereby working class values of collectivism have given way to more individualistic orientations (Hyman 1999). Trade unions were formerly built on pre-existing solidarities such as the principle of collective identity that predated capitalist employment relationships. Collective experience at work was complemented by domestic life in nearby shared recreational, cultural and religious pursuits. In a nutshell, trade union was an institution embedded in an encompassing social landscape (Hyman 2002). The shift from collectivism to individualism was the result of the growth in affluence, skills level and geographical mobility, which enable acquisitive individualism overriding collective interests (Brown 1990). It was fu... ... middle of paper ... ... a national labour centre that is representative of trade unions in Malaysia, it is in the process of rebranding itself as serious political actor in light of new opening, with broader aggregation of political and social interest. This research intend to looks at ways in which union leaders in MTUC is going to construct its identity and organization and reshape Malaysian workers’ views on the nature of trade unionism. In conclusion, it is argued that structural factor such as level of employment and institutional and legal frameworks of industrial relations create more or less favourable condition for collectivization of workers. However, they themselves may not generate workers’ collectivism, since collective identities are not given, but constructed and sustained through narrative framing and engagement of individuals by union leaders and activists.
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.
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.
The union labor movement blossomed early in the century, as membership grew from 2.0 million members in 1910 to 18.0 million members in 1953. However, by 1980 membership was only slightly higher at 20.0 million members. During that time, membership growth was relatively consistent in that it never really declined a significant amount. After 1980, union membership began to decline sharply. In 1985 membership was already back down to 18 million members and by 1990, the number of union members was hovering near 16 million members. As a percentage of the total employment in the economy, unions grew from only 13% in 1935 to 32% in 1953 and have fallen steadily since 1955. In 1980, labor union roles had decreased to 23% and by 1990, the figure had shrunk ev...
Wallerstein, M. & Western, B. 2000. Unions in Decline? What Has Changed and Why? Annual Review of Political Science. 3: 355-377.
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.
Industry deregulation, amplified contest and toil mobility have made it extra hard for traditional unions to maneuver. In current decades, unions have experienced partial expansion because of transferal from "old economy" industries, which often implicated manufacturing and big companies, to lesser and medium-sized companies exterior of manufacturing. In the current past, prospective union associates have increase into a bigger number of companies. This leads to negotiating collective bargaining being difficult job, as union’s officials have to work with a bigger number of well-versed managers and most of the times have a difficult time systematizing employees. Therefore, the management ends up having the day by giving what they had brought to the table of negotiations (Greenhouse 1).
Print. • Brody, David. Steelworkers in America: the Nonunion Era. University of Illinois, 1998. Print.
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.
Labor unions were established as a way for workers’ needs and grievances to be heard by management. According to Fossum (2012), “forming a union creates a collective voice to influence change at work” (p. 7). The collective voice of workers in a union holds much more power than any single employee’s voice. It can loudly draw attention to mistreatment or abuse of workers. The organized collective voice of workers demands to be treated in a fair way by its management in terms of wages, hours, benefits, and working conditions.
Even though the very purpose of a union is to defend the interest of its members, the company could also use the instrument to promote the official point of views of the company’s management. In clear, the union and the management could work in good intelligence to promote the interest of worker and the interest of the company. Generally, the problem between management and union come when they one as another as an adversary and not as a partner. To be more constructive and create a working atmosphere profitable for both parties, union and company’s management need to work side by side to address real problems. Thus, worker must understand that the best job security for them comes primarily from the existence of the company and so their union should not be a mean for jeopardizing the company’s purposes. Similarly, the management must also understand that he will not achieve his annual goals unless the workers are well treated and the condition of work meet the standards set by official rules and regulations. This is a clear psychological contract between the company and it workers. The success of the company depends heavily on the respect of that psychological contract. Personally, I will play the role of a mediator between my boss and the worker who want to unionize and explain. I will clearly explain to my boss the benefit of having a union in the company and also explain to the worker the necessity to help the company increase it performance by working harder. And the union should not be a tool for undermine the efforts of the management to achieve better
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.
Amai- ambiguity: more than one intended meaning for Japanese words. The Japanese are generally tolerant of ambiguity. Expressing oneself ambiguously and indirectly is expected in Japanese. Pg 9
The pluralistic approach accepts the legitimacy of workers forming themselves into trade unions to express their interests, influence management decision and achieve their objectives. The pluralistic approach sees conflicts of interest and disagreements between managers and workers over the distribution of profits as normal and inescapable. The role of managers/management would lean towards enforcing, controlling, persuading and coordinating. Trade unions play an important role in this approach, being that employees can join unions to protect their interests and influence decision making by the management. Trade unions balance the power between management and employees, hence its an important factor in this approach and industrial
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.