Labor Laws and Unionization

Introduction

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.

Labor Laws

The Norris-La Guardia Act of 1932 was one of the first major pieces of federal legislation establishing the rights of unions and union members. This act granted workers the right to organize and strike without fear of federal interference (CSU-Global, 2013). Norris-La Guardia limited the ability of the federal government and employers to engage in anti-union activities (Fossum, 2012). Workers were no longer required to sign “yellow dog contracts” which prevented them from joining unions and allowed dismissal due to union membership (Reed & Bogardus, 2012, p. 419). Although it legalized collective bargaining, the scope of Norris-La Guardia was somewhat limited because employers were not required to recognize labor unions established by employees (Fossum, 2012). Even so, passage of the Norris-La Guardia Act gave workers a foundation on which to as...

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... to both the organization and the employee. Further, a more cooperative employer-employee relationship reduces the desirability of unionization.

References

Colorado State University-Global Campus. (2013). Module 7 – Labor Relations [Blackboard ecourse]. In MGT 570 – Managing Human Resources (pp. 1-5). Greenwood Village, CO: Author.

DeMaria, A. T. (2009). Pragmatic reasons to maintain union-free status. Management Report for Nonunion Organizations (Wiley), 32(11), 3.

Early, S. (2014). Saving our unions. Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine, 65(9), 15.

Fossum, J. (2012). Labor relations: Development, structure, process. (11th ed.). McGraw‐Hill. ISBN: 978‐0078029158

Reed, S. M., & Bogardus, A. M. (2012). PHR/SPHR: Professional in human resources certification study guide (4th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc. ISBN-13: 9781118289174