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History of unions and their impacts on employers (peer reviewed)
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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
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.
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...
Organized labor has seen a long and ever changing history in the United States. What began as minimal organized labor movement catapulted into astronomical union membership rates as the nation grew and developed. The intense power unions possessed only lasted so long and in the years since 1970, union membership in the United States has collapsed. This paper will examine the most significant reasons for the decline in membership. In brief, organizational redesigns, the development of technology and substantial public policy changes have all contributed to the drop in affiliation rates. In addition, policy suggestions will be provided in an attempt to support the continuation of the trend. Much of the research regarding this topic refers to unions consisting of unskilled labor however it is obvious that most members are individuals who are highly trained in a specific trade. Because of this, the terms unskilled labor and trade labor will be used interchangeably.
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.
Have you ever wondered what life would have been like if labor unions never existed? Labor unions were originally formed to help improve the worker’s low wages, their horrible working conditions, and lower the hours they work a day. “ Unions are powerful by the power of members acting together, linking arms, figuratively and literally, taking a stand , and forcing their agenda on either their employers or political representatives” ( Asher 650).Unions are only powerful if everybody is working together, if one person does something wrong, the whole organization fails. Labor unions formed after the Civil War as a response to the modern Industrial Economy. Labor Unions impacted workers everywhere by helping increase wages, better working conditions, and better benefits.
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).
“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,
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.
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).
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
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.
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
Labour and Employment Law. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western Publishing Company.
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.