Across the United States there has been a decline in union membership. Looking back as far to 1954 the union work force had peaked at 34.7% but has since been in decline. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total number of union members fell by 400,000 in 2012 to 14.3 million even though the nation’s overall employment rose by 2.4 million (Greenhouse, 2013). In 2011 the percentage of union workers was 11.8% and in 2012 dropped to 11.3%, which is the lowest union membership has been since 1916. The percentage of private sector unions in 2012 was down to 6.6%, which left many labor specialists questioning whether private sector unions were sinking towards irrelevance (Greenhouse, 2013). What are the reasons for this decline? And what does this mean for the future of private sector unions? This essay will take a lot closer look at these two questions. Rich Yeselson writes in his essay entitled “Fortress Unionism”, that the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 was the beginning of the end for private sector unions. He says that the Taft-Hartley act “stopped labor dead in its tracks at a point when unions were large, growing, and confident of their economic and political power.” He believes that without this law, that restricts the activities and power of labor unions, the U.S. would not have seen union density flatten and then make a dramatic decline, but rather would have seen Union membership continuing to thrive. “Taft-Hartley meant unions needed more and more lawyers to untangle the welter of laws, decisions and contract that now ensnared labor” (Yeselson, 2013). Another point the article makes was that the workers recent attempts to form new unions were not strong enough because it is harder to organize on a large... ... middle of paper ... ...embership Decline: Competing Theories and Economic Implications." CRS Report for Congress (1993): E-Reserves. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. Plumer, B. (June 13, 2013). Do private-sector unions still have a future in the U.S.?. In The Washington Post. Retrieved February 24, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/06/13/do-private-sector-unions-still-have-a-future-in-the-u-s/. Sherk, J. (February 1, 2013). Why Union Membership is Declining. In The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved February 24, 2014, from http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2013/1/why-union-membership-is-declining. undefined. (undefined). The Fair Labor Standards Act. In United States Department of Labor. Retrieved April 2, 2014, Yeselson, R. (2013). Fortress Unionism. In Deomocracy A Journal of Ideas. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://democracyjournal.org/29/fortress-unionism.php.
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.
Manifest Destiny, defined by the letter written by John O'Sullivan in 1839, is "for this blessed mission to the nations of the world, which are shut out from the life-giving light of truth, has America been chosen; and her high example... where myriads now endure an existence scarcely more enviable than that of the beasts of the field". In this also shared what I believe is his view on the purpose of western expansion. He discusses the " beasts of the field", meaning the animals the Native Americans follow, are slightly less enviable than a large number of the people already residing in America. Therefore, the mission of the United States is to spread their ways and the word of God to those who live a "savage" lifestyle.
David W. Blight's book Beyond the Battlefield: Race, Memory and the American Civil War, is an intriguing look back into the Civil War era which is very heavily studied but misunderstood according to Blight. Blight focuses on how memory shapes history Blight feels, while the Civil War accomplished it goal of abolishing slavery, it fell short of its ultimate potential to pave the way for equality. Blight attempts to prove that the Civil War does little to bring equality to blacks. This book is a composite of twelve essays which are spilt into three parts. The Preludes describe blacks during the era before the Civil War and their struggle to over come slavery and describes the causes, course and consequences of the war. Problems in Civil War memory describes black history and deals with how during and after the war Americans seemed to forget the true meaning of the war which was race. And the postludes describes some for the leaders of black society and how they are attempting to keep the memory and the real meaning of the Civil War alive and explains the purpose of studying historical memory.
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.
A true war story blurs the line between fact and fiction, where it is neither true nor false at the same time. What is true and what is not depends on how much you believe it to be. In the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story” from the novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the author provides various definitions to how the validity of a war story can be judged. The entire chapter is a collection of definitions that describe the various truths to what a true war story is. Unlike O’Brien, who is a novelist and storyteller, David Finkel, the author of “The Good Soldiers”, is a journalist whose job is to report the facts. Yet in the selection that we read, chapter nine, Finkel uses the convention of storytelling, which relies heavily on the stories the combat troops tell each other or him personally. Finkel attempts to give an unbiased view of the Iraq war through the stories of the soldiers but in doing so, Finkel forfeits the use of his own experiences and his own opinions. From O’Brien’s views on what a true war story is combined with my own definitions, I believe that Finkel provides a certain truth to his war stories but not the entire truth.
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.
Wallerstein, M. & Western, B. 2000. Unions in Decline? What Has Changed and Why? Annual Review of Political Science. 3: 355-377.
The quote, “Ignorance is bliss,” by Thomas Gray is a seemingly adequate description of the lives of Gene, Finny, and Leper until they are all roughly jolted out of their fantasy world and brought back to reality. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles does an acceptable job of showing how disillusionment can greatly impact and, thus, change the lives of people. The book showcases the cycle of disillusionment and the ramifications it implies. Throughout the book, we see Gene, Leper, and Finny’s views on the world change. This all culminates in Gene being elevated to a higher level of understanding of the world and seeing the truth about Devon and the war. The illusions created by Finny and Leper are also taken on by Gene, and he, in turn, shares in their disillusionment. Overall, disillusionment is a part of life and often serves as a tool to help many people grow and learn from the past.
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.
The United States’s industrialization lead to a great boom in both economic and population growth, allowing businesses to flourish. With more money and workers at their disposal, employers often would often mistreat workers, suddenly cutting their wages or firing them. With only profit in mind, industries eventually became monopolized and the conditions of workers only worsened. Defenseless and barely able to survive, laborers soon found power in uniting with each other, leading to the establishment of American labor unions during the Gilded Age. They provided workers with necessary protection from their employers’ capricious decisions, and while their presence elicited fear in business owners, unions eventually bettered the standard of living for the American proletarian through compromise.
The Industrial Revolution that took place after the Civil War made for a more economically sound country. American workers, however, were becoming more and more dependent upon their wages; a fear of unemployment also stemmed from this. Workers didn’t share in the benefits that their employers reaped. In a chart representing the hours and wages of industrial workers, from 1875 to 1891, it shows that even though their wages were subtly increasing, their 10-hour work day remained the same (Doc. A). Factories were headed by large corporations; this, in turn, meant that new machines lessened the amount of workers in certain fields. As a result of these unsuitable conditions, labor unions were formed. The challenges that these unions faced weren’t easy. If the workers involved in organized labor got too far out of line, these corporations could get federal authorities involved. Moreover, these companies could enforce “ironclad oaths” upon their employees. In a Western Union Telegraph Company employee contract, in 1883, it states that the employee will not be affiliated with any societies or organizations (Doc. E). Despite such setbacks, by 1872 there were over 32 national unions.
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 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.
In the past, workers worked long hours in the worst of working conditions six days a week with little pay. Now a days, that is unheard of, and illegal. Unions have contributed much to eliminate all of the injustices in the labor force. Unions have advocated for labor laws and regulations that protect workers in the labor force. As a result, the National Labor Relations Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act were passed. Unions act as the voice of the workers by identifying where laws and regulations are needed. According to the article “Unions Today” on UnionPlus.com, “Employers are trying to shred responsibility for providing health insurance, good pensions coverage, reasonable work hours and job safety protections”. Employers these days are trying to get away with not having to pay for health benefits for their employees, especially now that Obamacare is in effect. This is affecting workers today because people are losing their jobs or are given less hours, therefore making it hard for them sustain themselves or a family. In today’s economy prices are only going up, so having a job is necessary. With unions, Americans can demand better pay and more work hours f...
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...