Labor unions and movements play a major role in the United States. Although they are treated synonymously, the labor movements encompass a broader scope than labor unions. Some of the examples of current labor unions and movements include National Guestworker, Domestic Workers United and Wal-Mart workers groups. The heart of the current labor initiatives in the United States can be traced back to the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Collier & Collier, 2002). The labor law was imperative since it was intended to put the power of the government behind the worker’s right to organize unions and bargain collectively with their employers on issues such as wages, hours and working conditions. In the last thirty years, labor unions have declined in both membership and influence. The primary reasons for the reduced labor unions include weak labor laws and employer opposition. This paper will entail an analysis of the labor unions and movements in the United States including their history, current status and impact on business.
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In the United States, the earliest form of labor organization constituted mutual aid societies that ensured restriction of entry into the craft and enforced workplace standards. The labor organization did not raise conflicts or cause problems since the craft workers were few and the companies were small (Collier & Collier, 2002). The origins of the labor movement can be found in the formative years of the nation during the emergence of a free wage-labor market in the artisan trades during the colonial period. The earliest strike in labor history took place in 1768 after the New York journeymen tailors protested a reduced wage. The creation of the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers) in 1794 marked the onset of sustainable trade union organization among workers in America (Collier & Collier, 2002). After that union, local craft unions increased in the cities, publishing the prices for their work and protecting their trades against diluted and cheap labor.
The industrial development in the early nineteenth century increased
the gap between employers and skilled workers. The workers began to think of
factories and industries as a threat to their wages and status. The workers
soon created fledgling craft unions to
resist undesirable working conditions. The craft unions sought to resist immediate wage reductions, increased working
hours and unsafe working conditions. The unions also aimed to protect their
political, social and economic rights. The unions moved from local to national
movements as both labor and product markets became national as a result of
improvements such as transportation (Collier & Collier, 2002).
Several factors inspired the early labor movement beyond the job
interest of the craft members. It harbored the ideals of a just society based
on the Ricardian labor theory of value and the republican
conceptions of the American Revolution (Brody, 1993). Such ideals and
revolutionary conceptions fostered social equality, honest labor and depended
on an independent and virtuous
citizenship. The industrial capitalism and the associated economic
transformations contradicted the labor’s vision. The solution as early labor
leaders saw it was to categorize the society into the poor and the rich. The
advocates of equal rights presented a series of reform beginning with the
workingmen’s parties. Some of the notable
labor reforms created included the Knights of Labor and the National Labor
Union (Brody, 1993).
During the 1880s, the labor unions reinforced their relationship
with trade unionism. The Knights of Labor recruited scores of workers with the vision of improving their immediate
conditions (Brody, 1993). A conflict occurred between the national trade unions
and the Knights of Labor as they performed their strikes. The national trade
unions demanded the Knights to remain within the professed labor reform
purposes. Their refusal led to the national trade unions uniting to form the
American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886 (Brody, 1993). The AFL took several
lessons from the fallen Knights that enabled it to consider the position of
collective bargaining as an acceptable compromise. The compromise was necessary in the face of the ongoing labor
strike that ranged from slowdowns to industrial sabotage through the
destruction of equipment (Reynolds, 1984).
The institution of the American Federation of Labor took place after
the previous strikes ended in the defeat of the existing
labor movements and unions. The new union was
convinced that the previous forms of unionization were diffuse and
fragment. The old unions did not stand a chance against the violence that the
companies could bring upon the workers. The leaders of the previous unions
organized themselves as a federation of narrow and self-interested unions
(Reynolds, 1984)
The new federation marked a separation with the past since it denied
labor reform further roles in the struggles of American workers and labor
reforms lost its meaning hence the confusion and ultimate failure of the
knights of labor due to industrialism. Trade unionism was defined as the movement of the entire working class (Reynolds, 1984).
The formal policy represented all workers, irrespective of skill, race,
religion, nationality or gender. Those unions that had created the American
Federation of Labor compromised only the skilled labor; therefore, the movement
encountered a dilemma.
A technological change began to undermine the crafting system of
production, some national unions moved towards an industrial structure, most in
coal mining and the garments trades. The trade union took a racist and sexist
coloration since skill lines tended to conform to racial, ethnic and gender
divisions. The federation reversed an earlier
principled decision and chartered the whites only international
association of machinist after it was unable to launch in interracial
machinists in 1895. In 1902, African Americans made up a meager three percent
of total membership (Reynolds, 1984).
Nothing better captures the displaced amalgam of old and new in the postwar
labor movement than the treatment of minorities and women who came in masses,
initially from the mass production industries.
After 1960, they also came from the public and service sectors as well. Labor’s historic dedication to racial and
gender equality was reinforced, but not to the point of challenging the status quo
within the labor movement itself (Brody, 1993).
The leadership structure remained largely closed to minorities. The
skilled jobs were historically reserved for the white male workers, notoriously
so in the construction but the industrial unions as well. The AFL played a
crucial role in the battle for civil rights legislation in 1964-1965 (Brody, 1993).
The meaning they derived in achieving this kind of reform was more significant
than the chance to act on the on the broad ideals of the labor movements.
This motivated to
the deployment of labors power with significant
effect in the achievement of John F. Kennedy’s domestic programs during
the 1960s. The weakening of organized labor’s grip on the industrial sector
contributed to the decline in political capability. New competitive forces
swept through the heavily ionized industries from the early 1970s onward set off by deregulation in communications and
transportation, by industrial restructuring, and by an unprecedented onslaught
of foreign goods (Montgomery, 2009).
The labor sector has experienced a significant decline from 1985 to
2012. During the administrations of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George
W. Bush, the labor movement did not experience significant changes. However,
the election of Barack Obama into the presidency in 2008 brought a glimmer of
hope to labor unions and movements in the United States (Montgomery, 2009).
Labor required the establishment of methods to ensure the certification of
newly organized unions. The Labor leaders advocated the Employee Free Choice
Act that would compel organizations to acknowledge and bargain with unions
provided that a majority of the employees requested
the representation of unions.
Currently, the labor unions and movements continue to lack the power
to influence the needed changes in the labor market. The unions anticipate
making a comeback despite the legislative defeat in 2009. The increasing trend
of outsourcing in the private sector is contributing to the decline in the
power of unions in that sector. The labor unions do not have power because of
the outsourcing of workers to other countries that provide cheap labor. The
pattern of union densities explains the problems affecting the labor unions.
The union density in the public sector was thirty-six percent between 1980 and
1985. In the industry, it reduced from
20.6% to 15.5% in the private sector during the same period (Zieger, 2004). The
reduced union density in both public and private sector shows the decline in
the power of labor unions and movements in America.
The changes in the labor unions and movements throughout history can
be ascribed to the dynamics between
workers and corporations. A negative relationship exists between labor unions
and the companies because of a variety of reasons. Business owners recognize
the potential to compete successfully in an economy. However, the potential is
attainable through flexibility in reducing wages, hiring and firing workers
(Zieger, 2004). It is also achievable through the addition of extra hours of
work and reducing the hours of free-time. Wages and salaries account for a
significant proportion of the overall costs. Currently, such costs are above
fifty percent, and corporations strive to ensure they remain at a minimum. The
result is the conflict between labor unions and business owners because of the
contradictory nature of their goals.
Labor unions and movements have several implications on businesses.
One of the impacts includes reduced profitability because of the increased
costs. The unions strive to ensure that their workers are rewarded deservedly
while the companies aim to increase their profits through the reduction of
costs including wages and salaries (Zieger, 2004). Labor unions also affect the
productivity of businesses since they affect factors that influence
productivity. The unions demand reduced working hours consequently leading to
diminished productivity in an organization.
In conclusion, labor unions and movements have a conflicting relationship with corporations as
evidenced throughout history. The labor unions are revolutionary and seek to
ensure the fair treatment of their workers. On the other hand, the corporations
strive to maximize profitability, and this entails reducing the costs involved.
They attempt to increase productivity through increased hours and reduced the
free time for the workers. The conflict of interests contributes to the struggle
between labor unions and business owners.
References
Brody, D. (1993). Workers in industrial America: essays on the twentieth-century struggle. Oxford University Press on Demand.Lewis, H. G. (1986). Union relative wage effects. Handbook of labor economics, 2, 1139-1181.Montgomery, D. (2009). Workers’ control in America: Studies in the history of work, technology, and labor struggles. Cambridge University Press.Reynolds, M. O. (1984). Power and privilege: Labor unions in America. Universe Pub.Zieger, R. H. (2004). American workers, American unions. Johns Hopkins Univ Pr.Collier, R. B., & Collier, D. (2002). Shaping the political arena (p. 53). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
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