I think we should be able to decide whether or not we want to be part of a union. Only union members who want to be part of a union should have to pay dues for the benefits that a union provides. A union is like a type of insurance for which we have to pay to get its…
The National Labor Relations Act is a federal law that grants employees the right to form or join unions, engage in protected, concerted activities to address or improve working conditions or refrain from engaging in these activities. This act was passed on July 5, 1935. The idea behind the act was at that time was to protect employees from big manufacturers who demanded impossible hour and extremely low pay. Before this act was established works had the right to start or attempted to start a union, but it also allowed employers the right to fire them. This made it very difficult for works to start union in order to demand better pay and working condition.…
“We honor our past because it shapes our future,” this is one of the many quotes that Otterbein University holds dearly. Otterbein University holds this value greatly. Otterbein gives equality to all students, faculty, and others since 1847. Before any women’s rights and the abolishment of slavery, Otterbein University allowed people of color and women to receive a fair and equal education. Otterbein University is a mid-sized college located in Westerville, Ohio.…
Labor union can be democratic, because they represent the people/employees, and strive to do what is right by them. The union’s number one goal is to do what is best for the employees, so they too can flourish and reap the benefits that management enjoys because of their hard work. Collective bargaining is one of the best ways that a union can facilitate in acquire adequate wages for their members. For if it weren’t for the employees’ blood, sweat, and tears, which helped to make the company prosperous, there would be no profits for management to bask in. Labor unions can see both sides of the big picture, however, management and corporations are only interested in one, their own.…
At one time unions were very popular in companies for a variety of reasons. Before there were laws that advocated for the employee, unions were put into place to make sure employees were being protected and treated fairly by employers. Unions are on the decline in today’s society because of the new laws and their overall cost. While they are on the decline, unions are still very much present and Congress are currently hearing arguments as to why the NLRA, the act that can initially vote in a union, should be amended. Whether it is through an official election or just the signing of unionization cards, unions are established through the work of the NRLA and NRLB.…
The authors of “The Two Moralities of the Minimum Wage” view of labor unions “labor unions support a higher minimum wage by claiming to be concerned with the welfare of all workers, but in reality they see a minimum wage as an effective way of making it illegal for low skilled workers to compete against union members by accepting lower wages”. Most people would never think about labor unions like this. To most citizens the labor union is an organization that represents the collective interest of workers. However, that is just one opinion. Labor union actually helps…
Up to this the unions have managed to get skilled workers working at unions. Because of economy and unemployment rates sooner or later there may be issues regarding unions in the American Labors. In these last few years the United States has been dealing with a serious amount of unemployment issues. “Today, only 11.8 percent of American workers are union members; in the private sector, just 6.9 percent.” (CNN).…
On paper, unions seem to work very well, bringing in advanced benefits and a higher minimum wage. At the same time, unions always have the opportunity to be involved with strikes, and strikes can be a useful and effective strategy to get what you deserve. The flip side to this being, some people cannot afford to stop working so they can go on strike. I know this to be a factual statement because of the way they have affected my own family. In my grandpa’s life, strikes hurt more than they helped.…
The National Right to Work Committee (NRTW) says that labor unions are “outdated and no longer beneficial to their members, American workers as a whole, or the larger society”. They go on to encourage union members to drop their memberships, and for members (and agency fee payers) to cancel their dues payments. Of course, the NRTW’s rhetoric ignores the fact that union members earn significantly more than their non-union counterparts (BLS, p. 2; Yates, p. 40), are protected by collective bargaining agreements with their employers, and belong to organizations that “compel employers to listen to their employees and to respect them as human beings. Employers know these things, and this is why they fight our collective efforts so viciously and spread lies about them” (Yates, p. 46). The NRTW is just another employer-sponsored attack dog set loose to attack unions, collective bargaining, and worker organization.…
The labor unions were created to prevent these extremes between the wealthy and the poverty. Standing “for right, for justice, for liberty”, per N. F. Thompson in Reading the American Past, the labor unions wanted to create a better life for the laborers. Their goals were to, per Phillip Foner in Voices of Freedom, create “higher wages and better leisure time”, along with the reestablishing of men’s rights. Obviously, their goals were correct, both morally and…
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) has reigned as the primary labor federation to which the overwhelming majority of labor unions in the United States have historically belonged to, but this has not been without frequent contestation. Compare and contrast the AFL and 3 different competing labor organizations that we have discussed in class, including a discussion on leadership, policies, and organizing strategies (such as business unionism vs. social unionism). Use specific examples and cite your sources. It’s no secret that the American Federation of Labor(AFL) is has been the dominant Union has unionized the most workers in the United States.…
Since the birth of the United States in 1776, labor unions have existed in one form or another. Due to the dangerous working conditions, poor wages, lack of workers’ rights, and the practically sweatshop environments that existed here in that day is what drove people together to form labor unions. The people started labor unions with the ambition to protect the common interest of workers, fight for better wages, safer working conditions, give health benefits, stop child labor, and provide aid to those who were injured and cannot work or are retired. Additionally, over the decade’s unions have been suspected of being associated with organized crime and crippling industries. Early in 1768 our country the shoemakers from New York City and Philadelphia…
“If I could save the Union by freeing no slaves I would do it, if I could save the Union by freeing all of the slaves I would do it.” Abraham Lincoln’s thinking was that it was bad about slavery, but it was States’ Rights. It was only when the South was using slavery to support its illegal uprising that he functioned to free the slaves. Lincoln abhorred slavery, and always had. He didn't think the Constitution gave the President the power to act on it, but that didn't change his view that slavery was an abomination.…
In the article “The most Dangerous jobs” by Eric Schlosser, we here the story of a man who worked at a meat packing company. Kind and loyal to a fault, Kenny Dobbins gave arm and leg to the company, and turned down the unionized work force based on the things he heard from his supervisor. The company then proceeded to use him up until he had nothing left to give; then throw him away without so much as a warning. Union’s should be mandatory in meatpacking operations because, it provides a way for the work force to stick together and not be abused by management, it provides better safety measures and procedures, and it can increase the wages and benefits the employees get. If Kenny was a part of the union he would not have gone through the…
Labor unions are an alternative employment method and have been controversial since the beginning. A labor union is a group of workers that form together creating a union and make sure that fair working conditions are set and that employment regulations are met and not broken. Unions are a way for the working class to be heard by big business. Union supporters argue that individual workers are powerless against large businesses and corporations. In order to achieve fair wages and benefits, workers must bargain collectively.…