Transcript Labor Unions

Labor Unions
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Labor Unions
Trade Unions
Industrial
Unions
Right to work law
Closed shop
Union shop
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Strikes
Injunction
Mediation
Arbitration
boycott
 Labor Unions are groups of workers who band
together to have a better chance to obtain higher
pay, benefits and better working conditions
 Out of the 151 million in the civilian labor force,
only 14% of American workers belong to a union.
 That number has been falling since the 1980’s as
we have transformed our economy from
manufacturing to a service based economy.
 Development
 1800s
 Poor working conditions
 Workers fired for no reason
 Workers blacklisted
 Knights of Labor
 1st major union founded in
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1869
Organized all laborers men, women, AfricanAmericans
Terrence V. Powderly
1886 peak of membership at
700,000
Ended in 1900
 American Federation of
Labor (AFL)
 Organized in 1886
 Denied unskilled
workers, women,
African Americans &
immigrants
 Samuel Gompers
 Fought for higher
wages, shorter hours &
benefits for disabled
 By 1900 membership
reached 500,000
Samuel Gompers
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There are two types of unions:
Trade unions – workers who perform the same
skills
Industrial unions – bring workers together
who belong to the same industry
Organized labor has a three level hierarchy:
 local unions
 national unions
 federations
 Local unions are made up of workers in a factory,
company or geographic area.
 Usually identified with #s
 Negotiates a contract with a company and
monitors the contract terms
 Represents the National unions agenda, while at
the same time representing the desires of their
constituents
 National unions are the individual craft or
industrial unions that represent local unions
nationwide
 Help employees set up local unions and negotiate
contracts
 In certain industries, the national union negotiates
the contracts for the entire industry
 At the Federation level is the
AFL-CIO
 Represents 13 million workers
nationwide
 From 1955-2005, represented virtually all
unionized workers in the U.S.
Union Guessing Game
Amer. Federation of
Federal Employees
Amer. Federation of
Teachers
United American Nurses
American Postal
Workers Union
Airline Pilots Assoc.
 Closed Shop – Companies hire only union
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members
Union Shop – Workers must join the union
after a specified time
Agency Shop – Not required to join a union,
but must pay dues
Open Shop – Companies may hire workers
regardless of membership
Modified Union Shop – Workers given an
option to join a union after hiring
 In the past, some labor unions supported closed
shops, when a worker would have to first belong
to a union to be hired by a company.
 This was banned by the Taft-Hartley Act 1947
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Stopped the practice
of closed shops
 A common arrangement today is the union
shop, which allows companies to hire anyone
as long as they join the union shortly after
they begin working
 What we see in the South are modified union
shops, in which workers do not have to join a
union, but if they do join have to remain a
member for the duration of their employment.
 A majority of workers must vote in favor of a
union before one can be formed.
 The National Labor Relations Board makes
sure union votes are carried out honestly
 Process where union leaders & employers discuss
employment terms
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Once workers choose to be represented by a union,
the union is responsible for carrying out collective
bargaining.
Union and company representatives meet to
discuss conditions of employment such as:
1.
Wages
2. Work hours
3. Working conditions
4. Grievance procedures
5. Benefits
6. Work rules and
responsibilities
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Compromise is the issue
3 steps
Negotiation – Labor & management
meet to discuss contract issues
Mediation – A neutral 3rd party hears
both sides
Federal Mediation & Conciliation
Service provides a mediator
Arbitration – 3rd party makes a final
decision for a compromise. Has the
power of a judge and both sides agree to
accept the arbitrators decision.
1. These are groups of workers who band together to have a
better chance at higher wages, and better working conditions.
2. This practice was stopped with the passing of the TaftHartley act of 1947
3. This does not require workers to join a union, but workers
must still pay dues.
4. This type of union is made up of workers in a specific
factory, company or geographic area.
5. This type of union has workers who perform the same skills
6. This was the 1st major union that organized all laborers in
1869
7. Makes sure union votes are carried out honestly
8. A neutral 3rd party that helps management and laborers
reach an agreement
9. A neutral 3rd party that listens to both sides and decides on
a settlement for them.
 Worker/Union
 Strikes – workers refuse to work
 Picketing – used to discourage other
workers from working
 Boycott – Refuse to purchase goods or
services from the company
 Scab – Worker willing to work on company
terms
 Business/Management
 Lockout - in which the company blocks workers
from entering the workplace until they accept their
contract terms.
 Blacklist – A list of people who are denied
employment
 Businesses hope the loss in income will convince
workers to accept the companies position.
 Can ask the courts to issue an injunction, a legal
order from the court preventing some activity
(strike)
Ex. 1995 MLB season
 In severe or extreme labor-management dispute,
government may get involved.
 Can seize operations of an industry until conflict is
settled.
Ex. 1946 U.S. seized the coal industry because of
the countries need for this energy source.
Operation of the mines continued, until labor and
management came to an amicable agreement
Strike
Scabs/Strikebreakers
Picketing
Violence
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1869 – Knights of Labor founded
1882 – First Labor Day parade
1886 – AFL founded
1892 – Homestead Strike
1911 – Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire
1912 – Bread and Roses strike; Dept. Labor founded
1914 – Ludlow Massacre
1920 – Women get right to vote in US
1946 – Largest strike wave in US history
1947 – Taft-Hartley Act
1955 – AFL and CIO merge
1970 – Occupational Safety and Health Act passed (OSHA)
1981 – President Reagan breaks air traffic controllers strike
2013 – Union membership hits 97 year low (14.3 million union
members, 11.3% of population)
 Right to Work States
 Prevents unions from forcing workers to join
 Movement of Human Capital
 Rust belt – the North
 Sun belt – the South
 Factories & businesses moved from the rustbelt
to the sunbelt
 Weather was better
 Cheaper labor
 No existing unions
 White collar vs. Blue collar jobs
 White Collar = upper management
 Lot of news on white collar crime in big
business. Example: Enron, Merrill Lynch
 Blue Collar = working class, usually doing
manual labor
White collar workers
Blue Collar Workers
Right to Work States – Why does it matter?
• Consumer price • Reserve
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index
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Real GDP
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Inflation
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Monetary policy •
Fiscal policy
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Unemployment •
rate
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Discount rate
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Interest rate
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Federal Deposit
Insurance
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Corporation
Expansion
Boom
Contraction
Recession
Peak
Trough
Loose money
Tight money
Types of
unemployment
Black Tuesday
• Hooverville
• Glass-Steagall
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Banking Act
Federal
Securities Act
Franklin D.
Roosevelt
Herbert Hoover
The New Deal
Do you know their meanings?
Scarcity
Export
Tariff
Comparative advantage
Exchange rate
Balance of trade Free trade
Trade barriers Mandatory spending
Fiscal year
Appropriations bill
Intergovernmental Revenue Property tax
Automatic stabilizer Surplus
Revenue
Social security Debt
Quota
Entitlement program Excise tax
Income tax
14th amendment
Progressive tax
Balanced budget
 1. What is a revenue?
 2. List and explain 3 major types of U.S. taxes.
 3. How did the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Tea Act
of 1773 lead to the American Revolution?
 4. What was granted by the 16th amendment?
 5. What are intergovernmental revenues?
If an item has competing brands it
is defined as:
1. Complimentary
2. Mr. Freeze
3. Inelastic
4. Elastic
Many African countries have:
1. Traditional Economies
2. Command Economies
3. Market Economies
4. Laser Taser Watches
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The economy expands
Unemployment rises
Prices are inflated
The economy suffers a recession
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Bank of the District of Columbia
The Federal Reserve
The 2nd Bank of the US
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Natural resources
Labor
Capital
entrepreneurs
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Estate taxes
Excise tax
Income tax
Payroll tax
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The economy is booming and spending needs to
decrease
The FED is encouraging the national
government to borrow money from private
banks
The FED is attempting to loosen the money
supply to encourage more borrowing by
individuals
Businesses are experiencing record losses in
sales
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Minimal government interference
Minimal legal ground rules
Minimal private ownership
Minimal competition between businesses
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Money is more easily accessible with CD’s
Savings accounts do not accumulate interest
A person receives greater tax benefits with CD’s
CD’s accumulate higher interest compared to
savings accounts
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Rust Belt
Sun Belt
White Collar
Blue Collar