Higher wages! Shorter workdays! Better working conditions! These famous words echoed throughout the United States beginning in "1790 with the skilled craftsmen" (Dessler, 1997, p. 544). For the last two-hundred years, workers of all trades have been fighting for their rights and "seeking methods of improving their living standards, working conditions, and job security" (Boone, 1996,p.287). As time went by, these individuals came to the conclusion that if they work together collectively, they would grow stronger to get responses to their demands. This inspired into what we know today as labor unions. "A labor union is an organized group of workers whose purpose is to increase wages and influence other job conditions for its members" (Parkin, 1998,p.344). .
These labor unions can be divided into two types: craft unions and industrial unions (World, 1998). A craft union is "a union whose membership is restricted to workers who possess an identifiable skill" (Robinson, 1985,p. 69). These members tend to be better educated and trained, and more unified because of common interests (World, 1998). An example of a craft union is the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (World, 1998). On the other hand, an industrialized union "is a group of workers who have a variety of skills and job types but work for the same industry" (Parkin, 1998, p. 344). Unions of this type include the United Steelworkers, United Auto Workers, and the United Transportation Union (Boone, 1996).
History from the 1870's to 1900's. The first national union founded in Philadelphia in 1869 in the pre-Civil War period was the Knights of Labor, which "intended to include all workers" (Encyclopedia, 1996, p. 630). For a decade, this organization grew at a slow pace due to operating in secrecy until the failure of railroad strikes that increased membership to over 700,000 in 1886 (Robinson, 1985). Their advance and efforts had persuaded legislation to enact the following laws: "abolition of convict-made goods, establishment of bureaus of labor statistics, and prohibition of the importation of European labor under contract" (Encyclopedia, 1996, p.
Different groups, such as the Knights and Labor and the Socialists were fighting to represent labor unions (Doc F). Different corporations were attacked by labor strikes. ... E) which were solemn agreements not to join a labor union. The public was very negative about organized labor. ... Unions lacked government support for labor. ...
In Laura Offenhartz Greene's book Child Labor: Then and Now, child labor is described as "the abuse and misuse of children at work work that exploits children- (p. 9). ... Over the past three hundred years, drastic reforms have been created and laws against child labor have been put into effect, yet the struggle against child labor continues. ... The International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions variously define the appropriate minimum age of work as age 15, or 14 in developing nations (Child's Labor Organization). ... Then he or she is being exploited, and is involved in ch...
During the period of 1875 to 1900 many efforts for improvements in labor were attempted. ... Labor unions were beginning to emerge in this period. ... The 4 cooks in the cartoon are a labor union, anarchist, socialist & Knight of Labor. The Knights of Labor was a union that wanted to include all workers in one big union. ... Between 1875 and 1900 organized labor was not very successful for improvements in labor. ...
The Child Labor in Southern Mills article stated that child labor was the "cheapest labor " and used the "anxiety of parents to make profitable use of children ". Child Labor a National Problem described the need for child labor as "the demand for cheap labor, which means infant labor, increases with the growth of competition for markets. " Demand for children working increased over time with the "inventions and mechanical devices. " The work of the children had become just as, if not more, important than that of adults. ... The article Child Labor as a Factor in the Increase of Pauperism stat...
The Knights of Labor was further weakened by the formation of the American Federation of Labor (comprised only of skilled workers) because the skilled workers in the Knights of Labor flocked to the American Federation of Labor, leaving the Knights of Labor shriveled in numbers and therefore powerless. The American Federation of Labor, like the National Labor Union, was too exclusive to be effective, as it only represented 3% of working people in 1900. ... As shown by document F, one unified goal of all labor groups the labor movement would be more powerful. ... In the event of a labor riot ...
Labor unions seemed like a good idea at the time. ... But the bulk of big factories could care less about these labor unions. ... They would call the first nation labor union the National Labor Union. The NLU did not last too long, and was proceeded by the Knights of Labor. ... Soon Samuel Gompers would come along and introduce the American Federation of Labor. ...
Better labor standards due to labor market competition. ... Well, will labor rights be attained as Marx noted that capital seeks to maximize profits whereas labor seek s to maximize rewards, hence te creation of inherent conflict. ... Their standards of labor are too narrow. ... Contradiction – if their labor is more productive why train them. If the labor is at lost cost which means there is high labor supply in the labor market, how do they then pay high wages. ...
In an effort to protect himself, the workingman has banded together to form labor unions, and they try to protect themselves. This movement has had some great successes and has implemented labor laws meant to give them security and protection. ... This does not allow for labor flexibility and in turn suppresses efficiency and the growth of the economy. ... The labor unions give under the table payoffs to politicians to assure that their interests are protected. The labor ministry must approve industry-wide contracts and changes, and most of them are denied because of the payoffs. ...
He or she collects dues, recruit new workers, the first to contact the employer on the employee's behalf regarding unfair labor practices. ... The NLRA or National Labor Relations Act, established the right of employees to form unions, to bargain collectively, and to strike. ... The board issues remedial orders, enforceable in the courts, to prevent commission of unfair labor practices. ... If all goes well, bargaining between labor and management results in a collective bargaining agreement (Bennett, Hartman, 2001. p.451). ... Department of Labor (DOL), Verite, tracks country progress...
