Jimmy Hoffa and Unionism

The labor relations movement has been one of the most successful driving forces behind such efforts as: providing aid to workers who were injured or retired, better health benefits and to stop the practice of child labor in the workforce. Ostensibly, unions in the United States arose out of the need to better protect the “common interests” of laborers. Today, many of the social movements and alliances forged are created under the guise to better protect the employer from a plethora of interests made against the organization, rather than, increasing wages, improving reasonable employment hours and/or enhancing work conditions.

In labor as in all things there is strength in numbers it is this strength that American labor unions provide. Labor unions provide a collective voice for those who had not previously been heard. As the professor in the “Frustrated Labor Historian” Dr. Horace P. Karastan is left with the dilemma what are the three most important events in American labor union history it would be difficult to choose with so many important moments. There are however several events that stand out as being turning points in giving employees unquestionable protections. The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 allowing employees the right to organize. Further the Wagner Act protecting employees from reprisal from employers for organizing spurring the growth of unionization. The Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 building on the Wagner Act as well as the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 which granted protections from the unions. It is these Acts that have changed the landscape of American labor union history and leave us with the unions that we have today.

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).

     Unions have become commonplace in the labor arena. They provide employees with a valuable tool that allows them to stand together against their employer to make sure that their rights are upheld in the workplace. This paper will focus on labor unions with regards to how they work in two very different companies, Ford Motor Company and United Airlines. Also, a brief history will be outlined as well as legislation regarding unions.

Unions in America were created to improve the working conditions of its labor force. These labor force consisted of the men, women, and children that were employed by the owners of industry. Many unions were established in the early 1800s, but due to the widespread fear of socialism and the repression from the courts, the majority of them eventually failed. Most capitalist, at the time, felt there was no need to share with its employees the profits of their businesses (Murrin et al. 2002:685-702). Management, for the most part, paid little attention to salary and provided few, if any, safety measures and health protection for the people actually doing the work. Employees worked long hours weekly, often

In order to properly determine why union membership has declined in the blue-collar sector of American laborers, it is first necessary to elucidate some rather salient facts regarding this part of the country's work force. Blue-collar laborers are still represented in unions. They compromise approximately 35 percent of virtually all union membership in the U.S. and are some of the most important employees in the top 10 labor unions in the country. Therefore, it would hardly be accurate to say that there presences has been marginalized, or that they do not significantly contribute to the efforts of union laborers (Sloane &Whitney 8). In fact, one can verifiably argue that the very history of labor unions originated to account for these type of workers, and that they provided the very foundation upon which all labor unions stand.

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,

Prior to reading this novel, the whole concept of unionization and collective bargaining was a completely foreign subject to me. I had heard people talking about them, but I had no idea what kind of power they held, and just how much difficulty they caused in the workplace. In reading Unintimidated by Wisconsin’s governor Scott Walker, I learned just how much power a union could hold over management, and just how strongly people felt towards unionization on both sides of the issue. While reading this book, I developed some beliefs about unions, and I certified my beliefs in other areas of politics.

A union is an organization of workers who join together in order to have a voice in improving their jobs and the quality of work within the organization. In many occasions, unions help employees of an organization negotiate pay, benefits, flexible hours and other work conditions that may arise. Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management (Noe, 2003). In this paper, I will be discussing the impact of unions and labor relations within an organization.

Though, unions are declining, the role of union have evolved over time. Now, it is more common to view unions’ primary role as collective bargaining, which is the product of the economic decision and making process with unionism of the private sector. A long time ago, Union was seen as the shield that protects American workers against some of the abusive employers. Many public sector employees have unionized. However, the National Labor Relations Act was designed for the private sector. Despite that, union has become a model for most public sector collective bargaining right. Regardless of the success that Unions have with collective bargaining in the private sector, there are still a few who are opposed collective bargaining in the public sector. Of course, there are some differences between the public and private sectors.

With many laws enacted to tarnish their effectiveness in the appearance of a better functioning economy, labor unions appear to have an unmistakable effect on income inequality. Western and Rosenfeld explain the power of the labor union and how important of a role it holds for its workers. Western and Rosenfeld analyzes the contributions that unions made and the consequences of their decline coupled with the rise in unfair wage distribution. Kristal supports that the lack of bargaining ability hinders the effectiveness that unions used to have and this event is the result of computer technology damaging the laborers ability to appear useful and necessary in the eyes of the capitalists.

Almost all companies are entitled for union organization, but it is up to the employer to take crucial steps that may prevent this from taking place. Employees join Unions because they don’t feel satisfaction with management, poor working conditions and the company is alleged to mistreat employees. Strategies that help discourage union are: reasonable pay and benefits, open communication with employees, acknowledgement, and fair work and practice policies.

“Robert Tobias (2010) argues that to be effective, human resource managers need to embrace the possibility of positive and productive relations with labor unions.” (Riccucci pg. 10-11)

Thank you for sharing this article Stefanie. Today big corporations do not like the idea of unions because it gives many advantages to employees. Unionized employees can have fixed promotions and benefits, such as health coverage, sick leave, and paid vacation time and many more (Saez, para 2). There are many disadvantages for employers. Union contracts makes very difficult for corporations to make necessary adjustments when they are not making enough revenue, for example laying off or cutting job hours of unionized workers (Saez, para 5). By not having unions, corporations would not have to pay many benefits to employees and its easier for them to lay off or cut jobs hours of employees. Today in many corporations’ CEO’s are making way a lot

But why has union membership lost its allure? Non-unionized workers are, after all, outside the collective bargaining system and must often envy its achievements. Moreover, they are unable to call on union representatives when they have a quarrel with employers. Uncaring managers can dismiss them much more easily than if a union existed to protect them. Traditional logic suggests that they need unions. Their rejection of this notion must result from observation of unions in public and perhaps the experience of friends, picked up in conversation. Perhaps they believe that the benefits simply don 't justify the aggravation or the cost. Perhaps they shudder at the prospect of having their working lives permanently locked within the rules created by professional bureaucrats in unions. Perhaps they are repelled by the persistent anger and suspicion that seems to be a part of union-management relations, and by the cavalier indifference with which many unions