...There is little doubt that labor unions in the United States originated in response to poor wages and unfair labor practices of large corporations. However, some people today feel unions have outlived their usefulness as they are more interested in maintaining their own organizational structure and less interested in ensuring their constituents receive fair wages for their efforts and job security. Opponent of this perspective contend unions are still viable and point to the fact that unionized positions are on the average paid 21.8% more than non-unionized positions (SEIU). Union supporters argue that without the protections offered by union membership, management would revert to abusive practices. A unionized workforce that has been readily observed over an extended period of time is the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The dominant union for state workers in Pennsylvania representing 45,000 employees (AP), AFSCME represents eligible administrative, fiscal, technical services, maintenance, engineering and scientific personnel. Negotiating with AFSCME has some distinct advantages for the government. Bargaining with the union representatives ensures the mediators from both sides are well versed on the issues and understand the contracting process. Without the union, the government could be reduced to negotiating with individual employees, creating an inordinately cumbersome process that would not produce satisfactory results for...
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...Labor Relations Paper In today’s business world organizations are not as concerned with the threats of unions as in the past. Labor unions stretch deep in the American history protecting the early settlers against unfair working conditions. The work environment has changed significantly over the years; and employees’ rights are now protected by different labor laws so much that the purpose of labor unions seems almost insignificant. Organization however; must maintain a level of integrity and professionalism at all times to ensure honest business practices not only for employees, but also for customers. In this paper unions and labor relations and their effects on organizations are defined. The effect of changes in employee relations strategies, policies, and practices on organizational performance are examined; followed by a discussion on if unions are still relevant in the United States. Union Unions are organizations formed for the purpose of representing their members interest in dealing with employers (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2004, p. 461). Labor unions represent the best interest of workers and bargain collectively with the organizations to manage conflict. Unions view their roles as always needed; because of the inevitable employee and manager conflict. If an employee believes his or her interests and needs do not receive adequate consideration from management he, or she usually joins a union to have this addressed. A union not only serves to benefit...
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...Labor Unions: Do Unions Affect Labor’s Share of Income: Evidence Using Panel Data April 17, 2013 Introduction Labor unions have been a part of the U.S. economy since 1935 when the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was passed. Federal legislation made the NLRA the main component in determining how labor unions and employers interact with each other in the private sector. In Strategic Compensation: A Human Resource Approach, the author notes, “Since the passage of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, the federal government requires employers to enter into good faith negotiations with workers over the terms of employment (Martocchio, 2012).” Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum, professor of economics at Wright State University, investigated the impact of unions on labor’s share of income in the United States. Though previous economists have presented various formulae to calculate labor’s share of income, in Fichtenbaum’s study, it is defined as labor compensation divided by the value added in manufacturing. In an effort to supplement and clarify past research that had been done on this subject, Fichtenbaum (2006) explained: The study was conducted to add to the understanding of the effect of unions on labor’s share of income by developing an analytical module of imperfect competition using panel data methodology for the manufacturing sector. (p. 784) Here, the author highlights his departure from the methods used in older studies on this topic...
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...Labor Laws and Unions Mitch Atkinson HRM/531 October 29, 2012 Dennis Cashman Labor Laws and Unions This paper topic is the organizational benefits of joining a union, the unionization process, union bargaining procedures, and the effects union bargaining has on an organization. American Airlines (AA) and the transportation workers union (TWU) are the selected organization and company. Included information, background information on American Airlines, along with history of TWU at AA, legal issues, and obstacles that AA has encountered with TWU. AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, Inc. and AMR Eagle Holding Corporation filed in November 2011 a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 reorganization. To achieve a cost and debt structure that was industry competitive for long-term viability. There are various unions associated with the airline industry, the one chosen to discuss in this paper is the transportation workers union. TWU has 114 autonomous locals representing more than 200,000 members in 22 states around the country. As part of the Chapter 11 reorganization of AA the initial announcement that as many as 11,000 workers may be let go at the Fort Worth-based airline. The most recent announcement from AA is that approximately 4,400 mechanics, store clerks, and ground crew members of TWU will be part of a lay off. There are seven TWU workgroups representing approximately 24,000 employees at American Airlines. As part of the strategic and collective...
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...Current Trends in Labor in the United States HRM 552 - Organizational Training & Development October 22, 2012 Current Trends in Labor in the United States Labor unions within the United States have declined in recent years because of increased use of internal arbitration for employee dispute resolutions and a renewed focus on management training in diversity. ** still working on this intro** Current Trends in Union Membership Union trends continue to evolve. Changes such as decreases in membership, increase in diversity of union members, and continual lobbying to increase power. Studies done by (Saad, 2009) provides statistics, which identifies that 66% of Americans still believe in labor union and perceive them to be beneficial to employees. In addition, a poll taken in 2008 shows that 46% of Americans believe that labor union hurt the American economy (Saad, 2009). Trends in labor union also include recruitment of new members. According to (Byars & Rue, 2008) more men are members of union than women, African Americans are more likely to be a union member than the White, Asians, and Latinos. Four out of 10 government employees are members of union. Hawaii, Michigan, North Carolina, and South Carolina have more than 20% union members. Another survey taken by the American General Social Survey from 1978–2008 identifies the number of employees who show the difference in job satisfaction...
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...Firstly, Samuel Gompers a leader of the AFL addresses to a pro labor organization, the rights that should be given to people to help make working conditions for workers better (doc F.). This shows that, labor unions where increasing popularity due to the unfair working conditions such as no minumum wage and set work restrictions. The document illustrates the inhumane treatments that are prevalent in these factories. With the rise of the industrial age and the growth of urban factories inhumane treatment of workers also rose, as an effect of the rise of unfair working conditions, labor unions such as Industrial Workers of the World and , American Socialist Party gained large support in order to seek working reforms. Secondly, document A shows that the cost food prices, fuel and lighting prices and the cost of living all decreased between 1870 and 1899. This shows that there was growth in agriculture and due to new technologies and overproduction the prices of food decreases. This was an effect on industrialization was that labor unions were created in agriculture in addition to the overproduction and lowering of prices if the fuel and lighting industries, the labor unions were created in order to gain government support to stop the cycle of overproductions and to monetarily make the prices of the resources steady. Thirdly, As shown by, David A. Wells an educated...
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...Prepared by: Lisa Fell The Effect of the “Right to Work” Law on Unions and Union Workers in the United States Capstone Co-ordinator: Ted Seath Faculty Advisor: Gary Gannon Table of Contents CHAPTER I 1 DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM 1 Background Statement 1 Problem Statement 2 Purpose Statement 3 Limitations of Study 3 Reliability 4 Availability 4 Timeliness 4 Precision Error 4 Researcher Prejudice 5 CHAPTER II 5 LITERATURE REVIEW 5 Selected Review of Literature 5 The Effect of Right-to-Work Laws on Workers and Wages 5 Right-to-Work Laws are Beneficial to Unions and Union Workers 10 Right-to-Work Laws Negatively Affect Unions and Union Workers 16 Free-Riders are the Cause of Union Demise 23 Free-Riders Make Unions More Accountable 26 Results Summary 28 Right-to-Work Laws Weaken Labor Unions 28 Workers Gain Fewer Benefits from Economic Growth under Right-to-Work Laws 28 The Broader Economic Effects of Right-to-Work Laws are Difficult to Separate 29 CHAPTER III 29 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 29 Conclusions 29 Recommendations 30 WORKS CITED 32 CHAPTER I DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM Background Statement The typical factory worker in the late nineteenth century worked ten hours a day, six days a week. Unskilled workers were paid between $1.00 and $1.50 per day. Children were a significant part of the labour force after the Civil War. Workplace accidents were common, and the idea of compensating workers...
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...LABOR MARKET INSTITUTIONS AND WAGE INEQUALITY WINFRIED KOENIGER, MARCO LEONARDI, and LUCA NUNZIATA* The authors investigate how labor market institutions such as unemployment insurance, unions, firing regulations, and minimum wages have affected the evolution of wage inequality among male workers. Results of estimations using data on institutions in eleven OECD countries indicate that changes in labor market institutions can account for much of the change in wage inequality between 1973 and 1998. Factors found to have been negatively associated with male wage inequality are union density, the strictness of employment protection law, unemployment benefit duration, unemployment benefit generosity, and the size of the minimum wage. Over the 26-year period, institutional changes were associated with a 23% reduction in male wage inequality in France, where minimum wages increased and employment protection became stricter, but with an increase of up to 11% in the United States and United Kingdom, where unions became less powerful and (in the United States) minimum wages fell. W age inequality is substantially lower in continental European countries than in the United States and United Kingdom, and its evolution over time has differed greatly across countries. The same holds true for the skill (or education) wage premium. Changes in the supply of and demand for skills are unlikely to fully account for these marked differences (Acemoglu 2003). A substantial amount of research on...
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...argues that those who embrace the right-to-work laws are of the opinion that the laws offer the employees with a full mandate on choosing whether to belong to a workers’ union or not. She also outlines that those who oppose the right-to-work laws argue that the laws cripple the efficiency of the workers’ unions, thus rendering them incapable of negotiating on behalf of the employees. Kristine effectively outlines that the right-to-work laws act as the genesis of employment at will. This means that the employers can terminate their employee's contracts at their own leisure. The retention of an employee in a certain workstation is thus...
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...Labor Relations Name University of Phoenix Human Resources Management 431 Instructor January 23, 2011 Abstract Research will offer information that research provides about unions and labor relations and the effect on organizations. Most employees in the workforce are acting as independents. What this means is that the employee will negotiate all of the work conditions. Negotiations of how much the employer pays, flexible hours, and benefits received are an independent labor negotiates. Some employees use a union as protection from disputes from employers. Research will show the effect from the changes in employee relations strategies, policies, and practices on organizational performances. The final stage of negotiations involves finding facts, arbitration, and mediation. Labor unions date back for centuries and have endured struggles from economic up’s and downs with industrial workers in the 1970s and 1980s. Another decline of union members decline became more prevalent in society during the 2000s because of the number of blue-collars workers. The purpose of a union is to assist individuals when problems arise between employees and organizations the union interest is to resolve conflicts for employers. Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and companies. More information is given about labor relations within this document. An association, combination, or organization...
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...Labor Management (not covered in class; come from this handout) – 3 QUESTIONS Labor-Management Relations 1. Unions have not fared especially well in recent years. In 1970, approximately 30% of the workforce was unionized. Today, it is about ½ of that. Why? One reason is the shift from a manufacturing to a service economy. Some would contend that unions are not as necessary now as they once were because so many state and federal laws already protect employees. 2. Unions are gearing up to increase their membership Targeting women and minorities, which is ironic because unions have traditionally been controlled by white, blue-collar men who had little interest in seeing women and minorities make gains in the workplace. 4 Major Federal Labor Law Statutes 1. Norris-LaGuardia (1932) Outlaws yellow dog contracts (whereby employee agrees that he will not become involved in union activity and acknowledges that employer has the right to fire him if he does), and Limits power of federal courts to issue injunctions in labor disputes (traditionally, employer could easily get injunction, thereby putting an end to planned labor activities—strikes, for example). 2. Wagner (1935) - Outlaws unfair labor practices by employers. Grants employees the right to form, join, assist unions, and to bargain collectively (through union, instead of contracting individually with employer—strength in unity—employer doesn’t need any particular worker, but does need labor). Grants...
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...The United States Postal Service Labor Laws and Unions The United States Postage Service (USPS) is one of the country’s most striving organizations. A discussion of this document will explain the effects of the union and labor laws within the USPS. This article will also review the benefits of joining the union and what is the unionization process. In addition, it will examine the union bargain and discuss the effects it has on the USPS. The United States Postal Service Background The USPS employees over 600,000 workers and operates more than 220,000 fleets of vehicles in the world (USPS, 2012). The USPS is a branch of the federal government led by the postmaster general and a Board of Governors with oversight by the postal Regulatory Commission (USPS, 2012). However, Congress ultimately governs all authority. Congress imposes regulations on the organization and provides protection from opposition. The formation of the postal service allows revenues from the postage sales and services to cover cost of operations with $100 million annual appropriation from Congress for providing no cost mailing to the blind and overseas absentee-ballot mailing (USPS, 2012). Benefits of Joining Unions The postal service union’s purpose is to propose a fair contract to its members while meeting its financial and operational needs. The union prevents members from mistreatment, provides continual employment, and offers peace of mind while guaranteeing benefits...
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...Collective Bargaining Laws, and Union Coverage Barry T. Hirsch, Georgia State University David A. Macpherson, Trinity University John V. Winters, University of Cincinnati Initial draft, June 2010 Current draft, December 2012 Abstract What are the causal effects of collective bargaining (CB) on teacher salaries? This seemingly simple question is difficult to answer because (a) national data measuring school district salaries and collective bargaining is limited in scope, while individual teacher data from the CPS mismeasure CB coverage; (b) union wage effects depend not only on coverage but also on an array of CB law provisions difficult to quantify; (c) union coverage and state CB laws are endogenous since each has been influenced by union sentiment among workers and voters; and (d) OLS estimates of the wage effect of CB coverage and laws may be biased by measurement error and endogeneity. We attempt to address these issues using measures of historical labor sentiment, by creating indices of CB law strength, and by using alternative national data sets containing information on teacher salaries and coverage. As in prior studies, we find modest union salary effects for teachers using standard methods, albeit smaller than found for the private sector. A union benefits premium estimated from SASS substantially exceeds the salary premium. Estimates of CB law and coverage effects using IV (with historical data measuring labor sentiment as instruments) are unrealistically ...
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...Labor Unions Objective Labor unions in the United States have been prevailing forces in the workplace since their establishment in the late 1800’s. The two main purposes for unions are union security and overall improvement in wages, working conditions and benefits for their members. While only 12% of the U.S. workforce today is under union contract; they still are establish a presence by way of strikes, mediation and impasses. Unions will form when employees believe that company management is practicing unfair labor standards and acts and will take action accordingly to meet their goals. This report will look into the history and implications labor unions have had on the U.S. workforce and what they mean for both companies and employees alike in today’s world. General History Famous Labor Strikes The Great Postal Strike of 1970 involved 200,000 postal workers who walked off the job to protest their pay rates, which when accounted barely surpassed the average cost of living in the United States during that time period (in accordance with inflationary rates). President Nixon sent 23,000 U.S. army and marine personnel to handle the mail system, but that failed due to the limited training they possessed working with the massive government operation. Within a week, the government reached an agreement with the worker’s union, allowing for a 14% pay raise for postal workers. As a result, the American Postal Workers Union became a powerful force in bargaining...
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...Labor Laws and Unions HRM/531 September 13, 2011 Professor Michael Weinsenberg, MBA. Labor Laws and Unions At a general level, the purpose of a union is to improve financial and other conditions of employment. Unions have flourished over the years in accomplishing these goals. More recently, they have experienced many challenges leading to membership losses. Currently unions are trying to reverse decline by placing workers in various industries such as casinos, museums, services. Several of positions include white-collar workers, physicians, nuclear engineers’ psychologists, and immigration judges (Cascio, p., 537, 2010). In 1943, TWU organized employees of the former Philadelphia Transit company. Local 234 won their first major victory for TWU outside of New York City. The local union was formed during the time of racial strife and the TWU stood by its record and strong dedication to racial equality to represent African American trolley operators. However, TWU local 234 represents more than 5,000 workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation (SEPTA). Upper Darby Municipal and Eden’s Paratranist employees are included. Local 234 established a name for themselves by getting the job done at contact time. Therefore, the members show pride for the indispensable service they provide to their communities (www.twu234.org). One union that has proven its presence in the City of Philadelphia as well as nationwide branch is the Transport Worker Union...
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