Labor Unions Essay, Research Paper

A

labor union is as defined in the dictionary, an organization of wage earners

formed for the purpose of serving the members’ interests with respect to wages

and working conditions. Today there are about 16 million workers in the U.S.

that belong to a labor union. The pressure upon the employers to raise wages and

improve working conditions in a major goal of the labor unions. Labor unions

have been around for a long time. The earlier unions were called craft unions,

consisting of only a couple members who worked in the same craft. The way unions

negotiate for an employment contract is by collective bargaining. Collective

bargaining is negotiation between the representatives of organized workers and

their employer or employers to determine wages, hours, rules, and working

conditions. When in collective bargaining, the unions represent its members in

negotiations rather than have each worker negotiate individually with an

employer. In order for the collective bargaining process can start a union shop

must be organized. A union shop is a business or industrial establishment whose

employees are required to be union members or to agree to join the union within

a specified time after being hired. Once a union shop is formed the union will

look to negotiate a labor contract, which is a written agreement between the

employer and the union representing employees. The labor contract sets the

conditions of employment. Although many union contracts are worked out through

collective bargaining, there are times when this process fails to bring

agreement between the union and management. In looking to achieve the union?s

goals, labor unions may use a variety of tactics. For example: striking,

picketing, boycotting, slowdown, and in some cases illegal methods. A strike is

when workers stop working for the purpose of gaining concessions from

management. Strike is labor?s most powerful weapon because of the financial

loss imposed upon the employer. The downfall to a strike is that is that it also

costs participating workers a loss in income. Picketing is similar to a strike;

it takes place when workers march outside a business carrying signs. The main

objective of picketing is to discourage workers from entering the workplace. A

union boycott is a refusal to buy services or goods from a business whose

workers are on strike. Unions tell their members to tell their friends and

family to boycott the products of the company. Unions also try to get the

general public involved and support their cause. When there is a boycott on a

certain brand name the boycott is called a ?primary boycott?. If there is a

boycott on a store because they sell a certain brand name this is called a

?secondary boycott?. A slowdown is when workers, on purpose, decrease their

output in order to force concessions from their employer. Because the workers

are not on strike workers can still collect their pay. Some Unions have resorted

to tactics that are illegal. There are three main tactics. The first on is

secondary boycott, which has been discussed previously. The second is strong-arm

methods were unions hire thugs to force management into accepting the union

demands. The third method is called jurisdictional strike is one caused by

dispute between two unions over which one can represent certain workers.

Management sometime will put pressure on unions when there is a breakdown in

labor-management negotiations. Some important management tactics are lockouts,

injunctions, and strikebreakers. Lockout happens when management shuts down a

workplace in hope of bringing the workers to the companies? terms. Sometimes a

court will issue an injunction to halt a strike. Injunctions are very uncommon.

Strikebreakers occur when management hire new people to replace the people that

are on strike. Strikebreaking, in my opinion is the best way to handle a strike.

If people don?t want to work they shouldn?t. There are peaceful ways

decisions can be solved without strikes or lockouts. For example: fact-finding,

mediation, and arbitration. When there are labor disputes, the government might

assign a ?fact-finding board?. This board investigates the problem and

suggests a solution. In mediation a third party is brought in to analyze the

situation and offers a solution. In the arbitration method of settling labor

problems a third party is brought in and the management and Union must abide by

the solution as set by the third party.

?What is a Labor Union?? http://ibewfifthdistrict.org Antell, Gerson.

Economics: Institutions and Analysis. New York. ASP, 1997 The World Book

Encyclopedia, World Book L 12. U.S.A., 1998