What were the driving forces that led people to sacrifice so much to form unions? Was it worth it? What benefits were derived? What sacrifices were made? 250 words. No double spacing. Normal style… Read lecture below and include references from lecture.
| Weekly Lecture |
Week One Lecture
Introduction
These readings are intended to help students better understand the labor movement and the forces contributing to it. You will discuss the objectives and functions of contemporary labor unions, how unions are organized and administered, and the current challenges and problems confronting them and their leaders. You will learn a bit about labor legislation, so you can understand how and why such legislation has developed and how it affects contemporary labor relations. You will read about the public sector, where unions have experienced significant growth. This discussion should help you to recognize the principal differences between the nature of collective bargaining in the public and in the private sectors (Bohlander & Snell, 2010).
These chapters also cover the collective bargaining process by which the labor agreement between the employer and the union is negotiated. It should help you to become more familiar with the objectives that each of the bargaining parties typically seeks to achieve and the strategies and tactics they may utilize in doing so. The use of economic pressures in collective bargaining and the means by which negotiation deadlocks may be resolved or avoided are also discussed. The three main players (government, labor union, and management) in the labor relations process will be active in the discussion (Seaquist, 2015).
You will have the opportunity to see current bargaining problems and trends and will become familiar with the typical provisions of a labor agreement, including those covering management rights and union security from some additional readings and videos. The chapters should also help you to better understand and evaluate some of the issues in labor disputes receiving coverage in the news media today.
The Role of Unions and Labor Relations
Today, in the United States, most workers act as individuals to select jobs that are acceptable and to negotiate pay, benefits, flexible hours, and other work conditions. However, at times, when workers have believed their needs and interests do not receive enough consideration from management, their response to the situation is to form and join unions. Unions are organizations formed for the purpose of representing their members’ interests and resolving conflicts with employers (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, &Wright, 2011).
Because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management, unions have a role to play. Unions and managers resolve conflicts between employers and employees through systems for hearing complaints and negotiating labor contracts.
According to Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright (2011), labor relations is a specialized field that emphasizes skills managers and union leaders can use to foster effective labor-management cooperation, minimize costly forms of conflict, such as strikes, and seek win-win solutions to disagreements. If you have not had experience of working in a union environment, the chapters might feel a bit foreign to you at first. However, simply watch the television news or read the local newspapers in your area for a week or two and you will be sure to see information about current labor relations issues. Labor relations involve three levels of decisions:
- Labor relations strategy: For management, the decision involves whether the organization will work with unions or develop or maintain nonunion operations. This decision is influenced by outside forces such as public opinion and competition. For unions, the decision involves whether to fight changes in how unions relate to the organization or accept new kinds of labor-management relationships.
- Negotiating contracts: Contract negotiations in a union setting involve decisions about pay structure, job security, work rules, workplace safety, and many other issues. These decisions affect workers’ and the employers’ situation for the term of the contract.
- Administering contracts: These decisions involve day-to-day activities in which union members and the organization’s managers may have disagreements. Issues include complaints of work rules being violated or workers being treated unfairly in particular situations. A formal grievance procedure is typically used to resolve these issues.
Most Union members belong to a national or international union. These unions may be:
- craft unions- labor unions whose members all have a particular skill or occupation or
- industrial unions-labor unions whose members are linked by their work in a particular industry.
Most national unions are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The AFL-CIO is not a labor union but an association that seeks to advance the shared interests of its member unions at the national level, much as the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers do for their member employers. An important responsibility of the AFL-CIO is to represent labor’s interests in public policy issues such as labor law, economic policy, and occupational safety and health (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2011).
Conclusion
Union membership in the U.S. peaked in the 1950’s, reaching over one-third of employees. Since then, the share of employees who belong to unions has fallen. Union membership has fallen steadily since the 1980s. However, union membership among government workers has held steady, with the decline occurring in the private sector. What are some of the factors that might be attributed to this decline or steady hold? Let’s dig into the chapters, additional readings and videos to find out!
Forbes School of Business Faculty
References
Bohlander, G. & Snell, S. (2010). Managing human resources (15th ed.). Mason, OH: South –Western Cengage Learning.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B. & Wright, P. M. (2011). Human resource management (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Seaquist, G. (2015). Employee and labor relations: A practical guide. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education
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