Labor History and Unionization: From Colonial Era to Modern Times - Prof. Yunchen Morgan, Exams of Introduction to Business Management

Download Labor History and Unionization: From Colonial Era to Modern Times - Prof. Yunchen Morgan and more Exams Introduction to Business Management in PDF only on Docsity! CH. 1  Contemporary labor relations  Promotes competition  Why are labor unions declining?  Markets are more competitive i. Weakens power of unions  Physical capital in the service industry is less fixed  Govt regulations and superior labor market institutions make unions less necessary  Distinction b/t management and labor is more blurred (in service)  Spillover: practices being used by a union is adopted by other orgs.  Non-unionized organization: employees don't belong to a union (ex: Wal-Mart)  Collective behavior  Sticking together to improve working conditions and wages  Happens only when union members share a background  Easier to come together and fight for the same cause  Catalyst for organization  These things influence a person's willingness to join a union  The lower the education and income level reflect a higher willingness to join a union  Beliefs about unions  People have positive and negative opinions about unions  Unions can sometimes make products more expensive for consumers and that makes a company less competitive  Can cause a decline in the worth of "hard work" and "ability"; gives a preference to seniority CH. 2 Colonial and Pre-industrial era  Indentured servants: people who agree to work for someone, usually for a period of seven years, to pay back a debt or serve a sentence for a crime; usually unskilled laborers Labor shortage  Shortage of skilled laborers  Can command high fees and earn higher wages Early unionism  A move to machine power during the Industrial Revolution replaced human power  Lived in decrepit white clapboard homes  No schooling for children so they grew up to be illiterate  Worked 16 hour days First trade unions  Trade union: made of skilled workers (craft unions) Types of unions  Uplift unionism: social issues aimed at better education and economic outcomes for workers and labor management systems  Revolutionary unionism: overthrowing capitalist system replaced with worker control of industry  Business unionism: representation of employee's immediate interests, like hours, wages, working conditions, etc... (most unions today)  Predatory unionism: primary goal is to enhance itself at the expense of the workers it represents Conspiracy Doctrine  Doctrine: a document of rules associated with legal concepts related to a case  Commonwealth v Pullis  Court decided that members of a union collectively bargaining are eliminating the natural operations of the market through competition (1806)  Marks the overall early effort to resist unions Pre-Civil War Organizing Efforts  Series of failed unions in this era  Working conditions start to improve  "Work from can't see to can't see"  Horace Greeley The Means-Ends Doctrine  Commonwealth v Hunt (1842)  Union activities are not illegal; investigate unions individually  Yellow-dog contract: a contract employers would force the employees to sign where they agree to not join any unions or participate in any union activities or they could get fired  Provided a basis for legal action against unionization Labor Wars (1860-1910)  Molly Maguires: an Irish miner's union  The Haymarket Affair (Chicago): employer tried to cut costs by doing a lock-out where they lock out the employees and prevent them from working; during the demonstrations, eight people were killed  The Homestead Strike (Pittsburgh): owner of Carnegie Steel Company wanted to cut costs by reducing wages and the employees went on strike. The company hired Pinkertons (private security guards); 24 people died  The Pullman Strike (Pullman, Illinois): the government stepped in because the strike interfered with the delivery of mail b/c of the striking railroad employees Birth of National Unions  NLU (first one): established 8 hour vs. 16 hour work day  Knights of Labor: believed all workers' common interests must be met and be included in the primary objectives of a single union  AFL  1800's 1. Courts viewed unions with hostility and suspicion 1. Had trouble fitting union activities into a constitutional system 1. Legal challenges to union action were largely confined to local and state court. There was little or no federal involvement in labor relations during this time.  Sherman Antitrust Act: Used by employers seeking restriction on union activity  Clayton Act: Unions hoped that this act lead to an end in labor injunctions but failed.  Rights to Collective Bargaining  1926: Railway Labor Act  Specified railway employee’s rights to organize and bargain collectively.  Still active today  Air transportation industry later included  Railroad employers are obligated to bargain with representatives.  Establish variety of procedures to reduce conflict  1932: Norris-LaGuardia Act  Stronger endorsement to collective bargaining  Private sector employees received these rights: freedom of association, self-organization, negotiate terms and conditions of employment  Court power was limited by this act: the power to intervene in labor disputes  Congress: supported the act, this was done with the intentions to help improve the economy  Neutral because it didn’t grant unions new legal rights. Specified, but not grant new. Granted more freedom to unions.  1933: National Industrial Recovery Act  Used as a plan of recovery  Provided business people to come up with their own rules, stipulation, and plans. Less regulation on price in hopes to recover  No interference  Supreme Court rules that congress had too much power and rule the act as unconstitutional  1935 National Labor Relations Act (NRLA)  US policy to encourage collective bargaining  Employer: any person acting in interest of an employer, Employee: individuals that lost their jobs due to unfair labor practices/current employees, Supervisor: person with individual authority, to hire, transfer, fire, and promote may belong to a union, but a group of supervisors may not organize and bargain collectively. Professional Employee: person engaged in work predominantly intellectual with exercise of discretion and judgment.  Secondary boycott is illegal. Secondary boycott is boycotting against a supplier or affiliate of an company.  Unions can’t perform unfair labor practices: excessive fees, unions can’t force employers to discuss illegal subjects during bargaining: closed shop (including a qualified candidate in a union but not hired yet), racial discrimination. Same for Employers: Interference with union activity rights, discrimination based on union views.  1947: Taft-Hartley Act  Primary concern: internal practices of unions (funding, how supervisors are elected)  Protect union members from illegal union practices; regulate union fees and dues  Requires every union to report financial info to US Dept of Labor  1959: Landrum-Griffin Act  Trusteeship: local union's autonomy is taken away/suspended (temporary)  Collective Bargaining  Political rationale: being a democracy, citizens have the right to negotiate their salaries and benefits  Public Sector Labor Law (govt)  NLRA (private sector: privately owned and operated)  Public corporations (state owned enterprise): subject to control by govt units (schools, transportation, police, military…)  1962 Executive Order 10988: collective bargaining rights extended to the public sector  1978 Civil Service Reform Act: Federal Labor Relations Authority (oversees and regulates conduct of collective bargaining in the federal sector)  Employment at Will  Grievance procedure: how an employee can complain about something  Due process is through collective bargaining and grievance procedures  Employment-at-will is in the absence of unions  Scope of doctrine  When there is no written contract, no specified term of employment or no employee handbook  When the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement limits claims against an employer  When an employee handbook is insufficient to establish exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine  Exceptions imposed by state courts  When an employer's written policies constitute an implied contract providing employment security  When a firm promises employment security in an oral or written agreement or through actions that lead employees to expect employment security  When an employee is fired for refusing to violate a statutory policy  Employment Law  FLSA (1938): to regulate employment conditions like hour minimum wages and pensions  Substantive regulation: federal minimum wage, overtime hours/wage  CRL (1964): prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin or sex  OSHA (1970): established standards for on the job safety and health  ERISA (1974): established standards for private pension plans  ADA (1990): unlawful to discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability ; must make accommodations (ramp for those in a wheelchair)  FMLA (1993): established the standard that companies with 50+ employees must grant employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave if they are ill or close family member is ill  Affirmative Action  Actively searching for qualified individuals who have had a history of being discriminated against  Two realms  In the federal setting: must submit timetables or hiring goals according to the US Dept of Labor; hiring goals that are representative of the national labor market  Public and private firms: required to establish timetables and hiring goals; determined by individual courts  Important Administrative Agencies  NLRB  Designating bargaining units  Conducting representation elections  Investigating unfair labor practice charges  DOL  Serves as the advisor to the President on labor issues  Conducts research and collects data on labor matters  Oversees the administration of regulations concerning equal employment opportunity, health and safety and internal unions affairs  FMCS: all first mediation services to labor and management in their collective bargaining activities  NMB: oversees union representation and provides mediation services to the parties during impasses CH. 6  Election Unit  Narrow (all the same occupations) or broad unit  Want to include supervisor/manager or group all of them into single election unit but according the Taft-Hartley Law, managers cannot form their own union  Union Decertification  The Debate over Labor Law Reform