Negotiations

As noted earlier, a labor union is an organization that is formed to represent workers in the same type of occupation. This means that employees make negotiations with their employers.

Obviously, the biggest issue is almost always wages. Employees are always looking for an increase in wage, and in this case, employers must look to see if the cost of living is rising. Another thing is fringe benefits, or what you get outside of money, such as health insurance, paid vacations, sick days, and pension. Hours of work is a big one as well, how many days a week, breaks, etc. Obviously working conditions need to be appropriate too, like with cleanliness and space to work.

If the work contract runs out before an agreement is reached, usually a last resort, the employees go on strike. Both sides get hurt during this time period. If it gets really bad, and they can't come to an agreement, sometimes a mediation or arbitration is needed, which is where a 3rd party acts as a judge to determine the differences between union and management. A grievance is where the contract negotiated between employee and employer and the breach gets legally reported.

Landrum Griffin Act

The Landrum Griffin Act is a United States federal law that regulates labor unions' internal affairs and their officials' relationships with employers. The law controls the behavior of union officials, which prevents physical, mental, or emotional violence. So if somebody beats someone, tries anything sexual, threatens them, or does something along those lines then they could get in serious trouble.

Taft-Hartley Act

While everyone has the right to form a union is a great thing and is protected by the Wagner Act, there are some unions that become out of control and are "unfair." There are different terms for things that unfair unions do, such as "Featherbedding" or "ClosedShop." Featherbedding is when there are more employees hired for a particular job then needed. Like if a job takes 2 people to do it well, then the union hires 5 people to make it a lot easier for everyone. Closed Shop is where if say a higher position opens up, then the employer can't hire someone new, someone within the union has to get the job.

Wagner Act

In 1935, a United States federal law was passed called the Wagner Act, that protects the rights of most workers to organize labor unions to engage in collective bargaining and to take part in strikes to support their demands. During the Great Depression, American workers faced increasingly high unemployment and a lower standard of living, so the Wagner Act was created to help get the economy back in order.

Introduction to Labor Unions

The first Labor Union was formed in 1869 and was called the Knights of Labor. The Union tried to get everybody involved, but there were too many conflicting ideas, and no real leadership, so the Union failed, however it marked a great beginning for Unions. A Labor Union is organization that is formed to represent workers in the same type of occupation. In other words, there is power in numbers. The point of unions is to participate in collective bargaining which is the coming together of Union Members and their bosses (management) to discuss issues that arise between them.