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LABOR 4
Unit 5 Complete
Nancy Darnall
Bethel University
Dr. Jean Gordon
Employee & Labor Relations
May 14, 2023
Question one
Labor unions are a group of workers who work in an organization. Labor union creation is a result of the unanimous actions of the employees. It is essential to understand that these labor unions tend not to be supported by the enterprise organization. Within the USA, business corporations are slowly having labor unions abolished from society. They achieve this by providing the employees with fair wages and a friendly working environment. However, the laborers focus on forming labor unions (Budd, 2021). Therefore, labor union formations have considerably declined within the United States. However, if voluntarism gains its way back into the United States, it will affect employers, unions, and employees in various ways.
Unions – with the return of voluntarism, the formation number of labor unions will have to increase since the employees will be free to choose their own goals and form labor unions.
Workers – with voluntarism, employees will be free to choose the goals and objectives they wish to pursue. As a result, they will be motivated to become more productive to achieve their objectives and goals.
Employers may find controlling the grid workforce quite challenging if voluntarism returns. Employees who can choose their preferred goals may ignore the organization's objectives and continue pursuing them. In addition, the employers will find it a task to make the workers work towards the firm's goals and achieve the set targets on time.
Question two
Labor unions can be crucial players within three various political systems:
Pluralism – is perceived as a system of government whereby various interest groups exist and can influence public policy. Unions tend to play a role that is quite important within this system, representing the interests of the workers within the public policy arena. For instance, in the USA, unions tend to be involved in campaigns to fight for collective bargaining rights, increase the minimum wage, and advocate for better workers' healthcare protections. Additionally, unions support other progressive causes, like civil rights and environmental protection. Due to this, unions are considered a crucial part of the pluralist systems, offering a counterweight to corporate plus additional business interests.
Corporatism – within a corporatist political system, the interest of the prominent industry and the state tend to be interlinked. Within this system, unions are essential in lobbying for better working conditions, a pay increment, and representing the employees' concerns to the government (Milkman & van der Naald, 2022). For example, in Germany, businesses, unions, and the government collaborate in deciding salaries and working conditions via a collective bargaining system. Using the collective bargaining mechanism, employers may ensure that the rights of the employees get upheld and that they enjoy fair benefits and compensation.
Communism – the unions are utilized as a belt of transmission to deliver the agenda of the Communist Party to the working class used within Eastern Europe countries of Communism and the Soviet Union.
Pros of corporatism – it is a strong voice within economic and social issue decision-making. The disadvantage is that union density fails to reflect the population's majority. Alongside business, their dual influence may sway government decisions within areas that would fail to represent the wishes of the overall population.
Advantages of pluralism – interest groups like the labor movement and employer's associations are known for competing for influence through lobbying and pressuring lawmakers. The con is that the interest groups tend not to be formally incorporated into political decision-making.
The present labor relations system fails to support unions within the United States, so unions should play a more vital role in safeguarding the employees' interests (Milkman & van der Naald, 2022). Hence, this leads to a collective bargaining relationship that facilitates the union to have a competitive bargain. The union will have the capacity to protect its rights through a competitive bargain. Their participation will also increase the decision-making process, increasing the laborer's productivity.
Question three
The labor regulations comprise the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and Federal Employee Compensation Act. These known labor regulations strive towards regulating overtime pay, workplace safety, minimum wage, child labor, and workers' compensation. Compliance with these laws needs cooperation between employees and employers.
The labor relations state within the United States has been fraught with adversity ever since the industrialization onslaught. During the peak of the Industrial Revolution, pre-school-aged children would end up working long shifts in workplaces that were not safe. Since the individuals working within these conditions were most disadvantaged, there was minimal advocacy. Instead, they formed labor unions to tackle the abuses the workers suffered within the high-production factories, perceived as the Industrial Revolution's earmark.
The first union organized was the American Federation of Labor, founded in 1886. It was trendy for its adversarial advocacy, comprised of the first organized strikes. Most recognize AFL as the start of the adversarial labor relations in the USA. Nevertheless, this adversarial approach led to critical changes to the United States labor laws. While the AFL went on to organize strikes on behalf of disadvantaged employees, most firms started looking for legal relief (Killian & Tolbert, 2019). Firms started campaigning for the organizers to get charged with conspiracy. Commonwealth v. Hunt in 1842 developed a legal precedent for a right to strike. Despite this crucial precedent established, collective bargaining was yet to be recognized fully as legal until the formation of the American Labor Union in 1886.
Partly, the reason why the labor relations in the USA continue being adversarial is mainly failure on the part of organizations to take extensive action concerning the well-being of their workers. In case the formation of labor unions never happened, there is a greater possibility that American employees would probably have no voice. For example, 1938's Fair Labor Standards Act would not have passed legislation if not for the unions. The legal system is known for casting the deciding vote within a long-term dispute between the unions/workers and the corporations profiting off their labor.
Question four
Yes, it is essential to promote and protect various forms of unionism. The labor laws aim to rectify the power imbalance between the employer and the employee, helping to prevent the employer from dismissing their employees without a reasonable cause. It also sets up pus preserves the processes through which employees get recognized as equal partners within negotiations regarding their working conditions, among others. Collective bargaining is a fundamental right that has its roots within the ILO constitution, and it got reaffirmed in the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Unionism is a primary means by which workers and their businesses and trade unions may establish fair working conditions plus wages and ensure equal opportunities between men and women.
Additionally, it offers a basis for sound labor relations. Practical issues on the bargaining agenda comprise working time, occupational health and safety, wages, training, and equal treatment (Min et al., 2019). The main aim is to reach an agreement collectively regulating employment terms and conditions. They might also tackle the parties' responsibilities and rights, ensuring harmonious and productive workplaces and industries. Enhancing the collective agreements plus collective bargaining inclusiveness is a primary means of minimizing inequality and extending labor protection.
The significant change for the unions and employers could be granting the unions the capacity to unbundle their benefits and services. The union officials can now face criminal charges if they sell anything to the employers, including services such as a health plan that employers may be ready to spend considerable money to purchase in a free plus open market. Ultimately, it may be possible to identify a political consensus to have these prohibitions repealed from the United States Code. The focus is on both public and private businesses.
References
Budd, J. W. (2021). Labor relations: Striking a balance (6th ed.). McGraw Hill Education.
Killian, M. S., & Tolbert, C. M. (2019). Mapping social and economic space: the delineation of local labor markets in the United States. In Inequalities in labor market areas (pp. 69-79). Routledge.
Milkman, R., & van der Naald, J. (2022). The State of the Unions 2022: A Profile of Organized Labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States.
Min, J., Kim, Y., Lee, S., Jang, T. W., Kim, I., & Song, J. (2019). The fourth industrial revolution and its impact on occupational health and safety, worker's compensation, and labor conditions. Safety and health at work, 10(4), 400-408.
