LABOR RELATIONS

Labor Relations and Unions

Labor Relations and Unions

Introduction

In early 2011, a wave of political protests swept much of the world, as pro-democracy movements opposed dictatorships in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and many other countries. While demonstrations in those nations sought to bring about the end of totalitarian governments, a different sort of protest erupted in the U.S., in Wisconsin.

Discussion

Labor unions are groups of workers who organize to obtain better working conditions from their employers. Although unions often seek higher wages, they also negotiate with employers to gain and protect other benefits, such as pensions and health care insurance (Teitelbaum, 2007). A good deal of a union's power stems from its ability to persuade all workers in a particular company or industry to join it; if all workers join the union, then those workers can strike—stop working—to have their demands met. The ability of union workers to strike often depends on the ease or difficulty with which the employer can find replacement workers.

The Wisconsin protests were in response to a bill promoted by the state's newly elected governor, Scott Walker (R), that sought to strip labor unions for public employees—government workers—of their collective bargaining rights—their ability to negotiate changes in wages and benefits. The bill also sought to diminish benefits held by union workers. Although the measure was ostensibly intended to close a budget gap, critics argued that eliminating the collective bargaining rights of public-employee unions was a potentially fatal blow to organized labor. Despite the protests, Walker signed a bill limiting bargaining rights for government workers into law in March last year. The measure, however, has already faced challenges in the courts.

There have been widely varying opinions about unions over the years. Union supporters—often those who are politically progressive or said to be on the political left—tend to consider unions a powerful ...