LABOR UNION

Labor Union

Abstract

John Lewis once said, “Let the workers organize. Let the toilers assemble. Let their crystallized voice proclaim their injustices and demand their privileges. Let all thoughtful citizens sustain them, for the future of Labor is the future of America.” While that statement is over 60 years old, it still remains true today. Unions provide so much to employers and employees. Unions bring higher wages, increased safety, and a higher level of performance.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Discussion1

Labor unions1

Purpose of Labor unions2

Labor's Early Years3

Labor Legislation4

The Significance of Labor Unions and Collective Bargaining6

Collective Union among Employees7

Current Economic Thinking8

Conclusion11

References13

Labor Union

Introduction

Labor unions have had a substantial impact upon our economy and society, though political and economic analysts have interpreted this impact variously (Clawson 2003). Unions have been characterized as monopolistic institutions whose primary effect is to distort resource allocation, reduce national output and redistribute income to their own members at the expense of others; alternatively, as organizations that have provided a major impetus to beneficial social and economic changes both in the workplace and in the larger society (Clawson 2003). Prior to the mid-1970s, empirical work on unions by economists was relatively narrow in focus and primarily confined to estimating the wage differential between the union and non union sectors Subsequently, a body of literature has emerged that has attempted to analyze union effects more broadly (Clawson 2003).

Discussion

Labor unions

The history of labor unions dates back to the guild system in Europe. Members of a guild (a certain profession) tried to protect their guilt by controlling membership, requiring apprenticeships, setting prices for finished goods, and ruling advancement within the guild. A guild was the first attempt of workers to organize according to their own rules rather than the rules of the employer (Clawson 2003). Guilds were craft unions, made up of people that made or did only one thing. The first trade union in the US was the National Labor Union, founded in 1866. It failed and was soon replaced by the Knights of Labor, 1869 (Clawson 2003).

The Knights of Labor and the successful American Federation of Labor (AFL), 1886, concentrated on the key issues of child labor opposition, demand for an eight hour day, and protection of the worker from unsafe working conditions, and ensuring a decent wage rate (Clawson 2003).

Purpose of Labor unions

Economists generally assert that when employees are dissatisfied with their jobs, the only rational option available to them is to exit or quit their job and re-enter the labor market to seek a better situation (Ligorner and Todd Shengqiang 2010). However, some economists recognize that employees have a second alternative. Rather than exit their workplace, they can engage in voice. Engaging in voice involves trying to convince an employer to make changes in the workplace that will address employee dissatisfaction (Ligorner and Todd Shengqiang 2010).

Employees readily understand that if they engage in voice behavior as individuals, they will probably have little success in convincing their employers to make significant changes. Even if an employee threatens to quit, an employer can, in ...