Wednesday, April 22 Welcome back! Please submit your business spotlight report on the front table. Thank you! Bellringer: – What is a union? Where have you heard the term used? Who might belong to one, and why?

Business and labor Wages are based on productivity and competition Competition for labor should force workers out of unsafe or low-paying jobs What’s the alternative to quitting such a job? One in seven American workers (14 percent) now belongs to a union But unions have had tremendous influence over American economic policy in the past

Labor unions The American economy began to transition away from agriculture to industry in the mid- 1800s What were factory jobs like? Who held these jobs? What protections did workers have when they were injured on the job? Strength in numbers

Labor unions As early as the 1790s, skilled workers began to organize to protect their interests Strike: an organized work stoppage intended to force an employer to address union demands But at first, courts regarded such organizations as illegal, and workers who tried to organize their co-workers were simply fired and replaced

Business pushes back Businesses viewed unions as a threat to capitalism and social order They fired union organizers They got courts to issue injunctions to make striking workers go back to their jobs Some even hired private militias to harass workers

Congress gets involved Congress passed pro-union protections during the Great Depression – The Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932) outlawed “yellow-dog” contracts, in which workers promised not to join a union – The Wagner Act (1935) protected workers’ right to organize – The Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) created the minimum wage, outlawed child labor, and required overtime pay

Union power As a result, union membership grew, peaking at 35 percent in the 1940s They also became extremely politically powerful, controlling contracts and bringing in billions in member dues

Too much of a good thing? As they gained strength, some unions began to abuse their power They defended inefficient production methods and negotiated to keep jobs that were unnecessary Their reputation suffered as they became linked to organized crime – Some union funds were used to finance criminal activity – Even the Teamsters, the largest American union, was infected with corruption

The pendulum swings back Responding to unions’ power, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 – States were allowed to pass right-to-work laws: measures that ban mandatory union membership – Most states that have right-to-work laws are in the South Union membership began to drop, leaving labor much more limited in the U.S. than in other countries – Great Britain’s Labour Party

Loss of traditional strongholds Most workers in manufacturing jobs belonged to unions, but many of those jobs have gone overseas – Blue-collar worker: someone who works in an industrial job, often in manufacturing, and who receives wages – White-collar worker: someone in a professional or clerical job who usually earns a salary

Loss of traditional strongholds The manufacturing jobs that do exist have been largely converted to technology More women in the workforce may hurt union membership, as women are less likely to join union Many industries have moved from union states to right-to-work states Many benefits that were only available through unions are required by law

One bright spot … Public-sector (government) workers belong to unions

Labor and management Collective bargaining: the process in which union and company representatives meet to negotiate a new labor contract – Benefits for workers – Benefits for owners Some topics covered in the contract include: – Wages and benefits – Working conditions – Job security

Labor and management If collective bargaining doesn’t work, labor may strike It comes with risks … … but it is very effective Compromise can be reached through – Mediation: a settlement technique in which a neutral mediatory meets with each side to try to find a solution that both sides will accept – Arbitration: a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides

Categorize the events in the chart on p. 229 according to whether each HELPED, HARMED, or HAD NO EFFECT ON the growth of the labor movement. Your timeline will be due tomorrow.