Power Of Management Over The Labor Movement example essay topic

Unions in America have fought for workers' rights since 1792. With the organization of our country's first union, The Philadelphia Shoemaker's Union, workers were introduced to collective bargaining and a hope for equality and fairness in the workplace. Since that time there have been major turning points in labor history that has ensured the rights of American workers. From the Boston Massacre in 1770 to the assignation of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, the American labor movement has been a vicious struggle. Two acts that helped to ensure the rights of workers were the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1937. These laws represented major victories for the workers.

"Section 7 of the NLRA gives workers the right to form labor unions without employer interference and compels employers to bargain collectively with unions chosen by the employees". (Yates 1998, p. 30) Whereas, "the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1937 provided for the payment of minimum wage and overtime pay for hours in excess of forty per week". (Yates 1998, p. 30) This act also banned child labor in interstate commerce. Despite these major achievements in American labor, there has been a noticeable decline in membership since the 1970's. The decline of the American labor movement coincides with a major turning point of its history. The 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. while he was supporting a strike for sanitation workers near Memphis, Tennessee struck a tremendous blow to leadership of the movement.

One of the last things that Dr. King stated in his final speech was, "we got some difficult days ahead". (web) The very next day, April 4, 1968, a rifle shot struck him as he stood on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel. As news spread of his assassination, racial violence erupted in more than 125 cities, across 28 states. "By April 23rd forty-six people had died, 2,600 were injured, and more than 21,000 people were arrested, mostly for looting". (web) His death, in essence, started the decline of the labor movement. It has declined in many ways since then. For one there is less union membership in the workforce today.

One reason for this is due to the lack of organizational leadership on behalf of the workers. There are no Martin Luther Kings or Eugene Debs today that are going to rally the nation and make them aware of the discrimination that is going on at different parts of the country. Another reason is that most managers today are anti-union and have discovered tactics to crush the union movement. What has also declined is the eminence of labor laws, and practices in general. Today's citizens view the labor movement as not a big deal; "No one cares anymore". (Discounted Lives) People in society today are only worried about themselves and making money.

Today's economy, though in recession, supports the affluent class not the working class. It is further my view point that the American labor movement is in decline today due to the increased management opposition of unions combined with the fact that there is weak, inefficient, and little labor organizing leadership in our country. Since 1970, not only has union membership declined, but the movement has lost its importance in the eyes of the American public. This has had a tremendous affect on the working class today as they are in a constant battle with much smarter and resourceful managers. It is tough to succeed and grow when you not only have to fight the managers but you have to fight the government as well.

When Congress passed to Labor Management Relations Act know as the Taft-Hartley Act in June of 1947, labor become under attack. This law imposed severe restrictions on unions, strengthening managerial prerogatives. "For example, Taft-Hartley provided for de certification proceedings, wherein workers could oust their current union by majority vote. It expanded the rights of employers to try to turn workers against union membership, on the premise that workers should hear "both sides" - that is, the union's side and the employer's side - when deciding on representation. (Zieger & Gall 2002, p. 154-155) This law put yet another damper on organized labor by giving management an opportunity of stalling union proceeding due to the federal involvement that the law brought which made labor matters more detailed, complex, and litigious. One of the reasons that the labor movement is in decline today is because of the increased management opposition of unions in general.

Today's top managers have found ways around the law and are able to delay and stall contracts, as well as fire employees for no legitimate reason with no repercussions. In the video, Discounted Lives (1995), low wages and a lack of rights led K-Mart warehouse employees from Greensboro, NC to organize. This video showed how powerful management can be when fighting unions. A year after they won a union election they still did not have a contract. In a warehouse of 500 employees, 1,500 employees had worked there after the first two years of operation. This massive turnover rate was due to management's lack of respect for their employees.

They were free to terminate jobs with or without cause. On top of this they paid at the maximum $8.50/hour to their employees whereas employees at another K-Mart warehouse in Newnan, GA got paid a maximum of $13.65/hour. Management claimed that the wage difference was because of "different markets". That's all management has to do; come up with any type of excuse, who's going to fight them and win nowadays? As the workers began to form their union, they "hoped" that they would not be fired. Their hope would be shattered as twenty employees that were looking to join the union lost they jobs for no legitimate reason.

Management even went as far as to offer incentives to the employers that would place a vote against the union. This battle between workers and management climaxed when the workers figured that if there was no bargaining going on at the tables that they had to protest. In front of 80,000 people and a television audience, 70 workers decided to run onto the 10th fairway at a golf tournament in Greensboro, NC. Not only did it cause great public embarrassment and shame, but 64 of the 70 were arrested. The workers still did not get a contract, and all that K-Mart had to say was that they continue to bargain in good faith. Another video that showed the power of management over the labor movement was It's One Strike and You " re Out (1990).

The addition of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935 otherwise know as the Wagner Act, which was later amended into the Taft-Hartley Act, gave workers the right to organize and strike. What this was supposed to do is create a two way avenue making strikes negative for both workers and employers. Workers lose family income, and employers lose sales; this would make you think that both parties would benefit from coming to contract agreements. Wrong, management would find a loop hole.

Workers have the right to strike but management has the right to replace workers. This meant that management has the power to give your job to someone else permanently if you choose to strike. This creates an unfair advance that management can hold over the heads of the workers. One example from the video of were management flexed there muscles over labor occurred in Lock Haven, PA where the biggest employer in the town, Hammer Mill Paper Company, was bought out in the 1980's by International Paper. 720 workers were pretty much forced to strike after the new management took away all the benefits that they used to have. All they wanted is what they used to have, and they would end up getting fired and losing their jobs.

One man killed himself, and others suffered from emotional problems, divorces caused from economic pressures, and excessive drinking. Management's overwhelming power over unions and the labor movement itself is a direct reason why it has been on a decline since the 1970's. Another reason is due to the lack of labor organizing leadership. Since the death of Dr. King there has not been another leader to take over the labor movement, which is another reason for the decline.

With management becoming smarter and tougher, the labor movement is desperately in need of a leader (s). Today, labor organizing is weak and ineffective. What's worse than no leader is a bad leader though. In the video, American Dreams (1992), the Hormel Meatpacking Division went on strike.

They were angry over their wages being cut from $10.69/hour to $8.25/hour. In the same year of this wage cut, 1984, Hormel saw profits of $29.5 million. This sent workers bounding together in forming a local P-9 union to try and recover their lost wages. The Union hired the leadership of Ray Rogers who was at the time the president of Corporate Campaign, Inc. He insisted on using bully tactics by humiliating and disgracing the Hormel Company and totally disregarded all advice from their national union.

These tactics along with the refusal to accept reasonable offers that management proposed to them, led to the plant re-opening with management hiring new workers. On the 25th week of the strike Hormel announced that the plants were full and that there were no jobs remaining for the strikers. The members of P-9 lost their jobs due to the poor leadership of Ray Rogers. This situation stresses the importance of quality leadership, and shows that weak leadership can lead to the demise of a union. The fact that our country is missing quality labor leaders is another direct reason why the labor movement has been on a decline since the 1970's. Another major turning point in the American labor movement was the Emancipation Proclamation.

"President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free". (web) This would in time abolish slavery. Slavery might be gone now, but there is a new form of corruption in our society. Today workers are not free; they are left at the mercy of management.

Just how slavery became epidemic in the 1800's, managements corruption over the working class is the epidemic of the 21st century. This combined with weak, ineffective, and little labor organizing leadership has led to the decline of the American labor Movement. I believe that the government must come up with a solution to this problem. If our government can free slaves, then they can come up with a way to stop managerial corruption.

But someone has to stand up and fight. The final reason why the labor movement is in decline is that it's not that important to the people that it does not affect. There is not a lot of fame and money in the labor movement, and in an economy where money is power; the labor movement has gone on the back burner. What the labor movement is in search of is a leader, a fire starter, which can unite our society to support the working class in their struggle for equality..