Relationship Between Labor Unions And The Employers example essay topic

The Labor Unions Unions have become commonplace in the labor arena. They provide employees with a valuable tool that allows them to stand together against their employer to make sure that their rights are upheld in the workplace. This paper will focus on labor unions with regards to how they work in two very different companies, Ford Motor Company and United Airlines. Also, a brief history will be outlined as well as legislation regarding unions. Many unions are at battle with their respected employers. Some of these fights are better known than other fights.

United Airlines is trying to renegotiate contracts to save their company money. This has been a long battle for United, that some may see as having begun with the events of September 11, 2001. In truth, the International Association of Machinists, the union that represents a majority of United employees and United have been locked in a heated battle for some time now, even before the events of that September. By contrast, Ford Motor Company has had very little trouble recently with the union that represents the majority of their employees.

The UAW has not gone on strike at Ford since 1976. The last time that Ford-UAW relationship even made the news was in 1999, when the UAW was negotiating their new contract. Comparatively speaking, the two companies could not be further apart when it comes to working with their respective unions. History Although some people trace the beginning of labor unions in the United States to the very beginning, when guilds men got off the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock, the beginning of the modern labor movement began in 1886. That is the year when Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor. The statement of the founders of the AFL reads in part: The various trades have been affected by the introduction of machinery, the subdivision of labor, the use of women's and children's labor and the lack of an apprentice system-so that the skilled trades were rapidly sinking to the level of pauper labor.

To protect the skilled labor of America from being reduced to beggary and to sustain the standard of American workmanship and skill, the trades unions of America have been established. (AFL-CIO, 2002) The first major union strike in this country was the Pullman strike. This strike took place in 1894 at the Pullman plant near Chicago. The American Railroad Union called for a boycott of the handling of Pullman's sleeping and parlor cars on the nation's railroads.

Within one week, 125,000 railroad workers were engaged in a sympathy protest. The government swore in 3,400 deputies. President Cleveland moved in federal troops to break the strike, despite a plea by then-governor Altgeld of Illinois that such a move was unnecessary. A sweeping federal court injunction forced an end to the sympathy strike, and many railroad workers were blacklisted. The Pullman strikers were starved into defeat (Britannica, 2002). At the time, before labor laws or standards, this strike showed the tendency of the federal government to offer moral support to the companies and use military force to break strikes.

The injunction, usually issued immediately by compliant judges at the request of government officials, became a prime legal weapon against union organizers and actions. The modern model for government intervention in a strike came about in 1902. On May 12, of this year, mineworkers in northeastern Pennsylvania went on strike under the name of the United Mine Workers. More than 100,000 miners spent that summer on strike, keeping the mines closed. After mine owners refused a proposal for arbitration, President Theodore Roosevelt intervened. On October 16, 1902, Roosevelt appointed a commission of mediation and arbitration.

Five days later, the miners returned to their jobs and five months later, the Presidential commission gave the miners a 10% wage increase and shorter workdays but not the formal recognition that the union wanted. Another concern of unions, worker safety, caught the nation's attention in 1911, when a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. on New York's lower east side. Around 150 employees, mostly young women, died in the fire because the safety exits on the burning floors had been locked to prevent the goods on the floor from being stolen. A state factory investigation headed by Francis Perkins, who would go on to become the secretary of Labor in 1933, helped create reforms in industrial safety and fire prevention measures.

Labor Laws and Legislation Congress, starting to feel pressure for groups like the AFL, created the U.S. Department of Labor. The department has a mandate to protect and extend the rights of wageworker's. A children's bureau was created. In 1914, the first law to protect workers was enacted, the Clayton Act said that "the labor of A Human Being is not a commodity or an article of commerce". Because of this change in the legal status of work and labor, those things were no longer subject to the Sherman Act provisions that had been the legal basis for injunctions against union organizations. The Clayton Act allowed for strikes, boycotts, peaceful picketing and dramatically limited the use of injunctions in labor disputes.

Indeed, the Clayton Act is the basis for all other laws concerning labor unions. Of course, some problems that the labor unions had 100 years ago simply do not exist today. For example, except under special conditions, it is illegal for anyone under 16 to hold a job; therefore, companies can no longer exploit child labor. Fire codes and safety regulations are much tougher than they used to be. A bad inspection can mean huge fines and closed doors for the company. Today there are many regulations a business must follow in order to maintain good standing with both the unions and the federal government.

Another act, the Fair Labor Standards act, provides for a minimum wage, which is currently $5.15 per hour and a time and a half for overtime hours, at minimum wage, that is $7.73 per hour. The skilled workers at Ford and United obviously get paid much more than that. Skilled workers at United Airliners and Ford Motor Company get paid closer to $15-20 per hour plus benefits. Of greater importance to most skilled laborers are the laws surrounding collective bargaining.

US labor laws that deal with employees in the private sector, like Ford and United, fall almost entirely under federal jurisdiction. This is due to the "Commerce Clause" of the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, which, basically, says that all matters dealing with interstate commerce are under federal jurisdiction. The states have limited rights with regards to labor unions and practices, only in case where predominantly local interests are at stake, or in an effort to prevent picket line violence, can the state step into a strike. Agriculture workers are also often covered by state laws. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, the Wagner Act, provides for union Members to participate in collective bargaining. Collective Bargaining by Unions All unions, including the UAW and the IAM participate in collective bargaining; it is how the unions get what they need for their member.

By acting on behalf of a large group, they have more power than if they acted alone. The bargaining unit is a group of employees recognized by the employer or group of employers, or designated by an authorized agency (Public Employee Relations Board) as appropriate for representation by an organization (SEA) for the purposes of collective negotiations. The bargaining unit participates in the talks with the management on behalf of the union. Together, they participate in the collective bargaining negotiations. For both United and for Ford, as well as many other companies, this is a very important step. This is the part where new contracts are negotiated.

This is where, if it succeeds, business as usual goes on, if it does not succeed, a strike could take place. Contracts usually include a cost of living adjustment (COLA) in addition to any other yearly raises a group of employees receives. There is another player in this negotiation, the District Bargaining Unit Representative. This elected person maintains communication between the bargaining unit negotiating councils and the members in a given area. Thesis done to keep the process open to the union members, an attempt to keep everyone honest.

If the two sides do not come easily to an argument, a fact finder is called in. Fact finding is the process in which an impartial third party or panel reviews the positions of labor and management in a particular dispute to focus attention on the major issues and resolve their differences about facts. The third party tries to find common ground between the labor and the management to try to come to a resolution in arbitration of the contract. Comparing and Contrasting Ford and United When looking at the history of unions with regards to Ford and United, Ford has a much longer, in depth history.

In the first half of the century, from 1937-1941, Ford was the only major car manufacturer in Detroit that did not recognize any labor union as the collective bargaining representative of the employees. At hearings before the National Labor Relations Board, Ford Motor Co. was found guilty of repeated violations of the National Labor Relations Act. The Findings against Ford were upheld in federal appeals court. Ford was forced to negotiate with workers after a successful strike by the workers at the main Ford plant in River Rouge, MI, in April, 1941 (Britannica, 2002).

Now days, however, one rarely hears about problems between the UAW and Ford. In fact, the last time there was trouble between UAW and Ford was in 1999. However, it has also been a little time since the last time Ford was in real financial trouble (AP, 1999). OSHA and Labor Unions There is more to the labor-employer relationship than bargaining over wages and benefits.

Another issue at the forefront for many workers is working conditions and worker safety. The rules here are laid out by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Whether it is working on airplanes or in car plants, a main concern for the workers as well as the management is safety. OSHA regulations are enormous; they could never be summarized in such a short paper.

According to OSHA's mission statement, they set the safety standards for over 100 million workers in the United States. OSHA's rules are in place to prevent injuries and deaths on the job. Most companies and organizations are subject to OSHA standards. Everyone, with the exception of miners, transportation workers, many public employees and the self-employed, are under OSHA's jurisdiction. OSHA was created by the Occupational Safety and health Act of 1970.

OSHA employs over 2000 inspectors in addition to their staff of complaint discrimination investigators, engineers, physicians, educators, standards writers, and other technical support, in 200 offices across the country. The unions and the employers can negotiate certain higher safety measures, but OSHA is the final word when it comes to workers safety. If an employer fails to meet the OSHA minimum requirements, OSHA has the right to fine the employers and even shut down the operations for repeated violations. This means that while Ford is subject to OSHA standards and jurisdiction, and thus must comply with those entire minimum requirements, United Airlines, because they are a transportation company, does not fall under the jurisdiction of OSHA.

For those fields that are not subject to OSHA, like some of United Airline's workers, safety concerns and standards must be negotiated by the union on behalf of the employees. In a case like United's, the unions and the company have to come to safety standards agreements in the same way they come to wage agreements. Negotiating safety standards is not as much of a problem as negotiating wages and benefits can be. Most companies are eager to provide safe working conditions because they fear lawsuits, a loss of reputation, not to mention the loss of skilled workers. Labor Unions and Training Another area that is negotiated between the unions and the employers is the matter of employee training. Labor unions generally negotiate retraining for the workers that they represent.

If the company brings in new equipment, they company generally pays to teach the current employees how to use the new equipment. Like the issue of safe working conditions, this is usually agreed to handily by the employers, because they not only want to keep up good relationships with the Union, but they also want to retain the skilled employees. Anytime Ford or United buy a new computer system, or a new type of equipment, they are required to train their new workers on the machines. Unions and Layoffs Generally speaking, a company must have a very good reason for laying-off union employees.

In the case of United, the IAM agreed to an additional 9000 job cuts in order to save the company, and the jobs of the remaining 75,000 employees. The unions and the employers negotiate this point, but, once again, there are federal standards. WARN, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 protects workers, families, and the community by requiring employers to give people 60 days notice in the advance of plant closings and mass layoffs. The notice must be given to affected workers or the unions that represent the workers, the State department that handle such matters and the appropriate unit of local government (U.S. Department of Labor, 2002). WARN applies to both Ford and United, as they are both private companies that employ more than 100 people. In the case of United Airlines, the workers who are being laid off will have 60 days notice, so although the new pay schedule goes into effect at United on December 1, the earliest the layoffs could start is the middle of January.

Relations Between Unions and Employers Ford and United have different track records when it comes to working with the labor unions. Both have spotty histories though of late, it seems that Ford and the UAW has improved much more than the well publicized troubles that United Airlines has had with their employee's unions. Many base requirements do not have to be negotiated by Unions anymore, they are already standardized by the federal government. Items like safety and layoff notification, as well as minimum wage, are all covered by the federal government. However, labor unions still have an important role to play, as the relationship between these two employers and the unions show. A solid relationship with the labor unions can save the company millions, if not billions of dollars in lost productivity.

Maintaining good relationships can also avoid work slow downs and other measures, besides striking, that union members may take under certain conditions. Although the relationship between labor unions and the employers is often mediated by the federal government, it is up to the company to keep the negotiations simple and between the parties involved. Conclusion This paper has told how unions affect society today and has done so by using two major companies, Ford and United. Unions are now an everyday aspect of work and society and without them, many workers would have no voice with regards to their employment.

Bibliography

Associated Press (10/09/99) "Ford, UAW Reach Agreement". Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at web CNN Money / Reuters (11/18/2002) "United Close to Key Union Deal".
Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at web for Labor Cooperation (2002) " United States Labor Law".
Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at web Britannica, Online Edition (2002) "Labor History: United States".
viewed online at web Assocation of Machinists (2002) "Union Member ight's and Officer Responsibilities Under the LMR DA".
Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at web Department of Labor (2002) "The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act".
Viewed online on 11/18/2004 at web Department of Labor: Occupational Health and Safety Administration (2002) "OSHA's Mission".
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