Clifford Odets’ Waiting for Lefty Essay example

How can two people watch or read the same story and yet, interpret it completely differently? Does it have to do with the author’s intentions, or maybe it has to do with the viewers’ own backgrounds and ideologies? Whatever the case may be, viewing one piece of work can lead to a wide array of opinions and critiques. It is through the diversity of such lenses that Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller has become one of the most well-known plays in modern history. There are many different ways in which a play can be criticized, however, criticisms from the approaches of a Marxist and reader-response will be utilized to further dissect Death of a Salesman. Marxist criticism sees pieces of works as a struggle between different socioeconomic classes; what better way to see Miller’s play than for what it is at face value, the struggle of a middle-class man trying to achieve the American dream (1750). On the other hand, a reader-response criticism comes from either an objective or subjective view; in this case Death of a Salesman will be viewed with a subjective lens based on Willy’s deteriorating mental health (1746).

Labor unions represent workers interests and the collective bargaining process provides a way to manage the conflict (Noe, 2003). More than ever, union employees have come to see unionizing as a way to achieve an

Throughout the Twentieth Century, the evolution of workers’ rights in the workplace has drastically evolved. Through the utilization of constitutional freedoms, workers across the nation came together to support the goal of receiving fair treatment from employers when it came to wages, work conditions, and benefits. However, this wasn’t achieved without great sacrifice from the average man as standing up for their rights was a brave act that usually resulted in consequences.

In past times, racism and economic injustice headline the many problems that present themselves to society. Some people accept the horrors that appear with the issues while others take actions to change the issues for the better. August Wilson reveals that in his play Fences.” Written in 1957, Wilson’s play portrays an African American family during the time of the civil rights movement who struggle to reach the self-proclaimed American Dream in the United States (Wilson 963-1018). The protagonist, Troy Maxson, is influenced by Wilson’s stepfather, David Bedford (Martin and Downing). During the civil rights movement, African Americans carried few to no rights as an American citizen, presenting controversy to the world of political science and economic power. Wilson also contributes to the theory of Marxism in Fences. Introduced by Karl Marx, Marxist Criticism paints an identical picture of the way society reveals itself in the twentieth century. “Marx’s main interest was in economic power and the ways in which it disguised and manipulated.” (Schakel and Ridl 1455). Wilson incorporates those views into his play Fences. Wilson also reveals his intake on the views of Marxism. “Today I would say that the conflict in black America is between the middle class and the so-called underclass, and that conflict goes back to those who deny themselves and those who aren’t willing to (Lyons 1024).” The author believes that African American struggle contributes to the theory of Marxism.

In the 7th chapter of the book Drawn to change, it draws attention to the Service, Office, and Retail Workers’ Union of Canada, in which it was a militant attempt to revitalizing a feminist movement and changing the gender makeup of the labour force post WWII. It was able to gather locals of female workers to dedicate their workplace to the success of this organization, however it faced many obstacles as they promoted unions, and employers drastically opposed union-organizing around this time. Unfortunately, this organization no longer exists but it is a vital part of the past that consists of feminism and power to women in the workplace. It was only a stepping stone to where we are on women’s issues today. Similarly, to the #MeToo/Time’s Up movements, they advocate for the equality of women in the workplace, as it is prevalent that females still do not make up of much of the workplace back in the 1970’s and now. In contrast, this organization is deceased under the wrath of the government. However, the #MeToo/Time’s up movement is only growing, and this time with the tactics this organization has succeeded in, the government will not have the same power they did over SORWUC. In the 8th chapter, the working class in Ontario within the 1990’s experienced a situation where employers and politicians intensified their attacks on working people and on the poor. Workers and the unions that represented them were forced to bear the brunt of a global economic recession. Social

Unimpeded in their pursuit of maximum profits to the detriment of the workers, capitalists and their oppressive methods made labor unions necessary. It is vital to acknowledge the possible bias in Gompers’ argument, considering he is a union leader. Also, bishop Quayle’s potential bias must be considered, stemming from him being a clergymen who’s in contact with those affected

In the mini case “The Frustrated Labor Historian” Dr. Horace P. Karastan was placed in a difficult position. There are many important events in American labor union history that it is difficult to choose just three that were to be the focal point of his presentation to the audience. It

The changes brought up labor unions in the United States over recent history has brought about a movement. This specific movement has shaped the way that employees and workers are treated in the workforce,and how they maintain their quality of life through this employment. Many people think that the labor unions’ influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In many cases this can be considered true, as there have been countless feuds between management teams and labor unions, especially in recent history. In today’s times, on the one hand, some people believe the existence of unions are a necessity in order to ensure and promote employee freedom; while on the other hand some people view labor unions as just another problem in the line of employee success.

The strong mutual support from other unions along with public protest made an intimidating crowd against the employers. The media was significant in spreading their message and emphasizing the reality of these factory workplaces. With increasing the support from middle and upper class citizens we target more of other portion of the population to back up the working class’s cause. Using testimonials and interviews the media portrayed Max Blanck and Isaac Harris as evil, greedy, and heartless. An example would be from American Federationist, which uses emotionally loaded language to capture a reader’s emotional response. The outcry that is generated can be attributed from the descriptive language of the incident reported by the

“Upwards of 250,000 workers in Chicago were on strike, threatening to strike, or locked out by late July 1919.In other words, one out of every three or four men and women in wage-earning fields in which there was the slightest union activity was a participant in a labor

At a time when labour unions were gaining in memberships, organization, and bargaining power, women in the workforce made marginal gains during this period considering the booming economy. Sociologically, a healthy economy should in theory provide the framework for change. When citizens have low unemployment and more money in their pockets, time and attention is less directed at bread and butter issues like sustenance and poverty, and aimed at equality and social progress. For women unfortunately, this was not necessarily the case. Their battle with employers was still a struggle between classes than gender parity. Male union leadership would naturally further male worker interests first,8 and this shows a culture of sexism in the workplace that was clearly difficult for working women to overcome. Even union-dues paying women rarely openly questioned their subordination as a sex.9 They were most likely outnumbered and the consequences of being a whistle blower did not want to be entertained. In the mindset of women who worked however, was a developing identity as female wage earners and unionists.10

Employers initially resisted unions as they were seen as a ‘tool of worker power’, and some countries even banned the groups all together (Baoill 2011). Although these restraints have been lifted, restrictions and guidelines have been put in place by government bodies to govern union activity; and employees internationally have the right to form unions (Baoill 2011).

The labor movement began during the industrial revolution and exists because of worker-employer relationships and working conditions, thus providing the landscape for labor power (Mahutga). Labor power can be broken down into associational power and structural bargaining power. Mahutga’s Lecture on Globalization and Labor builds on Beverly Sliver 's argument on the Forces of Labor and Tamara Kay 's argument on Labor Transnationalism and Global Governance about what Labor market power and Labor Transnationalism mean as regards labor on a global scale (Mahutga, Kay). Is it creating better standards for the working and living conditions of workers? Associational power results in collective workers ' ability to unionize and organize to present one opposing voice. Structural bargaining power results from the workers ' place in the economic system,

With globalization,many changes have been brought up in the workplaces that are leading towards more flexibility and enrollment of the employees (Tong Fay and Anil Verma,2002). “According to a survey -unionized workers across Canada earned$5- 28/hour more than non-union workers; Women with unions earned more too and got paid more fairly (Why unions? ,2015)”. Thus ,it gives us an idea what changes are being brought about by the unions in comparison to non-union when it comes to the wage sector. The union workplaces give a chance to the members to bargain for their benefits which includes not only social well being but also the say,the right to speak up about their own views therefore giving them the chance to talk about their problems. The union have been progressed to give a fair wage

David Brody argues that the rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships during the post WWII era formalized the relationship between employers and unions. The use of collective bargaining agreements to resolve workplace disputes weakened unions and the power of workers. Other actions, such as using collection bargaining as a form of substitution for direct action and using it instead of the strike for grievance and arbitration procedure served , also has weakened the unions and the power of workers. The rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships changed the dynamic of the workplace, shifting the power from the union side to towards the employers. The perspective could best be argued suing Weber’s theory and