Government 's Role Regulating The Labor Market

Imagine your parents died at work when you were a young child, and your family was in poverty. This happened all of the time in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s because of the lack of rights for workers. It was the job of many early labor unions of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s make working conditions for workers better. Early labor unions such as the Knights of Columbus, the American Federation of Labor, and the National Labor Union were all successful in creating rights for workers and making working conditions better. There are many ways that labor unions have affected modern day society.

In the period immediately following World War I, American workers struggled to earn a living as prices rose and wages stagnated, forcing them to seek union support. Labor unions endeavored to represent the working class against their employers and corporations, who refused to increase wages or improve working conditions. In order to combat the capitalist’s immense political clout, unions made their voice heard through strikes. After the war, capitalists linked unions to the mounting communist threat, stressing that strikes undermined capitalism and threatened a republican form of government. As a result, government sided with capital against labor unions and the struggle of the American workers, who had no voice against corporations. This struggle can be exemplified in a correspondence between union leader, Samuel Gompers and bishop William Quayle, published in “The Twenties in Contemporary Commentary: Labor & Capital”. The letters demonstrate that in the 1920’s, labor unions were necessary as a means to overcome capitalist greed and enhanced the ideals of democracy by empowering the working class.

The labor relations movement has been one of the most successful driving forces behind such efforts as: providing aid to workers who were injured or retired, better health benefits and to stop the practice of child labor in the workforce. Ostensibly, unions in the United States arose out of the need to better protect the “common interests” of laborers. Today, many of the social movements and alliances forged are created under the guise to better protect the employer from a plethora of interests made against the organization, rather than, increasing wages, improving reasonable employment hours and/or enhancing work conditions.

Many different arguments emerged from Roosevelt’s New Deal. Some people believed that FDR was against the idea of business, they had no hope for the economy, and thought that the United States would be in debt forever. In the letter to Senator Robert Wagner, the author explains the unemployment rates, and how the government hasn’t done anything to stabilize the economy. In fact, the author believes that communism is arising and everything clashed together will lead to a “disaster to all classes”. Meanwhile, Franklin Roosevelt was creating jobs to decrease unemployment rates, and he created the National Industrial Recovery Act, which proposed fair competition and collective bargaining for workers. The author of this letter is proven wrong because in fact, America did turn around, and FDR’s policies were ultimately extremely effective. The unemployment rate was brought up again in an NBC radio broadcast by John L. Lewis in 1936. This broadcast spoke about the “labor unrest”, the strikes that unemployment has provoked, and the major issue of huge corporations having the right of self-organization and collective bargaining. Once again, Franklin

The New deal of 1933 is often regarded at the height of the government’s beneficial support for the rights of the worker. The overall aim of the legislation was to decrease unemployment left in the wake of the Great Depression, as well as improve the rights of those who had already found employment in the unskilled labour force. The National Industry Recovery Act marked a significant change in the attitude of the Governments that had gone before, in that Roosevelt’s economic plans tended to support the worker over the employer, seeking to guarantee minimum wages, as well as the rights of trade unions to exercise collective bargaining techniques. The real benefits of the act were limited in that it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, as it infringed on State’s rights. Despite this, the prospects for greater improvement in labour rights had never been better, as there was now a President who not only

LEWIN, D., KEEFE, J. H., & KOCHAN, T. A. (2012). THE NEW GREAT DEBATE ABOUT UNIONISM AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN U.S. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. ILR Review, 65(4), 749-778 Retrieved from https://web-b-ebscohost-com.bethelu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=71a03270-ad95-41f9-a574-414b59891617%40sessionmgr103&hid=101

Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).

At the beginning of the twentieth century there were many labour disputes. The role of trade unions, the limits of managers, and government involvement were major conflicts in the labour market. Firms usually did not want to negotiate with unions at all. Different unions fought with each other constantly over the goals of the labour movement and their right to organize different kinds of workers. Governments designed labour structures that reduced the number of, length of, and violence involved with

These changes in the behavior of society have left a lasting mark on our perception and the demand to be informed since that influencial period of social turmoil. The

“Eight for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for will” (Martha Bridgeman 2010). Have anyone in the audience ever experienced a time when you made a decision because you took information from your coworker or friend, instead of researching the information for yourself? Recently, I had to deal with my employer making a decision on becoming unionized and took information from coworkers that could have possibly changed my future in an economic way without knowing all of the facts. When faced with dilemmas that allow us to make choices, it is extremely important that decisions come from one’s own rational and informed conclusions, rather than relying upon what others present as unsubstantiated truth. Today, I will inform you on how I recently was involved in making a life altering decision of unionizing my employer, and my decision made after researching for answers; but first it is necessary to provide a brief history on labor unions in the United States.

The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease,

Consider the great "reform" of the New Deal in Labor/Management relations, the Wagner Act, which created the National Labor Relations Board, and defined an alliance between a Union and the ownership of an American Company as an "unfair labor practice." It might be unfair to suggest that the major intention of the Wagner Act was to instill the concept of Class Warfare at the core of Labor/Management relations. Its main thrust was to intrude the Executive branch of the Federal Government into those relations under the pretended authority of the Interstate Commerce clause of the Federal Constitution. Guaranteeing a certain antagonism between the players was one way to increase the opportunities to invoke the Federal role asserted.

While organized labor’s storied history demonstrates remarkable achievements, there has been a downside for the American economy. By way of example, the formerly dominant U.S. steel industry serves to remind of an time when poor management, global competition, and union excess were necessary causes of a dramatic and rapid industry decline.

This brief history of more than 100 years of the modern trade union movement in the United States can only touch the high spots of activity and identify the principal trends of a "century of achievement." In such a condensation of history, episodes of importance and of great human drama must necessarily be discussed far too briefly, or in some cases relegated to a mere mention.

I agree that the free market would run into serious problems undercutting its sustainability without regulation; however, the free market is as much a creation of the state that is highly influenced by interest groups. Interest groups play an important role in the formation of a regulation. Interest groups help candidates get elected into government. In return, interest groups can lobby for leniencies in policies that serve their interests. For example, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has lobbied the government of pipeline regulation, streaming of Fisheries Act, tax credits, and greenhouse gas regulations (as per Macleans.ca, The 10 lobby groups with most contact). If these private interests didn’t exist, would the general public lobby to increase tax credits to corporations? I don’t believe this is the case.