The Battle Of The Auto Workers Union

Robots can effect employment in a negative way,as said by the author Kelly “It may be hard to believe… 70 percent of today’s occupation will likewise be replaced by automation...even you will have your job taken away by machines”(Kelly Page.300), this quote comes to show the negative aspect of robots taking over the world in the near

The PATCO strike began on August 3, 1981 with over 13,000 people walking out.  This "illegal" act was met with a quick response from President Ronald Reagan (Sconberger p 1).  Reagan told the strikers, "Either return to work within 48 hours or be fired from government service for breaking the 'oath of office' not to strike (Sconberger, special report, p. 12).  While roughly 1,200 workers returned to work, another 12,000 remained on strike and were promptly fired  (Sconberger p 1).  This caused a serious safety problem for the airlines, inconveniences for many Americans, and lost profits for many businesses.  Controllers needed to be replaced and it needed to be done fast.  As a result, their were many

Labor union were crucial in the late 1800’s when the workers were working long hours, doing hard work, without any extra pay. Job security (could be fired at any given time) and safety precautions did not exist in this era, jobs in this day was typically a threat to the workers due to the bad working conditions. When the union was formed in 1866 it was not easy, but if the workers understood how it would benefit them it would have been a greater successes. Due to lack of education, the communication between the union and the works was broken. Some of the religious beliefs created a hardship on getting the union passed. One of the unions called the AFL (American Federation of Labor) was created in 1881 that would try to fight for workers’ rights.

During the Progressive Era of the Gilded Age, many laborers were being mistreated by the companies that they worked for. Because of this, workers started forming labor unions or organized association of workers, formed to protect and further their rights and interests. Many of these labor unions failed, while few of them achieved their goals and still exist today. Many factors contributed to the failure of these labor unions. The labor unions were given a bad image, the reason for this was the media, and they did this by publishing articles depicting the unions as violent, communist groups. The government supported big business during this time, since the government had a lot of power; this was a huge setback in the labor unions’ battles.

The Labor Movement’s number one concern is to address problems associated with social inequality. The labor movement was created in order to fight for the rights of labor workers. The goal was to have better wages, safe working conditions, and reasonable working hours. Unions were formed in order to achieve this. However, this was always enough. Workers reached a point where they came together and participated in strikes which the main goal was to have their employers listen to them and come to an agreement.

This article talked about the general things of the National Labor Union back in the 1800’s. It mostly talked about the negative effects of the NLU such as exclusion of women, racial prejudice, and failing to enforce the eight-hour labor law. The article did mention about groups of skilled, unskilled, and farmers were unable to share and participate in united political views unless they were intensely focused on labor union. After William Sylvis death in 1869, the NLU suffered politically and dealt with the Depression of 1873, where the NLU finally collapsed.

Labor unions have existed in one way or another since the birth of our country in 1776. They were created in an effort to protect the working population from abuses such as sweatshops and unsafe working conditions. From the start of our Nation there were a few unions organized unions in a scattered fashion, but many were disbanded after they had achieved their goals, such as when the printers and shoemakers briefly unionized in Philadelphia and New York City in 1778 to conduct the first recorded strike for higher wages. Three years later in 1971 the first successful strike happened, when Philadelphia carpenters campaigned for a ten-hour workday. This caused the need for skilled and unskilled laborers to skyrocket during the Industrial Revolution and the Civil War and also got the ball rolling with Labor unions. At this point in our Country, there had been nothing done yet for workers’ rights, conditions, pay, and so on. People at this time saw that they could come together and do something to make their lives better for themselves and their families. Many of these dates were important in shaping our country’s labor policies into what they are today. In 1847 New Hampshire enacts as the first state to enforce a 10-hour workday law. In 1909 the International Ladies’ Garment workers’ Union calls a strike in New York, demanding a 20-percent raise and a 52-hour workweek. Within two days, more than 20,000 workers from 500 factories walk off the job. This largely successful uprising

In labor as in all things there is strength in numbers it is this strength that American labor unions provide. Labor unions provide a collective voice for those who had not previously been heard. As the professor in the “Frustrated Labor Historian” Dr. Horace P. Karastan is left with the dilemma what are the three most important events in American labor union history it would be difficult to choose with so many important moments. There are however several events that stand out as being turning points in giving employees unquestionable protections. The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 allowing employees the right to organize. Further the Wagner Act protecting employees from reprisal from employers for organizing spurring the growth of unionization. The Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 building on the Wagner Act as well as the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 which granted protections from the unions. It is these Acts that have changed the landscape of American labor union history and leave us with the unions that we have today.

“I regard my workpeople just as I regard my machinery...When my machines get old and useless, I reject them and get new, and these people are part of my machinery” (Sands 12). A foreman at a textile mill in Fall River, Massachusetts spoke these words in possibly the worst time during American labor history, the Industrial Revolution. During the Industrial Revolution, large numbers of people in the United States flocked to work in factories where they faced long hours, unsanitary and unsafe conditions and poor wages. Labor unions, or groups of organized workers, formed in the United States to ensure workers the right to a safe workplace and a fair wage in the face of capitalistic factory owners seeking wealth. In exchange, union

Labor union is an organized association of workers, in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests. During the industrial revolution in Europe there was a rise in new workers without representation in the workplace. In the 19th century the industrial revolution spread to the United States from Europe, this resulted in the economy shifting to manufacturing from agriculture as an economic importance. American societies were increasing in population as well as experiencing industrial growth. This industrialization brought conflict between businesses and the labor force since mechanized production was replacing household

The United Automobile Workers (UAW) is a labor union that represents workers in North America. It has the employer’s welfare in mind in the manner of a health insurance plan, improved working conditions, better working hours, and higher wages. The UAW has received a great deal of criticism over the years for being responsible for the “death of the auto industry” in America. With its influential history and the issues members have faced over the course of the years, an analysis can be made of the way the group performs and the media attention that the group has generated. The UAW believes in social justice for its workers and providing quality automobile products to the public while creating success for its members, company investors and clients.

The Labor Movement has had a huge effect on everyone in the U.S. Through it, many people have been able to advance their wellbeing by having a job that treats them right. The movement allowed for the creation of unions which protect workers from being treated unfairly by employers. It allows employees to come together to negotiate for better working conditions, pay, and so on.

By the end of 1936 and the beginning of 1937, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union structured a strike held at General Motors, known as the Fisher Body Plant No. 2 in Flint, Michigan. They called the strike, a sit-down strike that was organized to demand improvements to working conditions and job security to all employees. The strike was one of the largest during this era. The local police tried to withhold food from going into the plant that was ordered by supporters; which caused the strike to become violent. This left the Michigan’s governor, Frank Murphy no choice but to step in and decide to call in the National Guard to control the situation, however, the troops was ordered be onsite and not go inside the plant. Murphy made this decision

We live in the age of constant technological innovation and endless information; in which we are so connected and dependent on the technology we use that we sometimes don’t even realize how much we’re relying on it. In The Glass Cage by Nicholas Carr, Carr defines automation as, “the use of computers and software to do things we used to do ourselves,” and argues that there are daunting consequences to our reliance on technology (Carr 1). In his book, Nicholas Carr sets up three arguments related to automation, tacit knowledge, and the idea of work. His main arguments throughout the novel are that humans are overestimating the benefits of automation, losing tacit knowledge through our reliance on technology, and

Americans work more than anyone else and it doesn’t do anything for us, the average workweek for the U.S. is forty one hours a week. Compared to France, Britain, and Germany more than thirty percent of Americans work more than forty five hours a week. Over a year’s span the average number of hours an employee worked is 1,800 hours. Not to mention we work a lot more than other countries, we work undesirable hours too, and even weekends. Since we work so much we have made the living cost go up and making us work more for what we get less for a lot more money. President Obama is trying to make workers earn time and a half over time in pay so we can reduce the hours worked (Hamermesh 1).