The Pros and Cons of Labor Unions Essay

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 shift in organized labor in the United States (U.S.) from the private sector to the public sector has been a dramatic one. Union growth in the American public sector is part of a 60-year trend fueled by the decline of labor power in the private sector (Norcross, 2011). In 2009, union membership in the public sector passed that in the private sector for the first time in U.S. history

Towards the end of the nineteenth century (1860-1900), America’s economy had gone through a transformation, where industries were developed. The rapid growth of industrialization was caused by many factors, including: abundant natural resources, educated labor force, and the encouragement of technological innovation. Because of new technological innovations, new machines were created for “easier” mass production. The new economy in which industrialization created, resulted in wealth in many Americans; however, there were many downsides to this; factories polluted the air, workers labored in dangerous conditions, and long hours. Because of these downsides to industrialization, labor unions developed: The Knights of Labor, the Industrial Workers of the World, and the American Federation of Labor.

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.

Between the years 1870-1900, Americans began to respond to the effects fostered by these corporations. From urban factory workers to rural farmers, Americans began to organize against these big businesses. With mass industrialization, more job’s were made available to women, these jobs were often in factories with terrible conditions, sweatshops. There was a sameness about working in mass production factories. Thus, working in these modern mass production factories created a homogenous environment that diminished individualism and the need for skilled workers. (Doc. C) Strikers were common during this era, workers participated in strikes and joined labor unions, such as The American Federation of Labor and the Knights of Labor, due to the terrible working conditions. The American Federation of Labor, headed by Samuel Gompers, was specifically for skilled workers and argued for better wages and a reduction in working hours. (Doc. G) Although urban workers were greatly impacted by the growth of these corporations, they were not the ones. Farmers, suffered

Labor Unions have had an effect of American history as well as world-wide history from the time they became popular. Following WWII Americans were predominantly pro-labor, however, as time went on union’s credibility fell short of perfect. Union strikes proved to be bothersome to both the general public and company. Unions were also suppressing to employees through fraud and lack of worker rights (in earlier years, before Acts were passed). Although Union labor had its shortcomings, this type of labor is noted to be the most productive and economically beneficial. With both sides shown, I feel Unions will again thrive in the future with a few key adjustments made.

During a time period of great advancement in technology, the late 19th century could appropriately dub itself as an industrial revolution. Rapid transformations of the work-place worsened working conditions and prompted the common laborer to join forces with others in order to create labor unions. Although these unions were fueled with excellent intentions and driven by exasperated motivation, these organizations did little to improve the working conditions during this particular time frame. It wasn’t until the 20th century that tangible changes in the workplace, stability in personal finance, and the public’s perception of their motivations that organized labor truly improved the position of workers from 1875 to 1900.

Unions in America today have grown smaller and smaller in the past 30 years. There are many reasons for this. The major one is that industries in other countries that are non-union have much cheaper labor costs, and therefore can offer products and materials at a much lower price than our US union-run, high wage cost factories. “During the 1970s and 1980s, a fifth of large unionized companies in the United States went bankrupt, unable to compete against companies with lower wage costs.” (Rachman, 308)

    Since 1881 labor unions have been a part of the US employment infrastructure; influencing the change of working conditions, pay, hours, and the economy. But the usefulness of these unions is widely debated. Are unions helping drive the US economy or are they holding us back?

The past 30 years have been gloomy ones for the labor movement. In the American private sector trade-union membership has fallen from a third in 1979 to just 7% today. There is an exception to this story of decline: public unions in America has strengthened over the same period from 11% to 36%. There are now more American workers in unions in the public sector (7.6m) than in the private sector (7.1m), although the private sector employs five times as many people. This private-public move has changed the trade union movement. In the 1950s unions were steady working class, men who had left school at 16 and inclined to go left on economics but right on social issues. Today they are much more middle-class: more than a quarter of American unionists

Since the birth of the USA, labor unions have played a critical role in the battle between capital and labor. Labor unions keep workers safe and happy while giving them the chance to bargain with the capital for pay raises. Labor unions also have led to declines in US dominance in areas such as steel, automotive, education and airlines. The rise of capitalism as the main economical system in the United States made the rise of unions un-avoidable.

Dating back to the eighteenth century—when labor unions originated—many workers were searching for jobs that had not yet been guaranteed, or created. Then in the nighteeth century, labor unions came to be quite notably the Knights of Labor created a social and cultural movement for the workingman. The overarching theme for all the labor unions was that working in inhabitable work environments and being under paid were simply insufferable; however, some argue the effectiveness of labor union attributing it to an economic downturn that would soon come. While on the other hand, many argue unions could help the issue between America’s largest corporations not sharing their wealth amongst those employed. Due to the right to work laws union membership

Historically, unions have represented an important part of the work force in the United States. The unions have organized numerous minimally educated persons to obtain well-paying jobs. There is a trend of decline in the proportion of the workforce in private

Through the years the labor unions have done a pendulum swing in the importance and power that they have. In the beginning they tended to overstep their bounds and through the course of the last 40 plus years there have been more of a decline in union membership due to the stagnant approach of late. Through the efforts along with the good and the bad, people today benefit

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report published in January this year, union membership in the United States hit an all-time low in 2016 with only an estimated 10.7% of wage and salary workers belonging to a union. While at their peak in 1954, roughly 28.3% of all workers were estimated to belong to unions, but membership has continuously declined ever since. There are many theories as to why this is, but due to how interconnected the topic of labor itself is with society, the economy, and political climate, there is no singular obvious cause. The theories overviewed here are Michael Goldfield’s sociological, cyclical, and political theories, Gordon Clark’s community theory, and Henry S. Farber and Alan B. Krueger’s demand theory.