The Social Construction of Workers’ Collectivism

In the early days of trade unionism, there was a direct need for workers to be represented, in areas such

Therefore, it is understandable that movement scholars tend to write from a rather activist stance. There is nothing wrong with this per se, however, as historians, we should critically assess in how far this positioning might limit our scholarship. At times, Payne tends to overemphasize the unity and the solidarity among the organizers and the local population and fails to mention the tensions among direct democratic groups like SNCC. Every social movement is made up of people, united under what they perceive as an urgent need to bring about change. This unity tends to suppress theoretical and practical differences for some time and can thus create a tremendous amount of communality and solidarity among its members. However, as history has shown over and over again, as soon as the external threat either diminishes or proves resistant to change, movements tend to disunite. This is what Baker and other activists wanted to prevent by modeling their training around local long-term strategies and individual

Initially, the intent of labor unions was for employed workers to meet together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives and goals. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War, in the United States- responding to the industrial economy boom. Following the war, labor unions finally reached public popularity within the 1930-1950’s, and then again began to slowly decrease, through the 1960’s and on to today’s times. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries.

     The past of Unions is indisputable; however, the outlook can be altered to form a promising future. The reversal of history can be done through reconstruction and restatement of workers rights. A reestablishment of worker liberties should be considered in order to clarify any confusion in which present and prospective employees are faced with. Unions are notorious for being tyrannical and inconsiderate towards employees and thus union heads should confront this issue head on and give workers a voice (i.e. vote). In order to regain union strength in today’s society I believe Unions must give workers honorable rights and a democratic right to be heard.

"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." Throughout history, us Proletariats have been oppressed by the Bourgeoisie. They make us factory employees do their work, but they reap the rewards. As many articles have suggested, this must be stopped. Each article provides a unique standpoint on the method of halting this abuse.

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

Being a part of an independent worker’s union can risk one’s job; leading a union can often lead to losing that job, being threatened, or even murdered due to to the unpopular views. Unions arise when workers see that their jobs no longer meet their basic needs in order to protect their worker’s rights alongside their jobs. However, the social elite are opposed to unions because they do not wish to loosen their grip on the workers. When composing The Iron Heel, and expressed his socialist views through the various characters. In The Iron Heel, Jack London criticizes the rise of the oligarchy and its suppression of justice as well as individuals who questioned its supremacy and legitimacy.

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,

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).

“As they fathom injustice, organize to protest, craft a tactics, and engage in action, these bodies read what is happening and articulate their imaginative rebuttal. In so doing they demonstrate to themselves and all those watching that something can be done. Could this be why they are called political ‘movements’?”

Despite these accomplishments, the power over subordinate group still exist. Grabb argues that oppression on the class basis may seem absent in capitalist societies today, because workers are "legally free to choose whether or not to accept to work" for a capitalist (Grabb, 1997: 16). But, are workers really free to decide? In other terms, what are their options? For a worker who, by definition, does not own means of production, there is no other choice to earn a living than to sell his/her labour to the capitalist.

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.

Buechler, Steven M.. Social movements in advanced capitalism: the political economy and cultural construction of social activism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print.

Yet again participation in social events constructs a new identity, a voice. Voices are not just the right to vote or express belonging through the act of protest, as not all voices are intended to get acknowledged (Kahu, 2015). Being a union member I portray my identity in a different way. Participating in strikes is my way of conveying my rights. This participation concludes my idea of raising awareness of what is important to my identity, my sense of belonging in a community. Although an act of protest may not make a difference in an overall outcome, it can still leave the idea behind for future consideration. Not always we act on behalf of conveying the self-belonging but the belonging of a community as a whole. In the end my rights is my

2. Chapter 2 2.1 Theoretical Framework- Literature Review 2.1.1 Unitarism 2.1.2 Pluralism 2.1.3 Marxism 2.1.4 Collectivism and Individualism 2.1.5 Neo-liberalism 2.1.6 Unionism