Work Ethic History

Workers became “more numerous, better organized, more disciplined, and more successful” even though employers tried to stop them (Who Built America 113). Many of these workers led strikes for better hours, better wages and better conditions. When comparing the 1800s to today, we see that strikes were very effective, an example of this is shown in the 8-hour movement. Unions helped win “more than 60 percent of the strikes waged in 1889 and 1890” (Who Built America 113). Due to these workers, employees now face fewer obstacles. Whenever workers felt as though they were being taken advantage of they could “refuse to work, if they withdraw their cooperation, every social institution can be brought to a halt” (Brecher 5). Without workers, the employers will have no one to complete products therefore not being able to make a profit. Subsequently, employees will have leverage over the employers so they can finally sit down and negotiate their conditions. This was shown in the Michigan Central Railroad where workers fought for their wages to increase by two dollars. The workers exhibited their resistance when “streetcars, wagons, and buggies were stopped; tanneries, stoneworks, clothing factories, lumberyards, brickyards, furniture factories, and a large distillery was closed in response to roving crowds” (Brecher 31). The result of this strike was “victorious, and 2 dollars a day became the standard wage in Galveston” (Brecher 31). This strike was important because it exhibited to others that if they unite then they can achieve better conditions. If the workers did not unionize they would not have achieved equality in the workforce and better wages and conditions. Without resistance, these workers would have never gotten negotiations or the necessities they need. Even if workers lost because of outside interference they eventually had the power to change the minds of

Having a good work ethic will help to keep you from procrastinating and keeping yourself on task without many distractions. A good work ethic will not only help you now but all thru life. It can help in job interviews or even getting a promotion. A good work ethic involves being hard working and always able to take advice from people higher up than you and always hustling til the job is done or your shift is over. A good work ethic is respected by all and admired. The ones whom are lacking leave teachers and future employers second guessing whether to recommended them further down the

In the 20th century working conditions were less than favorable. This led to a multitude of strikes and walkouts putting employer against employees. Employers wanted to pay their workers as least as possible all while working them as much as possible. As

With workers taking their livelihoods into their own hands, they began showing open rapport for Socialism by going on frequent strikes, petitioning, and actively advocating for better pay. As expected, this strike fever was troublesome to wealthy employers, seen as mere shenanigans made by lazy lower-class and immigrant

Strikers played a more transformative role during the progressive era. The strikers were the face of grievances facing workers. They gathered and fought for the rights they thought they deserved. They were able to accomplish demands that had plagued their lives for years. Without the use of striking or unionized assemblies, a push for rights would have been lost in the aggressive and influential employers. The reformers and push to give workers’ rights came about from the loud voice of strikes. The Anthracite Industry is one such unionized group that transformed the work of miners. The Shirtwaist factory workers is another group of strikers that helps prove that strikers played a more transformative role. These two groups embody the spirit of transformation towards a better working life.

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.

Let us not forget, though, that the pace was not constant due to seasonal agricultural work, changing cyclical demand of goods, and unreliable transportation, communication, and supply of materials. Household clocks were not common until the 1940s. Dedication to one’s task was strong, but the work ethic of the times did not demand the “ceaseless regularity which came with the age of machines.” The work ethic of pre-industrial America was therefore more of an ethos than a specific measure of productivity.

The workers in the industrial era were up against many changes that they needed to adapt to. Often times in the high Industrial age, faster machines enabled efficient production at the compromise of the worker’s safety, thus needing to adapt to a more hostile work environment. The ever-dwindling salary of workers in the factories and mills catalyzed the need to adapt to a new, poverty-stricken lifestyle. Workers who sailed from Europe in hopes of securing job in America were received with little respect in the industry, and they now needed to adapt to an American Industry that they had no experience in. These worker injustices ultimately led up to strikes and the governmental evaluation of big manufacturers such as Pullman’s industries.

Through history you can see that work ethic became vitally important when the United States was becoming influential in the world market. This was especially seen during the rise of industrialization in America from 1878-1889 when a handful of corporations rose up and became the most powerful companies in the world. Some of these companies that are well-known today arose during this time period such as General Electric, U.S Steel, and J.P Morgan Banking. These corporations became very successful because of their business owners and their determination to do whatever was necessary to make a profit and put themselves above all other rival companies. Several come to mind but the two most prominent were John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.

In the year 1945, as the second world war was coming to an end the 99-day Ford strike occurred on September 12, 1945 Windsor, Ontario. Due to the end of the war, thousands of soldiers were returning back home and actively searched for opportunities to rejoin the workforce. Despite all the outrageous effects of the battlegrounds, the end of the war brought forward Canadian’s mixed emotions and actions. For example, it caused a slowdown in the wartime production and brought forward self-assured Canadian unionists. This quickly triggered a significant increase in union memberships and the number of strikes during the time. Ford being one of Canada’s largest workplaces was struggling in maintaining and meeting its worker’s demands. Before the end of the war, Union Auto Workers productively collected union dues directly from its members. However, with thousands of members coming back from the war, it was more challenging to collect the union dues, making it a full-time activity (Canadian Labour Congress, n.d.). The United Auto workers local 200 wanted union security and demanded that Ford approve both union shops and dues check- off. After the second world war many companies including Ford decided to layoff 1,500 worker at Windsor, which also triggered the “Windsor’s Ford strike”. The worker’s necessities and wants lead to there overpowering decision to go on strike (Pryke, 1997). Although, the strike lasted 99-days it significantly influenced and changed labour relations in

There were many problems between the worker and large corporation during the turn of the 20th century. Large corporations were taking advantage of the worker by paying him lower than the livable wage, giving him long hours, dangerous workplaces, and few benefits. The interests of the worker were advanced by boycotts, strikes, and unions because they all helped the worker be on even terms with their employers.

The earlier days of this country proved to be a much different society. In the time period ranging from the 1870s to the 1920s, America’s economic and societal environments were constantly changing. Innovation and technology caused a great demand for workers in factories. While job opportunities were plentiful, they were not always well-paying jobs or fair working conditions. In these instances, workers had no reservations about going on strike to obtain what they wanted. One of the most well-known

This is a case study on A New Work Ethic written by James Sheehy a human resources manager. According to the Business Dictionary (2011) ethic is define as the basic concepts and fundamental principles of right human conduct. It includes study of universal values such as the essential equality of all men and women, human or natural rights, obedience to the law of land, concern for health and safety and, increasingly, also for the natural environment.

Management can play a vital role in shaping their workplaces. A manager can invoke increases in co-operation and harmony amongst themselves and workers by addressing key issues that affect both groups. Management can facilitate this, for instance, by implementing plans that attempt to eliminate the issues that many workers face day-to-day such as monotony and fatigue (which have negative effects on productivity). Managers can reduce fatigue and monotony with job rotation and job enlargement, for example (Krahn, Lowe, Hughes, 2011 p. 264). Management can attempt to increase morale in their workplace by involving workers in decision-making processes normally closed off to managerial personnel; for instance, the addition of a new technology that a group of workers will eventually have to use. A manager could adopt a normative approach to managing their employees by conveying true, not fabricated, trust and interest in their employees and the work process as well (Krahn, Lowe, Hughes, 2011 p. 241). A manager could show this by doing the actual labour himself for a day or week or going out on the shop floor and asking meaningful questions. Since unions serve to represent the mass of workers they can work alongside management teams to better shape the workplace. The union,

The belief that work is morally good is the definition of work ethic provided by The American Heritage Dictionary. Work can mean different things to different people. Usually, when we first think of a word and its meaning, we look at its definition. When defining what is morally good, one must remain open to past societal meanings of what was considered moral. Work ethic has developed and changed through different cultures over centuries. Historians and philosophers have developed great insights and theories pertaining specifically to the meaning of work ethic and its meaningfulness in today's modern employment, while some have praised it and some have cursed it. Which leads us to the question, do workers today have a calling or