The Wagner Act and Taft Hartley Act - Essay Example

Industrial Relations Midterm Examination Industrial Relations: Midterm Examination Question The three mostimportant trends in today’s U.S. relations are declining union membership, outsourcing and employee participation schemes sponsored by employers (Wright, 2011). With regard to the first trend, the rate of unionization rose sharply after 1935, following the passage of the National Labour Relations Act. However, since around 1960, memberships to trade unions have been on the decline (Warner, 2012). Many observers have advanced reasons to explain this downward trend. One reason is,America is shifting (or has already shifted) from an industrial economy to a post-industrial one. The former employed more male, blue-collar, less-educated workers who needed trade unions (Warner, 2012). The latter employs increasingly more female, white-collar, more educated workers who have less need for unions. These trends impact significantly on the relevance of labour relations to managers. First, whereas declining unionization may appear to exert less pressure on managers, the trend toward workers outsourcing the custody of their labor rights to lawyers implies closer scrutiny for the managers. Now managers will have to be more careful in dealing with their employees, lest they fall victim to the watchful eye of a lawyer. Then, the trend toward employers to devise schemes for employee participation in the running of the organization means that managers will endure less opposition from trade unions. Question 2 In the old industrial economy, the employee was viewed as a source of cheap labor (Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 2011). Their only role was to help goods for sale in the market. There was very little contact with the management. This view, however, has changed with the emergence of the so-called post-industrial market economy. The rise of the knowledge worker, in particular, has been instrumental to the mental shift. Broadly defined, the knowledge worker is charged with generating new ideas as opposed to simply implementing policies adopted by the management. This shift in the way the employee is perceived has necessitated a change in the way the workplace is governed. The new approach to governance places more emphasis on the active involvement of the employee in the decision-making processes of the organization (Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 2011). There are many rewards that accrue to the firm that engages its employees in its decision-making processes. The benefit that is most cited is increased employee productivity (Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 2011). The employee who plays an active part in reaching the decisions of the firm feels valued and is more likely to be committed to achieving the goals of the firm. Question 3 Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was formed in 1905 in a bid to unite all American industrial workers in all industries (Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), 2011 (Amended)). The union was formed out of the frustration that employers were putting employees of different unions against one another to further their interests. The founders of the other two organizations were motivated by the same frustrations. For a long time, there had been rivalry among trade unions. Each competed for members. The result was numerous fragmented unions that could not put up any resistance against employer exploitation. Employers were quick to discover the loophole and soon realized that they could fan rivalry among the unions. Once divided, it was easy to manipulate the weak unions. The implication is that the future of American unionism lies in unity. As long as unions continue to be divided in the pursuit of narrow interests, they will not be able to stage any resistance against employer exploitation. Question 4 The Wagner Act seeks to promote collective bargaining among employees by stopping employers from doing all the things that amount to unfair labor practices(Greenman, 1945). The Act ought to be understood by every head of department or supervisor who works for an industrial or commercial company. The Taft Hartley Act, on the other hand, sets out the rights of the employee(University of Oregon, 2008). These include the right to form and belong to any trade union of their choice. Thus, both Acts are concerned with fostering good labor relation at the workplace. However, whereas the Wagner Act is concerned with preventing unfair labor practices by employers, the Taft Hartley act is concerned with protecting the rights of the worker. The three most important aspects a manager should know about the Wagner Act are the three main unfair practices prohibited by the Act, namely interference, restraint and coercion. Failure to understand these three, the manager could find themselves behind bars or fined. Question 5 As already stated above, the Taft Hartley Act seeks to safeguard the rights of the worker against violation by the employer. The Landrum Act, on the other hand, regulates the way a labor union relates with its members. Both Acts provide for the rights of a union member. While the former is concerned with the rights of a member in relation to the employer, the latter aims to protect their rights once they have joined a union. There are three important things unions should know about the Taft Hartley Act. First, whereas their members have the right to belong to any union of their choice, trade unions have the duty to ensure that they do not register as a member a person who holds membership in another union. Secondly, unions are prohibited from accepting funds or donation of any kind from an employer. Thirdly, company-dominated unions are illegal. Such unions may be formed in a variety of ways. For instance, one may be formed following the suggestion of the employer or they may demand the formation of one. Question 6 The United States runs two parallel sets of labor laws: one for the private sector and another for the public sector. In 1935, the Wagner Act empowered workers in the private sector to formally form labor unions and bargain collectively with their employers. However, public sector employees were explicitly secluded from the protection provided by the Act. It was left to State and local governments to decide the rights they would grant public workers. Thus, as while private sector unions grew, public workers fought for their rights at state and local levels. It was not until the 1960s and public sector unions gained momentum. The three most important differences between public and private sector labour laws are: first, while private sector laws came into force as early as 1935, it was not until the 1960s that public sector unions were recognized by law. Secondly, private sector labour laws are nationally recognized and hard to abolish or amend this is not the case for state and local-government-based public sector laws. Thirdly, as can be seen from earlier questions, private sector laws are more comprehensive than public sector ones. These differences may be justified by the fact that conditions of work were harsher in the private sector. These forced private sector employees to be more aggressive in securing their rights. Question 7 Even in the face of declining unionization, there are several strategies available to the American labour movement today. Three of these strategies will be discussed here, namely recruiting more members, collective bargaining and decentralization. On recruiting more members, this is still a possible strategy that a labor union may pursue. This is despite the fact that we have noted that union membership has been on the decline since the 1960s (Warner, 2012). Research has shown that union membership is generally still stronger among the public sector, prime age workers and the married (Oireachtas Library and Research Service, 2011). Collective bargaining: this has been the mother of all strategies ever since the emergence of labor unions(Manheim, 2013). Even so, the trick today is for several unions to merge in order to increase their bargaining power. The golden rule of this strategy is simple: there is strength in numbers. Thus, rather that disintegrate into small, powerless factions, unions should join hands so as to enhance their capacity to bargain with the increasingly powerful employers. Decentralization: This strategy is the exact opposite of collective bargaining. Rather than join forces, unions could decide to break into small highly specialized unions (Oireachtas Library and Research Service, 2011). These would then invest heavily in legal services and other relevant services. The popularity of this strategy is on the rise, especially among the knowledge workers such as software engineers and professors. For any one of these strategies to succeed, the union or unions pursuing it must be consistent. Otherwise, the union that keeps shifting from one strategy to the next is likely to fail. In addition, the union will need strong, visionary leaders who will be able to rise above their personal interests. The importance of this last point cannot be overstressed. Many union leaders have been accused of being compromised by employers, to the frustration of union members (Oireachtas Library and Research Service, 2011). Question 8 Through the union strategy, a union will encourage the employee to it on the promise that it would help them air their grievances. Consequently, in the event that the employee joins and is committed to the union, they are likely to respond to workplace injustice through the union. However, without commitment, they would belong to the union but still opt for other ways of solving their problem. Today, some companies, in an effort to reduce union hostility, are innovating ways to ensure that their employees contribute to the process of decision-making through participation. However, because employees are rational beings, they can tell whether or not a participation scheme is genuine or not. If it is, they may use it to air their grievances. Otherwise. They will look elsewhere for a solution (Warner, 2012). Question 9 There exists a dual system of union organizing in the United States: one for private sector workers and another for public sector workers. Each is regulated by a dissimilar set of laws. The private sector labour laws are national, older and more established than their public sector counterparts that are legislated and enforced at the state and local levels of government. Overall, in both sectors, the union movement is on the decline. The main reason for the decline, especially in the private sector, is the increasing dominance of new, post-industrial economy. Workers in this economy, it is said, have less need for unions. However, the union are still quite influential in the labour market and the company cannot afford to ignore them. Question 10 Suppose a new company has just opened shop in town. The company produces highly specialized chemicals to supply several universities and research institutions in the state. Because of its highly specialized products, the company employs highly skilled and specialized people. Workers in this particular industry are unionized. Their union is highly organized. In recent months, it has successfully sued two firms for violating the rights of their members. Each of the two companies was penalized $ 1 million.Under these circumstances, the new company may decide to hire the services of a union avoidance consultant to try to dissuade the company’s employees from joining the union that represents their industry. Whether or not to hire a union consultant would depend on several factors. One of them would be how informed the target employees are about their labour rights. The decision would also depend on an assessment of how much it would otherwise cost the enterprise in fines if an employee sued it for violation of rights. The main potential benefit of hiring a union avoidance consultant would be the possibility of saving money in fines. The main risk, however, is that the company could be sued ina court of law under the Wagner Act for engaging in practices that constitute unfair trade practices. References Greenman, R. (1945). The Wagner Labor Relations Act: A Manual for Department Heads and Foremen. New York: National Foremens Institute, Inc. Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). (2011 (Amended)). Preamble, Constitution & General Bylaws of the Industrial workers of the World. New York: Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Manheim, J. (2013). The Emerging Role of Worker Centers in Union Organizing: A Strategic Assessment. New York: U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Oireachtas Library and Research Service. (2011). Trade Unions, Collective Bargaining and the Economic Crisis: Where Now? New Orleans: Oireachtas Library and Research Service. Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). (2011). SHRM Workplace Forecast: The top workplace Trends According to HR Professionals. Alexandria: Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). University of Oregon. (2008). Taft Hartley Act: Employer Unfair Labour Practices. Oregon: University of Oregon. Warner, K. (2012). Protecting Fundamental Labor Rights: Lessons from Canada for the United States. . Washington, DC: Center for Economic and Policy Research. Wright, C. (2011). What Role for Trade Unions in Future Workplace Relations. London: Acas. Read More