Labor Market Changes In The Last 20 Years - Case Study Example

Labor Market Changes In The Last 20 Years Service Employees International Union is one among the famous and powerful labor union of America. It strived hard for the uplifting of the laborers and their welfare. Employees of almost all the companies were a part of this union, which they thought will definitely help them. Andy Stern is the president of the labor union SEIU. He is serving as the president of this union from the time of 1996. At the beginning of the establishment of this union, much people were not interested in these unions as many of them did not satisfy any of the worker’s needs. But once Stern took over as the president of this union, the situation was totally different. He started co operating with the laborers and helped them. The directors of the organizations were a little bit worried, as the union leader was totally in support of the employees. He introduced many new plans and policies that would benefit the employees. Most of his policies aimed at decreasing the strike rate. (Stern 2006). Stern was firm that the unions required changes to improve it according to the developing global economy. His aim was to serve the downtrodden that were normally not even of by any of the administrators. Government did not take any measure to solve the problems of the employees and that made Stern to fight for the employee’s rights. He took further steps to ensure no body is left jobless. The fear of job in security was a big problem in America. The changes made by Stern were a total makeover for the worker community. He felt that government was helping and was trying to improve the status of the rich rather than concentrating the poor, who were deprived of their basic needs. Globalization is taking place at a very high speed and the countries should be prepared to enough to meet the changes. He expressed that the American government was not well equipped to face these challenges. As the government was finding it difficult to cope up with the globalization, it had brought the Americans to a situation where they have to suffer even for their daily affairs, rather than saving for the future. People who were holding high positions in the organizations were not affected by any means and continued to lead a problem free life. But for the daily wage workers, the situation was entirely upside down. They felt it difficult to close their debts and they could not even save a penny. The rich people were still growing and the poor were still suffering. The politicians did not do anything to improve these situations which lead Stern to make a decision to help those who were suffering. As America was going through a transformation due to the economic conditions, the solution was the need of the hour. Stern boldly took decisions to reform the health care tax system. These decisions made by Stern were correct as it paved the way for the employees to have a sense of satisfaction and relief. The existing tax system was in favor of the wealthy and he tried to change it to meet the needs of the daily wage workers. Stern’s actions were perfectly timed and this acted as an advantage. Stern’s decisions and changes were very much effective in helping the laborers in leading a serene life. His approach was efficient in tackling the problems and his strategies were strong enough to help the laborers in spite of the falling economy. The cooperative method that he followed was of great help and all the workers were equally. The employees also felt a relief from the ongoing problems. Stern’s reformation was practical and it had a very good effect of the America’s growing economy. Compared to the situation that prevailed during the establishment of the union services, the current development has been drastic. Many union services were set up earlier and most of them merged together to serve the workers. UNITE a similar union that worked for the improvement of the workers and another service named HERE came together to produce positive results. But this was a failure and it did not fight for the laborers in any way. Later SEIU decided to join with HERE and serve work for the development of the workers. This decision of Stern’s was appropriate and well perceived when compared with the other union services. SEIU’s money was used to start a new union for the people who were employed in restaurants and its services. It helped in the up lift of the down trodden. As the price of each and every commodity is going up, it was difficult for the daily wage workers to meet the expenses of the day to day affairs. Politicians did not take proper action and instead they tried to get away from the situation. Stern felt they were not responsible and he took control over the situation and made sure that every American was having a job. Due to the recession and global slowdown, many people were losing their jobs. Then the main aim of Stern was to help them to get in to jobs as soon as possible. There were various forces which spoiled the labor movement, but he struggled and got them a better life. Stern’s reformation has definitely changed the future of America, which even the government failed to do. Revolutionary act of Stern helped the economically improving America and made sure employees of all strata were benefited. Recently Stern proposed a plan to form another union and merge it with SEIU. In spite of much opposition, he wanted to accomplish it as his aim was a problem free union. Stern tried his best to improve the life of the workers. He is introducing new policies to make the labor unions a better service organization that can help the workers to lead a peaceful life. Stern’s major commitment was to improve the basic services and facilities of the laborers. Health care was the first one to be enhanced and he worked towards improving it so that the workers got all the medical facilities in a minimal cost. Not all the companies gave the rights and liberty to start and run an employees union. Stern proposed a system in which he specified that every company should allow the workers to have a union which can be used to deal with their grievances.(Stern 2006). He felt that the laborers should get proper funding facilities. His major target was to change the format where the taxpaying proposal helped only the rich people and left the poor in a still more pathetic state. To increase the employment opportunities for the Americans, he introduced many new schemes in which most of them will get a job. Stern achieved this by taking steps to change the government policies, in which only the rich were benefited. By doing this many unemployed people got jobs which helped their families. Though many of his policies acted as an advantage, not all of them got into action immediately. It took some time to implement the plans. Stern, as the president of SEUI has opposed the government to improve the state of employees, workers and daily wage workers. All these proposals have been successful so far and have got a reputed name for the organization. His hard work has definitely got the desired results and made him a popular person in America. Stern’s plans and proposals have proved to be the most trusted one by the employees. Andy Stern has created a niche for himself in the labor industry. His approach and the way of dealing things are obviously successful. The most important changes in the NYC labor market over the last 20 years and describe in detail how one immigrant and native born workers have responded to these changes. New York Labor Market has undergone many changes in the recent years. The recession and the global slowdown have created a very big impact on the New York Labor market. Initially during the economic crisis, there was a major breakdown in the employment. The employee’s wages was totally less when compared to the period that was before recession. Everybody was affected due to the crisis. Either each of them has lost their job or their wages have been decreased. As many people were jobless, it affected their families and they went through a bad time. The workforce was greatly affected and this lead to the decline in the country’s production. The government decided to adapt new strategies to resolve this problem and improve this situation. Due to the major fall, the unemployment increased. Many companies thought of changing their way of giving away the wages. They started to employ more workers with less salary. This in one way helped in solving the unemployment problem, but this did not improve the situation of the country in any way. More workforces were the choice of the employers instead of giving more wages to minimal employees. Organizations decided to implement changes like increasing the working hours of the existing employees, so that they need not employ new workers. This in turn increased the salary of the existing employees, but unemployment was still a problem. Several financial changes were planned, but they could not address the problem faced by the country. As people lost their jobs, it affected various areas. There was a decrease in the value of assets and the stocks that many employees were holding till then lost their value. Many employees who were getting financial assistance from the banks found it difficult to pay off their debts. Most of them went to the extent of mortgages, which may help them for some time. New York is considered to be the major market in America where most of the financial companies went down. Since the global slowdown, there was a decline in the rate of jobs. The rate of unemployment was started to increase, but it was less when compared to the other countries. Before one or two decades, the situation was entirely different. Most of them were employed and they did not have any problem with their financial status. But due to the recession in 2001, there was a major hit on the companies that were purely depended on the financial and corporate sector. The labor market went through a dramatic change after which it took much time to recover. (Breen 1997). New York Labor market was totally down when there was a crisis in 2001. All this resulted in the decline of the working population. People had to undergo a difficult situation where they felt it hard to come up with the current crisis. Economic slowdown in the 1990’s resulted in caseloads and most of them in the country were surviving by the grants given by the government. This gradually decreased as the market underwent a change in the following years. Since there was a drop in the country’s economy in the 2000’s, the caseload again increased. As 2001 attack lead to a heavy job loss, the number of people depending on the government compensation increased. Many reforms were proposed, but they failed to stand for a long time. Everything was a temporary solution. The major changes faced by the people residing in America were job loss, increased debts and the need for government assistance increased. After this, the improvement in the country’s financial situation helped many people to get jobs. The government did not face any problems and was happy with the country’s growth, in economic level as well as corporate level. Any country will not be able to tackle a sudden fall in the economic fall. Hence it will take some time recover. The labor market faced several challenges and they had to make plans accordingly. The policies had to suit the needs of the circumstances and they should be able to get back to the same position. Major changes were decrease in the wage. The labor market faced other changes too. The jobs in manufacturing companies became less and there was an increase in the number of jobs in other fields. Women have started working and this has increased the level in the economy. New York Labor market was confronted with social problems. As the country was slowly improving, there were opportunities to solve these issues. They faced a tough competition with the other countries due to their rapid growth in all sectors. But it was not easy throughout the development. They had to be ready to face any type of problems. The number of immigrants gradually increased. Most of them selected New York for jobs and this level seem to be increasing. The rate of inflation went high after the downsizing in the number of employees. The companies and the financial level were restructures to meet the financial crisis and to help the organization tide over the difficult situation. New York Labor market used various dynamics to with stand in the international market and to ensure job security for the workers. The industrial and employment pattern went through a change and the connection between them helped in the development of the economy as a whole. Human resources were an important factor and it decided the situation of the industries. This gives the base for improving a company, employees and their welfare. The challenges had to be tackled in such a way that it leads to the enhancement in the company. New York Labor market’s history was not stable; it had improvements, decline and many other outcomes. Problems were prevailing between the native and immigrant workers. The native workers had been opposing the policies which allowed the immigrants to work in their companies. There was more chance for the immigrants, as the native workers were not ready to take up some of the jobs. This paved the way for immigrants to work in America. There was an increase in the number of people who preferred to work in New York. But this did not affect the job opportunities of the native workers. Still the native workers felt the immigrants were depriving their chances. A recent survey has revealed the labor market’s situation. It involves the various issues faced by the labor market and the state of the native workers. The immigrants have been employed in almost all type of industries. They are given jobs on the basis of education and their skills, like what is being done for the native workers. The economic factor of a country decides the fate of the country. It has to be maintained well, only then the people residing can lead a peaceful life. Although New York Labor market went through lot of ups and downs, it had the capability to recover from it and came to a position where the other countries still consider New York as a tough competitor. What is the most important economic issue facing American working people today and what should unions do to address this issue? People in America are going through a tough time, as the economy is not stable. This in turn leaves the people in a situation where they either lose their job or work somewhere else for a very minimal salary. The financial institutions also are not in a position to help them. The debt of the country has been increasing; due to this the government has to spend more to tide over this crisis. Pension plans that were offered by the companies till now, could not be continued due to the recession. In spite of the global slowdown, the price of the essential goods seems to be increasing, leaving them in a difficult situation. The labor unions are carrying out labor movements, requesting the companies to reform the current policies to suit the needs of the workers. SEIU is keen on merging with other labor unions to provide the essential services to the labor group. (Stern 2006). What are some of the methods being used to organize the unorganized? How is organizing being affected by the changing nature of the workplace and the workplace? In the recent years, there has been a decline in the number of workers joining the employees union. Immigrant workers face many problems like not having proper facilities and working for very less wages. Since recession, there has been an increase in the number of strikes conducted by the unions. Immigrant workers have not been allowed to get into another job, as the organization puts them into separate labor market.(Ness 2005). Unions find it difficult to adapt themselves to the changes in the country’s economy. Today the unions are trying to safeguard the manufacturing industries and keep them stable in spite of the changes in the companies and global slowdown. They are fighting to get the equal power to the native as well as immigrant workers. To organize this, they require resources from other unions, which only a few are ready to offer. Unions like AFL-CIO have allocated some funds to organize the unorganized. They need resources from government to take care of organizing the immigrant workers. Organizing has to be done to employees in service, manufacturing industries and workers in restaurants. The nature of the workplace keeps changing and the unions should make sure that they organize the workers to adapt to these changes. How has the NYC labor market changed in the last 20 years? There has been an increase in the number of women employers when compared to the last two decades. The job displacement has gone through a change, where there is an increase in the recent years. The wages have been reduced and the number of people who work for a very minimal salary has been increasing post recession. Despite the recent recession, industries providing health services and retail trade have been providing jobs. By implementing certain strategies, the labor market managed to come through the tough times. The change in government has also helped in the improvement of labor market. List of the most important factors that determined the outcome of their organizing efforts Many organizing campaigns were conducted by the labor unions in welfare of the workers. Campaigns like green grocery were done to provide the basic services to the employees. Most of them lacked the public support and the method of organizing did not work well. For a campaign to become a success an employer must have recognition and it should be secured and an agreement that takes care of bargaining. (Ness 2005). Members who have contacts with other labor unions must be a part of this campaign, so that they can help in the decision making process. Unions work hard to bring up the workers and to provide them the basic facilities. They deal with the problems faced by the employees and try to resolve them. Works Cited Stern A., (2006). A Country That Works: Getting America Back on Track. New York: Free Press. Print Ness I., (2005). Immigrants, Unions and the New U.S. Labor Market. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Pp. 180-198. Print Breen W., (1997). Labor Market Politics and the Great War Ohio: Kent State University Press. Print. Read More