The United States Labor Law, Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Acts Defending 8-Hour Work Time - Essay Example

Fight For 8-hour work time Introduction: Work time is the particular period of time where an individual spent his energy for getting payment. There are many employees feel stressed on poor working hours. Many laborers face so many challenges such as over-employment, joblessness, flexible shifts and duty roster methods. There are some unpaid labors who is doing housework are not considered as the part of the working time schedule. There are some organizations persisting employees to spend more time in office and workplace. Employers cooperated and started trade union to prevent these kind of brutality against labors. Several nations developed certain labor laws for avoid the exploitation of employees in an organization. These laws are mainly consists of minimum daily rest hours, annual holidays and a maximum number of working hours in a day or week for the employees welfare. Over the last three hundred years labor unions have gone through different situation and shaped different forms. Later these trade unions became the part of different political and economical regimes. Early labors are like friendly societies and they worked for the different benefits of labors and to insure workers against unemployment, bad health condition, oldness, and funeral expenses. In many nations especially developed countries, states have been taken responsibilities to do all these functions. The provision of professional training, legal advice, and representation for members are still playing major role of labor union membership. The international socialist organization, the international workingmen’s association (IWA) or First international, demanded 8 hour working time at Geneva Convention in 1866. 8 hour working day got preliminary success in New Zealand by the Australian labor movement for skilled labors in the mid of 19th century. At the early and mid of 20th century got more popularity and most of the employers accepted the 8 hour working time throughout the world. Eight hour day movement is the part of early history and reasoned for the celebration Labor Day and May Day in several nations. The origin of Labor Day namely May Day is bounded up with the movement of eight hour workday. During the year between 1885 and 1886, many strikes had happened in the United States for the part of eight hour work day movement. There were around 500 strikes and lockouts took place in between 1881 and 1884. Most of these movements were started on May First. The May first protest and strike were very aggressive in Chicago. May first, 1890, was to witness nation-wide strike for the shorter workday (Trachtenberg, 1932). In our early days most of the employees were suffered from Long hours of working time and poor working circumstances. There were no laws developed or implemented for the welfare of employees till the end of 18th century. Child labor was a common phenomenon in that period and the working time ranged from 10 hour to 16 hours in a day without any overtime payment. At the beginning of 19th century, the frustrated labors of Britain were started the movement against the poor working time and the working condition of labors. The first industrial revolution called eight-hour day movement or short -time movement shook the government of Britain and tempted them to think about the working time and to implement the law for the labors. In 1810, the socialist reformer, Robert Owen organized the labors and demanded 10 hours working time at his working place at New Lanark. In 1817 he had forged the aim of the eight hour working time and created the new slogan as Eight hours labor, Eight hours recreation, and Eight hours rest (Owen, 2009). In 1847 women and children were granted 10 hour working time in England. In 1848, because of the February revolution French workers were granted 12 hour working time. The political and social movement called Chartism was the trade union organization protested and agitated for the employment welfare in the united kingdom of great Britain by the mid of 19th century. This organization united the workers and banded together for achieving common goal such as working condition of labors. This trade union bargained and negotiated with the employer about labor contracts, wages work rules, labors safety, benefits, work rules, complaint process, rules governing hiring, firing and promotion of labors, and policies through its leaders. Formation of union in United States is as old as the origin of nation itself. In the late 18th and early 19th century, craft persons such as printers, carpenters, tailors and weavers formed the local labor union for the welfare of employees. In the late 19th century, the average Americans worked 12- hour days without any leaves to meet his basic living. At that time there were no laws against the child labor therefore children were working in cheap wages and poor conditions. Trade union became famous in the U.S in the industrial revolution period. They protested and agitated towards employers against the mistreatment at workplace and low paid. It also caused for the rise of communism and Marxism concept. This labor union organization consists of individual labors, professionals, past workers like pensioners and unemployed. Industrial revolution totally changed the structure of life of Americans. In the earlier era employers exploited employees in a cruel manner such as refusing reasonable wages, rights, or being strained to work at horrible conditions. Finally, the unsatisfied workers fought against the employer cruelty and demanded for better working conditions. This agitation became the formation of trade unions in America. The trade unions such as national labor union (NLU) the national colored labor union (NCLU), the knights of labor, the American federation of labor, fore fronted the labor movement and put an effort to stop the child labor, workmen’s compensation, reduce the working hours from 14 hours, decent wages, better working atmosphere and so on. But most of the employers were denied these demands and that persisted unions to do more protest and strikes to achieve their needs. In 1866, the major trade union, the national labor union (NLU) unsuccessful to convince Congress to make legal the eight hour working time. After this incident the Knights of labor were formed and rallied for the implementation eight hour working time, ending of child labor, equalization of payment, and the abolition of private banks. “One of the first major strikes for workers rights was the 1877 Railroad Strike, started mainly as a way to get back at employers for slashing their pay by 10% and then lowering it further” (Namikazelil, 2009). In that hundreds of workers sacrificed their life in this protest. Even though they ignored the hazards to gain the rights what they deserved. The 1886 Haymarket/McCormack Hawester Strike, the 1892 Homestead Strike, the 1894 Pullman Strike, and the 1902 Coal Strike by the United Mine Workers are the other most evident strikes occurred in the United States After the rail road strike. Generally these strikes were begun for achieving similar goal especially the Coal and Haymarket strikes taken an initiative towards the eight hour working time. On May 4, 1886, an outburst of violence took place in Chicago region (The eight hour work day, 2009). There were around 15,000 of people gathered at Haymarket Square. A bomb was exploded in the market place and the riot was started when the police was tried to disperse the meeting (The eight hour work day, 2009). It caused for the killing of seven policemen and four other persons. More than hundreds of person seriously wounded and injured due to this outrage activity. Many unions those who participated in these strikes were confident about the approval of eight hour work day but they were satisfied with the approval of ten hour working day. Even though, the coal strike was very significant because it was the first strike a president had ever walked in to assist the labors negotiate a compromise with their owners, even if they did not get the eight hour working time they needed. Conclusion: There are several laws implemented in United States to protect the labor’s rights. United States labor law is mixed assortment of state and Federal laws. Federal law implemented the government of United States. The department of labor (DOL) governs and implements more than 180 federal laws (Labor, n. d.) many of the department of labor laws applicable to companies, job seekers, labors, pensioners, contractors and grantees. The statute, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which prescribes the standard payment and overtime wages in private and public sector. This law is comes under the Wage and Hour division which required company to “pay covered workers who are not otherwise exempt at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay of one-and-one-half times the regular rate of pay” (Labor, n. d.). In nonagricultural segments, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) restrict the employment of children who below than 16 years of old. It also restricts the employment of children in schooling hours. The occupational safety and health act (OSH) implemented for the workplace safety and health of employee in United States and it is governed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) private as well as public sectors health and safety conditions regulated by OSHA. This act provides workers with work and a place of work free from serious dangers. Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforces the Act through place of employment examinations and investigations. The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) existing for employee’s compensation and it governed by the Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP). The LHWCA provides more compensation and healthcare to some marine labors such as long shore employee, harbor worker, ship repairer and ship breaker. The other compensation program act the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) provides a good volume of lump-sum payment and medical benefits to the workers for the Department of Energy. Employees who become Cancer patient due to radiation, some infirmity reasoned by beryllium or silica by the duty time are eligible for compensation and medical benefits by this act. Other compensation act namely, Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) provides broad and exclusive compensation program for employees who struggled by injury, disability or death. The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act governed by Office of Workers Compensation Programs. Other compensation act, the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA) grants monthly cash payment and healthcare benefits to coal miners who suffered from black lung diseases. This law also grants monthly benefits to a deceased miner employees if the death was due to pneumoconiosis. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) implemented for the employee benefit security. This statute offers pension or welfare benefits for the labors. This act is governed by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and imposes a wide range of fiduciaries of pension and welfare plans. These provisions preempt many similar state laws. Under Title IV, certain employers and plan administrators must fund an insurance system to protect certain kinds of retirement benefits, with premiums paid to the federal governments Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) (Labor, n.d.). The other statute, Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act discloses the requirement of relationship between a trade union and its members. This statute protects the funds and promotes the trade union democracy such as to file annual reports and so on. This act is governed by the Office of Labor-Management Standards. To prevent employment discrimination and whistleblowers, the United States Congress passed the civil Rights Act of 1866. This statute prevents the discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, origion and religion and culture. The United States Congress also passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act in 1967 to protect the rights of employees who come across of 40 years of old (Commission, 2008). Americans with Disabilities Act and the Immigration Reform and Control Act also implemented for preventing employment discrimination at workplace. Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, Employee Polygraph Protection Act, Garnishment of Wages, The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Veterans’ Preference, Davis-Bacon Act, McNamara-O’Hara Service contracts Act, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) are the other laws that are used nowadays protect employees. Many social initiatives worked hard and their centuries of struggle behind for the eight hour working day pass. Social activists such as Carl Marx, Ira Stewart, Eugene Victor Debs and Andrew Cameron are struggled a lot for achieving 8 hour working time. Sylvis and Chicago labor agitator Andrew Cameron believed that the eight hour working time would be the prime step to the ‘social emancipation’ of workers. Another leader Ira Stewart, “a mechanic from Massachusetts and a wartime abolitionist, led a popular movement that established eight-hour leagues across the country by 1866” (Brewer, 2009). The postwar revolutions influenced by Carl Marx, who observed Civil War events very closely. The book ‘Capital’ by Carl Marx reveals the how does long working hours effect the workers health. “In Marxs analysis labor power is the only commodity which can produce more value than it is worth, and for this reason it is known as variable capital” in 1864, he was tried to create the International Workingmen’s Association in London (Brewer, 2009).the founders of this association wished to organize the eight-hour day rally throughout the globe. Marx writes that “the first fruit of the Civil War was the eight-hour agitation.’ Which ran, ‘with the speed of an express train from the Atlantic to the Pacific” (Brewer, 2009). The eight-hour day movement accomplished the eight-hour day law that firstly enacted in the state of Illinois (Brewer, 2009). Marx writings were very much impressed by all the labors. His ‘The Civil War in France’ published in Cameron’s newspapers quivered the government of Paris and forced them to do rally against communists and atheists. Eugene Victor Debs was a labor union leader in United States and the founder of the International Labor Union and the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) Debs was the key element of United States first Industrial Union ‘American Railway Union’. He was involved in the several strikes when he was a member of trade union. He always stands for the rights for labors. He was arrested and imprisoned when he was involved in the Pullman Strike. The main cause of this strike was the compensation dispute between the labors that made the train cars for the Pullman Palace Car Company. By the economic recession, the company’s revenue had been falling down and they cut the wages of its labors. Debs took part in the strike and established the Boycotts of Pullman train Cars. Later this strike came to be known as “Debs Rebellion”. Analyzing the history, one can see that it was in 1886, Debs also joined other railroad brotherhood officials in refuting to support the Knights of Labor strike against Jay Goulds railroad line, and he permitted the organization of the AFL and its national general strike for the eight-hour-day pass. Works Cited: Commission, The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity. Facts About Age Discrimination. 8 Sep 2008. 13 December 2009 . Brewer, James. The eight-hour-day movement and the birth of American labor. 9 May 2009. 22 Dec 2009 . Labor, United States Department of. Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor . 13 December 2009 . Namikazelil. Everything2The Eight Hour Work Day. 20 April 2009. 13 December 2009 . Owen, Robert. americanatheists. 2009. 13 December 2009 . The Eight-Hour Work Day . 2009. 13 December 2009. Trachtenberg, Alexander. The History of May Day. 1932. 13 Decamber 2009 . Brewer, James. The eight-hour-day movement and the birth of American labor. 9 May 2009. 22 Dec 2009 . Read More