Human Resources Management - Unions - Essay Example

and Number] Leadership Studies This paper is aimed at presenting a brief insight on legal acts that greatly influenced the way human resources were managed in organization. The paper will shed light on labor unions, Wagner and Taft-Hartley acts, Executive orders 10988 and 11491 and civil service reform act of 1978. It will be followed by a summarized account of collective bargaining and sunshine laws. Unions The capitalists’ labor markets in the United States were developed in the 19th century which leads to the growth of labor unions, and since then these unions have been allowing workers to seek better employment opportunities, demand for safer workplaces and work practices and collaborate with others to form labor-oriented political movements.

Wagner and Taft-Hartley Acts The Wagner Act of 1935, also known as National Labor relations Act, established a system for workers to decide the formation of unions by means of votes. If the voting is made in favor of unions, the management of the organization was required to collectively bargain with the union. National Labor Relations Board was also formed as a result of this act to implement the provisions of Wagner Act (Griffin 227). The Taft-Hartley Act was sponsored by popular US senator Robert A.

Taft and Fred A. Hartley in 1947. The purpose of the act was to make amendments in the Wagner Act and it gave the President authority to appoint a board of inquiry to deal with union disputes. The act also made jurisdictional boycotts and strikes illegal and forbad unions to participate in political campaigns (Griffin 227).Executive Orders 10988 and 11491 During the Presidency of John F. Kennedy, a committee was set up to investigate employer-employee associations in the federal service and the recommendations of the committee resulted in the formation and implementation of Executive Order 10988.

This Order recognized labor groups in proper units and in pursuant to this, a code of Fait Labor Practices was approved in 1965. In 1969, President Nixon signed the executive order 11491 with the intention to improve Order 10988 and specify the responsibilities of workers, their representatives and state officials. Under this law, the final authority rested on the Federal Labor Relations Council, however arbitration of grievances was permitted but were subject to certain exclusions that could be examined by the Council (Twomey 331).

The FLRC was established to make decisions regarding policies and to hear appeals and conduct trials on various issues. Collective Bargaining and Sunshine law The law of collective bargaining allows employees to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment with the employer. As a result of collective bargaining, a mutual agreement is formed which is acceptable to both the parties. This law is mainly governed by the National Labor Relations Act. On the other hand, Sunshine Laws provides that the formal actions taken by local or state government authorities be considered and only enforced at public meetings.

Consequently, in several jurisdictions, the general public is provided with the chance to indirectly engage in contract negotiations by giving remarks on the employment proposals as they come. Works CitedGriffin, Ricky, W. Fundamentals of Management. Mason, OH : South-Western Cengage Learning. 2012.Twomey, David P. Labor and employment law: text & cases. Mason, Ohio : South-Western Cengage Learning. 2010.