Labor Relations and the Union Movement in the United States - Report Example

History of The Union Movement Briefly cover the history of the union movement in the United s. Use that history to explain why union membership has decreased in recent years.  As with many countries of the world, the Labor Movement has played an important role in the growth of the working class. A lot of people from all over the world are seen to be heading over to the US in the hope of finding better jobs. The unionization of the labor force has led to many benefits, which are being enjoyed by the laborers of today. Unions were often formed in history with the aim of achieving a desired set of objectives. Often these objectives include an increase in the wages and comparatively short working hours. One of the first cases of the union movement came forward in 1778, when a group of printing company workers in New York gathered to protest for an increase in their wages. As a result, their wages were increased, and they subsequently disbanded the protest. With time, America has changed from being an agricultural to an industrial economy, and this revolution therefore resulted in demand for more labor. Once this revolution came into place, laborers were being made to work long hours with high wage rates. It was then then that the union movement came into formation again to demand shorter working hours. This resulted in the legislation being passed in 1837 which limited the work that could be taken from laborers in a time (Getman, 2010). By now, workers had realized that as a union, they were able to negotiate really well. This resulted in various unions joining hands together and forming the National Labor Union in 1866. The main aim of this union was to secure an eight-hour working day by getting a legislation passed to this effect. Other unions also came up during this time, which included American Federation Of Labor and Knights of Labor. Also, as a lot of immigrants moved into the US during the period of industrial revolution; the supply of unskilled labor increased thereby resulting in fall in the wage rates and bad working conditions. It was then when unions got active once again. Amongst the most famous labor union cases were the Pullman Railroad Strike and the United Mine Workers Strike, which were resolved by government intervention. It was a result of the union movement that the Congress created the US Department of Labor to protect the rights of workers. It was the action of this department that outlawed child labor and fought for better working conditions. One of the biggest achievements of the labor movement was the passing of the Clayton Act. In simple terms, this act made strikes and boycott legal. In the recent times, an act was passed in 1949 which prohibited children from working while the Equal Pay and Civil Rights Act was passed in the 1960s to reduce discrimination in workplace. It can also be noted that union membership has fallen considerably over the period of time. One of the main reasons for this is that employers like union free environments hire legal support to combat unionization. Another reason for the fall is the addition of women and teenagers to workforce. The main reason why they work is because they want to supplement their household earning, and as such, they are not completely responsible for it. Therefore, they do not take part in union practices a lot (Dray, 2010). However, the main reason for the decline is something else. Due to their high wages, the end products of the companies have become expensive. This makes them less likely to be sold than foreign cheap products. As a result, when sales drop, their employers are forced to reduce the workforce since they clearly do not require that much labor anymore owing to the decreased demand. References Top of Form Dray, P. (2010). There is power in a union: The epic story of labor in America. New York: Doubleday.Bottom of Form Top of Form Getman, J. G. (2010). Restoring the power of unions: It takes a movement. New Haven [Conn.: Yale University Press. Bottom of Form Read More