1 / 12

Workers' Rights and Labor Unions: Protecting the American Labor Force

Explore the significance of labor unions in protecting workers' rights and ensuring safer working conditions. Learn about the types of unions, how they negotiate with management, and the tools they use to advocate for workers. Understand the impact of federal and state laws on union activity.

lodge
Download Presentation

Workers' Rights and Labor Unions: Protecting the American Labor Force

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Warmup How do you think the work place would be if there were no laws protecting workers?

  2. Unit VI The American Labor Force

  3. What is the civilian labor force? • Men and women 16 and up who are either working or seeking employment

  4. What is a labor union? • Groups of workers who fight together for • Higher pay • Safer working conditions

  5. Types of unions • Craft/Trade Unions • Workers who perform the same skills • Ex: newspaper writers • Industrial unions • Different types of workers from the same industry • EX: United Auto Workers

  6. How are unions organized? • Local Unions • Members of a unoin in a factory, company, or geographic area • National Unions • Represent workers on a national level • AFL-CIO: American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations

  7. How do labor unions and management work to negotiate working conditions and benefits? • Collective Bargaining – officials from union and company meet to discuss new contracts • Mediation – 3rd party is brought in to help reach compromise • Arbitration – 3rd party listens to both sides and comes up with solution which both sides agree to accept

  8. What do both sides do when an agreement can not be reached? Labor Union Tools • Strike – workers in union refuse to work • Boycott – encourage the public to refuse to buy company goods • Picketing – workers form a line outside company; prevents others from working and draws attention

  9. Management Tools • Injunction – legal order preventing some activity • Can be used to prevent picketing/striking • Lockout – company prevents workers from entering building until they accept contract terms • EX NBA lockout in 1999 and 2011; MLB in 1995.

  10. Types of arrangements unions and employers make • Closed shop – workers had to join a union before they could be hired (now illegal) • Union shops – companies can hire someone as long as they join shortly after beginning to work

  11. Types of arrangements unions and employers make • Modified Union Shop – workers do not have to join a union to work, but must remain in union once joining. • Agency Shop – workers must pay fee to union for representing them even if they do not join

  12. How have laws passed at the federal and state level affected union activity? • Clayton Act (1914) – gave legal support to peaceful strikes and boycotts • Taft-Hartley Act (1947) – declared closed shops illegal • Right-to-work Laws – prevent mandatory union membership (22 states, including NC) • National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) – makes sure that unions are brought into workplace only if majority of workers request it.

More Related