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Workers Rights In a Falling Class

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

There has been a lot of turmoil lately about the average person and how they are treated. The job market is in the worst position that it has been in for a long time. This has left many people in the desperate search for work while others desperately cling to the jobs that they have. Because of the high demand for jobs many companies have begun to look at their employees as disposable. If workers do not do what they want them do they are easily replaceable. This sort of thinking has left people in an almost slave like state with workers rights on the decline.

Some rights can not be ignored. Laws for child labor keep kids in school and out of dangerous jobs. Laws concerning injuries ensure that workers are compensated for work related accidents, which continues to prove useful. Without these sort of laws the work force would be a much more dangerous place and allow companies to be even more irresponsible than many already are. An important branch of workers rights law includes minimum wage. This is supposed to ensure that a worker makes an payment that will ensure their ability to survive. Unfortunately the diminishing value of global currencies along with massive man hour cuts have left this idea a nearly moot point.

The time is coming that the idea of workers rights must be reevaluated. The current laws and regulations were written with good intentions and served their purpose well. Times are changing, however, and it is time for change to come along. Reform in the work place is a great place to start when it comes to reestablishing many of the aspects of society that are beginning to crumble. If the backs of the working class are broken everything that they are holding is sure to collapse.

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How unions work: a brief look

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

In spite of the long history of labor unions in the United States, many people still do not understand exactly how unions work. Their role is fairly simple. Essentially, they allow single people to organize as a group so that they can effectively address their concerns to their employers. The way that they work can also be explained in relatively simple terms.

When a person is employed at a facility that employs union employees, they are required to join the union. There are unions for all sorts of industries. For instance, there are unions for electricians, welders, plumbers, actors and even hospitality workers. Each individual worker may have to pay fees to the union. Typically, these fees will be automatically deducted from their paychecks. They may also have to attend meetings.

The union’s leaders are responsible for negotiating with the employers about all kinds of issues. These issues may include things like benefits, hourly wages, or other issues. The union will try to get the employers to agree with their demands. If they cannot reach a compromise, the union may decide to strike. If the union strikes, every member must strike. No single member of the union is allowed to work. This places great pressure on the employers as they cannot function without their employees. Generally, the goal of the strike is to get the employers to deal with the union’s demands. In some cases, the strike may only affect a single company. However, in other cases, when an entire professional union goes on strike, the strike can have an effect on many different companies.

That is a brief look at how unions work. Every union may have slightly different aspects, and they may use slightly different techniques. However, their essential goal and their essential role is the same. Essentially, they try to help employees by letting them work together to reach compromises with their employers.

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Join Labor Union: Protecting Employees Effeectively

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

For the working class, to join labor union is perhaps one of the best decisions to make. For starters, a labor union is a group of informed employees organized specifically because of the industry that they work in. As a unit, they are able to bargain with employers for certain demands such as workers’ rights, conditions, and compensation. According to the National Labor Rights Act, everyone has the right to create as well as join a union in order to air out different sentiments. By joining a union, a member usually earns 30% more than what a non-member gets. This is a result of various agreements done through negotiations between the management and the organization – called the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Unions utilize a grievance process in order to take care of its members against potential abuse and discrimination. While under the wing of a union, it is harder for an employee to be laid off from the job. This is because security of tenure is the backbone principle of all unions in the world. Statistics also say that most union members have guaranteed pensions, a health care coverage system, and salary increases every few years.

While there are a lot of benefits because of union membership, there are structures that do not require membership. Right To Work laws prevent them from requiring those who do not want to be a member as well as those who want to take a neutral stance between company and union issues. In principle, however, it is more strategic to be inside a union in order to be protected from the sharp turns that brought the economy to its current state. Given how many companies are firing employees left and right, to join labor union means being able to feel the security of being under an institution that companies will not be able to easily dismiss.

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The Real Story About American Labor Unions

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

American labor unions remain to be among the best bastions of workers rights in the country. Born out of the desire to protect the plight of the workers in the early 19th century, these institutions are instrumental in protecting laborers from exploitative employers and working environments. This is because of the fact that most labor-intensive industries employ workers who have very little to no level of educational attainment. These workers then decided that they would band and stay together and protect each other through achieving critical mass. As their numbers grew, their political will and ability to make management listen became stronger. This led to discussing things through negotiations, and reaping reciprocal concessions from both parties. Today, this process is legally recognized and honored as the “Collective Bargaining Agreement”. This means that the employer agrees to accord rights and benefits to his workers and cannot undo them without another round in the negotiating table. Additionally, this also means that workers will be able to have job security, as it is harder for the management to fire someone especially if there is an established union protecting the worker. This is quite strategic because of the volatile nature of the economy, which has led to thousands of unemployed people around the country.

Under the law, American labor unions should also look at the different externalities before demanding something from the company. This is particularly true in cases wherein the employer has to make sure that the employees are the best that his company will have. If people who are hard workers are protected against bad employers, there is an equal need for honest employers to be protected against not being able to fire lazy employees. In cases of disagreements, a government institution will most definitely be needed in order to arbitrate and create a solution that looks after both parties.

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What is a Laborers Union

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

Sometimes businesses can be unfair to their employees. It is easy for a large company to begin to develop policies that are not beneficial for those people at the bottom. A laborers union is a system which is meant to help keep company policies in check. A union is formed when the working class of a company, or in many cases a whole industry band together to make things fair for the people whose shoulders the business rests on. Alone, each individual is just a worker but when banded together a union becomes an entity that can not be ignored.

The most powerful weapon that the laborers union has against a corrupt system is the strike. A strike is when the union decides that rather than attend work, the members are going to actively protest whatever injustice it is that they disagree with so much that they were driven to that point. When a worker signs up for a union they are agreeing to automatically act with the decisions of the union. If the union votes to strike, all members are required to participate, regardless of which way that they voted. With a large portion of the workers unionized, the company is forced to make negotiations when there is a strike, otherwise they lose money from lack of work.

Te concept of a laborers union exists so that the average working man gets what he deserves. The operation and fate of a company lies within the hands of the workers. They are the ones who actually get things done, therefore they are the source of a businesses income. Unions serve to demonstrate that point. If workers are not offered fair wages and good working conditions, the work may simply just stop in mass. This keeps company executives and policies in check.

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Benefits of Joining a Carpenters Union

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

Carpenters, cabinetmakers, and journeymen will all benefit from joining a carpenters union. For one, a union can provide various benefits such as work safety, legal protection, as well as insurance for both the worker and his family. These unions also play a part in taking care of the workers even after they retire.

Benefits You Get From Joining a Carpenter’s Union
One of the many benefits of joining a carpenters union is that you are given numerous opportunities to specialize in various career paths, not just in general carpentry. Unions are often required to provide access to various learning opportunities for their members in order to encourage specialization in their craft, from cabinet making to dry walling and insulation installation.

Unions also allow apprentices to earn while they learn. Those who want to branch out in the various specializations can do so while still earning a paycheck. Union workers are also privy to collective bargaining agreements, which contains the agreed hours of work, wages, and terms and conditions of employment, including holidays and rest days. Workers who join unions are also at the receiving end of higher wages compared to non-union workers. Transfers from one state to another are also made easier as long as the state has a carpenters union. For most carpenters, joining a union is a must if they belong to work sites that list a union membership as one of the requirements for membership.

Carpenters always have the option to join a carpenters union or not, but the many benefits offered by being union members make a union membership a very attractive option for most workers. Health benefits, retirement benefits, as well as help for further learning and specialization make union membership a very wise option for carpenters. To ensure fair wages and working conditions, union membership is the desirable option.

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Highlights of the American Labor History

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

The timeline of American labor history can be divided into five important periods that describe significant evolutionary changes of the way people worked in the country. The first period was before the 1900s when the first local trade unions were formed sometime in the 18th century. Through a series of organizational changes across the various states, the National Labor Union (NLU) was founded in 1866. However, due to the instability of other unions and the inadequacy of the labor code, the NLU was dissolved six years later. In 1881, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was established with the goal of advancing legislations concerning child labor and work hours per day among others.

Between 1900 and 1920, the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) was formed to complement the AFL, which denied support for women workers. Formed in 1903 during the AFL convention, the WTUL was loosely connected with the older federation. Organized labor from 1920 to 1929 saw economic prosperity with a lack of leadership however, mainly because of the death of Samuel Gompers who first led the AFL.

From 1929 to 1955, the foundations of organized labor were challenged by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted for about a decade. To mitigate the conditions, the Tart-Hartley Act was enacted in 1947 to regulate union and management restrictions. Since 1955, unions continued to flourish with the economic conditions taking an upturn.

Organized labor nurtured a set of values that workers traditionally espouse paving the way for solidarity among members of the workforce acting upon the interest of everybody. Overall, the nature and power of organized labor has been molded over several decades through the pressures dictated by the evolving corporations especially the efforts of private employers in limiting and controlling unions. Of course, the U.S. labor law was enacted to mediate between the demands of the workers for better conditions and the interests of the various corporations.

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Union Wages Benefit Blue Collar Workers the Most

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

Labor Unions in the United States date back to the 19th century. They played a major role during the industrial revolution, helping to protect the rights and safety of workers. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 11.9 million workers were part of a union in 2010.

Taking a closer look at the composition of those union members, reveals some interesting statistics. The public sector including all levels of government workers, police, teachers and librarians, had a union membership rate of 36.2% while the private sector only had a 6.9% rate of unionized workers.

Looking at labor union wages, in 2010, the average union worker earned $917 per week compared to just $717 for the non-unionized worker. Men who fell into the 35-64 age category had the highest average weekly union wages of just over $1,000 per week. Women in the same age category hovered right around the $900 per week mark.

As might be expected, unions work best for those workers who perform less skilled labor and generally have less formal education than other members of the work force.

There was practically no difference in weekly wages for managerial and professional workers whether or not they were part of a union. These workers in occupations that include finance, law, management, computers and math, among others, had average salaries in the $1000-$1200 range. Similar positions in union and non-union settings only varied by a few dollars in terms of weekly salaries.

On the other hand, there were large differences in occupations that did not require as much formal education or special technical skills. For example, in the service industry, the average weekly union wage was $723 per week while those not represented by a union only earned $447 per week. In construction, the difference was even greater. A union member earned $1,029 while a non-union construction worker only earned $633 per week. That trend was constant across many job descriptions including installation, maintenance, transportation, production and food preparation.

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Understanding Labor Union Jobs and Positions

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

For people who may not be well informed, labor union jobs are for trouble makers and professional agitators. This is very far from the truth because there are lots of labor jobs at executive levels and at lower levels. In fact the truth is that in most cases, these jobs may not have anything to do with protests and agitating for better working conditions.

In almost every profession, the trade union plays a very important role. The main duty of the executive is to serve as a link between the management and the workforce. This means that the labor leader is a sort of intermediary between the employer and the employee. For this reason, the prospective applicants should be people who are already working in one industry or the other. It will not make a lot of sense to bring someone from the textile industry to head a bankers’ union. The secret to getting the right people to fill positions is to put the right people in the right places.

Getting the right people also means making sure that these people have the right qualities to fill the relevant positions. Fortunately, employment union officials does not always depend on paper qualifications. Some people start out at the lowest level and gradually move up to senior positions with time. The right qualities for people who want a career in labor relations are patience, ability to negotiate, communication skills and concern for the welfare of workers. It also helps if the candidate has persuasive skills and a sense of justice. These qualities will enable the employee to do a good job without compromising the values and the ethics of the union.

Finally, it has to be stated that labor union jobs can lead to great things in future. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major left school at age fifteen and joined the labor in England. Eventually, he became the number one citizen in the UK. This is just one example of how important labor union jobs can be.

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Reasons to Join Local Unions

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Colby

Local unions are the local branches of national trade unions that cover workers in a specific trade. A local union provides workers in one geographical region many incentives such as health care and retirement benefits as well as education befit for career specialization. Local unions represent workers from one geographic region and are often instrumental in voicing workers’ labor concerns to state or federal representatives.

Benefits of Joining Local Unions
There are numerous benefits to joining a local union. The first and most important is health and retirement benefits. Insurance protects blue-collar worker members from suffering financially after an accident. Dental benefits and other health incentives offer big savings in health and medical costs alone. The second reason is that union jobs pay 15% higher wages than non-union jobs. For this incentive alone one can see that it is definitely better to be a member union than not. Membership in a local union also gives workers a chance to participate in collective bargaining agreements, which allows them to have a say on how they are paid, how working conditions are laid out, and the kind of labor benefits they are entitled to. For example, a union contract gives the workers the right to insist on safe working environments, which is the reason why most union facilities boasts of better safety records compared to non-union workplaces.

A union membership also provides members a certain degree of reassurance that they can be protected against arbitrary dismissals, incompetent managers, and even co-worker harassment. Union facilities often use skilled managers to handle union workers in order to avoid disobeying the terms of the labor contracts. Union members can therefore expect bosses and managers to behave in a professional manner towards them.

The numerous benefits of joining local unions are reasons enough why blue-collar workers should register themselves in their local union. Health and retirement benefits protect workers after they leave the workplace. Workplace protection also covers workers from harassment, unfair bosses, and unsafe and hazardous working conditions.

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Unions are a hot button issue right now because of the strain their pensions cause on the entities funding them. As it becomes a larger and larger issue in the economy we want to share what unions are really all about.

Stop Union Busting is geared at telling people what Unions really do, how they really function and what they are really meant to protect.

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