1. Chapter 9 Section 1

2. Labor union- an organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions, wages, benefits, etc.
Less than 14% of workers in the United States belong to a labor union.

3. The union movement took shape over the course of more than a century.
In 1886 Samuel Gomper’s founds the American Federation of Labor.
In 1947 Taft-Hartley Act allows states to pass right to work laws.

4. Strike: An organized work stoppage intended to force an employer to address union demands.
In early 1790’s workers content grew into organized protests.
Skilled workers such as shoemakers and carpenters began to form unions in order to protect their interests.

5. The Knights of Labor was a federation of industrial garment manufacturing unions.
Industrial union: an organization of workers in a single industry who perform a variety of jobs.
Unlike some union organizations, the Knights of Labor opened its membership to women and African Americans.

6. Craft Union: An organization of workers in a single occupation, or craft.
For example, a craft union might consist of all plumbers or all carpenters or all electricians, no matter what industry they work in.
The AFL (American Federation of Labor) was a federation of craft unions.
The AFL’s insistence on organizing crafts instead of industries led to the creation of a splinter group in The Congress of Industrial Organizations organized workers in numerous big industries.

7. Attempts to unionize brought swift, fierce responses from employers.
Companies used court orders called injunctions to order striking employees back to work.
Some companies even hired their own private militias to beat and harass union organizers.

8. The 1932 Norris-La Guardia Act made it more difficult for employers to obtain injunctions against union activity and outlawed yellow dog contracts.
The 1935 National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act, gave workers the right to organize and required companies to bargain in good faith with unions. It also created the National Labor Relations Board to oversee union elections and ensure that union members were treated fairly.
The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act created the minimum wage, outlawed child labor in many workplaces, and required firms to pay overtime for work beyond 40 hours a week. The act was the nation’s first nationwide, mandatory federal regulation of wages and hours.

9. The expansion of workers’ rights in the 1930s contributed to a new rise in union strength. Membership peaked in the 1950s at about 30% of the nations’ nonfarm work force.
In the 1990s an increase in public sector unions, including teaching assistants at some universities.

10. Unions became a dominant force in many industries
Unions became a dominant force in many industries. They controlled the day to day operations of businesses from shipyards to garbage collection to steel production. Unions amassed billions of dollars in union dues to cover the costs of union activities including organizing, making political donations, and providing aid to striking workers.

11. Right –to-work laws, which ban mandatory union membership, may be one of the several reasons for a decline in a union membership in recent decades. By 1997, union membership had dropped to just 14.1 percent of the nonfarm labor force. Today, unionism in the United States is far more limited than in many other countries.

12. Blue collar worker- someone who works in an industrial job, often in manufacturing and who receives wages.
White Collar Worker- someone in a professional or clerical job who usually earns a salary.
Blue collar manufacturing jobs have been declining workers and causing union jobs to disappear.

13. Closed Shop- A workplace that hires only union members.
Union Shop- A workplace that will hire nonunion members but requires them to join the union within a certain period of time.

14. Agency Shop- A workplace that will hire nonunion workers and does not require them to join the union in order to keep their jobs. However, nonunion workers must pay union dues or similar fees, and they are covered by the union contract. The reason nonunion workers must still pay fees goes back to the free- rider problem.

15. While overall union membership is on the decline, public sector unionization has increased, due to new laws and changing attitudes in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Thus, over the last few decades, growth of unions in the public sector has partially made up for losses in the private sector.

16. Certain manufacturing industries, such as automobile, steel, and textiles have employed large numbers of union workers. However, these industries have been hurt by foreign competition in recent years. As a result, many industries have laid off union workers.

17. The rising proportion of women in the labor force has hurt union membership, since women are less likely to join unions. Fewer women work in blue collar, unionized industries than in white collar jobs. To reduce their production costs, some industries have relocated from the Northeast and Midwest to the South, which has historically been less friendly to unions.

18. Another theory for union decline is that other organizations now provide many of the services that had been won in the past through union activity. Thus the need for the unions has decreased. The government has passed laws setting workplace safety standards and shorter workweeks.

19. Decline of the labor movement as they grew, some unions began to abuse their new power. Some unions sought to preserve outdated and inefficient production methods in order to protect jobs and benefits. Firms that badly needed to improve efficiency to stay competitive found that unions could be an obstacle.

20. “Right to Work” laws in an effort to curb union power, congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act in This act allowed states to pass right – to – work laws.“

21. -Collective Bargaining – The process in which union and company representatives meet to negotiate a new labor contract.
-Union contracts generally last two to five years and can cover hundreds of issues.
-The resulting contract spells out each sides rights and responsibilities for the length of the agreement.

22. -A crucial feature of the union system is that even though disputes can arise at any time, strikes do not occur during the term of the contract.
-Disputes are either settled or are dealt with later, at contract negotiation time.
-This arrangement provides great stability for employers, because they know what their labor costs will be for the life of the contract.

23. -To avoid the economic losses of a strike, a third party is sometimes called in to settle a dispute.
-The two sides might agree to mediation, a settlement technique in which a neutral mediator meets with each side to try to find a solution that both sides will accept.
-A mediator often can help each side understand the other’s concerns, leading to an agreement.

24. -Arbitration: A settlement technique in which 3rd party comes in and makes a decision that is legally binding for both parties

25. What are some of the key goals of labor union?
To try and improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members.

26. How does an industrial union differ form a craft union?
An industrial union is an organization of workers in a variety of occupations within a single industry, while a craft union is an organization of workers in a single occupation, or craft.

27. How are strikes damaging to workers and companies?
Because most firms cannot produce goods and services without their union workers.

28. How do mediation and arbitration differ?
Mediation is a settlement technique in which a neutral mediator meets with each side to try to find a solution that both sides will accept, while arbitration is a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides.

29. What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining is the process in which union and company representatives meet to negotiate a new labor contract.

30. Define labor union, and explain how unions rose to power in the United States.
An organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members is called a labor union. Labor unions didn’t become powerful economic force overnight. The union movement took shape over the course of a century. It faced many obstacles along the way, including violence and legal opposition from companies.

31. What is a craft union?
Its an organization of workers in a single occupation, or craft.

32. What is a arbitration?
It’s a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides.

33. What is collective bargaining?
It’s the process in which union and company representatives meets to negotiate a new labor contract.

34. What is White collar worker?
Its someone in a professional or clerical job who usually earns a salary.

35. What is a Blue collar worker?
Its someone who works in an industrial job, often in manufacturing, and receives wages.