1. Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved Union-Management Relations Labor union –An organization of workers acting together to negotiate their wages and working conditions with employers Union-management (labor) relations –The dealings between labor union and business management, both in the bargaining process and beyond it 11 | 1

2. Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved The Historical Development of Unions Early history –Craft union Organization of skilled workers in a single craft or trade Limited to a single city; lasted for a short time –Knights of Labor Formed as a secret society Goals: to eliminate depersonalization of worker resulting from mass production; to improve moral standards of employees and society Lost public favor after Haymarket riot of 1886 11 | 2

3. Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved The Historical Development of Unions (cont’d) Early history (cont’d) –American Federation of Labor (AFL) Samuel Gompers’ goal: to improve members’ living standards Used the strike as an effective labor weapon –Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) A radical movement to overthrow capitalism 11 | 3

4. Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved The Historical Development of Unions (cont’d) Evolution of contemporary labor organizations –Industrial union An organization of both skilled and unskilled workers in a single industry –Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Formed by industrial unions that withdrew from the AFL –AFL-CIO Both labor groups agreed to merge in 1955 to gain strength and stop fighting each other over the right to represent particular groups of employees 11 | 4

5. Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved Historical Overview of Unions 11 | 5 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union Membership, www.bls.gov, accessed October 9, 2008.