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Labor Around the World

Chapter 12

By Caleb and Kevin J

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TWN

Answer these Questions

What are migrant laborers?
Why might some people become migrant laborers?
What country would you expect to need the most migrant laborers?

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12-1 Migration of Labor

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Objectives 12-1

Explain who migrant workers are.
Describe why some countries need migrant workers.
Discuss factors that make a country attractive to migrant laborers.
Explain factors that make a country accessible to migrant laborers.

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Chapter 12-1 and 12-2 Vocabulary

Migrant Laborers- People who move to another country to find work.
Labor Union- An organization of workers whose goal is improving members’ working conditions, wages, and benefits. (The important principle of labor unions is that there is strength in numbers)
Injunction- A court order that immediately stops a person or group from carrying out a specific action.
Collective Bargaining- Negotiation between union workers and their employers on issues of wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Codetermination- The policy of having union members serve on the boards of directors of companies.
AFL-CIO- An organization of American unions that uses its size and resources to influence legislation that affect its members

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Migrant Laborers

People who serve as workers or laborers are found all across the globe. Some countries have a surplus of laborers, while others are in need of more.

Countries with growing economies are more in need of laborers, most of the time these additional laborers come from different countries in search of work.

Migrant laborers seek opportunities to have better jobs, higher incomes, and improved living standards.

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The Need for Migrant Laborers

The need of migrant workers in certain countries are determined by several factors:

Level of economic activity
Governmental income
Proportion of working-age activity (Birth rate and life expectancy)
Level of countries physical appeal and accessibility

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12-2 Milestone of the Labor Movement

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Objectives: 12-2

Describe historical reasons why labor unions were formed and the legal problems they faced

Discuss the effects and nature of international labor activities.

Discuss the history of labor unions and their current status.

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Labor Unions in United States

The important principle behind unions is that there is strength in numbers. The more workers that there are in a union, the larger the chance that the company will fulfill the workers concerns.
The members of early unions in The United States were skilled workers- Shoemakers, printers, carpenters, and tailors.
Their goal was to protect industry pay wage rates by preventing other workers who were willing to work for lower wages from getting hired.

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The First Unions

Establishing unions in the early years was not easy. U.S. Employers established their own associations in an effort to destroy the employees work to organize unions. During these times, unions were described as “Criminal conspiracies”, whose goal was to hurt trade and commerce.
A common technique used by employers used to prevent union activity was to obtain an injunction. Although injunctions were eventually lifted, they helped distract the union, and cause them to spend most of their time and money focusing on legal battles.
Union and Management conflicts have even led to violence and bloodshed.

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Unions Today

In workplaces today, U.S. workers have the legal rights to join labor unions.
In 1935, The National Labor Relations Act was created, and gave most private-sector workers the right to form unions, bargain with employers, and strike.
The use of injunctions in labor disputes have been limited since 1932.
Congress has passed many laws to protect unions and to promote stable labor management relations.

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12-3 Unions in the Workplace Today

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Objectives: 12-3

Explain how unions representation is achieved.

Describe methods used to settle labor negotiations.

Describe how union and management goals are similar.

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Chapter 12-3 Vocabulary

Union Representation Election- the holding of elections to permit employees to vote whether they wish to be represented by a particular labor union.

Union Shop- a place of work where employers may hire nonunion workers who must join a labor union within an agreed time.

Closed Shop- a place of work where membership in a union is a condition for being hired and for continued employment.

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Chapter 12-3 vocab Con.

Open Shop- A system whereby employees in a place of work are not required to join a labor union.
Grievance Procedure- Means of dispute resolution that can be used by a company to address complaints by employees, suppliers, customers, and/or competitors.
Arbitrator- An independent person or body officially appointed to settle a dispute.
Strike- A refusal to work organized by a body of employees as a form of protest, typically in an attempt to gain a concession or concessions from their employer.

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Achieving Union Representation

The main purpose of a union is to improve the working conditions of its members, but before it can achieve this objective, it must accomplish several steps.

The union's first must win the right to represent the workers by a majority vote.

Then, the workers must individually decide whether or not they want to join the union.

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Strikes

While bargaining with employers, union leaders sometimes threaten strikes to force the employer to make the concessions wanted by union leaders.
Some grievance procedures include a no-strike clause, which makes it unlawful for workers to go on strike. This allows the company and the unions to address a problem when it arises, but does not allow interruption of work.