Labor unions in America play an important role in promoting the welfare of employees. One particular factor, which promoted development of labor unions was the emergence of the industrial movement. While America has been a staunch advocate of a capitalist system with a considerable level of emphasis on promotion of shareholder value, this, in some cases comes at the cost of employee’s wellbeing. Thus, in the 20 th and 21 st century, industrial workers faced various challenges such as low wages, poor standards of living, unsafe working conditions, among others. Whether in the public or private sector, there was a demand for fair renumeration, better working conditions, alongside other benefits among employees. Collectively, their demands were in pursuit of work-life balance (WLB), a concept largely used in today’s society pertaining to workers’ rights and wellbeing. Organizational support through programs such as counseling, provision of health insurance, among other incentives, are central to the demands that modern workers seek. An exploration of the foundational basis of labor unions in America will aid in identifying the existence or lack thereof of changes in employee demands, as well as future expectations.
Reasons for Unionization
Addressing some of the factors that led to formation of labor unions, Botein (2007) noted that affordable housing led to increased pressure for employee representation. He explained that during the period between 1945 and 1975, there was a pressing need for affordable housing across cities in America. This particular issue was overlooked, which intensified the advocacy towards affordable housing. Labor leaders faced increased pressure from workers to advance the issue demanding response from the government. These leaders were required to leverage their access to high-level administrators alongside elected officials both locally and locally (Botein, 2007). Thus, a review of Botein’s (2007) focus on the pursuit for affordable housing sheds light on other issues, one of them being a poor system of renumeration. Freeman and Hilbrich (2013) noted that during the Great Depression, there was an upsurge of worker desires for labor unions. The Depression destroyed workers’ faith in business leadership and convinced most of them that unions would provide them with a way to improve their living standards.
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Extending the discussion further, scholars have also cited the role of race in intensifying the creation of unions. Mayer (2004) explained that according to some evidence, union wage premium was higher for nonwhites compared to whites. This leads to the conclusion that racial differences determined the salaries of whites and nonwhites with nonwhites receiving relatively lower wages hence the need for unionization. Rosenfeld and Kleykamp (2012) noted that during the 1970s, African Americans had the highest rate of unionization. The rapid rise was due to “… the legacy of discrimination and continuing impediments to upward mobility concentrated blacks in nonsupervisory, nonmanagerial occupations eligible for union organizing” (Rosenfeld & Kleykamp, 2012, p. 4). Thus, coupled with poor living standards, discrimination based on race exacerbated the creation of unions during the 20 th century.
The Kohler Strike (1954)
In 1954, union membership peaked leading to the merger of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1955 forming a single federation AFL-CIO ( Freeman & Hilbrich, 2013 ). Milkman and Luce (2017) noted that there were two reasons why union membership exacerbated in 1954. One of the reasons was change in business cycles while the other was the effect of depressions, which affected the lives of Americans considerably. However, there is no consensus as to what factor had the dominant effect pushing for the need for unionization. In contrast, Manion (n.d.) argued that the intensified demand for union membership was due to one particular even, the Kohler strike. Understandably, this was the longest strike, which resulted from Herbert Kohler’s, the company president, unwillingness to heed to the demands of the workers. Under the representation of their union, Local 833, employees were contesting poor wages, and thus demanded an additional increase of fourteen cents an hour. According to the union, there were considerable inequities in Kohler’s system of compensation (Petro, 1961). Therefore, with Kohler’s management remaining adamant with their position, the strike would continue for 54 days halting the company’s operations. In this year, the total number of strikes were 3,468 (Manion, n.d.). The persistence of union workers would shape the nature of labor unions in years that followed.
Challenges for Organizations
Thus far, it has been noted that some of the factors that led to unionization were such as wage inequalities, the demand for affordable housing, and in overall, the desire for an improvement of standard of living. Phipps and Prieto (2016) discussed a concept, work-life balance, explaining that there is increasing on organizations to demonstrate their obligation towards employees. The authors explained that facilitation of WLB does not only mean that companies are cognizant with their specific needs that promote goal attainment, but that they “… are also considerate of their employees’ needs that will allow them to avoid work–life conflict and obtain balance, and as a result, they serve an even greater good” (Phipps & Prieto, 2016, p. 251). Therefore, for organizations in the modern-day, there is a need to develop measures that are likely to promote a fair compensation system for employees.
However, promoting WLB is not as easy following the existence of other factors preventing companies from achieving a fair compensation system for its workers. Earlier, it was noted that the rate of unionization differed based on race. Using a protectionist theory, Rosenfeld and Kleykamp (2012) argued that out-groups sought unionized employment to protect themselves from discriminatory treatment in non-union sectors. Thus, from this particular approach, this means that companies dealing with union workers from minority communities are likely to experience more challenges compared to those with non-union laborers. Thus, for organizations in today’s society, the challenge is that there is no effective approach, they can use to determine how to deal with employees’ welfare.
Labor-management Issues
Compared to the past, labor management issues have changed considerably. Malinowski, Minkler and Stock (2015) explained that in the modern-day, there is a decline in unions. The authors noted that this was due to transition from manufacturing to a union-free service-based economy, the emergence of corporate political organizing, the upsurge of contact-dependent work, as well as the growth of professional careers where there is no opportunity to organize with labor unions in America failing to meet these demands (Malinowski, Minkler & Stock, 2015). Therefore, based on what these three authors noted, one can argue that the emergence of a market with careers providing no opportunity to organize, labor-management issues are characteristic of the individual needs of workers. For instance, in the healthcare sector, nurses complain of stress and burnout, which is a major cause for turnover in health institutions (Malinowski, Minkler & Stock, 2015). In such a case, organizations are competitively looking to improve their compensation systems to attract workers, especially those with highly sought-after skills. Arguably, labor management issues in the modern-day are closely linked to organizations’ pursuit for competitive advantage through having a competent body of workers.
Unionization in Modern-day America
Abraham (1994) explained that the American government hindered the development of unions. He cited various provisions in the National Labor Relations Act (1953), which demonstrated the governments implicit attack on unions. For instance, section 2(3) partly reads that the term employee
“… shall not include any individual employed as an agricultural laborer, or in the domestic service of any family or person at his home, or any individual employed by his parent or spouse, or any individual having the status of an independent contractor, or any individual employed as a supervisor”.
These changes were brought about by the Taft-Hartley Act (1947) which was created to prohibit certain labor union practices. Abraham (1994) explained that “ What makes the exclusion of supervisors from the definition of "employee" even more of a hinderance for unions is that more and more categories of workers have been held to be ‘supervisors’” (p. 6). Therefore, from this particular argument, it becomes clear that the federal government has been less than supportive towards labor unions, which explains their continued decline.
Present-day Unions
Following an understanding of the nature of modern-day labor-management issues, the power of present-day unions lies in the continued domination of diversity aspects at the workplace. Rosenfeld and Kleykamp (2012) noted that African Americans had the highest rate of unionization compared to whites. In the modern-day, diversity aspects continue to affect workplace relationships, alongside other aspects such as treatment of employees. While companies seek to promote shareholder value, it is important to note that individuals from different ethnic groups have varied abilities. That being the case, diversification in skill set means that organizations have to employee workers representing various aspect of diversity such as race, gender, religion, among others (Tomlins, 2013). Moreover, with a highly globalized society, diversity is more of an advantage for companies.
Thus, following from the recommendation above, one could argue that employers’ recognition of these aspects could limit any potential for a union organizing. Through demonstrating perceived organizational support to all workers, companies will realize employee engagement, performance, and productivity (Malinowski, Minkler & Stock, 2015) . There will be a trade-off whereby workers demonstrate their competence while the management caters for their various needs. However, unions might become ineffective due to changes in the labor-market such as the continued growth of businesses promoting a particular community’s culture and heritage. In such cases, there is no need for a union as all workers from one community limiting the potential for discrimination as was the case in the past.
Conclusion
Unions have played a major role in shaping labor relations not only in America but also in other countries. However, their existence is at risk following major changes in labor management issues. With a highly competitive labor market, companies are offering potential job seekers attractive pay packages thereby reducing the need to belong to a union. Further changes in the job sector are anticipated, which will continue to undermine the effectiveness of labor unions across the country.
References
Abraham, S. (1994). How the Taft-Hartley Act hindered unions. Hofstra Labor Journal, 12 (1): 1-34.
Botein, H. (2007). Labor Unions and Affordable Housing. Urban Affairs Review,42 (6), 799-822. doi:10.1177/1078087407299595
Freeman, R. B. & Hilbrich, K. (2013). Do labor unions have a future in the United States? In C. S. Rycroft The economics of inequality, poverty, and discrimination in the 21st Century . Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Malinowski, B., Minkler, M., & Stock, L. (2015). Labor Unions: A Public Health Institution. American Journal of Public Health , 105 (2), 261–271. http://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302309
Manion, K. (n.d.). The Kohler Strike of 1954: Lessons on Conflict and Compromise . Retrieved from https://nhdinwi.weebly.com/uploads/2/8/9/9/28997259/wak_2018_junior_division_kent_manion_the_kohler_strike_of_1954.pdf
Mayer, G. (2004). Union membership trends in the United States . Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.
Milkman, R. & Luce, S. (2017). Labor Unions and the Great Recession. The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 3 (3), 145-165.
Petro, S. (1961). The Kohler strike: Union violence and administrative law . Henry Regnery Company.
Phipps, S. & Prieto, L. (2016). A discovery of early labor organizations and the women who advocated work–life balance: An ethical perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 134 : 249-261.
Rosenfeld, J., & Kleykamp, M. (2012). Organized labor and racial wage inequality in the United States. AJS; American Journal of Sociology , 117 (5), 1460–1502. http://doi.org/10.1086/663673
Tomlins, C. (2013). The state, the unions, and the critical synthesis in labor law history: A 25-year retrospect. Labor History, 54 (2): 208-221.
