Organized Labor

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Organized Labor
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Why Organized Labor?

• Collective Bargaining
• Unions bargain for contracts on behalf of its
  members
• Strength in numbersthey cant fire us all!
• Except Air Traffic Controllers (1980s) and
  Baseball Umpires (1990s)
• Many were fired for going on strike!!
• Protect Workers Rights
• Wages
• Working hours
• Working conditions
• Benefits

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Why Organized Labor?

• If Collective Bargaining doesnt work
• StrikeUnion members refuse to work until a fair
  contract is agreed upon
• LockoutManagement refuses to allow union members
  into work until certain conditions are met

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History of Organized Labor

• Labor unions of many kinds date back to the early
  1800s
• Very scattered, not influential, dissolved
  quickly
• I880sa few major labor unions began to grow in
  numbers and power
• Fighting between them increased
• 1886major unions joined together to create the
  AFL (American Federation of Labor)
• Considered to be the first real Labor Union in
  the U.S.
• Consisted of only skilled members from various
  areas of the trades (steel workers, iron workers,
  etc)

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History of Organized Labor

• Wagner Act of 1935
• A.K.A. - The National Labor Relations Act
• Protected rights of workers to form unions
• Established the National Labor Relations Board
  (NLRB)created to investigate unfair business
  practices
• Other unions form
• Several unions form during the 1930s
• Auto Workers, Electrical Workers, Rubber Workers
• The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)
• Created in 1938
• Large union consisting of smaller unions
  mentioned above
• Main rival of the AFL

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Organized Labor Today

• AFL and CIO Merged in 1955
• Consists of 54 smaller unions
• Several million members
• Teamsters Union
• Started as a small part of the AFL-CIO
• Was kicked out in 1957, rejoined in 1985, broke
  away again in 2005
• Strong ties to organized crime (Jimmy Hoffa)
• Declining in numbers today
• Fewer manufacturing jobs
• Some unions still very strong
• Teachers
• Auto Workers
• Carpenters
• Electrical Workers