Labor unions have long played a part in US history and have had a continuous impact on the US economy and labor laws.
From the mid-1600’s on into the present labor unions have played an important role in the economy of the United States and led to the creation of many labor laws that protect the rights of workers and guarantee safeguards to continue that protection on into the future. They have had such a positive impact for workers that Franklin D. Roosevelt is quoted as saying, "If I went to work in a factory, the first thing I would do is join a union."
Union Demands Improve Conditions for Everyone
Every organization that involves groups of people has down sides but unions have helped their members and nonmembers by demanding certain benefits for their members. Over the years unions’ demands have helped to make major, lasting, improvements in labor laws and labor relations. These changes have led Congress to pass certain Acts for the benefit of all working people. In the past violence, strikes, and walk-outs were employed to force the make employers aware of the seriousness of laborers, regarding their demands, but today that is no longer the norm, as unions have found other ways to be heard.
Acts and Reforms Related to Labor (a Partial Listing)
- 1913 U.S. Dept. of Labor Created
- 1931 Davis-Bacon Act – provides for prevailing wages to employees of contractors and subcontractors working on public construction
- 1936 Walsh-Healey Act – creates labor standards including minimum wages, overtime pay, safety standards on federal contract work and provisions for child and convict labor
- 1949 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended – child labor is prohibited
- 1963 The Equal Pay Act – prohibits wage differences based on sex
- 1964 The Civil Rights Act – prohibits many forms of job discrimination (race, color, national origin, sex or religion)
- 1970 Occupation and Safety Health Act (OSHA)
- 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act – allowing Congress to regulate pension funds
Strikes: Then and Now
Strikes and picketing still occur today, for example the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are in the middle of negotiations with the Boeing Co. (Oct. /2008), but the violence of the past has not been reflected in these strikers behavior today. They are asking for improvements to their contract that reflect today’s changing economy. They are asking for guaranteed job security, wage increases that reflect the increased living expenses of today and in the future, a higher minimum starting pay for each pay grade, a better pension plan, and for current medical costs to members to remain the same as they were in 2005.
These are the same demands that unions have made in the past and succeeded in getting for their members. Because unions have demanded these benefits, employers have been expected to pass these benefits, to some degree, on to nonunion employees in order to compete in the job market and hire qualified employees.
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