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History Of Labor Unions

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The first traces of labor unions in the United States began as early as the 1700’s. In 1770, the first union was formed for craft laborers. The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, was the first national union that sought to represent workers from different occupations. The group's radical politics and violent tactics led to its disappearance by 1900. Founded in 1886, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was another national group representing various trades but it did not have the political agenda of the Knights of Labor. It focused on working conditions and pay. Also, the American Federation of Labor was an umbrella group, with workers joining the unions that made up the American Federation of Labor. After the demise of the Knights of Labor, …show more content…

The Congress of Industrial Organizations was founded in the late 1930s and it focused on organizing employees by industry rather than by craft. This allowed the CIO to expand in size more rapidly than any other union. In 1955 the AFL and the CIO merged, to create the AFL-CIO, the largest union in the United States today. The modern AFL-CIO is an umbrella group representing a variety of trades. Labor unions have evolved throughout history. Even in today’s society, they are relied upon to serve for their original intended purpose, to improve working conditions. Had it not been for the pioneers who started it all, members of our society would still be facing the challenges that our predecessors underwent just to earn the right to have collective bargaining and participate in organized labor …show more content…

However, there are various negative effects of labor unions. Decreased growth, Labor unions bring in the increased salaries and benefits package for all the workers. However, due to this, the costs for the company per year increases and reaches above market levels. This way, the company is not able to utilize that money for the firm’s growth and new projects and hence it reduces the growth. Also, it effects the hiring process by slowing it down. People in labor unions tend to stay until they can retire and promotes laziness because they are protected and cannot be let go. For some jobs constant change and different perspectives are required to grow a position and modernly change. However, that cannot happen if the same people who have been doing the said job have been doing it for an x amount of years, people tend to get comfortable and are not open to change the way that they have been doing something for years. The loss in business value, the reduced funds, left after allocating money to the labor union’s demands, are not able to get allocated to the new projects and expansion of the firm's operations as per their goals. This results in loss of business value and market leadership as compared to the competitors. Employment, the labor unions try to lower the supply of workers by limiting the number of eligible workers for the higher benefits which are above market standards. This leads to higher

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