Historical Situation
Poor wages and working conditions bring on low wages and working conditions. Since there were no regulations governing the number of hours a person must work, no laws allowing for overtime, and no limitations. Providing holiday pay, staff did not have much security and safety during this period (Wade, 2016, 1:38). This demonstrates a severe disdain and lack of regard for employees’ work. The workforce would have desperately desired any such change. Nevertheless, speaking out for themselves was almost too frightening, particularly concerning how the government handled The Bonus Marchers.
The administration’s use of force to prevent people from assembling in Congress, D.C., would have sent a strong message to everyone pushing for change (Wade, 2016, 10:25).: you cannot win unless you have the support of individuals denying what you want. The Bonus Marchers could not convince government representatives to give them what they were owed (danieljbmitchell, 2007). Given how widely public the tragedy was, others were presumably worried. If it is necessary for outside counsel, it could be advantageous for workers to feel more protected.
Evolution of Public and Private Unions
Before the Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injunction Act, which stopped using yellow-dog contracts in 1932, employees were not allowed to be affiliated with unions in any form (Wade, 2016,7:42). (Wade, 2016,7:42). One of the first national labor laws did exist, even though it lacked enforcement power, which promoted union (Wade, 2016, 8:03). However, unions had already existed in the workforce before this act. Public sector unions first appeared in the 1900s, after private sector unions in the middle of the 1800s (Wade, 2019, slide 2). (Wade, 2019, slide 6).
This explains why laws controlling unions in the private sector give rise to rules managing organizations in the public sector. 2003 Berman and colleagues, p. 426, only “…rights to unionize and negotiate” were granted to railroad employees under the 1926 Railway Actions Committed (Berman et al., 2013, p. 428). The Wagner Act of 1935, which provided all economic workers “…the authority to establish unions and collectively bargain,” strengthened these rights, nevertheless. (2013) (Berman and associates, p. 428) (Berman and associates, p. 428)
The public sector is permitted to use this privilege. Executive Order 49, which was issued in 1958, “…allowed bargaining rights with organizations” (Berman et al., 2013, p. 426). Significantly strengthening it was the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which “…provided federal workers the opportunity to establish unions and right to collective bargaining” (Berman et al., 2013, p. 426). Finally, the Taft-Hartley Act resolved the debate over whether workers should belong to unions. This discussion dates back to the prohibition of Yellow-dog agreements with tiny implementation (Wade, 2016, 7:46). According to this law, “union membership cannot constitute a condition of employment” (Wade, 2016, 12:30), as states are free to choose whether or not to be right-to-work states (Wade, 2016, 13:00).
Since the middle of the 20th century, the membership of unions in the public and commercial sectors has decreased (Berman and colleagues, 2013, p. 423). Nevertheless, despite the fall of both sectors, government unions have supplanted private sector organizations in terms of power, according to Berman et al. (2013), with the 1960s seeing the most remarkable membership growth (Berman and colleagues, 2013, p. 425). This does not indicate that they have unconditional backing, though. Some people, however, still believe that “public unions are a hazardous menace with no top predator as the market’s actions have no direct influence on public sector unions’ power” (Berman et al., 2013, p. 418). On the other hand, Berman et al. (2013) assert that once Proposal 75 was rejected, private sector unions may have been seen as strengthening again (p. 415).
Before the Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injunction Act, which stopped using yellow-dog contracts in 1932, employees were not allowed to be affiliated with unions in any form (Wade, 2016,7:42). (Wade, 2016,7:42). One of the first national labor laws did exist, even though it lacked enforcement power. Which promoted groups (Wade, 2016, 8:03). However, unions had already existed in the workforce before this act. Public sector unions first appeared in the 1900s, after private sector unions in the middle of the 1800s (Wade, 2019, slide 2). (Wade, 2019, slide 6). This explains why regulations governing unions in the public sector originate in private-sector legislation. (Berman and colleagues, 2003, p. 426) The 1926 Railway Acts Committed only provided railroad employees with “…rights to unionize and bargain” (Berman et al., 2013, p. 428).
Union Benefits and Drawbacks
Unions undoubtedly have benefits. Thanks to the cooperation, work reform is being handled for employee benefit (Wade, 2016, 28:10). As evidenced by the implementation of “8-hour workdays, overtime pay, and assurance of employment and retirement. Family health vacation, equal pay for men and women, safe working conditions, state schooling, and Social Security are all important issues “instead of the risky and unequal working conditions engendered by industry (Wade, 2016). (Berman and colleagues, 2013, p. 420) Furthermore, unions provide the benefit of trade unions (Wade, 2019, slide 12).
Due to unions’ greater strength than “other interested parties to influence government,” this enables employees to be represented in talks and frequently ensures that they receive better results (Wade, 2019, slide 12). (Berman et al., 2013, p. 421).However, there are drawbacks as well that should be taken into account. One drawback of unions may be the number of money employees must pay in dues.
The problem of just some states having the right to work exacerbates this. Employee dissatisfaction and financial issues within the union may result from certain employees not being forced to pay union dues but yet receiving perks(Wade, 2019, slide). Employees may also believe that their licenses do not provide them with the finest perks (Wade, 2016, 28:50) because unions may represent all members. Those who do not put in as much effort as Others are protected, which is unfair.
What Role Do Unions Play?
Certain firms that fail to identify employee discontent may need unions. But in this day and age, not all businesses require partnerships. Berman (2013) claims that the Great Depression was the only moment in American history when unions existed. Were sufficiently strong to guarantee that corporate profits flowed to employees to be shared” (p. 420). (p. 420). This is likely a result of the difficult economic conditions they were experiencing. The organization’s desire to preserve as much money as possible despite realizing that Employees needed and deserved more to live. Employee underappreciation, neglect, or feeling owed what is fair might still be problems, but they need to get to the point of becoming desperate.
Unions can intervene at this point and represent the interests of workers. One such period was undoubtedly the Great Depression; while there may not have been much that businesses could have done to help the economy then, they might have tried to make the workplace more secure and safe for workers.
Management should be accountable for ensuring the situation never becomes critical enough for unions to intervene. Unions will not be required if management can communicate with workers, listen to their grievances, and discuss how they can resolve the problems. Partnerships are vital because they may still assist individuals dissatisfied with the absence of a fair salary (Berman et al., 2013, p. 426). However, they should not have to, though employers and management must improve communication with workers and provide more significant bargaining opportunities.
Reference Page
Berman, E.M., Bowman, J.S., West, J.P., & Van Wart, M.R. (2013). Human resource management in public service: Paradoxes, processes, and problem [4th ed.]. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
[danieljbmitchell]. (2007). Bonus march on Washington, dc: 1932 [Video File]. Web.
Wade, M. (2016). Berman Ch 11 [Video File]. Web.
Wade, M. (2019). Motivation & Motivational Needs. Retrieved from West Chester University PPA 504-91 D2L. Web.
Wade, M. (2019). Unions & the government. Retrieved from West Chester University PPA 504-91 D2L. Web.