Labor Laws and Unions - Essay Example

Labor Laws and Unions American Federation of Labor This organization is also abbreviated as AFL and Once Samuel Gompers founded the organization because of vexation of numerous Knights who had parted from the KOL. Many of the Knights joined the organization since they wanted to walk out of KOL. Notably, the KOL had taught all the American wage earners that he was to be paid before the bricklayer, miners, carpenters, among others could be paid (Aldrich, 2010). This procedure had the application that there was a need for some rectification.

On the same effect, AFL affiliates decided to categorize workmanship into their own different groups so as to fight for each group’s interest (Lorwin, 1972). The organization allowed different groups to join so that it could fight for their rights. However, the state law later started governing the number of employees who were allowed into this organization. This led to certain definition or categorizing of businesses that made some of them unfit to be members of the organization. Unfortunately, Gompers was only interested in the skilled laborers, and he considered many black people unskilled (Lorwin, 1972).

Thus, the organization is mandated with the responsibility of organizing literal test, so that it could not base its membership on assumptions. Additionally, the situation was facilitated to curb the problem of a member not fitting the terms of the state legislation (Roberts, 1960). To evade any other problems, membership was open for all workers despite of their race or color. This reduced any intended government policy that might have affected the organization due to the bias that fuelled racism in country’s industrial sector (Aldrich, 2010).

Labor UnionA labor union is a movement formed by workers with common interests of achieving common goals that include better working conditions (Marot, 2001). It is usually the responsibility of the union leadership to ensure that they adequately bargain on behalf of the employees, who are members of the union (Marot, 2001). Moreover, the union leaders are mandated with a collectively bargaining for labor contracts with the employers on behalf to employees. Additionally, negotiation engulfs wages, complaint procedure, work roles, hiring rules, promotion, and firing of workers, policies, benefits, and workplace safety.

The negotiations and subsequent agreements by the leaders of the union are ever binding on the file and rank members as well as in cases that involve non-member workers. It is worth noting that a trade union may be made up of individual workers, paste workers, professionals, or the unemployed (Lorwin, 1972).Organizations have numerous ways of engaging into negotiation with employers. Some of such negotiations include benefit provision to members: in this case, the negotiation aims at ensuring that the employers offer the union members numerous benefits.

Such benefits include old age, ill health, and funeral expenses (Marot, 2001). State government usually enforces these benefits; however, the state gives provision of legal advice and presentation of members and professional training for the trade union members. Secondly, the union leaders may resort to collective bargaining: this system enables trade union to operate openly as well as be able to be recognized by employers for negotiations over working conditions and wages. Additionally, the union may opt to use industrial action as a system of bargaining to its members (Lorwin, 1972).

This system allows the union to call for strikes to fight for its members’ rights, or it pushes its members to resist lockouts in advancing particular goals. Finally, the union may involve politics or legislation in fighting for its members’ rights: the union may involve the legislature to favor the interest of the members of the union (Marot, 2001). This action may lead to campaigns, lobbies, or financial support for parties or individual candidates.ReferencesAldrich M. A. (2010). The American Federation of Labor.

Memphis, Tennessee: General Books LLC.Lorwin L. L. (1972). The American Federation of Labor: history, policies, and prospects. NY: A. M. Kelley.Marot H. (2001). American Labor Unions. Charleston, South Carolina: BiblioBazaar.Roberts W. C. (1960). American Federation of Labor: History, encyclopedia, reference book, Volume 3. NY: AbeBooks.