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A trade union, often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers who have come together to achieve common goals, such as protecting the integrity of their trade, improving safety standards, and attaining better wages, benefits, and working conditions through the increased bargaining power wielded by solidarity among workers. Trade unions typically fund the formal organization, head office, and legal team functions of the trade union through regular fees or union dues. The delegate staff of the trade union representation in the workforce are made up of workplace volunteers who are appointed by members in democratic elections.
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. The collective agreements reached by these negotiations usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.
The 1936–1937 Flint sit-down strike, also known as the General Motors sit-down strike, the great GM sit-down strike, and so on, was a sitdown strike at the General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, United States. It changed the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from a collection of isolated local unions on the fringes of the industry into a major labor union, and led to the unionization of the domestic automobile industry.
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States and Canada. It was founded as part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the 1930s and grew rapidly from 1936 to the 1950s. The union played a major role in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party under the leadership of Walter Reuther. It was known for gaining high wages and pensions for auto workers, but it was unable to unionize auto plants built by foreign-based car makers in the South after the 1970s, and it went into a steady decline in membership; reasons for this included increased automation, decreased use of labor, movements of manufacturing, and increased globalization.
In the context of labor law in the United States, the term "right-to-work laws" refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions. Under these laws, employees in unionized workplaces are banned from negotiating contracts which require employees who are not union members to contribute to the costs of union representation. Right-to-work laws do not aim to provide general guarantee of employment to people seeking work.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE is the largest union in Canada, representing some 700,000 workers in health care, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and airlines. Over 60% of CUPE's members are women, and almost a third are part-time workers. CUPE is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress and is its greatest financial contributor.
The duty of fair representation is incumbent upon U.S. labor unions that are the exclusive bargaining representative of workers in a particular group. It is the obligation to represent all employees fairly, in good faith, and without discrimination. Originally recognized by the United States Supreme Court in a series of cases in the mid-1940s involving racial discrimination by railway workers' unions covered by the Railway Labor Act, the duty of fair representation also applies to workers covered by the National Labor Relations Act and, depending on the terms of the statute, to public sector workers covered by state and local laws regulating labor relations.
The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), is an independent democratic rank-and-file labor union representing workers in both the private and public sectors across the United States.
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Community unionism, also known as reciprocal unionism, refers to the formation of alliances between unions and non-labour groups in order to achieve common goals. These unions seek to organize the employed, unemployed, and underemployed. They press for change in the workplace and beyond, organizing around issues such as welfare reform, health care, jobs, housing, and immigration. Individual issues at work are seen as being a part of broader societal problems which they seek to address. Unlike trade unions, community union membership is not based on the workplace- it is based on common identities and issues. Alliances forged between unions and other groups may have a primary identity based on affiliations of religion, ethnic group, gender, disability, environmentalism, neighborhood residence, or sexuality.
The Department for Professional Employees, AFL–CIO (DPE) is a semi-autonomous "trade" department of the AFL-CIO, and serves as an advocate for professional workers within the federation, and before legislative bodies, the press and the public.
Leon E. Bates Sr. was an American labor union leader with the United Auto Workers union (UAW) from 1937 to 1964 when he retired as an "International Representative" of the UAW. He was one of the first African-American union organizers to work for the "UAW-CIO".
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The Kohler strikes at the Kohler Company, just west of Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1934 and 1954 are landmarks in the history of both business and labor in the United States. Labor leaders have often cited the warfare at the giant plumbing supply company in their contention that workers need unions. Industrial leaders have pointed to the strikes as examples of union belligerence and indifference toward the true welfare of their employees.
Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly was a manufacturing complex located 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, near New Stanton — and noted for manufacturing 1.15 million Volkswagens from 1978 until 1987. When VWoA began manufacturing in the unfinished Chrysler plant, it became the first foreign automobile company to build cars in the US since Rolls-Royce manufactured cars in Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1921 to 1931.
Executive Order 10988 is a United States presidential executive order issued by President John F. Kennedy on January 17, 1962 that granted federal employees the right to collective bargaining. This executive order was a breakthrough for public sector workers, who were not protected under the 1935 Wagner Act.
Industrial democracy is an arrangement which involves workers making decisions, sharing responsibility and authority in the workplace. While in participative management organizational designs workers are listened to and take part in the decision-making process, in organizations employing industrial democracy they also have the final decisive power.
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of Labor (AFL) by John L. Lewis, a member of the United Mine Workers (UMW), and called the Committee for Industrial Organization, its name was changed in 1938 when it broke away from the American Federation of Labor. It also changed names because it was not successful with organizing unskilled workers within the AFL.
Volkswagen Group is headquartered in Germany with operations in 29 countries across its 120 plants. With 120,000 employees in Germany and 600,000 globally, it is one of the most well organized labour backed companies in the world. The role that Works Councils and IG Metall play is unique even within Germany. Workers at Volkswagen Group, including its marque Volkswagen (VW) have some of the strongest collective agreements. With the exception of the United States and China, all of its major locations are represented in the Global Works Council and local trade union bodies. VW Group has a strong tradition and practice of social partnership and co-determination rights globally.
Tesla, Inc. is an electric car manufacturer which employs over 70,000 workers across its global operations without trade unions. As of 2016 Tesla was the only American auto manufacturer without a union, as well as in Germany. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has commented on trade unions in relation to Tesla.
References
- ↑ Marvit, Moshe; Schriever, Leigh Anne (21 October 2015). "With Traditional Unions on the Decline, Can Members-Only Unions Breathe Life Back Into Labor?" . Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ↑ "Volkswagen's Sort-of Union in Tennessee". 19 February 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2018– via www.bloomberg.com.
- ↑ "VW welcomes UAW, other unions in Tenn". Detroit Free Press. 12 November 2014. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ↑ Lydia DePillis (19 November 2014). "The strange case of the anti-union union at Volkswagen's plant in Tennessee". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ↑ "UAW certified to represent VW workers in Tennessee". Detroit Free Press. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.