A trade union (or labour union) is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas and working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labor contracts (Collective bargaining) with employers. This may include the negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules governing hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and policies. The agreements negotiated by the union leaders are binding on the rank and file members and the employer and in some cases on other non-member workers.

These organizations may comprise individual workers, professionals, past workers, or the unemployed. The most common, but by no means only, purpose of these organizations is "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment".[1]

Over the last three hundred years, many trade unions have developed into a number of forms, influenced by differing political and economic regimes. The immediate objectives and activities of trade unions vary, but may include:

Contents

History

Part of a series on

Organized labour
The labour movement
New Unionism · Proletariat

Social Movement Unionism · Socialism

Syndicalism · Anarcho-syndicalism

Labour timeline
Labour rights
Child labor · Eight-hour day
Occupational safety and health
Collective bargaining
Trade unions
Trade unions by country
Trade union federations
International comparisons
ITUC · WFTU · IWA
Strike actions
Chronological list of strikes
General strike · Sympathy strike
Sitdown strike · Work-to-rule
Trade unionists
Joe Hill · Dita Indah Sari
Walter Reuther
Sonja Davies · Eugene V. Debs
A. J. Cook · Shirley Carr

Academic disciplines
Labor in economics
Labor history
Industrial relations · Labor law
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The origins of unions' existence can be traced from the eighteenth century, where the rapid expansion of industrial society drew women, children, rural workers, and immigrants to the work force in larger numbers and in new roles. This pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labor spontaneously organized in fits and starts throughout its beginnings,[1] and would later be an important arena for the development of trade unions. Trade unions as such were endorsed by the Catholic Church towards the end of the 19th Century. Pope Leo XIII in his 'Magna Carta': Rerum Novarum, spoke against the atrocities workers faced and demanded that workers should be granted certain rights and safety regulations.[2]

Origins and early history

Unions have sometimes been seen as successors to the guilds of medieval Europe, though the relationship between the two is disputed.[3] Medieval guilds existed to protect and enhance their members' livelihoods through controlling the instructional capital of artisanship and the progression of members from apprentice to craftsman, journeyman, and eventually to master and grandmaster of their craft. A labor union might include workers from only one trade or craft, or might combine several or all the workers in one company or industry.

Since the publication of the History of Trade Unionism (1894) by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, the predominant historical view is that a trade union "is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment."[1] A modern definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics states that a trade union is "an organization consisting predominantly of employees, the principal activities of which include the negotiation of rates of pay and conditions of employment for its members."[4]

Yet historian R.A. Leeson, in United we Stand (1971), said:

Two conflicting views of the trade-union movement strove for ascendancy in the nineteenth century: one the defensive-restrictive guild-craft tradition passed down through journeymen's clubs and friendly societies, ... the other the aggressive-expansionist drive to unite all 'laboring men and women' for a 'different order of things'.

Recent historical research by Bob James in Craft, Trade or Mystery (2001) puts forward the view that trade unions are part of a broader movement of benefit societies, which includes medieval guilds, Freemasons, Oddfellows, friendly societies, and other fraternal organizations.

The 18th century economist Adam Smith noted the imbalance in the rights of workers in regards to owners (or "masters"). In The Wealth of Nations, Book I, chapter 8, Smith wrote:

We rarely hear, it has been said, of the combination of masters, though frequently of those of workmen. But whoever imagines, upon this account, that masters rarely combine, is as ignorant of the world as of the subject. Masters are always and everywhere in a sort of tacit, but constant and uniform combination, not to raise the wages of labor above their actual rate[.]

When workers combine, masters ... never cease to call aloud for the assistance of the civil magistrate, and the rigorous execution of those laws which have been enacted with so much severity against the combination of servants, laborers, and journeymen.

As Smith noted, unions were illegal for many years in most countries (and Smith argued that schemes to fix wages or prices, by employees or employers, should be). There were severe penalties for attempting to organize unions, up to and including execution. Despite this, unions were formed and began to acquire political power, eventually resulting in a body of labor law that not only legalized organizing efforts, but codified the relationship between employers and those employees organized into unions. Even after the legitimization of trade unions there was opposition, as the case of the Tolpuddle Martyrs shows.

The right to join a trade union is mentioned in article 23, subsection 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which also states in article 20, subsection 2 that "No one may be compelled to belong to an association". Prohibiting a person from joining or forming a union, as well as forcing a person to do the same (e.g. "closed shops" or "union shops", see below), whether by a government or by a business, is generally considered a human rights abuse. Similar allegations can be leveled if an employer discriminates based on trade union membership. Attempts by an employer, often with the help of outside agencies, to prevent union membership amongst their staff is known as union busting.

19th century unionism

In the early 1800’s many men from large cities put together the organization which we now call the Trade Union Movement. Individuals who were members of unions at this time were skilled, experienced, and knew how to get the job done. Their main reasoning for starting this movement was to put on strikes. However, they did not have enough men to fulfill their needs and the unions which began this trendy movement, collapsed quickly. The Mechanics’ Union Trade Association was the next approach to bring workers together. In 1827, this union was the first U.S. labor organization which brought together workers of divergent occupations. This was “the first city-wide federation of American workers, which recognized that all labor, regardless of trades, had common problems that could be solved only by united effort as a class.”[5] This organization took off when carpentry workers from Philadelphia went on strike to protest their pay wages and working hours. This union strike was only a premonition of what was to come in the future.

"Besides acting to raise wages and improve working conditions, the federations espoused certain social reforms, such as the institution of free public education, the abolition of imprisonment for debt, and the adoption of universal manhood suffrage. Perhaps the most important effect of these early unions was their introduction of political action." [6]

Workers realized what unionism was all about through the configuration of mechanics association and many people followed in their footsteps. The strike gave others hope that they.could get their concerns out by word of mouth. Before this time many people did not speak about their concerns because of the lack of bodies. However, with more people comes more confidence. Strikes were a new way of speaking your mind and getting things accomplished. The next established union which made an impact on the trade movement was the Grand National Consolidated Trade Union. This union was founded in 1834 as the first domestic association. However, this union was short lived due to the panic of 1837. “[Andrew] Jackson thought the Bank of the United States hurt ordinary citizens by exercising too much control over credit and economic opportunity, and he succeeded in shutting it down. But the state banks' reckless credit policies led to massive speculation in Western lands. By 1837, after Van Buren had become president, banks were clearly in trouble. Some began to close, businesses began to fail, and thousands of people lost their land.” [7] This collapse of financial support and businesses left workers unemployed. Many of these workers, who became affected by the 1837 disaster, were members of a union. It was very hard for them to stay together in an economic hardship. The trade union movement came to a bump in the road and died out for a short while. The economy was restored by the early 1840s and trade unions were at their best. National Labor unions were forming; however, they were different than ones in the past, such as the National Trade Union. The new National Labor unions consisted of members in the same occupation. The work force was drastically impacted by the Civil War and the economy was thriving. Many workers gained employment because of this economic boom and unions increased greatly. “More than 30 national craft unions were established during the 1860s and early '70s.”[8] One of the significant national craft unions to be formed during this time was the National Labor Union (NLU). The National Labor Union was the first national union in the United States. It was created in 1866 and included many types of workers.[9] Although relatively short-lived, the NLU paved the way for future American unions. Following the decline of the NLU, the Knights of Labor became the leading countrywide union in the 1860s. This union did not include Chinese, and partially included black people and women.[10]

Knights of Labor

Main article: Knights of Labor

The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor (KOL) was founded in Philadelphia in 1869 by Uriah Stevens and six other men. The union was formed for the purpose of organizing, educating and directing the power of the industrial masses, according to their Constitution of 1878.[11] The Knights gathered people to join the Order who believed in creating “the greatest good to the greatest amount of people”. The Knights took their set goals very seriously. Some of which consisted of “productive work, civic responsibility, education, a wholesome family life, temperance, and self-improvement.”[12]

The Knights of Labor worked as a secret fraternal society until 1881. The union grew slowly until the economic depression of the 1870s, when large numbers of workers joined the organization.[13] The Knights only permitted certain groups of individuals into their Order which promoted social division amongst the people around them. Bankers, speculators, lawyers, liquor dealers, gamblers, and teachers were all excluded from the union. These workers were known as the “non-producers” because their jobs did not entail physical labor. Factory workers and business men were known as the “producers” because their job constructed a physical product. The working force producers were welcomed into the Order. Women were also welcome to join the Knights, as well as black workers by the year 1883.[14] However, Asians were excluded. In November 1885, the Knights of a Washington city pushed to get rid their Asian population. The knights were strongly for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 because it greatly helped them deteriorate the Asian community. “The Act required the few non-laborers who sought entry to obtain certification from the Chinese government that they were qualified to immigrate. But this group found it increasingly difficult to prove that they were not laborers because the 1882 act defined excludables as ‘skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining.’ Thus very few Chinese could enter the country under the 1882 law.” [15]

The act also stated that if an Asian left the country, they needed a certificate to re-enter.

Although Asians were not welcomed in the union, black workers who joined the union brought a large number of blacks into the white labor movement. In 1886, the Union exceeded 700,000 members, 60,000 of them black. The Knights were told that they “broke the walls of prejudice”; the “color line had been broken and black and white were found working in the same cause.”[16] The knights gained many members again in 1873, after the collapse of the National Labor Union and when Terence V. Powderly took over as Grand Master Working Man in place of Uriah Stephens.

As the association gained members, Powderly helped the knights to work together as a labor union and less like a “fraternal organization”. He transformed the “skilled and unskilled, black and white, male and female, immigrant and native-born” to a powerful group who worked as one. The Knights aided many boycotts and strikes as a way to fight for their goals even though Powderly did not agree with them. He believed they only lead to fighting and stress. Other leaders of the Knights found strikes very beneficial. The union’s utmost success was in the 1884 strike of the Union Pacific Railroad and the Wabash Railroad strike as well. In 1886 the Knights reputation was tarnished by the Haymarket Square Riot. In May of 1886 the Knights were campaigning in the Haymarket Square for an 8-hour work day, which is one of their main goals. Chicago workers went on strike and during a violent incident with police, two workers were shot. The rally at Haymarket was to protest this event. During the rally a bomb was set off and because the Knights were present they were associated with the violent act, causing the decline of the union.

“The decline of the Knights of Labor contributed to the rise of the American Federation of Labor, established under the leadership of Samuel Gompers in 1886. Whereas the Knights of Labor aimed at legislative reforms including the eight-hour day and child labor laws, the American Federation of Labor focused on protecting the autonomy and established privileges of individual craft unions.”[17]

With the motto “an injury to one is the concern of all,” the Knights of Labor tried to push their aims through educational sources. The Union reached its prime time in 1886 when the union grew to over 700,000 members. After this quick peak in their association the knights took a turn for the worse. The union slowly began to deteriorate due to many circumstances. Powderly began to emphasize his unlimited authority over the knights which caused the members discontent. The members slowly began to disappear, as did the financial resources. Much of the money was used on strikes which were ineffective and, in the end, a waste of needed money. The union wasted away to 100,000 members by 1890 and the American Federation of Labor began to merge with the Knights despite the leaders wishes. Powderly stepped down from Grand Master Working Man in 1893 because he was unable to reunite his members. The American Federation of Labor picked up where the Knights of Labor left off and the knights were totally inactive by the 1900s.

American Federation of Labor

Main article: American Federation of Labor

In 1886, Samuel Gompers brought men together in Ohio to formulate The American Federation of Labor. Gompers was the residing President of the union until his death in 1924. George Meany took over the role as President from 1952 until the merger of the AFL-CIO. The AFL was established due to the vexation of many Knights who parted from the KOL. Many Knights joined the AFL because they set themselves apart from the KOL. They “tried to teach the American wage-earner that he was a wage-earner first and a bricklayer, carpenter, miner […] after. This meant that the Order was teaching something that was not so in the hope that sometime it would be.’ But the AFL affiliates organized carpenters as carpenters, bricklayers as bricklayers, and so forth, teaching them all to place their own craft interests before those of other workers.” [18] The AFL also differed from the KOL because it only allowed associations to be formed from workers and workers were the only people permitted to join them. Unlike the AFL, the knights also allowed small businesses to join. A small business is “An independently owned and operated business that is not dominant in its field of operation and conforms to standards set by the Small Business Administration or by state law regarding number of employees and yearly income called also small business concern.”[19] Since the knights allowed an array of members into their association, they ended up getting rid of many because they did not fit the title. However, the AFL was right behind them picking up their pieces. This was another way in which the AFL helped to destroy the Knights. Once an associate was no longer a knight, and they fit the description of an AFL member, they hunted them down and offered them a spot. Many times spots were offered to men who were still Knights. This allowed the AFL to grow very strong with a diverse set of members.

The diversity in the AFL faltered when many of the black members were excluded. Gompers only wanted skilled workers representing his union and many black people were not considered skilled. The AFL claimed to not exclude the black members because of their race but because they were not qualified for the part. “So as long as wages rose, and they did, hours fell, and they did, security increased, and it appeared to, the AFL could grow fat while neglecting millions of laborers doomed to lives of misery and want.”[20] Even if a black worker was considered skilled enough to fit the part they were somehow excluded from the Union. The AFL conducted literacy tests which were made for the purpose of excluding immigrants and blacks. White people looked at other races as inferior to them and did not feel as if they should be working with them. Regardless of black members being excluded, the AFL was the most prevalent union federation in America before the mid 1940s. The union was composed of over 10 million members before it combined with the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO).

Congress of Industrial Organization

Main article: Congress of Industrial Organization

The CIO was put forth by John L. Lewis when troubles with the AFL persisted, after the death of Gompers in 1924. Many members of the union requested that they switch the rules which were laid out by Gompers. They wanted to support inexperienced workmen rather than only focusing on experienced workers of one occupation. John L. Lewis was the first member of the AFL to act upon this issue in 1935. He was the founder of the Committee for the Industrial Organization which was an original union branched from the AFL. The Committee for the Industrial Organization transformed into the Congress of Industrial Organization. “The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) encompassed the largest sustained surge of worker organization in American history.”[21] In the 1930s, the CIO grabbed many of their member’s attention through victorious strikes. In the 1935, employees of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company formed their own union called the United Rubber Workers. The Rubber Workers went on strike in 1936 to protest an increase in product with lower pay wages. “There were forty-eight strikes in 1936 in which the strikers remained at their jobs for at least one day; in twenty-two of these work stoppages, involving 34,565 workers, the strikers stayed inside the plants for more than twenty-four hours.”[22] This tactic was called a “sit-down” strike which entailed workers to stop doing their job and sit in their place of employment. During these strikes, business owners were unable to bring in new workers to replace the ones who were on strike because they were still in their seats at the factory. This was unlike any strikes in the past. Before this time, workers showed their fury by leaving their factory and standing in picket lines.Walter Reuther was in control of the union at this time and moved forward to higher roles during 1955.

AFL-CIO

Main article: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

On May 5, 1955, labor delegates gathered in NY on behalf of 16 million workers, to witness and support the merger of The American Federation of Labor and The Congress of Industrial Organization. The merger is a result of 20 years of effort put forth by both the AFL and CIO presidents, George Meany and Walter Reuther. The gathered delegates applauded loudly when the time came to nominate officers for the new AFL-CIO. Reuther who was named one of the 37 vice presidents of the union, nominated Meany for President. After Meany’s retirement in 1979, Lane Kirkland took over is position. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was elected in 1952, was the first to publicly address and congratulate the new union, which was now the largest in the world.

In Eisenhower’s telephone broadcast to the United States he acknowledged the impact union members had made to better the nation and one of these impacts was “the development of the American philosophy of labor.”[23] Eisenhower states three principles which he feels apply to the philosophy of labor. The first principles states that: “the ultimate values of mankind are spiritual; these values include liberty, human dignity, opportunity and equal rights and justice.”[24] Eisenhower was stating that every individual deserves a job with decent compensation, practical hours, and good working conditions that leave them feeling fulfilled. His second principle speaks of the economic interest of the employer and employee being a mutual prosperity.[25] The employers and employees must work together in order for there to be the greatest amount of wealth for all. Workers have a right to strike when they feel their boundaries are being crossed and the best way for the employer to fix the employees unhappiness is to come to a mutual agreement. His last principle which he preached stated: “labor relations will be managed best when worked out in honest negotiation between employers and unions, without Government’s unwarranted interference.”[26] Eisenhower was saying that when both parties cooperate and act in mature fashion, it will be easier to work out situations and a better outcome will result because of it. Once he was done delivering the speech, everyone across the U.S. knew of the new AFL-CIO who’s “mission was to bring social and economic justice to our nation by enabling working people to have a voice on the job, in government, in a changing global economy and in their communities.” [27] This new alliance is made up of 56 nationwide and intercontinental labor unions. The unions which are a part of this alliance are composed of 2.5 million working Americans and 8.5 million other affiliated members. These members do not fall under one job title but they are very diversely spread out among the working area. Their jobs go from doctors to truck drivers and painters to bankers. The mission of these workers and the AFL-CIO “is to improve the lives of working families—to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation. To accomplish this mission we will build and change the American labor movement.”[28] The AFL-CIO also has many goals which coincide with their mission:

“We will build a broad movement of American workers by organizing workers into unions. We will build a strong political voice for workers in our nation. We will change our unions to provide a new voice to workers in a changing economy. We will change our labor movement by creating a new voice for workers in our communities.”[29]

The association was willing to go to any extent to help out their employers which is why the membership was so high. Members started to slowly disappear after 25 successful years of a steady membership. Starting out with 16 million members in 1955 and dropping down to 13 million by 1984 is a significant loss. This loss of members is in large part due to the 1957 removal of the Teamsters’ Union who were long time members of the AFL. The Teamsters’ were involved in organized crime and manipulating employers with strong force. The Teamsters’ philosophy was to

“Let each member do his duty as he sees fit. Let each put his shoulder to the wheel and work together to bring about better results. Let no member sow seeds of discord within our ranks, and let our enemies see that the Teamsters of this country are determined to get their just rewards and to make their organization as it should be -- one of the largest and strongest trade unions in the country now and beyond."[30]

This philosophy did not work well for Teamster presidents Beck, Hoffa, and Williams who were all accused of criminal acts and sent to prison. In 1987 the AFL-CIO membership grew to 14 million members when the Teamsters Union was restored to the association.

The AFL-CIO also lost many members due to financial struggles in the United States. During the late 1900’s the U.S. dollar began to oscillate due to rivalry with foreign countries and their coinage. This affects global trafficking and results in job loss for American citizens. The issues between the United States and foreign countries cannot be resolved by Eisenhower’s third principle, which entailed honest negotiations. Consequently, the association has been dynamically supportive in administration policies which deal with global trafficking, the production of goods, and many other issues, which are optimistic policies that will add to an established financial system.

The AFL-CIO is now governed by a gathering of delegates who are present on behalf of association members who meet every four years. The delegates who are the spokespeople of the federation members are chosen by union members. While the delegates vote for new representatives every four years, they also lay down the goals and policies for the union. The most recent representatives for the organization along with 45 vice presidents are President John J. Sweeny, Secretary-treasurer Richard Trumka, and executive vice president Arlene Holt Baker

In the United States there are a total of 15.4 million union members, “11 million of whom belong to unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO.”[31] This number has grown rapidly since the beginning of the union movement because today, all individuals with different occupations are welcomed to join unions. “Today's unions include manufacturing and construction workers, teachers, technicians and doctors—and every type of worker in between. No matter what you do for a living, there's a union that has members who do the same thing.”[32] Educating union members about issues that shape lives of functioning families on a daily basis is one of the AFL-CIO’s policies. They give them confidence to have their voices heard for political purposes. They also prioritize in

“creating family-supporting jobs by investing tax dollars in schools, roads, bridges and airports; improving the lives of workers through education, job training and raising the minimum wage; keeping good jobs at home by reforming trade rules, reindustrializing the U.S. economy and redoubling efforts at worker protections in the global economy; strengthening Social Security and private pensions; making high-quality, affordable health care available to everyone; and holding corporations more accountable for their actions.”[33]

The AFL-CIO is very supportive of political issues and they show their concern by giving out information about existing political issues to families. This information is spread by volunteers and activists and includes where all the candidates stand on the issues.

Europe

In France, Germany, and other European countries, socialist parties and democrats played a prominent role in forming and building up trade unions, especially from the 1870s onwards. This stood in contrast to the British experience, where moderate New Model Unions dominated the union movement from the mid-nineteenth century and where trade unionism was stronger than the political labor movement until the formation and growth of the Labour Party in the early years of the twentieth century.

Australia

A 1919 strike leader addressing a crowd in Gary, Indiana.

Supporters of Unions, such as the ACTU or Australian Labor Party, often credit trade unions with leading the labor movement in the early 20th century, which generally sought to end child labor practices, improve worker safety, increase wages for both union workers and non union workers, raise the entire society's standard of living, reduce the hours in a work week, provide public education for children, and bring other benefits to working class families.[34]

Unions today

Structure and politics

Union structures, politics, and legal status vary greatly from country to country. For specific country details see below.
A rally of the trade union UNISON in Oxford during a strike on 2006-03-28.

Unions may organize a particular section of skilled workers (craft unionism), a cross-section of workers from various trades (general unionism), or attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry (industrial unionism). These unions are often divided into "locals", and united in national federations. These federations themselves will affiliate with Internationals, such as the International Trade Union Confederation.

In many countries, a union may acquire the status of a "juristic person" (an artificial legal entity), with a mandate to negotiate with employers for the workers it represents. In such cases, unions have certain legal rights, most importantly the right to engage in collective bargaining with the employer (or employers) over wages, working hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The inability of the parties to reach an agreement may lead to industrial action, culminating in either strike action or management lockout, or binding arbitration. In extreme cases, violent or illegal activities may develop around these events.

In other circumstances, unions may not have the legal right to represent workers, or the right may be in question. This lack of status can range from non-recognition of a union to political or criminal prosecution of union activists and members, with many cases of violence and deaths having been recorded both historically and contemporarily.[35][36]

Unions may also engage in broader political or social struggle. Social Unionism encompasses many unions that use their organizational strength to advocate for social policies and legislation favorable to their members or to workers in general. As well, unions in some countries are closely aligned with political parties.

Unions are also delineated by the service model and the organizing model. The service model union focuses more on maintaining worker rights, providing services, and resolving disputes. Alternately, the organizing model typically involves full-time union organizers, who work by building up confidence, strong networks, and leaders within the workforce; and confrontational campaigns involving large numbers of union members. Many unions are a blend of these two philosophies, and the definitions of the models themselves are still debated.

Although their political structure and autonomy varies widely, union leaderships are usually formed through democratic elections.

Some research, such as that conducted by the ACIRRT,[37] argues that unionized workers enjoy better conditions and wages than those who are not unionized.

In Britain, the perceived left-leaning nature of trade unions has resulted in the formation of a reactionary right-wing trade union called Solidarity which is supported by the far-right BNP.

Shop types

Companies that employ workers with a union generally operate on one of several models:

Diversity of international unions

As labor law varies from country to country, so is the function of unions. For example, in Germany only open shops are legal; that is, all discrimination based on union membership is forbidden. This affects the function and services of the union. In addition, German unions have played a greater role in management decisions through participation in corporate boards and co-determination than have unions in the United States. (newsletter/files/BTS012EN_12-15.pdf}.

In Britain, a series of laws introduced during the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher's government restricted closed and union shops. All agreements requiring a worker to join a union are now illegal. In the United States, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 outlawed the closed shop, but permitted the union shop unless the state government chose to prohibit it.

In addition, unions' relations with political parties vary. In many countries unions are tightly bonded, or even share leadership, with a political party intended to represent the interests of working people. Typically this is a left-wing, socialist, or social democratic party, but many exceptions exist. In the United States, by contrast, although it is historically aligned with the Democratic Party, the labor movement is by no means monolithic on that point; this is especially true among the individual "rank and file" members. For example, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has supported Republican Party candidates on a number of occasions and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) endorsed Ronald Reagan in 1980. (However, when PATCO went on strike in violation of their "no strike" contract, President Reagan ordered them back to work. Those who didn't return to the job were fired and replaced, effectively destroying PATCO.) The AFL-CIO has been against liberalizing abortion, consistent with a Republican position, so as not to alienate its large Catholic constituency. In Britain the labor movement's relationship with the Labour Party is fraying as party leadership embarks on privatization plans at odds with what unions see as the worker's interests. On top of this in the past there as been a group known as the Conservative Trade Unionists or CTU. A group formed of people who sympathized with right wing Tory policy but were Trade Unionists.

In Western Europe, professional associations often carry out the functions of a trade union. In these cases, they may be negotiating for white-collar workers, such as physicians, engineers, or teachers. Typically such trade unions refrain from politics or pursue a more ordoliberal politics than their blue-collar counterparts[citation needed].

In Germany the relation between individual employees and employers is considered to be asymmetrical. In consequence, many working conditions are not negotiable due to a strong legal protection of individuals. However, the German flavor or works legislation has as its main objective to create a balance of power between employees organized in unions and employers organized in employers associations. This allows much wider legal boundaries for collective bargaining, compared to the narrow boundaries for individual negotiations. As a condition to obtain the legal status of a trade union, employee associations need to prove that their leverage is strong enough to serve as a counterforce in negotiations with employers. If such an employees association is competing against another union, its leverage may be questioned by unions and then evaluated in a court trial. In Germany only very few professional associations obtained the right to negotiate salaries and working conditions for their members, notably the medical doctors association Marburger Bund and the pilots association Vereinigung Cockpit. The engineers association Verein Deutscher Ingenieure does not strive to act as a union, as it also represents the interests of engineering businesses.

Finally, the structure of employment laws affects unions' roles and how they carry out their business. In many western European countries wages and benefits are largely set by governmental action. The United States takes a more laissez-faire approach, setting some minimum standards but leaving most workers' wages and benefits to collective bargaining and market forces. Historically, the Republic of Korea has regulated collective bargaining by requiring employers to participate but collective bargaining has been legal only if held in sessions before the lunar new year. In totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany, Trade Unions were outlawed. In the Soviet Union and China, unions have typically been de facto government agencies devoted to smooth and efficient operation of government enterprises.

Criticism

Main article: Opposition to trade unions

Trade unions have been accused of benefiting insider workers, those having secure jobs, at the cost of outsider workers, consumers of the goods or services produced, and the shareholders of the unionized business. Those who are likely to be disadvantaged most from unionization are the unemployed, those at risk of unemployment, or workers who are unable to get the job they want in a particular line of work.[38]

In the United States, the outsourcing of labor to Asia, Latin America, and Africa has been partially driven by increasing costs of union partnership, which gives other countries a comparative advantage in labor, making it more efficient to perform labor-intensive work there.[39] Milton Friedman, Nobel economist an advocate of laissez-faire capitalism sought to show that unionization produces higher wages (for the union members) at the expense of fewer jobs, and that, if some industries are unionized while others are not, wages will tend to decline in non-unionized industries.[40]

Trade unions have been said to have ineffective policies on racism and sexism, such that a union is justified in not supporting a member taking action against another member. This was demonstrated by the 1987 judgment in the Weaver v NATFEH case in the UK - in which a black Muslim woman brought a complaint of workplace racist harassment against a co-trade unionist. The finding was that in the event of the union offering assistance to the complainant it would be in violation of the union’s duty to protect the tenure of the accused member and the judgment still sets the precedent for cases of this kind that union members who make complaints to the employer of racist or sexist harassment against member(s) of the same union cannot obtain union advice or assistance; this applies irrespective of the merit of the complaint.[41]

Unions are sometimes accused of holding society to ransom by taking strike actions that result in the disruption of public services.[42][43] Gallup carries out annual polls on US support for labor unions; the proportion approving of labor unions has remained between 55 and 65% since the early 1970s.[44]

Worldwide Union and by Region and Country

Worldwide and International Cooperation

Unionization in the world[citation needed]

The largest organization of trade union members in the world is the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation, which today has approximately 309 affiliated organizations in 156 countries and territories, with a combined membership of 166 million. Other global trade union organizations include the World Federation of Trade Unions.

National and regional trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups also form global union federations, such as Union Network International, the International Federation of Journalists or the International Arts and Entertainment Alliance.

Trade unions in Africa
Sovereign states

Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Republic of the Congo · Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) · Djibouti · Egypt1 · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Gabon · The Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · Sudan · Swaziland · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Dependencies, autonomies, other territories

Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) · Madeira (Portugal) · Mayotte / Réunion (France) · Puntland · St. Helena (UK) · Socotra (Yemen) · Somaliland · Southern Sudan · Western Sahara · Zanzibar (Tanzania)
Italics indicate an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 Transcontinental country.
Trade unions in Asia
Sovereign states

Afghanistan · Armenia1 · Azerbaijan1 · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Burma2 · Cambodia · People's Republic of China · Cyprus1 · East Timor3 · Egypt4 · Georgia4 · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan4 · North Korea · South Korea · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia4 · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Republic of China5 · Thailand · Turkey4 · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen
Dependencies, autonomies, other territories

Aceh · Adjara1 · Abkhazia1 · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Altai · British Indian Ocean Territory · Buryatia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Guangxi · Hong Kong · Inner Mongolia · Iraqi Kurdistan · Jakarta · Khakassia · Macau · Nagorno-Karabakh · Nakhchivan · Ningxia · Northern Cyprus · Palestine (Gaza Strip · West Bank) · Papua · Sakha · South Ossetia1 · Tibet · Tuva · West Papua · Xinjiang · Yogyakarta
Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 Sometimes included in Europe, depending on the border definitions. 2 Officially known as Myanmar. 3 Sometimes included in Oceania, and also known as Timor-Leste. 4 Transcontinental country. 5 Commonly known as Taiwan.
Trade unions in the Caribbean

Anguilla · Antigua and Barbuda · Aruba · Bahamas · Barbados · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Grenada · Guadeloupe · Haiti · Jamaica · Martinique · Montserrat · Netherlands Antilles · Puerto Rico · St. Barthélemy · St. Kitts and Nevis · St. Lucia · St. Martin · St. Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago · Turks and Caicos Islands · U.S. Virgin Islands

Belize • Bermuda · Colombia · Costa Rica • French Guiana • Guatemala • Guyana • Honduras • Mexico • Nicaragua • Panama • Suriname · Venezuela ·
Trade unions in Europe
Sovereign states

Albania · Andorra · Armenia1 · Austria · Azerbaijan2 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus1 · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia2 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan3 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia3 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey3 · Ukraine · United Kingdom (England • Northern Ireland • Scotland • Wales)
Other entities

European Union · Sovereign Military Order of Malta
1 Entirely in Asia, but historically considered European. 2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the border definitions. 3 Transcontinental country.
Trade unions in North America
Sovereign states

Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama1 · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago1 · United States
Dependencies and other territories

Anguilla · Aruba1 · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Greenland · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Montserrat · Netherlands Antilles1 · Puerto Rico · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Martin · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Turks and Caicos Islands · United States Virgin Islands
1 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of South America.
Trade unions in Oceania
Sovereign states

Australia · East Timor1 · Fiji · Indonesia1 · Kiribati · Papua New Guinea · Marshall Islands · Federated States of Micronesia · Nauru · New Zealand · Palau · Samoa · Solomon Islands · Tonga · Tuvalu · Vanuatu
Dependencies and other territories

American Samoa · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · Guam · Hawaii · New Caledonia · Niue · Norfolk Island · Northern Mariana Islands · Pitcairn Islands · Tokelau · Wallis and Futuna
1 Transcontinental country.
Trade unions in South America
Sovereign states

Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Panama1 · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago1 · Uruguay · Venezuela
Dependencies

Aruba1 / Netherlands Antilles1 (Netherlands) · Falkland Islands / South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) 2 / French Guiana (France)
1 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of North America and/or Central America. 2 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of Antarctica.

Union publications

Several sources of current news exist about the trade union movement in the world. These include LabourStart and the official website of the international trade union movement Global Unions.

Another source of labor news is the Workers Independent News, a news organization providing radio articles to independent and syndicated radio shows.

Labor Notes is the largest circulation cross-union publication remaining in the United States. It reports news and analysis about labor activity or problems facing the labor movement.

See also

Social democracy
Precursors Age of Enlightenment Utopian socialism Trade unionism Revolutions of 1848 Orthodox Marxism
Development Revisionism / Reformism Third way
Policies Representative democracy Labor rights · Civil liberties Welfare state · Mixed economy Secularism · Fair trade Environmental protection
Organizations Social democratic parties Socialist International Party of European Socialists International Trade Union Confederation
People Eduard Bernstein · Tony Blair · Hjalmar Branting · Friedrich Ebert · Jean Jaurès · Karl Kautsky · Gerhard Schröder
Organized Labour portal
General
Types of unions
Union federation

References

  1. ^ a b c Webb, Sidney; Webb, Beatrice (1920). History of Trade Unionism. Longmans and Co. London. ch. I
  2. ^ Rerum Novarum
  3. ^ Trade Unions and Socialism International Socialist Review, Vol.1 No.10, April 1901.
  4. ^ "Trade Union Census". Australian Bureau of Statistics. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/9FCBBF538897395ACA2570EC001A6CED?OpenDocument. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.
  5. ^ Foner, Phillip Sheldon. History of the Labor Movement in the United States. International Publishers Co., 1972.
  6. ^ TRADE UNIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 2008. http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=224387 (accessed April 1, 2009).
  7. ^ America's Story from America's Library. http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/presidents/buren/panic_2 (accessed April 6, 2009).
  8. ^ TRADE UNIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 2008. http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=224387 (accessed April 1, 2009).
  9. ^ Ayers, Edward L. et al.. American Passages: A History of the United States. Vol. 1. Harcourt. pp. 288. ISBN 978-0-4950-5015-5.
  10. ^ Kennedy, David; Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas Bailey (2006). The American Pageant (Thirteenth Edition ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
  11. ^ 1997. "Knights of Labor constitution of 1878." Knights of Labor Constitution of 1878 1, no. 1: 1. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 24, 2009).
  12. ^ Fink, Leon. Workingmen's Democracy: The Knights of Labor and America Politics. United States of America: the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, 1983.
  13. ^ "KNIGHTS OF LABOR,," The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=213962 (accessed Feb 24, 2009).
  14. ^ "Knights of Labor." Columbia Encyclopedia . Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 24, 2009).
  15. ^ Chinese Exclusion Act (1882). 1989. http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=47 (accessed March 31, 2009).
  16. ^ “The Knights of Labor.” The journal of negro history vol. 53, no. 1: JSTOR (accessed February 24, 2009)
  17. ^ The Library of Congress: American Memory. August 16, 2007. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug20.html (accessed April 6, 2009).
  18. ^ Dubofsky, Melvyn. We Shall Be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World. 2000.(accessed April 6, 2009).
  19. ^ Dictionary.com. 2009. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/small%20business?qsrc=2888 (accessed April 6, 2009).
  20. ^ Dubofsky, Melvyn. We Shall Be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World. 2000. http://books.google.com/books?id=DmAer6Nz75kC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=Knights+of+Labor+competition+with+AFL&source=bl&ots=-k3A0t8rN6&sig=Xt1W6THNjgswcbTwsHoWszrlqa4&hl=en&ei=rrHbSfXBFJvqlQfFrfiUCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PPP1,M1 (accessed April 6, 2009).
  21. ^ Zeger, Robert H. The CIO:1935-1955. 1997. http://books.google.com/books?id=ghy45fyXYyoC (accessed April 7, 2009).
  22. ^ Fine, Sidney. Sit-down: the General Motors Strike of 1936-1937 . 1936. http://books.google.com/books?id=0TkupxD2njcC&pg=PA123&dq=Rubber+Strike+of+1936 (accessed April 6, 2009).
  23. ^ Peters, Gerhard. Dwight D. Eisenhower. 1999-2009. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=10394 (accessed April 16, 2009).
  24. ^ Peters, Gerhard. Dwight D. Eisenhower. 1999-2009. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=10394 (accessed April 16, 2009).
  25. ^ Peters, Gerhard. Dwight D. Eisenhower. 1999-2009. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=10394 (accessed April 16, 2009).
  26. ^ Peters, Gerhard. Dwight D. Eisenhower. 1999-2009. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=10394 (accessed April 16, 2009).
  27. ^ Union Facts. 2009. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/faq/ (accessed April 7, 2009).
  28. ^ What We Stand for: Mission and Goals of the AFL-CIO . 2009. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/mission/ (accessed April 20, 2009).
  29. ^ What We Stand for: Mission and Goals of the AFL-CIO . 2009. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/mission/ (accessed April 20, 2009).
  30. ^ The Teamster History. http://www.teamster.org/history/teamster-history/overview (accessed April 20, 2009).
  31. ^ Union Facts. 2009. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/faq/ (accessed April 200, 2009).
  32. ^ Union Facts. 2009. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/faq/ (accessed April 200, 2009).
  33. ^ Union Facts. 2009. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/faq/ (accessed April 200, 2009).
  34. ^ ACTU, History of the ACTU (website), http://actu.com.au/AboutACTU/HistoryoftheACTU/default.aspx
  35. ^ ICFTU press release - regarding Cambodia.
  36. ^ Amnesty International report 23 September 2005 - fear for safety of SINALTRAINAL member José Onofre Esquivel Luna
  37. ^ Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training report.
  38. ^ Card David, Krueger Alan. (1995). Myth and measurement: The new economics of the minimum wage. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press.
  39. ^ Kramarz, Francis (2006-10-19). "Outsourcing, Unions, and Wages: Evidence from data matching imports, firms, and workers". http://www.eco.uc3m.es/temp/agenda/wage102006.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
  40. ^ Friedman, Milton. Price Theory
  41. ^ "The Legal Ferret.net" http://www.legalferret.net retrieved on 22-Dec-2008
  42. ^ http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/article/viewFile/10489/11328
  43. ^ http://www.indiatogether.org/combatlaw/vol2/issue6/strike.htm
  44. ^ Data from: http://www.gallup.com/poll/12751/Labor-Unions.aspx

Further materials

Books

Films

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trade unions
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Australia
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References

  1. ^ First published by George Allen and Unwin Ltd (London) in 1952, and subject of reprints - Foreword by Arthur Deakin
  2. ^ Published by Batchworth Press (London) in 1949
  3. ^ First published by Odhams Press (London) in 1954
  4. ^ First published by Hutchinson (London) in 1952 and reprinted several times
  5. ^ First published by The School of Economics/Bell and Sons (London) in 1956 and reprinted
  6. ^ First published by William Kimber in 1976 (London) ISBN 0718301137
  7. ^ published by HMSO (Her Majesty's Stationery Office) on 1986 ISBN 11 361250 8
  8. ^ Published in large paperback by Hamlyn/General Council of Trade Union Congress in 1968 with a foreword by George Woodcock
Links to related articles
Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
General principles

Article 1: Freedom, Egalitarianism, Dignity and Brotherhood Article 2: Universality of rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Article 1 and 2: Right to freedom from discrimination · Article 3: Right to life, liberty and security of person · Article 4: Freedom from slavery · Article 5: Freedom from torture and cruel and unusual punishment · Article 6: Right to personhood · Article 7: Equality before the law · Article 8: Right to effective remedy from the law · Article 9: Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention and exile · Article 10: Right to a fair trial · Article 11.1: Presumption of innocence · Article 11.2: Prohibition of retrospective law · Article 12: Right to privacy · Article 13: Freedom of movement · Article 14: Right of asylum · Article 15: Right to a nationality · Article 16: Right to marriage and family life · Article 17: Right to property · Article 18: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion · Article 19: Freedom of opinion and expression · Article 20.1: Freedom of assembly · Article 20.2: Freedom of association · Article 21.1: Right to participation in government · Article 21.2: Right of equal access to public office · Article 21.3: Right to universal suffrage
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Article 1 and 2: Right to freedom from discrimination · Article 22: Right to social security · Article 23.1: Right to work · Article 23.2: Right to equal pay for equal work · Article 23.3: Right to just remuneration · Article 23.4: Right to join a trade union · Article 24: Right to rest and leisure · Article 25.1: Right to an adequate standard of living · Article 25.2: Right to special care and assistance for mothers and children · Article 26.1: Right to education · Article 26.2: Human rights education · Article 26.3: Right to choice of education · Article 27.1: Right to participate in culture · Article 27.2: Right to intellectual property
Context, limitations and duties

Article 28: Social order · Article 29.1: Social responsibility · Article 29.2: Limitations of human rights · Article 29.3: The supremacy of the purposes and principles of the United Nations Article 30: Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Category:Human rights · Human rights portal
Particular human rights
Civil and political Freedom from discrimination · Right to life · Right to die · Security of person · Liberty · Freedom of movement · Freedom from slavery · Personhood · Right to bear arms · Equality before the law · Adequate remedy · Freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention · Freedom from torture · Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment · Right to a fair trial · Presumption of innocence · Right of asylum · Nationality · Freedom from exile · Privacy · Freedom of thought and conscience · Freedom of religion · Freedom of expression (freedom of information) · Freedom of assembly · Freedom of association · Right to protest · Universal suffrage · Marriage · Family life
Economic, social and cultural Labor rights · Fair remuneration · Equal pay for equal work · Trade union membership · Right to social security · Leisure and rest · Right to work · Right to property (and intellectual) · Right to culture · Right to public participation · Right to education · Right to adequate standard of living · Right to housing · Right to development · Right to health · Right to healthcare · Right to water · Right to food · Right of return
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