The Pros And Cons Of Right-To-Work Laws
Right-to-work laws have been heavily debated even before their formal inception in the mid-1940s and they continue to be debated today. The core of the debate is about union security, which is the unions right to secure their position in a shop once voted in. One example of union security is compulsory unionism. Right-to-work laws are legislation enacted on a per state bases that limits or eliminates compulsory unionism. The main viewpoint of right-to-work supporters is that compulsory unionism breaches inherent freedoms. The main argument of opponents is about collective bargaining power and the issue of free riders or people who benefit from the union but do not pay union dues. This essay will discuss early legislation of right-to-work …show more content…
Over the next couple of years, nine more states added legislation to their books that supported the same basic principal of limiting or eliminating compulsory unionism.4 In some cases union leaders brought suits against the states claiming right-to-work laws were unconstitutional, the case became the Lincoln Federal Labor Union v. Northwestern Iron and Metal.5 The case ultimately was decided by the Supreme Court in 1949, and ruled in favor of the states declaring “Under this constitutional doctrine the due process clause is no longer to be so broadly construed that the Congress and state legislation are put in a strait jacket when they attempt to suppress business and industrial conditions which they regard as offensive to the public welfare.”6 During the same time period of the early states enacting right-to-work laws, and what became the Supreme Court case, the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act was passed. The Taft-Hartley Act amended the earlier Wagner Act. A couple of the more notable amendments was to ban the closed shop and to explicitly grant the power to the states to impose more restrictive policy against union security. Right-to-works opponents claim that the existing Wagner Act allowed for the same state-level policy.7 The above mentioned Supreme Court case supports that claims. While the case was not settled until after the Taft-Hartley Act was passed, it was based on the law as it existing prior to its
Review Of What's The Next Play Going To Be By John Knott
974 Words | 4 PagesThey wanted to run their own businesses, hence the sign hanging from the field goal, and to not be controlled by the government or by codification that moderated how the businesses ran. There were a select few Ford dealers who had accepted the blue eagle, but there were also others who opposed it leaving the NRA at a predicament on whether to punish the steel companies or not. There was also a section in the National Industrial Recovery Act, a law passed by Franklin D. Roosevelt to authorize him to regulate production, that stated that companies must recognize work unions, but the steel companies did not recognize the United Mine Workers of America, a labor union. Although the strikers were not recognized, they still refused to go to work despite the President’s demands. Furthermore, the NRA was having difficulties being in charge and keeping industries in check due to the clashing temperaments within the steel companies, which foreshadowed its own
Elastic Clause
933 Words | 4 PagesBoth of these cases go to show that judicial interpretation allows some flexibility into the constitution. It allows things that are not expressly stated in the constitution to be made
Urban Labor DBQ Essay
501 Words | 3 PagesIndustrialization changed Americas social structure and economy, but with progressions provoked the rise of unions and labor movements. The case of Commonwealth v. Hunt, the Massachusetts Supreme court ordered that it was not illegal for workers to unionize and strike. This was an extremely important step for Americans urban laborers. For almost twenty years after that Commonwealth v. Hunt ruling unions were very small and very slowly progressing, birthing the National Labor Union years later. The depression of the 1870s put an end to the National Labor union, but this union did persuade congress to pass an eight-hour work day for federal employees.
Summary Of Union Myths By Thomas Sowell
1059 Words | 5 PagesThis seems to be an unjustified conclusion as the Employee Free Choice Act would cause three pro-labor changes to the National Labor Relations Act (White). Workers previously had free choice in the secret-ballot elections to decide whether a company would become unionized. The more recent Employee Free Choice Act took the power away from the employer and gave full control to the majority rule of the workers (White). Taking away the secret ballot is not taking away the worker’s right to free choice, it is giving the unions and their members more power over the employer’s executive decision to hold a secret-ballot election. In the article the author states “union representatives could simply collect signatures from the workers until they had a majority” (Sowell).
Summary Of Democracy In America By Tocqueville
386 Words | 2 PagesDemocracy is the foundation of the American government, and its application creates the opportunity of social class intermingling. Albeit in the form of social interaction or working one’s way up the chain of command. The labor standoff between the Homestead workers and management became the tipping point for manners in American democracy. This tipping point resulted in violent altercations, assassination attempts, and ultimately broken spirits. The Homestead strike in the 19th century not only exemplifies how democracy instigated class blending, but also diminished morality.
Pullman Strike Research Paper
1399 Words | 6 PagesSuch as a strike that happened in 1877; the strike had failed to be successful when the government has authorized the approval of police force resulting in strikers being killed and workers beginning to arm themselves for protection. Since employers continually turned a deaf ear to union demands, and unions saw a need to push harder to get the desired results.
Labor Unions During The 1930s
731 Words | 3 PagesIn order to encourage the growth of trade unions he passed this bills that did more than intended. As the book Who built America details,"The Wagner Act guaranteed workers the right to freely organize their own unions and to strike, boycott, and picket their employers(Rosenzweigh 454).This was exactly what all Middle and working class Americans needed to push them over. It had the stern language that the NIRA lacked and the backing of the National Labor Relation board to hear complaints. Because people thought there jobs were safer due to Roosevelt 's policies, they were more willing to join unions, leading to hike in
Organized Labor Dbq
408 Words | 2 PagesThe feeling, shown in Nast's illustration after the railroad strike of 1877, that amalgamations simply lead to more " communistic values" and general uniformity made it very arduous to genuinely get anything done. Samuel Gompers, progenitor of the American Federation of Labor, argued that the right to strike was absolutely obligatory if any reforms were going to be made and not even this right had been officially granted to the people by regime (Document I). Gompers made it very pellucid that not even the very substratum of organized labor had been established and so up until this point the advances that had been made, were virtually frivolous. In conclusion, from 1875-1900 very few advances were made through organized labor in achieving better working conditions for workers.
The Pros And Cons Of Immigration Reform
775 Words | 4 PagesImmigration reform has been a big issue for our country in recent years. Many U.S. citizens claim that immigration is harmful to the US economy. In just 20 years, we have seen the average number of immigrants per year jump a staggering 20%. This has lead to the biased opinions we see towards immigration today. Currently, our country is not receiving any benefit from immigration.
New Deal Dbq Essay
564 Words | 3 PagesIn their opinion, the employees were not employed in interstate commerce, so their wages had nothing to do with it either (Document F). They also thought that the government had no right to give workers the right to self-organize and break the law (Document G). The authority of the federal government expanded, and FDR was, in a sense, abusing the power he had. Roosevelt’s administration increased the role of the federal government in the economy. His New Deal programs were more successful in empowering the government than lightening the effect of the Depression.
The National Labor Relations Act: Pros And Cons
282 Words | 2 PagesThe National Labor Relations Act allows employees to form a union or join a preexisting union. The same act prevents employers from standing in the way of workers attempting to unionize. Many organizations frown on unionization, but regardless of their opinion, they cannot interfere with employment rights. Employers are violating the law if they threaten employee 's jobs, question union activities, or eliminate benefits for employees by unionization. They also cannot offer benefits or perks to employees for refusing to unionize, as this could be seen as illegal persuasion (Employer/Union Rights, n.d.).
The National Labor Relations Act: The Wagner Act Of 1935
697 Words | 3 PagesThe Wagner Act was named after Robert Wagner, a senator of New York, who would go on to introduce the Wagner Act. The act was later signed into law by the 32nd President of the United State, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The primary focus of passing the Wagner Act was to guarantee workers the right to join, form, and assist labor organizations, to self-organization, and to
Industrialization In The Gilded Age Essay
812 Words | 4 PagesThe AFL advocated for most of the same things as the Knights of Labor. The American Federation of Labor used strikes and boycotts against owners to try and get what they wanted. Two major strikes that occurred were the Pullman Strike and the Homestead Strike. Both strikes were very dangerous and had millions of dollars of damage. Some of the strikes and boycotts did work and wages were raised, however some backfired and many workers ended up losing their
The Pros And Cons Of Collective Bargaining
821 Words | 4 PagesThe strength of a union is its ability to organise and unite workers within an organisation. A trade unions legal position is covered under the Trade Union Act 1941. Trade unions are organisations who negotiate on behalf of their members. The main goals of trade unions is to replace individual bargaining with collective bargaining and so balancing out the level of power in favour of employees, to help with the development of a political system where workers have more influence on political decisions and also to achieve satisfactory levels of pay and conditions of employment and to provide its members with a range of services. Trade unions will represent their member in court if they have to appear at a hearing about a work related dispute.
Labor Employment Case Study
1166 Words | 5 PagesLabor Employment Chapters three and four discusses the political , industrial , social , and economics areas among other factors that contributed to the history of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Those chapters also explained the role played by each labor employment relations laws such as Wagner Act, Taft-Hartley , and Landrum-Griffin- and the importance in today’s law labor. It was not until I read the chapters that I realized the history behind today’s labor relations , the evolution of the labor laws to protect employees and the active role in todays society of NLRA. The History of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) The NLRA is the nation’s basic labor relations statute.
More about The Pros And Cons Of Right-To-Work Laws
Review Of What's The Next Play Going To Be By John Knott
974 Words | 4 PagesElastic Clause
933 Words | 4 PagesUrban Labor DBQ Essay
501 Words | 3 PagesSummary Of Union Myths By Thomas Sowell
1059 Words | 5 PagesSummary Of Democracy In America By Tocqueville
386 Words | 2 PagesPullman Strike Research Paper
1399 Words | 6 PagesLabor Unions During The 1930s
731 Words | 3 PagesOrganized Labor Dbq
408 Words | 2 PagesThe Pros And Cons Of Immigration Reform
775 Words | 4 PagesNew Deal Dbq Essay
564 Words | 3 PagesThe National Labor Relations Act: Pros And Cons
282 Words | 2 PagesThe National Labor Relations Act: The Wagner Act Of 1935
697 Words | 3 PagesIndustrialization In The Gilded Age Essay
812 Words | 4 PagesThe Pros And Cons Of Collective Bargaining
821 Words | 4 PagesLabor Employment Case Study
1166 Words | 5 Pages