Imminent Hanging Critical Analysis a Critical Analysis

¶ … Imminent Hanging

Critical Analysis

A Critical Analysis of an Imminent Analysis

A Critical Analysis of an Imminent Hanging

Crain provides compelling arguments in support of his thesis in "An Imminent Hanging." (2011) Crain's primary concern is with the public and private sector's efforts to minimize the role of collective bargaining in the 21st century workplace. He contends that collective bargaining erodes the hard-fought and hard-won gains unions extract from employers who value profit over people and do not recognize their employees as their greatest resources. Such employers create adversarial and confrontational workplace environments with influence that extends to pieces of legislation such as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which serve to further exacerbate the "we vs. them" dynamic in management-labor relations of the modern day. This paper serves as a critical analysis of Crain's ideas and writing.

Crain begins by citing several examples of the history of legislation in this area. There are multiple examples of legislative reform with proactive approaches by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This organization assists employees to project their collective voice in their everyday experience in their respective workplaces. Crain insists that the majority of alternatives advanced to date continue to be rejected by Congress; moreover, these advances on behalf of the employees have been met with resistance from stakeholders in companies. Crain uses the United States and Australia for comparison in workplace environment and the collective bargaining situations. The comparison offers the readers a clear and distinct contrast within which to consider his arguments and style of argumentation. Australia, for example, has not experienced the same intensity or level of labor-management hostilities as the United States.

Crain explains that media representations of union protests and infrequent instances of violence give unions a poor reputation in the public eye, which stakeholders and executives use to their advantage in lobbying for legislation in their favor. The violence of the unions rather than the ideals and efforts of the unions is highlighted. As Crain writes:

Unions' reputations as confrontational and adversarial organizations out to destroy the employer are part of the reason that many workers shun unions. It is human nature to align ourselves psychologically with the institutions in which we invest our time, sweat, and blood. (An Imminent Hanging, 2011)

Thus, the confrontational relationship between unions and management is unnatural. It is more intuitive and natural for people who work together to stick together rather that battle each other. Conflict resolution benefits all parties involved; it puts money in the right places and keeps the companies going overall.

Because of the extensive history and background that Crain provides, readers may be tempted to readily agree with his assertions. The labor struggle in the United States is fairly infamous and notorious, especially since the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the 20th century.

Union representation elections are often conducted in an environment of intimidation and coercion, denying employees the freedom to choose whether they wish to be represented by a union. In the United States, both unions and employers have engaged in unfair labor practices in pursuit of their own agendas -- misleading employees about the consequences of choosing union representation and, in extreme cases, threatening employees with physical harm. (Specter & Nguyen, Representation without Intimidation, 2008)

Familiarizing readers with the history of the U.S. labor struggle helps persuade readers in thinking U.S. workers are indeed in serious jeopardy of losing their voice in the treatment the receive and how they are perceived at the workplace. Crain perceives the federal government as benign and self-interested, "No . . . law affords workers a direct voice in how their day-to-day work lives are structured." (2011) To his credit, Crain provides counter-arguments and examples of how both labor unions and businesses have exploited the employment climate to their advantage, but his primary thesis remains that workers will continue to need some type of voice in their daily workplace lives, and that there continues to be a need for collective bargaining rights and legal remedies for their violation.