Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Labor relations have changed tremendously throughout the course of American history. Until the late 19th century, Americans tolerated a system in which slave labor was sanctioned. The Industrial Revolution gave rise to a new type of slavery, in which manufacturing interests took precedence over the well-being and safety of workers. Railroads hired Chinese laborers to work for next-to-nothing; coal mines hired immigrants for similar reasons. Labor movements started to emerge in the late 19th century in response to the gross injustices perpetrated by business and government. In fits and spurts, labor gained political ground. Shorter work weeks, wage security, safe working conditions, and the ban on child labor were all significant but hard-won victories of the early labor movement in America. During the Great Depression, labor relations intensified. New Deal programs largely supported the rights of laborers, and set the stage for what would become relatively fair labor-management relations.
However, management also won some of the labor relations battles. Unions grew politically stronger, influencing blocs of voters. A backlash against labor ensued throughout the late 20th century but especially during the 1980s, when the American political and economic philosophies changed dramatically under Reagan. The open and free market economies proved successful from a management perspective, and government supported the primacy of the profit motive.
The consequences of these fluctuations has been a system that favors management in the United States. Labor unions have been systematically ridiculed socially, lumped together with communism and therefore derided by the American public. Similarly, labor unions have lost their political clout to a certain degree, and management has secured political power over laborers. Wages have remained deplorably low, so low that income disparity in the United States resembles that of Third World nations. Income disparity in the United States is the steepest of any other industrialized nation. Countries with strong labor laws such as the nations of northern Europe tend to be more egalitarian societies with fewer class distinctions and less of a wealth gap. The American model allows unbridled business growth at the expense of social justice.
References
Freeman, R. (1996). Solving the new inequality. Boston Review. Retrieved April 13, 2007 at http://bostonreview.net/BR21.6/freeman.html
In fact, those rights and freedoms are even more broad than those of many other countries simply because the U.S. Constitution specifically protects the rights and freedoms of all persons and not just of American citizens. In many respects, the principal agent of beneficial change as far as the relative rights and freedoms of Americans are concerned is the U.S. Supreme Court. Over time, the most important issues affecting the
Loans needed to buy the equipment and seeds create indebtedness to Western banks. Western professionals are needed to intervene and to manage. The productivity of monocrops (e.g., rice or maize) undermines other native crops. Routledge writes, "The project destabilized traditional farming methods, which further rationalized the use of new technologies from the West, and the displacement of traditional foodstuffs by the HYVs" (316). The whole agro-food system has damaged
Public Sector Unions Public-Sector Unions in United States HISTORY OF PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS COSTS OF PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS OVER THEIR BENEFITS DEMOGRAPHICS OF LABOR IN AMERICA EDGE OF PUBLIC-SECTOR UNIONS OVER PRIVATE ONES THE HIDDEN COSTS OF PUBLIC UNIONS THE DISTORTION OF DEMOCRATIC POLITICS STATE UNIONS VS. FEDERAL UNIONS THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONIZATION HISTORY OF PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS Labor unions are seen as the representatives of the labor employed in our industries and are known as the advocates of
Aging I interviewed Kay Shehorn, a 67-year-old woman who has been employed at the Hillside Rehabilitation Care center for 42 years. Shehorn started working at Hillside Rehab as a housekeeping supervisor. She worked her way up in the company to become an Administrative Assistant. My interview questions focused on Shehorn's plans for retirement. We discussed the financial aspects of aging, and the politics of aging as well. Because Shehorn is a
Mexican Political System Mexico has a unique and fascinating political life and a thriving democracy amid constant fears of powerful drug cartels and corrupt politics. It is a country with a rugged history, a rich culture, and an independent spirit separating it from other Central American and North American countries. Its relations with the United States, its biggest neighbor, have been difficult to say the least, ranging from war to friendship,
Auto Industry Competitive Environment and Government Policies Facing the Global Automobile Industry New Entry Activity The automobile market is always a hotbed for mergers and acquisitions. In the early part of last century, General Motors was at the head of those gaining market share through mergers and acquisitions when they absorbed such companies as Cadillac, Pontiac and Chevrolet. Ford followed suit, but made many of its agreements with companies later in the century