Labor Unions the Relationship Between

Labor Unions

The relationship between companies and their employees is usually characterized by tension. With companies having the power position, this leaves little room for manipulation from employees. Therefore, labor unions are formed in order to negotiate employees' needs and requirements with companies' management. Labor unions also negotiate with the government when establishing national labor conditions. In certain fields of activity, labor unions are very well organized and benefit from sufficient power to allow them to obtain rights for the employees.

The most important tool that labor unions can use in the attempt to win their disputes with the management is represented by strikes. Such strikes take place often when employees are dissatisfied with their wages and work conditions. Some of the strikes are somewhat peaceful, usually referring to refusing to work, while others become more violent and the intervention of state forces is required. Such an example is represented by the Homestead Strike that took place in 1892. The strike occurred at Homestead Steel Works in Pittsburgh. The strike took place between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (the AA) and the Carnegie Steel Company (Gale Encyclopedia, 1999).

There are several reasons for which the strike presented major importance for all stakeholders involved and for the strike to be considered one of the most important actions in the U.S. labor history. This is because the strike was important for the AA that intended to increase its efforts in unionizing steelworkers. The number of union members was increasing, but union leaders thought they could improve the situation by persuading a greater number of workers to join. They probably considered that by proving their force through a strike of such proportions and by managing to convince the company's management, they could easier convince other workers to join the union. In addition to this, the violence associated with this dispute determined the importance of the strike.

However, there were several factors that determined the Homestead strike. For example, Carnegie Steel was making significant investments in technical innovations that allowed the company to produce more steel, faster and easier. By expanding its production capacity, the company required a significantly higher number of workers. As a consequence, the company was hiring many workers, but most of them were less skilled. This situation was not approved by skilled union members that deciding to go on strike in order to protect their position within the company.

As mentioned above, the role of labor unions is to negotiate with companies' management and to try to reduce tensions between the company and its employees. But in Homestead Steel's case the situation was quite different. Initially, the AA worked on negotiating national uniform wage levels, regulating working hours, workload levels and work speeds, and in improving working conditions (Goldner, 1997). The AA also involved in staff hiring, given the fact that the company had difficulties in recruiting employees for certain job positions.

The AA organized an important strike in 1882 as a result of management's intention to force yellow-dog contracts on workers. This strike was also characterized by violence. The management of the company brought numerous strikebreakers. But this was not sufficient, because the union undoubtedly won the dispute. This success determined the AA to organize another strike in 1889 because the management of the company and the union were unable to agree on the conditions of the collective contract. The AA followed a strategy similar to the previous successful strike (U.S. History, 2010).

Therefore, the strikers associated themselves with several groups of immigrants. In addition to this, the strikers benefitted from the support of the people in the town, same as in the case of other strikes. The company tried again to introduce strikebreakers to counteract the action. Even so, the union won this dispute also. However, the management of the company convinced the union to agree with certain wage reductions. The AA managed to improve its position within the company and to impose a series of important requirements. The union established the work rules and limited the ability of the management regarding the maximization of output. These strikes were not well organized and were not handled by leaders.

The strike in 1892 was different, because it was organized and directed towards clearly established objectives. This strike was also characterized by increased violence. The strike peaked when strikers fought with private security agents. As a result, it was necessary for the state authorities to intervene and resolve the situation. The union was defeated. However, the problems of the AA increased after the strike. The union's members number significantly reduced, and so did its power and influence within the company. The efforts of the union's managers to unionize steelworkers were diminished.