Legal and Political History of US Labor Relations

Introduction: The Evolving Nature of American Labor Unions

According to the textbook Labor Relations by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney, the history of labor relations in the United States has seen the increasingly professional nature of the labor union toward the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. This phenomenon has caused unions and management to form a more amicable relationship with one another, by and large, across many industries. However, this positive relationship has been a relatively recent development over the long course of American history. Legally speaking, labor unions have gained more rights in terms of their bargaining power with management, and workers have gained the right to freely organize and join such unions. But these legal rights came only with great difficulty.

The American public's attitude toward unionization has also alternately waxed and waned. Thus, although the legal history of the union in the 20th century has largely been marked by positive developments—favoring and protecting workers' efforts to join and create unions—a historian cannot state categorically that labor movements and unionization movements have been free of difficulties and setbacks, both in public perception and in membership rosters. Still, the protective legislation that made unions an integral part of the national fabric remains and continues to give workers crucial collective leverage in their negotiations with management.

One of the most interesting aspects of "the state of unions today," as Sloane and Witney term their first chapter, is the fact that labor in the term labor unions no longer refers simply to industrialized labor in its negotiating relationship with management. The white-collar labor leader is often the current face of labor unions in many crucial industries and professional organizations (42). However, even though labor organizers of both white- and blue-collar organizations are not in a consistently adversarial relationship with management, this does not mean that labor leaders lack so-called "staying power" as advocates for their members (3–4).

Rather, labor organizations have had to change with the times. Industry and labor are no longer viewed as adversaries but frequently as partners who attempt to make businesses profitable and fair for both employees and employers. Labor organizations also act as advocates and voices for workers within particular industries, demanding rights and benefits for their members, as well as recognition of issues specific to different spheres of industry and organization. Thus, "labor" as a movement is no longer as unified as it once was, but has become increasingly diverse. Labor unions have themselves taken on managerial roles and organizational structures, although they always attempt, at least in theory, to represent the people of their membership.

Union optimism has fluctuated in recent years given what many older unions have viewed as the increasing power of middle management within specific spheres of industry (15). The 1980s were a particularly dark time for traditional labor, especially with the breaking of unions during the early part of that era, beginning with the air traffic controllers' union. Most unions remain optimistic in the present day, however, particularly in regard to the performance of such organizations as teachers' unions and other professional associations (15–18). The death of unionization, despite America's increasingly white-collar image, has not come to pass as was once predicted. Rather, unions have changed their character and tone.