Labor Unions are associations of workers that seek to improve the economic and social well-being of its members through group action.
A labor union represents its members in negotiations with an employer over all aspects of an employment contract, including wages and working conditions. These contract negotiations are known as collective bargaining. By giving workers a united voice, a union can often negotiate higher wages, shorter hours, and better fringe benefits (such as insurance and pension plans) than individual workers can negotiate on their own (John, 2001). When an employer and a union cannot reach an agreement through the collective bargaining process, the union may conduct a strike (organized work stoppage). Or, an employer may prevent workers from entering the workplace in a lockout.
Traditionally, there have been two main types of labor unions in the United States: craft unions and industrial unions. A craft union organizes workers employed in the same occupation or craft, regardless of where they work. Examples include unions of electricians, carpenters, and printers. Craft unions descend from the guilds of printers and shoemakers that started the labor movement in the United States.
The American Federation of Labor (AFL), which formed in 1886, became the country’s first organization of craft unions. Samuel Gompers, leader of the cigar-makers union, served as the first president of the AFL. Under his leadership, the AFL set out a list of principles that guided the federation for many decades and that encouraged many of the national craft unions to join (John, 2001). The AFL gave each affiliated national craft union complete autonomy over its internal affairs and granted the national craft union exclusive jurisdiction over organizing workers employed in that craft (Howard, 1999).
The second type of union, the industrial union, organizes all workers in a particular industry, regardless of the.....
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