Trade union

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"A Trade union (Labor union),as we understand the term, is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment"^[1]

Over the last two hundred years, trade unions have developed into a number of forms - with differing political and economic climates influencing them. The immediate objectives and activities of trade unions vary, but may include:

• Provision of benefits to members: Early trade unions, like Friendly Societies, often provided a range of benefits to insure members against unemployment, ill health, old age and funeral expenses. In many developed countries, these functions have been assumed by the state, however the provision of legal advice and representation for members remains an important benefit of trade union membership.
• Collective bargaining: Where trade unions are able to operate openly and are recognised by employers, they may negotiate with employers over wages and working conditions.
• Industrial action: Trade unions may organise strikes or resistance to lockouts in furtherance of particular goals.
• Political activity: Trade unions may promote legislation favourable to the interests of their members or workers as a whole. To this end they may pursue campaigns; undertake lobbying; financially support individual candidates or parties (such as the Labour Party in the United Kingdom) for public office.

Unions may organise a particular section of skilled workers (craft unionism), a cross-section of workers from various trades (general unionism), or attempt to organise all workers within a particular industry (industrial unionism). These unions are often divided into "locals", and united in national federations. These federations themselves will affiliate with Internationals, such as the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

In many countries, a union may acquire the status of a legal entity, with a mandate to negotiate with employers for the workers it represents. In such cases, unions have certain legal rights, most importantly the right to negotiate collectively with the employer (or employers) over wages, working hours and other terms and conditions of employment. The inability of both parties to reach an agreement may lead to industrial action, culminating in either strike action or management lockout. In extreme cases, violent or illegal activities may develop around these events.

In other circumstances, unions may not have the legal right to represent workers, or the right may be in question. This lack of status can range from non-recognition of a union, to political or criminal prosecution of union activists and members, with many cases of violence and deaths having been recorded both historically, and in current day^[2][3].

Unions may also engage in broader political or social struggle. Social Unionism encompasses many unions which use their organisational strength to advocate for social policies and legislation favourable to their members or to workers in general. As well, unions in some countries are closely aligned with political parties.

Unions are also delineated by the service model and the organising model. The service model union focuses more on maintaining worker rights, providing services, and resolving disputes. Alternately, the organising model typically involves full-time organisers, who work by building up confidence, strong networks and leaders within the workforce; and confrontational campaigns involving large numbers of union members. Many unions are a blend of these two philosophies, and the definitions of the models themselves are still debated.

Although their political structure and autonomy varies widely, union leaderships are usually formed through democratic elections.

Research, such as that conducted by the Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training (ACIRRT)^[4] purports to show that unionised workers enjoy better conditions and wages than those who are not unionised.

History

Beginning in the 18th century, much of Western society (notably the United Kingdom) witnessed a pivotal transformation from an agrarian culture with craft based production, to the first industrial revolution. Within this transformation several changes provided much of the impetus for the rise of the trade union.

These changes sparked rising fears in the crafts and guilds of the time, who feared encroachment on their established jobs, including changes in wages and work methods^[5]. Additionally, the rapid expansion of the industrial society was to draw women, children, workers from the rural community, and immigrants to the work force in larger numbers and new roles. These roles were often performed in appalling conditions, and for meagre wages. This pool of labour was to spontaneously organise in fits and starts throughout its beginnings, and would later prove to be an important arena for change.

Early history

The 18th century capitalist economist Adam Smith noted the imbalance in the rights of workers in regards to owners (or "masters") in The Wealth of Nations, chapter 8, Smith wrote:

We rarely hear, it has been said, of the combinations of masters, though frequently of those of workmen. But whoever imagines, upon this account, that masters rarely combine, is as ignorant of the world as of the subject. Masters are always and everywhere in a sort of tacit, but constant and uniform combination, not to raise the wages of labour above their actual rate…

[When workers combine,] masters… never cease to call aloud for the assistance of the civil magistrate, and the rigorous execution of those laws which have been enacted with so much severity against the combinations of servants, labourers, and journeymen.

As indicated in the preceding quotation, unions were illegal for many years in most countries. There were severe penalties for attempting to organise unions, up to and including execution. Despite this, unions were formed and began to acquire political power, eventually resulting in a body of labour law which not only legalised organising efforts, but codified the relationship between employers and those employees organised into unions. Even after the legitimisation of trade unions there was opposition, as the case of the Tolpuddle Martyrs shows.

Many consider it an issue of fairness that workers be allowed to pool their resources in a special legal entity in a similar way to the pooling of capital resources in the form of corporations.

The right to join a trade union is mentioned in article 23, subsection 4 of the UDHR, which also states in article 20, subsection 2. that "No one may be compelled to belong to an association". Prohibiting a person from joining or forming a union, as well as forcing a person to do the same (e.g. "closed shops" or "union shops", see below), whether by a government or by a business, is generally considered a human rights abuse. Similar allegations can be levelled if an employer discriminates based on trade union membership. Attempts by an employer, often with the help of outside agencies, to prevent union membership amongst their staff is known as union busting.

Origin of unions

Historians are still debating whether trade unions are successors to medieval guilds ^{[citation needed]}. Medieval guilds existed to protect and enhance their members' livelihoods through controlling the instructional capital of artisanship and the progression of members from apprentice to craftsman, journeyman, and eventually to master and grandmaster of their craft. Guilds exhibited some aspects of the modern trade union, but also some aspects of professional associations and modern corporations, so the comparison between medieval guilds and modern organised trade unions, while somewhat helpful, must be seen in widely different social contexts.

Additionally, guilds, like some craft unions today, were highly restrictive in their membership and only included artisans who practiced a specific trade. Many modern labour unions tend to be expansionistic, and frequently seek to incorporate widely disparate kinds of workers to increase the leverage of the union as a whole. A labour union in 2005 might include workers from only one trade or craft, or might combine several or all the workers in one company or industry.

Since the publication of the History of Trade Unionism (1894) by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, the predominant historical view is that a trade union "...is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment" ^[6]. A modern definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics states that a trade union is "...an organisation consisting predominantly of employees, the principal activities of which include the negotiation of rates of pay and conditions of employment for its members" ^{[citation needed]}.

Yet historian R.A. Leeson, in United we Stand (1971), said:

"Two conflicting views of the trade-union movement strove for ascendancy in the nineteenth century: one the defensive-restrictive gild-craft tradition passed down through journeymen's clubs and friendly societies,...the other the aggressive-expansionist drive to unite all 'labouring men and women' for a 'different order of things'..."

Recent historical research by Dr Bob James in Craft, Trade or Mystery (2001), puts forward that trade unions are part of a broader movement of benefit societies, which includes medieval guilds, Freemasons, Oddfellows, friendly societies and other Fraternal organisations.

Shop types

Companies that employ workers with a union generally operate on one of several models:

• A closed shop employs only people who are already union members. The compulsory hiring hall is the most extreme example of a closed shop—in this case the employer must recruit directly from the union. *A union shop (US) or a closed shop (UK) employs non-union workers as well, but sets a time limit within which new employees must join a union.
• An agency shop requires non-union workers to pay a fee to the union for its services in negotiating their contract. This is sometimes called the Rand formula. In certain situations involving U.S. state government employees, for example California, fair share laws make it easy to require these sorts of payments.
• An open shop does not discriminate based on union membership in employing or keeping workers. However, it allows for the problem of free-riders who do not contibute to the collective bargaining process. In the US, so-called "Right To Work" laws that mandate the open shop on the state level pretend to eliminate workplace discrimination, but are only advanced to undermine worker protections, vis a vis labor unions.

In the UK a series of laws were introduced during the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher's government to restrict closed and union shops. All agreements requiring a worker to join a union are now illegal, with the notable exception of the British Actors' Equity Association, which still operates a closed shop for actors ^{[citation needed]}. The Taft-Hartley Act outlawed the closed shop in the United States in 1947, but permits the union shop in most states.

Benefits extend beyond membership

The labour movement brought an end to abusive child labour practices, improved worker safety, increased wages for both union and non-union workers, raised the entire society's standard of living, reduced the hours in a work week, fought for and won public education for children, and brought a host of other benefits to working class families which are not seen in countries (such as China) that restrict the right of citizens to this form of free association.

The problem of international comparison

As labour law is very diverse in different countries, so is the function of unions. For instance in Germany, only open shops are legal, that is, all discrimination based on union membership is forbidden. This affects the function and services of the union. On the other hand, German unions have played a greater role in management decisions through participation in corporate boards and co-determination than have unions in the United States.

In addition, unions' relations with political parties vary. In many countries unions are tightly bonded, or even share leadership, with a political party intended to represent the interests of working people. Typically this is a left-wing or socialist party, but many exceptions exist. In the United States, by contrast, although it is historically aligned with the Democratic Party, the labour movement is by no means monolithic on that point; the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has supported Republican Party candidates on a number of occasions and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) endorsed Ronald Reagan in 1980 (the following year, Reagan effectively destroyed PATCO, breaking a strike by bringing in permanent replacement workers). The AFL-CIO has been against liberalising abortion, consistent with a Republican position, so as not to alienate its large Catholic constituency. In the United Kingdom the labour movement's relationship with the Labour Party is fraying as party leadership embarks on privatisation plans at odds with what some perceive as workers' interests.

In Western Europe, professional associations often carry out the functions of a trade union. Notable cases of these are the German Verein deutscher Ingenieure. In these cases, they may be negotiating for white collar workers, such as physicians, engineers or teachers. Typically such trade unions refrain from politics or pursue markedly more right-wing politics than their blue-collar counterparts ^{[citation needed]}.

Finally, the structure of employment laws affects unions' roles and how they carry out their business. In many western European countries wages and benefits are largely set by governmental action. The United States takes a more laissez-faire approach, setting some minimum standards but leaving most workers' wages and benefits to collective bargaining and market forces. Historically, the Republic of Korea has regulated collective bargaining by requiring employers to participate but collective bargaining has been legal only if held in sessions before the lunar new year. In totalitarian regimes such as Nazi-Germany and the Soviet Union, unions have typically been de facto government agencies devoted to smooth and efficient operation of enterprises.

Trade unions by country

Trade unions in the United Kingdom

Main article: Trade unions in the United Kingdom

The legal status of trade unions in the United Kingdom was established by a Royal Commission in 1867, which agreed that the establishment of the organizations was to the advantage of both employers and employees. Legalized in 1871, the Trade Union Movement sought to reform socio-economic conditions for working men in British industries, and the Unions' search for this led to the creation of a Labour Representation Committee which effectively formed the basis for today's Labour Party, which still has extensive links with the Trade Union Movement in Britain.

Labor unions in the United States

Main article: Labor unions in the United States

Labor unions in the United States today function as legally recognized representatives of workers in numerous industries, but are strongest among public sector employees. Activity by labor unions in the United States today centers on collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions for their membership and on representing their members if management attempts to violate contract provisions. Although down from the peak membership they achieved in the third quarter of the 20th century, American unions also remain an important political factor, both through mobilization of their own memberships and through coalitions with like-minded activist organizations.

Unions in other countries

Logo of the Polish trade union Solidarity, the first independant trade union to be recognised in a Communist party controlled country.

Some countries such as Belgium, Sweden, Finland, and the other Nordic countries have strong, centralised unions, where every type of work has a specific union, which are then gathered in large national union confederations. Usually there are at least two national union confederations, one for academically educated and one for branches with lower education level. The largest Swedish union confederation is Landsorganisationen, or LO. The LO has almost two million members, which is more than a fifth of Sweden's population. Finland's equivalent is SAK, the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, with about one million members out of the country's 5.2 million inhabitants. In addition, there are two other Finnish union confederations for more educated workers with combined membership of circa one million.

In comparison, France is thought to have one of the lowest union densities in Europe, with only about 10% of the workers inside unions. Union membership, however, tends to be concentrated in some specific areas, especially the public sector. Unions in some sectors, such as public transportation (e.g. SNCF and RATP) are likely to enter well-publicised strikes.

The Australian labour movement has a long history of craft, trade and industrial unionism. While unions have sometimes been very strong, as of 2005 they are relatively weak and in decline, due in part to the actions of Australian politicians, including Prime Minister John Howard and his Liberal government ^{[citation needed]}. In 2005 the Federal Government brought in new legislation which many Australian Unions claimed would reduce minimum wage, the powers of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and the ability of Australian Unions to organise. The full extent of this legislation has yet to be seen, as it does not become effective until March 2006.

International cooperation

The largest organisation of trade union members in the world is the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, which today has approx. 231 affiliated organisations in 150 countries and territories, with a combined membership of 158 million. Other global trade union organisations are the World Confederation of Labour and the World Federation of Trade Unions.

National and regional trade unions organising in specific industry sectors or occupational groups also form global union federations, such as Union Network International and the International Federation of Journalists.

News

There are several sources of current news about the trade union movement in the world. These include LabourStart and the official website of the international trade union movement Global Unions.

Another source of Labor news is the Workers Independent News, a news organization providing radio articles to independent and syndicated radio shows.

Criticism

Trade unions are often accused of benefiting the insider workers, those having a secure job and high productivity, at the cost of the outsider workers, consumers of the goods or services produced, and the shareholders of the unionised business. The ones that are likely to lose the most from a trade union are those who are unemployed or at the risk of unemployment or who are not able to get the job that they want in a particular field. The so-called insider-outsider theory analyses this problem. ^{[citation needed]}

Usually, the marginal benefit of an additional worker decreases as the number of workers increase ^{[citation needed]}. This implies that the lower the minimum wage, the more workers a company can profitably employ. Thus, while an increase in the minimum wage benefits the insiders, as a result fewer new workers are recruited and fewer retiring workers replaced. The potential result is higher unemployment rates, especially among the unskilled ^{[citation needed]}. Union wages are also derived by cutting the potential earnings of higher skilled workers and reformating the payscale from a merit based system to a tenure based system ^{[citation needed]}. These effects are more pronounced in a work-intensive service company. Also see microeconomics and supply and demand.

Often the union of a particular industry puts pressure on politicians to subsidise the industry concerned. This benefits both the workers, companies and shareholders in that industry, and consumers of the product of that industry at a cost to other people.

References

Footnotes

1. ^  Webb, Sidney; Webb, Beatrice (1920). The History of Trade Unionism, Longmans, Green and Co. London.
2. ^  ICFTU press release - regarding Cambodia.
3. ^  Amnesty International report 23 September 2005 - fear for safety of SINALTRAINAL member José Onofre Esquivel Luna
4. ^  Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training report.
5. ^  Fraser, W. Hamish (1974). Trade Unions and Society (The Struggle for Acceptance, 1850 – 1880), Rowman and Littlefield (Totowa, New Jersey). ISBN 0-87471-514-8. pg. 34

General

1. Clarke, T. and Clements, L. (1978) "Trade Unions under Capitalism", Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, ISBN 0391007289

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Trade unions

• AFL-CIO
• Craft union
• Directly Affiliated Local Union (DALU)
• Eight hour day
• General union
• Industrial union
• Industrial Workers of the World
• International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
• Labor aristocracy
• History of the labor movement
• Landrum-Griffin Act
• List of labor unions
• Salting
• Strike
• Trades council
• Trades Hall
• Union federation

External links

• Millwright History
• Union Millwrights
• NLRA rights
• Trade union membership 1993-2003 - European Industrial Relations Observatory report on membership trends in 26 European countries
• Mutual Aid Through Collective Bargaining
• Public Activities and Festivities of Organized Labor in Marin County, California
• New analysis of economic data shows that unionization could maximize productivity
• American Labor Unions Under Stress
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
• Workers Independent News
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• United Auto Workers
• Union Leadership Directory