Trade Union
History
The origins of unions’ existence can be traced from the eighteenth century, where the rapid expansion of industrial society drew women, children, rural workers, and immigrants to the work force in numbers and in new roles. This pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labor spontaneously organized in fits and starts throughout its beginnings, and would later be an important arena for the development of trade unions. Trade unions as such were endorsed by the Catholic Church towards the end of the 19th Century. Pope Leo XIII in his ‘Magna Carta’: Rerum Novarum, spoke against the atrocities workers faced and demanded that workers should be granted certain rights and safety regulations.
Origins and early history
Trade Unions have sometimes been seen as successors to the guilds of medieval Europe, though the relationship between the two is disputed. 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. A labor union 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.” A modern definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics states that a trade union is “an organization consisting predominantly of employees, the principal activities of which include the negotiation of rates of pay and conditions of employment for its members.”
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 guild-craft tradition passed down through journeymen’s clubs and friendly societies, … the other the aggressive-expansionist drive to unite all ‘laboring men and women’ for a ‘different order of things’.
Recent historical research by Bob James in Craft, Trade or Mystery (2001) puts forward the view that trade unions are part of a broader movement of benefit societies, which includes medieval guilds, Freemasons, Oddfellows, friendly societies, and other fraternal organizations.
The 18th century economist Adam Smith noted the imbalance in the rights of workers in regards to owners (or “masters”). In The Wealth of Nations, Book I, chapter 8, Smith wrote:
We rarely hear, it has been said, of the combination 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 labor 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 combination of servants, laborers, and journeymen.
As Smith noted, unions were illegal for many years in most countries (and Smith argued that schemes to fix wages or prices, by employees or employers, should be). There were severe penalties for attempting to organize unions, up to and including execution. Despite this, unions were formed and began to acquire political power, eventually resulting in a body of labor law that not only legalized organizing efforts, but codified the relationship between employers and those employees organized into unions. Even after the legitimization of trade unions there was opposition, as the case of the Tolpuddle Martyrs shows.
The right to join a trade union is mentioned in article 23, subsection 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (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 leveled 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.
19th Century American Unionism
In the early 1800s many men from large cities put together the organization which we now call the Trade Union Movement. Individuals who were members of unions at this time were skilled, experienced, and knew how to get the job done. Their main reasoning for starting this movement was to put on strikes. However, they did not have enough men to fulfill their needs and the unions which began this trendy movement, collapsed quickly. The Mechanics Union Trade Association was the next approach to bring workers together. In 1827, this union was the first U.S. labor organization which brought together workers of divergent occupations. This was he first city-wide federation of American workers, which recognized that all labor, regardless of trades, had common problems that could be solved only by united effort as a class.6] This organization took off when carpentry workers from Philadelphia went on strike to protest their pay wages and working hours. This union strike was only a premonition of what was to come in the future.
According to history.com:
Besides acting to raise wages and improve working conditions, the federations espoused certain social reforms, such as the institution of free public education, the abolition of imprisonment for debt, and the adoption of universal manhood suffrage. Perhaps the most important effect of these early unions was their introduction of political action.
Workers realized what unionism was all about through the configuration of mechanics association and many people followed in their footsteps. The strike gave others hope that they.could get their concerns out by word of mouth. Before this time many people did not speak about their concerns because of the lack of bodies. However, with more people comes more confidence. Strikes were a new way of speaking your mind and getting things accomplished.
The next established union which made an impact on the trade movement was the Grand National Consolidated Trade Union. This union was founded in 1834 as the first domestic association. However, this union was short lived due to the panic of 1837. Andrew] Jackson thought the Bank of the United States hurt ordinary citizens by exercising too much control over credit and economic opportunity, and he succeeded in shutting it down. But the state banks’ reckless credit policies led to massive speculation in Western lands. By 1837, after Van Buren had become president, banks were clearly in trouble. Some began to close, businesses began to fail, and thousands of people lost their land. This collapse of financial support and businesses left workers unemployed. Many of these workers, who became affected by the 1837 disaster, were members of a union. It was very hard for them to stay together in an economic hardship and the trade union movement came to a bump in the road. But the economy was restored by the early 1840s and trade unions started doing better. National labor unions were forming, different than ones in the past, consisting now of members of the same occupation.
The work force was drastically impacted by the Civil War and the economy was thriving. Many workers gained employment because of this economic boom and unions increased greatly. ore than 30 national craft unions were established during the 1860s and early ’70s.7] One of the significant national craft unions to be formed during this time was the National Labor Union (NLU). It was created in 1866 and included many types of workers. Although relatively short-lived, the NLU paved the way for future American unions. Following the decline of the NLU, the Knights of Labor became the leading countrywide union in the 1860s. This union did not include Chinese, and partially included black people and women.
Knights of Labor
Main article: Knights of Labor
The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor (KOL) was founded in Philadelphia in 1869 by Uriah Stephens and six other men. The union was formed for the purpose of organizing, educating and directing the power of the industrial masses, according to their Constitution of 1878. The Knights gathered people to join the Order who believed in creating he greatest good to the greatest amount of people. The Knights took their set goals very seriously. Some of which consisted of roductive work, civic responsibility, education, a wholesome family life, temperance, and self-improvement.12]
The Knights of Labor worked as a secret fraternal society until 1881. The union grew slowly until the economic depression of the 1870s, when large numbers of workers joined the organization. The Knights only permitted certain groups of individuals into their Order which promoted social division amongst the people around them. Bankers, speculators, lawyers, liquor dealers, gamblers, and teachers were all excluded from the union. These workers were known as the on-producers because their jobs did not entail physical labor. Factory workers and business men were known as the roducers because their job constructed a physical product. The working force producers were welcomed into the Order. Women were also welcome to join the Knights, as well as black workers by the year 1883. However, Asians were excluded. In November 1885, the Knights of a Washington city pushed to get rid of their Asian population. The knights were strongly for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 because it greatly helped them deteriorate the Asian community. he Act required the few non-laborers who sought entry to obtain certification from the Chinese government that they were qualified to immigrate. But this group found it increasingly difficult to prove that they were not laborers because the 1882 act defined excludables as killed and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining. Thus very few Chinese could enter the country under the 1882 law.
The act also stated that if an Asian left the country, they needed a certificate to re-enter.
Although Asians were not welcomed in the union, black workers who joined the union brought a large number of blacks into the white labor movement. In 1886, the Union exceeded 700,000 members, 60,000 of them black. The Knights were told that they roke the walls of prejudice; the olor line had been broken and black and white were found working in the same cause. The American Federation of Labor (AFL),founded by Samuel Gompers, was established due to the vexation of many Knights who parted from the KOL. Many Knights joined the AFL because they set themselves apart from the KOL. They ried to teach the American wage-earner that he was a wage-earner first and a bricklayer, carpenter, miner […] after. This meant that the Order was teaching something that was not so in the hope that sometime it would be. But the AFL affiliates organized carpenters as carpenters, bricklayers as bricklayers, and so forth, teaching them all to place their own craft interests before those of other workers. The AFL also differed from the KOL because it only allowed associations to be formed from workers and workers were the only people permitted to join them. Unlike the AFL, the knights also allowed small businesses to join. A small business is n independently owned and operated business that is not dominant in its field of operation and conforms to standards set by the Small Business Administration or by state law regarding number of employees and yearly income called also small business concern.17] Since the knights allowed an array of members into their association, they ended up getting rid of many because they did not fit the title. However, the AFL was right behind them picking up their pieces. This was another way in which the AFL helped to destroy the Knights. Once an associate was no longer a knight, and they fit the description of an AFL member, they hunted them down and offered them a spot. Many times spots were offered to men who were still Knights. This allowed the AFL to grow very strong with a diverse set of members.
The diversity in the AFL faltered when many of the black members were excluded. Gompers only wanted skilled workers representing his union and many black people were not considered skilled. The AFL claimed to not exclude the black members because of their race but because they were not qualified for the part. o as long as wages rose, and they did, hours fell, and they did, security increased, and it appeared to, the AFL could grow fat while neglecting millions of laborers doomed to lives of misery and want.18] Even black workers considered skilled enough to fit the part were generally excluded from the Union. The AFL conducted literacy tests which had the effect of excluding immigrants and blacks. Regardless of black members being excluded, the AFL was the most prevalent union federation in America before the mid 1940s. The union was composed of over 10 million members before it combined with the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO).
Congress of Industrial Organizations
Main article: Congress of Industrial Organizations
The CIO was put forth by John L. Lewis when troubles with the AFL persisted, after the death of Gompers in 1924. Many members of the union requested that they switch the rules which were laid out by Gompers. They wanted to support inexperienced workmen rather than only focusing on experienced workers of one occupation. John L. Lewis was the first member of the AFL to act upon this issue in 1935. He was the founder of the Committee for the Industrial Organization which was an original union branched from the AFL. The Committee for the Industrial Organization transformed into the Congress of Industrial Organization. he Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) encompassed the largest sustained surge of worker organization in American history.19] In the 1930s, the CIO grabbed many of their member attention through victorious strikes. In the 1935, employees of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company formed their own union called the United Rubber Workers. The Rubber Workers went on strike in 1936 to protest an increase in product with lower pay wages. here were forty-eight strikes in 1936 in which the strikers remained at their jobs for at least one day; in twenty-two of these work stoppages, involving 34,565 workers, the strikers stayed inside the plants for more than twenty-four hours.20] This tactic was called a it-down strike which entailed workers to stop doing their job and sit in their place of employment. During these strikes, business owners were unable to bring in new workers to replace the ones who were on strike because they were still in their seats at the factory. This was unlike any strikes in the past. Before this time, workers showed their fury by leaving their factory and standing in picket lines.Walter Reuther was in control of the union at this time and moved forward to higher roles during 1955.
AFL-CIO
Main article: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
On May 5, 1955, labor delegates gathered in NY on behalf of 16 million workers, to witness and support the merger of The American Federation of Labor and The Congress of Industrial Organization. The merger is a result of 20 years of effort put forth by both the AFL and CIO presidents, George Meany and Walter Reuther. The gathered delegates applauded loudly when the time came to nominate officers for the new AFL-CIO. Reuther who was named one of the 37 vice presidents of the union, nominated Meany for President. After Meany retirement in 1979, Lane Kirkland took over his position. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was elected in 1952, was the first to publicly address and congratulate the new union, which was now the largest in the world.
In Eisenhower telephone broadcast to the United States he acknowledged the impact union members had made to better the nation and one of these impacts was he development of the American philosophy of labor.21] Eisenhower states three principles which he feels apply to the philosophy of labor. The first principles states that: he ultimate values of mankind are spiritual; these values include liberty, human dignity, opportunity and equal rights and justice.21] Eisenhower was stating that every individual deserves a job with decent compensation, practical hours, and good working conditions that leave them feeling fulfilled. His second principle speaks of the economic interest of the employer and employee being a mutual prosperity. The employers and employees must work together in order for there to be the greatest amount of wealth for all. Workers have a right to strike when they feel their boundaries are being crossed and the best way for the employer to fix the employees unhappiness is to come to a mutual agreement. His last principle which he preached stated: abor relations will be managed best when worked out in honest negotiation between employers and unions, without Government unwarranted interference.21] Eisenhower was saying that when both parties cooperate and act in mature fashion, it will be easier to work out situations and a better outcome will result because of it. Once he was done delivering the speech, everyone across the U.S. knew of the new AFL-CIO whose ission was to bring social and economic justice to our nation by enabling working people to have a voice on the job, in government, in a changing global economy and in their communities.
This new alliance is made up of 56 nationwide and intercontinental labor unions. The unions which are a part of this alliance are composed of 2.5 million working Americans and 8.5 million other affiliated members. These members do not fall under one job title but they are very diversely spread out among the working area. Their jobs go from doctors to truck drivers and painters to bankers. The mission of these workers and the AFL-CIO s to improve the lives of working familieso bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation. To accomplish this mission we will build and change the American labor movement.23] The AFL-CIO also has many goals which coincide with their mission:
e will build a broad movement of American workers by organizing workers into unions. We will build a strong political voice for workers in our nation. We will change our unions to provide a new voice to workers in a changing economy. We will change our labor movement by creating a new voice for workers in our communities.23]
The association was willing to go to any extent to help out their employers which is why the membership was so high. Members started to slowly disappear after 25 successful years of a steady membership. Starting out with 16 million members in 1955 and dropping down to 13 million by 1984 is a significant loss. This loss of members is in large part due to the 1957 removal of the Teamsters Union who were long time members of the AFL. The Teamsters were involved in organized crime and manipulating employers with strong force. The Teamsters philosophy was to
et each member do his duty as he sees fit. Let each put his shoulder to the wheel and work together to bring about better results. Let no member sow seeds of discord within our ranks, and let our enemies see that the Teamsters of this country are determined to get their just rewards and to make their organization as it should be — one of the largest and strongest trade unions in the country now and beyond.”
This philosophy did not work well for Teamster presidents Beck, Hoffa, and Williams who were all accused of criminal acts and sent to prison. In 1987 the AFL-CIO membership grew to 14 million members when the Teamsters Union was restored to the association.
The AFL-CIO also lost many members due to financial struggles in the United States. During the late 1900 the U.S. dollar began to oscillate due to rivalry with foreign countries and their coinage. This affects global trafficking and results in job loss for American citizens. The issues between the United States and foreign countries cannot be resolved by Eisenhower third principle, which entailed honest negotiations. Consequently, the association has been dynamically supportive in administration policies which deal with global trafficking, the production of goods, and many other issues, which are optimistic policies that will add to an established financial system.
The AFL-CIO is now governed by a gathering of delegates who are present on behalf of association members who meet every four years. The delegates who are the spokespeople of the federation members are chosen by union members. While the delegates vote for new representatives every four years, they also lay down the goals and policies for the union. The most recent representatives for the organization along with 45 vice presidents are President John J. Sweeny, Secretary-treasurer Richard Trumka, and executive vice president Arlene Holt Baker
In the United States there are a total of 15.4 million union members, 11 million of whom belong to unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO.25] This number has grown rapidly since the beginning of the union movement because today, all individuals with different occupations are welcomed to join unions. oday’s unions include manufacturing and construction workers, teachers, technicians and doctorsnd every type of worker in between. No matter what you do for a living, there’s a union that has members who do the same thing.25] Educating union members about issues that shape lives of functioning families on a daily basis is one of the AFL-CIO policies. They give them confidence to have their voices heard for political purposes. They also prioritize in
reating family-supporting jobs by investing tax dollars in schools, roads, bridges and airports; improving the lives of workers through education, job training and raising the minimum wage; keeping good jobs at home by reforming trade rules, reindustrializing the U.S. economy and redoubling efforts at worker protections in the global economy; strengthening Social Security and private pensions; making high-quality, affordable health care available to everyone; and holding corporations more accountable for their actions.25]
The AFL-CIO is very supportive of political issues and they show their concern by giving out information about existing political issues to families. This information is spread by volunteers and activists and includes where all the candidates stand on the issues.
Europe
In France, Germany, and other European countries, socialist parties and democrats played a prominent role in forming and building up trade unions, especially from the 1870s onwards. This stood in contrast to the British experience, where moderate New Model Unions dominated the union movement from the mid-nineteenth century and where trade unionism was stronger than the political labor movement until the formation and growth of the Labour Party in the early years of the twentieth century.
Australia
A 1919 strike leader addressing a crowd in Gary, Indiana.
Supporters of Unions, such as the ACTU or Australian Labor Party, often credit trade unions with leading the labor movement in the early 20th century, which generally sought to end child labor practices, improve worker safety, increase wages for both union workers and non union workers, raise the entire society’s standard of living, reduce the hours in a work week, provide public education for children, and bring other benefits to working class families.
Structure and politics
Union structures, politics, and legal status vary greatly from country to country. For specific country details see List of trade unions.
A rally of the trade union UNISON in Oxford during a strike on 2006-03-28.
Unions may organize a particular section of skilled workers (craft unionism), a cross-section of workers from various trades (general unionism), or attempt to organize 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 Trade Union Confederation.
A union may acquire the status of a “juristic person” (an artificial 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 engage in collective bargaining with the employer (or employers) over wages, working hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The inability of the parties to reach an agreement may lead to industrial action, culminating in either strike action or management lockout, or binding arbitration. 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 contemporarily.
Unions may also engage in broader political or social struggle. Social Unionism encompasses many unions that use their organizational strength to advocate for social policies and legislation favorable 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 organizing model. The service model union focuses more on maintaining worker rights, providing services, and resolving disputes. Alternately, the organizing model typically involves full-time union organizers, 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.
Some research, such as that conducted by the ACIRRT, argues that unionized workers enjoy better conditions and wages than those who are not unionized.
In Britain, the perceived left-leaning nature of trade unions has resulted in the formation of a reactionary right-wing trade union called Solidarity which is supported by the far-right BNP.
Shop types
Companies that employ workers with a union generally operate on one of several models:
A closed shop (US) or a “pre-entry closed shop” (UK) employs only people who are already union members. The compulsory hiring hall is an example of a closed shop in this case the employer must recruit directly from the union, as well as the employee working strictly for unionized employers.
A union shop (US) or a “post-entry 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 state public employees in the United States, such as California, “fair share laws” make it easy to require these sorts of payments.
An open shop does not require union membership in employing or keeping workers. Where a union is active, workers who do not contribute to a union still benefit from the collective bargaining process. In the United States, state level right-to-work laws mandate the open shop in some states.
Diversity of international unions
Labor law varies from country to country, as does the function of unions. For example, 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. In addition, 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. (newsletter/files/BTS012EN_12-15.pdf).
In Britain, a series of laws introduced during the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher’s government restricted closed and union shops. All agreements requiring a worker to join a union are now illegal. In the United States, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 outlawed the closed shop, but permitted the union shop unless the state government chose to prohibit it.
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, socialist, or social democratic party, but many exceptions exist. In the United States, by contrast, although it is historically aligned with the Democratic Party, the labor movement is by no means monolithic on that point; this is especially true among the individual “rank and file” members. For example, 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. (However, when PATCO went on strike in violation of their “no strike” contract, President Reagan ordered them back to work. Those who didn’t return to the job were fired and replaced, effectively destroying PATCO.) In Britain the labor movement’s relationship with the Labour Party is fraying as party leadership embarks on privatization plans at odds with what unions see as the worker’s interests. On top of this in the past there as been a group known as the Conservative Trade Unionists or CTU. A group formed of people who sympathized with right wing Tory policy but were Trade Unionists.
In Western Europe, professional associations often carry out the functions of a trade union. 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 a more ordoliberal politics than their blue-collar counterparts[citation needed].
In Germany the relation between individual employees and employers is considered to be asymmetrical. In consequence, many working conditions are not negotiable due to a strong legal protection of individuals. However, the German flavor or works legislation has as its main objective to create a balance of power between employees organized in unions and employers organized in employers associations. This allows much wider legal boundaries for collective bargaining, compared to the narrow boundaries for individual negotiations. As a condition to obtain the legal status of a trade union, employee associations need to prove that their leverage is strong enough to serve as a counterforce in negotiations with employers. If such an employees association is competing against another union, its leverage may be questioned by unions and then evaluated in a court trial. In Germany only very few professional associations obtained the right to negotiate salaries and working conditions for their members, notably the medical doctors association Marburger Bund and the pilots association Vereinigung Cockpit. The engineers association Verein Deutscher Ingenieure does not strive to act as a union, as it also represents the interests of engineering businesses.
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, Trade Unions were outlawed. In the Soviet Union and China, unions have typically been de facto government agencies devoted to smooth and efficient operation of government enterprises.
Criticism
Main article: Opposition to trade unions
Trade unions have been accused of benefiting insider workers, those having secure jobs, at the cost of outsider workers, consumers of the goods or services produced, and the shareholders of the unionized business. Those who are likely to be disadvantaged most from unionization are the unemployed, those at risk of unemployment, or workers who are unable to get the job they want in a particular line of work.
In the United States, the outsourcing of labor to Asia, Latin America, and Africa has been partially driven by increasing costs of union partnership, which gives other countries a comparative advantage in labor, making it more efficient to perform labor-intensive work there. Milton Friedman, Nobel economist an advocate of laissez-faire capitalism sought to show that unionization produces higher wages (for the union members) at the expense of fewer jobs, and that, if some industries are unionized while others are not, wages will tend to decline in non-unionized industries.
Trade unions have been said to have ineffective policies on racism and sexism, such that a union is justified in not supporting a member taking action against another member. This was demonstrated by the 1987 judgment in the Weaver v NATFEH case in the UK in which a black Muslim woman brought a complaint of workplace racist harassment against a co-trade unionist. The finding was that in the event of the union offering assistance to the plaintiff it would be in violation of the union duty to protect the tenure of the accused member and the judgment still sets the precedent for cases of this kind that union members who make complaints to the employer of racist or sexist harassment against member(s) of the same union cannot obtain union advice or assistance; this applies irrespective of the merit of the complaint.
Unions are sometimes accused of holding society to ransom by taking strike actions that result in the disruption of public services.
Worldwide Union and by Region and Country
Worldwide and International Cooperation
Unionization in the world[citation needed]
The largest organization in the world is the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation, which today has approximately 309 affiliated organizations in 156 countries and territories, with a combined membership of 166 million. Other global trade union organizations include the World Federation of Trade Unions.
National and regional trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups also form global union federations, such as Union Network International, the International Federation of Journalists or the International Arts and Entertainment Alliance.
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Trade unions in Africa
Sovereign
states
Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Cte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Djibouti Egypt1 Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda So Tom and Prncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited
recognition
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories
Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberana (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Runion (France) Puntland (Somalia) Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Southern Sudan (Sudan) Zanzibar (Tanzania)
1 Transcontinental country.
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Trade unions in Asia
Sovereign
states
Afghanistan Armenia1 Azerbaijan1 Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma2 Cambodia People’s Republic of China Cyprus1 East Timor3 Egypt4 Georgia4 India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan4 North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia4 Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Republic of China5 Thailand Turkey4 Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen
States with limited
recognition
Abkhazia1 Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia1
Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories
Aceh Adjara1 Akrotiri and Dhekelia Altai British Indian Ocean Territory Buryatia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Guangxi Hong Kong Inner Mongolia Iraqi Kurdistan Khakassia Macau Nakhchivan Ningxia Papua Sakha Republic Tibet Tuva West Papua Xinjiang
1 Sometimes included in Europe, depending on the border definitions. 2 Officially known as Myanmar. 3 Sometimes included in Oceania, and also known as Timor-Leste. 4 Transcontinental country. 5 Commonly known as Taiwan.
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Trade unions in the Caribbean
Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guadeloupe Haiti Jamaica Martinique Montserrat Netherlands Antilles Puerto Rico St. Barthlemy St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Martin St. Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands U.S. Virgin Islands
Belize Bermuda Colombia Costa Rica French Guiana Guatemala Guyana Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama Suriname Venezuela
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Trade unions in Europe
Sovereign
states
Albania Andorra Armenia1 Austria Azerbaijan1 Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus1 Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia1 Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan2 Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia2 San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey2 Ukraine United Kingdom (England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales)
States with limited
recognition
Abkhazia1 Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh1 Northern Cyprus1 South Ossetia1 Transnistria
1 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the border definitions. 2 Transcontinental country.
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Trade unions in North America
Sovereign states
Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama1 Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago1 United States
Dependencies and
other territories
Anguilla Aruba1 Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Netherlands Antilles1 Puerto Rico Saint Barthlemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands
1 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of South America.
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Trade unions in Oceania
Sovereign states
Australia East Timor1 Fiji Indonesia1 Kiribati Papua New Guinea Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
Dependencies and
other territories
American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Rotuma Tokelau Wallis and Futuna
1 Transcontinental country.
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Trade unions in South America
Sovereign states
Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Panama1 Paraguay Peru Suriname Trinidad and Tobago1 Uruguay Venezuela
Dependencies and territories
Aruba1 / Netherlands Antilles1 (Netherlands) Falkland Islands / South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom) 2 French Guiana (France)
1 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of North America and/or Central America. 2 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of Antarctica.
Union publications
Several sources of current news exist 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.
Labor Notes is the largest circulation cross-union publication remaining in the United States. It reports news and analysis about labor activity or problems facing the labor movement.
See also
Social democracy
Precursors
Age of Enlightenment
Utopian socialism
Trade unionism
Revolutions of 1848
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Gradualism
New Left
Policies
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Nationalization
Welfare state
Fair trade
Environmental protection
Secularism
Social corporatism
Social Market Economy
Organizations
Social democratic parties
Socialist International
Party of European Socialists
International Trade Union Confederation
People
Clement Attlee Eduard Bernstein Lon Blum Hjalmar Branting Ignacy Daszyski Tommy Douglas Friedrich Ebert Michael Joseph Savage Blent Ecevit Jean Jaurs Karl Kautsky Willy Brandt Olof Palme Georgi Plekhanov
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Organized Labour portal
List of trade unions
General
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Directly Affiliated Local Union
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National trade union center
Anarcho-syndicalism
Union federation
AFL-CIO
Change to Win Federation
Labor federation competition in the United States
International Trade Union Confederation
International Labor Rights Forum
International Workers Association
References
^ Definition of “rank and file”
^ a b c Webb, Sidney; Webb, Beatrice (1920). History of Trade Unionism. Longmans and Co. London. ch. I
^ Rerum Novarum
^ Trade Unions and Socialism International Socialist Review, Vol.1 No.10, April 1901.
^ “Trade Union Census”. Australian Bureau of Statistics. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/9FCBBF538897395ACA2570EC001A6CED?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
^ Foner, Phillip Sheldon. History of the Labor Movement in the United States. International Publishers Co., 1972.
^ a b TRADE UNIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 2008. http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=224387 (accessed April 1, 2009).
^ America’s Story from America’s Library. http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/presidents/buren/panic_2 (accessed April 6, 2009).
^ Ayers, Edward L. et al.. American Passages: A History of the United States. Vol. 1. Harcourt. pp. 288. ISBN 978-0-4950-5015-5.
^ Kennedy, David; Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas Bailey (2006). The American Pageant (Thirteenth Edition ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
^ 1997. “Knights of Labor constitution of 1878.” Knights of Labor Constitution of 1878 1, no. 1: 1. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 24, 2009).
^ Fink, Leon. Workingmen’s Democracy: The Knights of Labor and America Politics. United States of America: the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, 1983.
^ “KNIGHTS OF LABOR,,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=213962 (accessed Feb 24, 2009).
^ “Knights of Labor.” Columbia Encyclopedia . Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 24, 2009).
^ Chinese Exclusion Act (1882). 1989. http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=47 (accessed March 31, 2009).
^ Dubofsky, Melvyn. We Shall Be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World. 2000.(accessed April 6, 2009).
^ Dictionary.com. 2009. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/small%20business?qsrc=2888 (accessed April 6, 2009).
^ Dubofsky, Melvyn. We Shall Be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World. 2000. http://books.google.com/books?id=DmAer6Nz75kC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=Knights+of+Labor+competition+with+AFL&source=bl&ots=-k3A0t8rN6&sig=Xt1W6THNjgswcbTwsHoWszrlqa4&hl=en&ei=rrHbSfXBFJvqlQfFrfiUCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PPP1,M1 (accessed April 6, 2009).
^ Zeger, Robert H. The CIO:1935-1955. 1997. http://books.google.com/books?id=ghy45fyXYyoC (accessed April 7, 2009).
^ Fine, Sidney. Sit-down: the General Motors Strike of 1936-1937 . 1936. http://books.google.com/books?id=0TkupxD2njcC&pg=PA123&dq=Rubber+Strike+of+1936 (accessed April 6, 2009).
^ a b c d Peters, Gerhard. Dwight D. Eisenhower. 1999-2009. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=10394 (accessed April 16, 2009).
^ Union Facts. 2009. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/faq/ (accessed April 7, 2009).
^ a b What We Stand for: Mission and Goals of the AFL-CIO . 2009. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/mission/ (accessed April 20, 2009).
^ The Teamster History. http://www.teamster.org/history/teamster-history/overview (accessed April 20, 2009).
^ a b c Union Facts. 2009. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/faq/ (accessed April 200, 2009).
^ ACTU, History of the ACTU (website), http://actu.com.au/AboutACTU/HistoryoftheACTU/default.aspx
^ ICFTU press release – regarding Cambodia.
^ Amnesty International report 23 September 2005 – fear for safety of SINALTRAINAL member Jos Onofre Esquivel Luna
^ Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training report.
^ Card David, Krueger Alan. (1995). Myth and measurement: The new economics of the minimum wage. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press.
^ Kramarz, Francis (2006-10-19). “Outsourcing, Unions, and Wages: Evidence from data matching imports, firms, and workers”. http://www.eco.uc3m.es/temp/agenda/wage102006.pdf. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
^ Friedman, Milton. Price Theory
^ “The Legal Ferret.net” http://www.legalferret.net retrieved on 22-Dec-2008
^ http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/article/viewFile/10489/11328
^ http://www.indiatogether.org/combatlaw/vol2/issue6/strike.htm
Further materials
Books
The Government of British Trade Unions: A study of Apathy and the Democratic Process in the Transport and General Worker Union by Joseph Goldstein
The Early English Trade Unions: Documents from Home Office Papers in the Public Record Office by A Aspinall
Magnificent Journey: The Rise of the Trade Unions, by Francis Williams
Trade Unions by Allan Flanders
Trade Union Government and Administration in Great Britain by B C Roberts
Union Power: The Growth and Challenge in Perspective by Claud Cockburn
Directory of Employer’s Associations, Trade Unions, Joint Organisations &c No author and produced in paperback
The History of the TUC (Trades Union Congress) 1868-1968: A pictorial Survey of a Social Revolution Illustrated with Contemporary Prints, Documents and Photographs, edited by Lionel Birch
Clarke, T.; Clements, L. (1978). Trade Unions under Capitalism. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press. ISBN 0-391-00728-9.
Panitch, Leo & Swartz, Donald (2003). From consent to coercion: The assault on trade union freedoms, third edition. Ontario: Garamound Press.
Phil Dine (2007). State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-148844-0
Articles
Charles A. Orr, “Trade Unionism in Colonial Africa” Journal of Modern African Studies, 4 (1966), pp. 65-81
Films
The 2000 film Bread and Roses by British director Ken Loach depicted the struggle of cleaners in Los Angeles to fight for better pay, and working conditions, and the right to join a union.
“Hoffa” A Danny DeVito film (1992): The man who was willing to pay the price for power.”Jack Nicholson gives a gigantic powerhouse performance” – The New York Times
The 1985 documentary film Final Offer by Sturla Gunnarsson and Robert Collision shows the 1984 union contract negotiations with General Motors.
The 1979 film Norma Rae, directed by Martin Ritt, is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Jordan’s successful attempt to unionize her textile factory.
Other documentaries: Made in L.A. (2007); American Standoff (2002); The Fight in the Fields (1997); With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women’s Emergency Brigade (1979); Harlan County USA (1976); The Inheritance (1964)
Other dramatizations: 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002); Matewan (1987); American Playhouse–“The Killing Floor”(1985); Salt of the Earth (1954); The Grapes of Wrath (1940); Black Fury (1935)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trade unions
International
LabourStart international trade union news service
New Unionism Network
Younionize Global Union Directory
Australia
Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)- Australian Council of Trade Unions
Europe
Trade union membership 1993-2003 – European Industrial Relations Observatory report on membership trends in 26 European countries
Trade Union Ancestors – Listing of 5,000 UK trade unions with histories of main organizations, trade union “family trees” and details of union membership and strikes since 1900.
TUC History online – History of the British union movement
Trade EU – European Trade Directory
Historical memory of the UGT in Catalonia
Short history of the UGT in Catalonia
United States
Labor rights in the USA
Labor Notes magazine
References
^ First published by George Allen and Unwin Ltd (London) in 1952, and subject of reprints Foreword by Arthur Deakin
^ Published by Batchworth Press (London) in 1949
^ First published by Odhams Press (London) in 1954
^ First published by Hutchinson (London) in 1952 and reprinted several times
^ First published by The School of Economics/Bell and Sons (London) in 1956 and reprinted
^ First published by William Kimber in 1976 (London) ISBN 0718301137
^ published by HMSO (Her Majesty’s Stationery Office) on 1986 ISBN 11 361250 8
^ Published in large paperback by Hamlyn/General Council of Trade Union Congress in 1968 with a foreword by George Woodcock
Links to related articles
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