LearningObjectivesAftercompletingthischapter,youshou.docx

Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you should be
able to:
• Describe the atmosphere surrounding union
opposition and resulting courtcases.
• Discuss each of the earlylaborunions, major strikes,
and key players in laborrelations.
• Relate the growth of industry to major strikes
in the steel and textile industries at the
turn of the 20th century.
2An Overview of Labor History
Mary Evans/Everett Collection
Introduction
The U.S. economy was formed around farms and
small towns. If you were to view the United
States in
the early1800s, you would see country roads,
largefarms, and towns erected at crossroads,

serving the
needs of farmers. Although therewere factories, these
were rare and usually located only in the larger
cities. Early manufacturing took place in small
shops run by craftsmen who were experts in
one trade,
such as barrel making or stitchery. Thus,
America’searlyindustry was centered on individual
trades and
skilled workers.
These workers were called master craftsmen.
Not only were they proficient at making
specific
products, they were also multitalented businessmen.
Consider, for example, Bostonian Paul Revere, who
trained in the art of silversmithing and then
became a shop owner, a teacher to his
apprentices, a
capitalist, an employer, and a highly skilled artisan.
Master craftsmen sat side-by-side at the bench
with their workers, together making the products of
the
shop, be it boots, silverware, horse bridles,
or copper bowls. At first, slaves or
indentured servants made

up the group of workers, but as slavery
decreased in the Northeast and indentured
servants completed
their terms, craftsmen searched for othertypes of
help. Soona strata of workers developed that
became
known as apprentices or journeymen. These
were the men who worked in the trades but
would never
be shop owners unless they started their own
business.
The work environment in theseshops was intimate.
The boss knew each worker—his strengths and
weaknesses, and certainly his personal life. Problems
could be addressed directly and quickly if
the
master craftsman chose, which led the
workplace to have a give-and-take quality.
Workers felt
somewhat empowered by the fact that management
was present, understood the conditions of
work,
and could be responsive to issues that arose.
This work environment also featured two distinct tiers:
owners and laborers. Lines were clearly drawn

regarding the rights of the owner to make
fundamental decisions about the work environment
while
laborremained powerless, except about whether to
leave the job and seek otheremployment. Work
for
laborers was a “take it or leave it”
environment, and for those unwilling or unable to
secure work
elsewhere, the shop, its rules, and culture
were nonnegotiable.
As the 19th century progressed, a notable change
occurred that essentially put an end to this
way of life.
The United States underwent a great
industrial boom, commonly referred to as the
Industrial
Revolution (1820–1840). The Industrial Revolution
made small workshops obsolete and
unprofitable.
A confluence of factors contributed to this
new reality. Workers were plentiful and relatively
cheap to
employ; America had bountiful natural resources;
tradesmen from Europe cameto the United States

with skills, inventions, and creativity; and as
the population grew, the demand for goods
increased
tremendously. Small shops could no longer
keep up with demand, and when they did, were
too slow and
costly. The 1800s also saw the rise of expanding
transportation systems that made the export of
goods
to Europe possible and highly profitable.
Additionally, transportation within the United
States improved,
which fostered domestic trade. Factories, too, began
to expand; as a result, they employed a
completely
different type of worker than an apprentice or
journeyman.
With the advent of factories, a new class of worker
emerged: the unskilled worker, who could operate
machinery or do repetitive tasks that required
little skill. One of the earliest such industries
was
spinning yarn,which by 1860 involved more than 1,700
millswith 6,400 spindles and 16,000 looms;
the

industry had an annual output of $90 million
and employed more than 60,000 laborers (Foner,
1998).
Immigrants streamed into the United States during
this time,providing inexpensive and oftenunskilled
labor. As the factories grew, more workers were
needed, and women and children soon became
part of
the workforce.
As large factories replaced farms and small
shops run by artisans with thousands of
workers, work
became more impersonal; the lines between owners
and workers grew even more distinct than before.
Gone were the days of sitting at a bench as
an apprentice and learning a tradefrom a
master craftsman.
With each of thesechanges, workers found that the
give-and-take quality of the small shops
was gone,
and they had no relationship with the owner of
the business.
2.1 Initial View of Unions as Illegal

When businesses expanded from small shops
to larger factories, owners turned their
attention to
competing with other businesses without
necessarily considering their employees’
welfare. As the
employer became distanced from the worker, the
expansion of the workplace and lowered wages
(brought about by increased pressure on employers
to compete nationally) led employees to
feel
disenfranchised and unappreciated. The conditions
became ripe for workers to consider ways in
which
they could effectively demand better wages
and conditions of employment. From this initial
consideration camethe idea of banding together and
forming a union, much as their ancestors
had done
back in their countries of origin, before coming to
the United States.
Commonwealthv. Pullis (1806)
In 1806 U.S. courts had to consider for the first
time whether or not a union in America
was in fact legal

and whether workers could go out on strike.
The organization that struck was the Federal
Society of
Journeymen, commonly called Cordwainers. One of
the first unions in the United States, it
had formed
in 1794 and consisted of workers who made shoes,
boots, and otherleather footwear (Foner, 1998).
In
1805 therewas a general pay cut throughout the
industry, and in response the organization went on
strike. The master craftsmen who employed the
workers took them to courtand charged them with
the
crime of conspiracy based on an old English
law that prohibitedworkers from acting collectively,
or in a
conspiracy, to seek better wages (Dau-Schmidt,
1993).
Because today’s Americans are accustomed to
modern laws that protect union activity,
charging strikers
with such a crime may seem
incomprehensible; yet it was done, and done
successfully. The state of
Pennsylvania (the “commonwealth” in the case)brought

criminal charges against the strikers, including
one named Pullis as the defendant, in the
case Commonwealthv. Pullis. The state charged
that the
“defendants conspired and agreed that none of them
would work at the shoe making craft except at
certain specified prices higher than the price
which had theretofore customarily been
paid” (Commonwealth v. Pullis, 1806).
In otherwords, the accusation of criminal
conspiracy was based on the idea that the
workers demanded
a wagehigher than the market was willing to
pay them. The workers were also accused of
conspiring to
keep othercraftsmen from working except at the same
higher rate they demanded. Both actions were
considered illegal and conspiratorial. The defendants
were found guilty and ordered to pay fines
and the
cost of prosecution. These fines subsequently
bankrupted their union.
The threat of being charged with a crime
and successfully convicted put a chilling effect
on many

workers’ desire to form a union. Commonwealthv.
Pullis reflects the earlyclimate in the United
States
regarding opposition to unions. Scholars who look
back on the decision note how forcefully the
workers
were shut down in trying to unionize. It is
one thingfor courts to find civil or financial
liability, but
convicting workers of a criminal act was an
onerous and foreboding result (Swartz, 2004).
In a social context the decision also highlights
how little equality was offered to workers. Instead,
the
American system was much like that of Britain,
with distinct class systems. Prohibiting union
activity
prevents individuals from earning more money
and thus rising above their station in
life. Further,
keeping workers from unionizing by threatening
them with criminal charges would make any
worker
hesitant to question an employer, thus eliminating
any hint of democratic decision making in
the

workplace. In short, Pullis had a chilling
effect on laboractivity for the next four decades
(Conrad, 1997).
The outcome of cases such as Commonwealth
v. Pullis considerably dampened enthusiasm
for
organizing. Knowing they would go to jail or
pay heftyfines for union activity likely curbed
or entirely
halted such behavior from workers. Some
writers who comment on this era note that most of
the
strikers who were convicted were never sent to jail,
but instead ordered to pay fines (Lambert, 2005).
The criminal charges brought against them were
to frighten other workers and set an
example.
Whatever the philosophy of the time,by declaring it
illegal to act or conspire together to protest
one’s
wages, the decision of the courtmade workers
wary about participating in union activities.
This decision remained “good law” for some40 years.
This means that othercourts would also follow
or

abide by the decision that union activity was
illegal. It was not until 1846 that a
Massachusetts court
ruledthat the decision in Pullis was wrong,
replacing it in the case of Commonwealthv.
Hunt with exactly
the opposite view: that union formation was legal
and not conspiratorial.
Commonwealthv. Hunt (1846)
In the 40 years sincethe Pullis decision,
industrialization of the United States had
continued at a steady
clip. As more workers were thwarted in their attempts to
organize and conditions in factories worsened,
public opinion increasingly changed about the
need for unionization, which was reflected over
several
court decisions. Finally, in the case of
Commonwealth v. Hunt, the Supreme Judicial Court
of
Massachusetts stated unequivocally, and for the first
time, “that trade unions are per se lawful
organizations” (Perlman, 1922, ch. 7). This means
that once formed, a labor organization
will be

presumed to be legal, thus opening the door for
laborto organize without the threat of
criminal charges.
The courtstated, “This doctrine that working men
may lawfully organize tradeunions has been adopted
in nearly every case sinceCommonwealthv. Hunt”
(Perlman, 1922, p. 151).
More changes were on the horizon for America’s
workers. In 1861 the CivilWar began. In
addition to
heralding dramatic social and legal changes, the war
served as a major catalyst to further
industrialize
the country. Initially, the war accounted for an
immediate and drastic need for troop
supplies such as
food, clothing, weapons, cannons, and horse bridles.
As the war progressed, steel production
increased
dramatically, as did the need to expand roads,
canals, and thoroughfares to transport troops
and
equipment. Commerce rapidly expanded, with
dramatic and significant effects. The
Commonwealthcase
provided an important basisfor union formation in

the times that were to come, when
industry would
become ever larger and impersonal and workers
would strive for decent working conditions.
2.2 Early Labor Unions
This section introduces someof the earliest and
most significant labororganizations formed after
the
CivilWar ended in 1865, and into the 20th century
(see Table 2.1). As you read, note that although
each
of theseorganizations is a union, thereare
nevertheless fundamental differences in their
purpose, the
economic sectors they serve, and their ultimate ability
to survive.
Table 2.1: Early laborunions and associated
activities
Era 1866
–1874
1869
–1940s

1881
–1886
1886
–present (as
the AFL-
CIO)
1876–1942 1905
–present
Name of
union
National
Labor
Union
Knights of
Labor
Federation
of
Organized

Trades and
Labor
Unions
American
Federation
of Labor
Amalgamated
Association of
Iron and Steel
Workers
(evolved into
the United
Steelworkers)
Industrial
Workers of
the World
Founders Formed by
William

Sylvis
Formed by
Uriah
Smith
Stephens;
succeeded
by Terence
V.
Powderly
Samuel
Gompers
Goals of
the union
To
implement
an 8-hour
workday
To

implement
an 8-hour
workday
and a ban
on hiring
children
under age
14
To
implement
an 8-hour
workday
To work
toward large
organization
with power
to
implement

legislation
To obtain fair
wages for its
workers
To unite
workers in
the textile
millsfrom
many
backgrounds
and
nationalities
Era 1866
–1874
1869
–1940s
1881

–1886
1886
–present (as
the AFL-
CIO)
1876–1942 1905
–present
Major
strikes
Great
Railway
Strike in
1877
Reading
Railroad
Massacre
Battle of
the Viaduct

Great
Southwest
Strike of
1886
Haymarket
Square
Riot in
1886
Homestead
Strike in 1892
Lawrence
Textile Strike
in 1912
The National Labor Union (1866–1874)
The National Labor Union was not the first union
in the United States, but it was the first to
achieve a
national identity, become somewhat recognizable to
the common man, and enjoy a continuity of
more

than a few years. It was formed at the end of
the CivilWar by William Sylvis, a
Pennsylvania native and
iron molder. His goal was to form a union for
everyone, no matter their occupation or
whether they
were skilled or unskilled.
As you will see later in this chapter, most unions
would eventually be formed around a
specific type of
work or occupation. The National Labor Union,
however, was aimed at “uniting workers across
occupations and achieving economic and social
reforms, including the eight-hour working day”
(William
H. Sylvis Historical Marker, 2011, para.
5). It fought for better wages and shorter
hours, but more
significantly, it also entered the political arena.
Sylvis was especially interested in issues of
the day that
included prison laborand land reform laws.
The idea that a union would accept members of
all occupations and engage in political
activity was
radical in the 1800s. Nevertheless, the union

attracted a largeconstituency. In 1869 the
Chicago Tribune
approximated it had about 800,000 members,
whereas Sylvis estimated it was 600,000. It is
likely that
both estimates are exaggerated, but nevertheless, the
organization did represent a largeportion of
the
nation’s laborforce. At its height, it likely
had between 200,000 and 400,000 members (Grob,
1954).
Although the union was successfulfor 7 years, by
1874 it was totally defunct; the reason most
often
given is that it tried to represent too many
different and varying interests.
The Great Railway Strike (1877)
©Corbis
The Great Railway Strike of 1877, which
began in response to a pay cut,
demonstrated the need for a cohesive
organization of workers.

Watch This
For more information about the
Great Railway Strike of 1877, watch
https://www .youtube.com/watch?
v=dHE3u5KkEZw
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=dHE3u5KkEZw)
During the CivilWar, industry could barely keep up
with
the demand for rifles, railroad tracks, cannon
balls, and
the like. But by the beginning of the 1870s, the
war had
been over for 5 years; demand was down and
the
country underwent a major economic contraction.
In
addition to the war’s end, many people had
invested
heavily in the further development of railroads.
Towns
and cities vied for the opportunity to have

rails come
into their communities and issued bonds to
finance
them. Many railroads were overbuilt,
meaning there
were too many lines running through the same
places.
There was not enough business or demand to
support
the availability of lines throughout the country,
which led
to the longest depression in the nation’s history:
It lasted
for 65 months, from 1873 to 1879 (Barreyre,2011).
It was during this economic downturn that the Great
Railway Strike of 1877 occurred. Workers
formed a wildcat strike that had an enormous
effect on how unions would be thereafter
viewed. A
wildcat strike is organized by the workers without
the blessing of union leadership. The strike
began
when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad announced a
pay cut of 10% for all of its workers. As
soon as the

workers went on strike, the railroad responded
by hiring new workers to take their place,
which
infuriated the strikers. In retaliation, they refused to
let the new hires work; they stopped the trains
by
stepping onto the tracks or blocking their passage.
Commerce ground to a halt as the strike
spread and
the rail cars sat idle on the tracks.
The strike started in Martinsburg, West Virginia,
and spread to
Wheeling, West Virginia, then to Baltimore and
Chicago.
According to Harper’s Weekly, a newspaper of
the time,strikers
blocked 1,500 freight cars and 13 locomotives on
the side tracks
in Martinsburg and in Pittsburgh. “At midnight
fully 1400 men
had gathered in the two yards, and 1500 cars were
standing on
the sidings, 200 of which contained perishablegoods”
(The Great

Strike, n.d., para 3). As the strike escalated and
trains cameto a
halt across the nation, the strikers were viewed
with disdain by
the public. Maryland governor John Carroll called
for military
action to quellthe strikers, as described in an
excerpt from Harper’s Weekly:
The next day was a bloody one in the history of
the strike on the Baltimore and Ohio road.The
blockade at Martinsburg had been raised, and trains
were again running both ways under the
protection of the national troops. But on the
afternoon of the 20th,word reached Baltimore
that all the freight trains leaving Martinsburg
that day were stopped at Cumberland, and the
crews taken from them by the strikers. Governor
Carroll at once issued a proclamation and
ordered out the Statemilitia. The sound of the
fire-bells summoning the men to their armories
created the wildest excitement. Baltimore and
other streets of the city had been crowded
during the day with throngs of citizens, anxiously
watching the bulletin-boards at the different

newspaper offices and discussing the situation. As
the alarm pealed forth, the crowds made
their way toward the armories of the different
regiments. That of the Sixth is at Front
and
Fayette streets, and in a neighborhood which is
inhabited by the poorer classes, and much of
the rough element frequents it. Within half an
hour after the call had been sounded, a crowd
Courtesy Everett Collection
This portrait shows the founders of the
Knights of Labor, one of the earliest,
largest, and most sustained laborunions
of the 1800s.
numbering at least 2000 men, women,
and children surrounded the armory and loudly
expressed their feelings against the military and in
favor of the strikers. At half past seven
the
streets leading to the armory were crowded with a
struggling, shouting, and cursing mob. The

sight of a man in uniform endeavoring to get
into the building was the signal for an
outbreak,
and he was rushed upon, seized, and thrown
over a bridge into Jones’s Falls’ stream
which runs
through that section of the city. Others were thrown
over the heads of the surging mass, and
were glad to escape with slight injuries. At this
juncture someone threw a block at the
soldier
on guard at the door of the armory. (The Great
Strike, n.d., para 4)
The uprising became known as “The Great
Strike” and demonstrated the need for a
cohesive
organization if any goals were to be
accomplished. As one historian pointed out:
Far from seeking to destroy modern civilization,
labor leaders were busy in the
aftermath of
1877 building new, more inclusive institutions of
civil society. The aggressive crowd
actions—and even more, the myriad instances of
unity across lines of skill, trade,
ethnicity,

religion and sex—made it clear to many
labor leaders that new forms of organization and
action for incorporating the unskilled laborers and
factory hands were both necessary and
possible. (Stowell, 2008, p. 95)
Perhaps one of the greatest effects of the strike
was the expansion of the Knights of Labor,
the labor
organization that dominated the late 1800s.
The Knights of Labor (1869–1940s)
Part secret society, part fraternal organization replete
with a secret handshake and initiation process,
the
Knights of Labor was one of the most
successful
attempts at union formation of this era.
Formed by a
group of six garment cutters in Philadelphia in
1869, the
organization sought to protect all wage
earners, no
matter their craft.

The driving force for the Knights was Uriah
Smith
Stephens, a tailor who molded much of the
organization
on the Masons (or Freemasons), which began as
a
fraternity of men who were stonemasons. As the
fraternity grew, more types of workers were
admitted.
Members made pledges, prayed, sang songs,
had secret
handshakes, and swore an oath to the Knights.
When
later taken over by Terence V. Powderly, who
focused
the agenda much more on worker’s rights,
many of the
original rituals disappeared. Powderly instead
concentrated on getting an 8-hour day for all
workers and
prohibiting children under age 14 being hired
for factory work. By 1882 it was no
longer a secret
organization; by 1886 it was the most

powerful labor force in the country, with more
than 700,000
members (Phelan, 2000).
In the 1880s the Knights had a strong toehold
on John Mundell and Company, Philadelphia’s largest
shoe
manufacturer. When the company tried to re-hire
workers at a reduced wage, the workers
refused. The
company relented but took the pay cut out on the
women in the factory, who went on strike.
The men
Watch This
Knights of Labor, watch
https://www.youtube.com /watch?
v=htNWwcZSupE
v=htNWwcZSupE)
Watch This

Haymarket Square Riot, watch
soon joined them, and none of Mundell’s
700 workers reported to work. Not only did this
result in
women being admitted to the Knights as
members, but the strike was successful and the
workers’
demands were met (Montgomery, n.d.).
The Knights gained further momentum with the
Great Railway Strike of 1877. Sixteen
citizens were shot
by the state militia in Reading, Pennsylvania, in
what came to be known as the
Reading Railroad
Massacre. The strike next spread to Illinois in
July 1877, with the Battle of the Viaduct in
Chicago. It
then spilled into St. Louis, Missouri, where it
was finally quashed by federal troops. The
success of these
strikes led to increased membership in the Knights
of Labor and confidence in their cause
(Ohio History,
n.d.).
In 1886 the Knights organized the Great

Southwest Strike, which took place predominantly in
southwestern states. The Knights began their
strike against the Wabash Railroad, owned by
financier
and railroad developer Jay Gould, a famous
industrialist of the time. The strike against
Gould failed,
however, which began a downturn in the
Knights’ power.
Like the National Labor Union before it, the
Knights had a progressive agenda in that they
welcomed
laborers and farmers, African Americans, and
eventually women. The framework had no
provision for
grouping workers by occupation, however, and this
turned out to contribute to its subsequent
downfall.
Nevertheless, the significant role the Knights played
in American laborhistory cannot be understated.
This organization bridged the gap between the craft
union era and the heavily industrialized state
that
grew into a world power. The Knights flourished
as an organization, attracting huge numbers of

members and gaining great power, prestige, and
notoriety. The organization led the labor movement
into the next century, and although it did not
survive, it set the bar for the organizations
that followed
(Weir, 2006). The Knights’ numbers diminished to
fewer than 100,000 members by the 1890s,
down
from a high of 800,000 in 1869.
Federation of OrganizedTrades and Labor
Unions (1881–1886)
Unlike the Knights of Labor, which wanted to
be all-inclusive,
master craftsmen sought a union that admitted
only skilled labor.
The resulting organization was the Federation of
Organized
Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU). This group
was created in
1881 and was the precursor to the modern-day
American
Federation of Labor.

As part of its initial agenda, the FOTLU
announced that on May 1, 1886, a
nationwide strike would take
place to declare that workers should have an
8-hour day. The movementgained momentum
throughout
the United States, and in Chicago alone a
reported 80,000 workers marched up Michigan
Avenue in
support of the concept. After May 1 all
workers who were not granted an 8-hour day
were to cease
working until their employersmet this demand (Adelman,
2010).
On May 3 the strike turned violent at the
McCormick Reaper
Plantin Chicago when police killed picketing
workers. In protest
to this violence against the strikers, union
activists rallied the
next nightat a place called Haymarket Square.
Reportedly, there
were only about 200 workers at the rally when
176 policemen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=_
OQxncb2ihQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
v=_OQxncb2ihQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player)
carrying Winchester repeater rifles attacked them.
Someone in
the crowd retaliated by throwing a dynamite bomb,
which killed
seven policemen and four workers. Outraged,
Chicago declared
martial law, and authorities undertook a
house-to-house search
to find the person who threw the bomb.
Eventually, eight men
who were later described as a cross-section of
union activists
were rounded up and put on trial for murder
(Adelman, 2010).
Despite the fact that therewas much doubt about
whether they were even at the Haymarket Square

Riot, the eight men were convicted of murder
and sentenced to death by hanging. The
incident gave
antilabor governments around the world the
opportunity to crush local union movements
(Adelman,
2010). As for the 8-hour workday, it was not
until 1938 and the passage of the Fair Labor
Standards Act
that this now commonly accepted standard became
law.
The American Federation of Labor and Samuel
Gompers (1886–Present as the
AFL-CIO)
Despite limiting itself to skilled workers, the
FOTLU, like its predecessors, began to unravel.
Issues
contributing to its downfall included what role
politics should play in the organization, the
country’s
economic downturn, and the Haymarket Square
Riot. Aware that their strength lay in organizing,
workers were highly motivated to form an organization
that could represent them collectively.

As a result, a collection of tradeunions met in
1886 and created a new union, the American
Federation of
Labor, or the AFL, the precursor to today’s
American Federation of Labor and Congress of
Industrial
Organizations (AFL-CIO). By 1904 the AFL had
1,750,000 members and consisted of 115 national
and
international unions composed of 28,000 local unions
in 38 states (Hearings, 1912). The
following is a
list of the initial national unions that formed
the AFL:
Typographical Workers
Iron and SteelWorkers
Molders
Glass Workers
Cigar Makers
Carpenters
Central Labor Councils of 11 Cities
42 Local Unions

46 Local Assemblies of the Knights of Labor
(LeBlanc, P., n.d.)
The AFL is one of the best-known craft unions. It
sought to unite
skilled craftsmen, rather than skilled and
unskilled, in order to
Samuel P. Gompers served as the
first president of the American
Federation of Labor.
Watch This
For more information about Samuel
Gompers, watch this video
v=rnNIcHpNfgU&list=PLHZi3eLSKGhSPLHlHMIWeBxaHhl9T
KvEF)
demand a higher wage. Its first president, Samuel
Gompers, who
held that position until his death in 1924,
brought together
craftsmen such as masons, cigar makers, and

hat makers who
each had their own local unions but joined together in
a national
union of skilled workers. Gompers reasoned that
skilled workers made a better union
because they were
in high demand and were paid the highest wages
(Digital History, 2013).
The election of Gompers as president in 1886 at
age 36 was the culmination of a remarkable
personal
journey. Born in England, Gompers and his family
immigrated to New York City where a young
Samuel
became a cigar maker. In those days there
was no factory. Instead, the process of making
cigars took
place in tenements, apartments, and rooms
that anyone could find in which to sit
and roll cigars. The 16-
hour workdays and poor working conditions made
this particular job one of the many that took
place in
so-called sweatshops (Yellowitz, 1989).
How did Gompers advance from being a laborer to
a laborleader? The cigarshop in which he

worked
was large, and he was highly respected by his
fellow workers. They elected him to a local
union, the
Cigar Makers Union Local 144, and from therehe
was sent as a delegate to the FOTLU, where
he quickly
emerged as a leader. After the Haymarket
Square Riot and the dwindling of union
membership in the
FOTLU, Gompers worked with otherlaborleaders to
reorganize and begin a new union. He
was known
as a street-smart and savvy individual but also as
a pragmatist who wanted to unitetradeunions
under
one umbrella in a new organization.
The initial objective of the AFL was to help
more trade unions
form, combine the power of all the trade
unions into one
organization, and then have that largeand powerful
organization
work to implement legislation. The New York
Tribune, a leading

newspaper of the time, summed up the AFL
this way: “An
amalgamation has been formed which will result, it
is hoped, in
the establishment of an organization fully as
powerful, better
disciplined and more conservative than the
Knights of
Labor” (The American Federation, 1886, para. 1).
Samuel Gompers succeeded where others before
him
had failed: He was able to unitea disparate group
of workers into one organization that worked
for the
common man. His legacy lives on today, and he is
still widely regarded as one of the most
progressive
and able laborleaders ever (Yellowitz, 1989).
Violence erupted during a laborstrike at
the Homestead SteelWorks in 1892.
2.3 Growth of Industry and Worker Unrest

As the United States moved forward into the
20th century, the country experienced enormous
industrial
growth. The steel industry became a world
leader in production under the direction of
Andrew
Carnegie, and otherindustries such as cotton mills
flourished, too. But with the expansion of
industry
and the prosperity that followed, the gap between wealthy
owners and poor laborers became even more
pronounced, leading to tension, strikes, and
occasional violence.
The Rise of Steeland the Homestead Strike (1892)
While the Knights of Labor and the AFL
were thriving and the craft industry was expanding,
great
strides were also underway in another sector—the
steel industry. In the 1860s a new
process for
making steel called the Bessemer process made it
possible to manufacture steel at much lower
costs. A
leading industrialist of the day, Andrew Carnegie,
figured out how to use the Bessemer process to
manufacture steel rails for the railroads. Up to this

point, therewere no cheap or expedient ways to
make rails,and his innovation led to the
creation of huge steel millsunder the name of
Carnegie Steel,
located in Pittsburgh.
Carnegie played a formidable role in American
history. As the leading businessman of his
time and the
wealthiest of his era, he is viewed by some as
an American success story. In the context of
labor
relations, however, Carnegie’s reputation is mixed,
with someregarding him as an enemy of labor,
while
others respected the business he built and the jobs he
provided to so many workers.
Carnegie did not come from wealth. His parents
were
poor and he worked at a young age. Among
his earliest
jobs was being a runner, or messenger. In
the late 1800s
one of the only means of communication was the
use of

messenger boys, who ran notes from one
person to
another. In his role as a runner, Carnegie made
a pointof
learning every man’s name to whom he
delivered
messages. In this way he quickly learned about
the
businessmen of Pittsburgh. Over time he
befriended
many of them, and they taught him about
business—specifically, the railroad business.
He used these connections to advance from
telegraph
boy at a telegraph company to general manager of
the
railroad by his early 20s, all the while
absorbing
information about investing and finance. He saved
money and invested wisely, based on stock
tips from
the men he had befriended while a runner.
After the CivilWar ended, he acquired enough
money to

purchase a highly profitable petroleum enterprise and
soon was part owner in a steel-rolling mill,
which
expanded into his vast steel holdings.
One of Carnegie’s holdings was the Bessemer Iron
Works in Pittsburgh, which he merged with
Carnegie Steel. After making a substantial
part of his fortune, Carnegie went to live in
Scotland and
turned over the dailyminutiae of running the millsto
Henry Clay Frick. Carnegie admired Frick’s
harsh
approach to laborissues and trusted him implicitly
(Standiford, 2005).
Like Carnegie, Frick was born into a relatively poor
family. Although his grandfather was the founder
of
Old Overholt, a rye whiskey distillery in
Pennsylvania, the money did not benefit Frick’s
generation, and
he worked for much of his childhood. As a
teenager Frick learned how to convert the
vast deposits of
coal in the mountains of Pennsylvania into coke,
a product needed to make steel. When

Frick met
Carnegie in 1881, it was an especially
fortuitous time since Frick had at his disposal
vast quantities of
coke, which Carnegie, the owner of steel mills,
was in need of. They sealed a deal whereby
Frick became
the provider of all the coke for Carnegie’s
mills. Carnegie and Frick soon became
partners and had an
interesting, complicated, and powerful partnership
for the next 20 years (Standiford, 2005).
Over time, Carnegie made Frick the general
manager of Carnegie Steel; when Carnegie began
to spend
more time in Scotland, Frick ran the mills.
Carnegie considered Frick a genius at
management and
approved of Frick’s methods, even when they were
cutthroat (PBS, 1999). Steelmill employees
worked a
14-hour day and had just one day off a year, on
the Fourth of July. For this they earned 14
centsan hour.
Carnegie and Frick’s steel millswere the most competitive
and the most productive, making fortunes for

both of them.
As the steel business expanded and more
workers were hired, a new union formed in
1876 in
Pittsburgh. It consisted solely of men who
worked in steel and was called the
Amalgamated
Association of Iron and SteelWorkers. It brought
together workers in the iron and steel industry
who
believed that banding together, no matter their
job in the mill, would empower them against
management (Wright, 1893).
By the 1890s the Amalgamated Association of
Iron and Steelworkers had an estimated 13,000 to
24,000
members. The men who formed the association were
already established at the Homestead Steel
Works, located in Pennsylvania, when Carnegie
purchased it in 1883 and added it to his
vast empire of
holdings. Given Carnegie’s strict antiunion policy
in his mills, the union and Carnegie
seemed destined

for conflict.
Prior to Carnegie’s acquisition of Homestead,
Amalgamated had successfully negotiated a
contract in
which workers were paid on a sliding scaledirectly
correlated to the priceof steel: The higher
the price
of steel, the more the workers earned. When
times were good and prices and
demand were up, the
workers insisted on a larger share of money.
They entered into such a contract, and it was
effective for
threeyears.
The contract was set to expire in 1892, and
Carnegie seemed determined to break the union
once and
for all. He put Frick in charge of the dispute
and went to Scotland, keeping in touch
only by telegraph.
Frick made clear that the sliding scale
arrangement was to be abolished; he refused to
recognize
Amalgamated and would not bargain. The workers
began to strike in one segment of the plant
after

another. They refused to allow replacements to
go into the plant to do their jobs.
These replacements,
known disdainfully as scabs, were effectively
chased out of town.
Frick was prepared for Homestead to shut down.
He erected a large fortress around the
plant, which
later became known as Fort Frick. The “fort”
had searchlights, barbed wire,and high walls
with cutouts
where rifles could be placed to shoot
from inside the walls. Frick presented his
wageoffer but refused to
meet to discuss any of its terms, essentially
locking out the union from negotiations. At
stake was the
issueof whether wages should control the priceof
steel or the priceof steel should control wages.
Next, Frick had the workers evicted from
company housing. Women were carried out into
the streets by
the sheriff. Frick then fortified the steel mill by
hiring 300 guards to protect the plantfrom
the strikers.

Watch This
To learnmore about the Homestead
Strike, watch
http://www.aflcio.org/About/Our-
History /Key-Events-in-Labor-
History/1892-Home stead-Strike
(http://www.aflcio.org/About/Our-
History/Key-Events-in-Labor-
History/1892-Homestead-Strike)
The guards were not located at Homestead,
however; they had to be brought to the plant.
Frick made
arrangements for the guards to come down
the river via barge.
It was well known that guards had been hiredand
were in the process of traveling to the plantby
river.
More than 10,000 strikers gathered on the river
banks to await their arrival. As the barge
pulled up to
the dock, gunfire erupted. It was never
determined who fired the first shot, but seven
guards and nine

strikers were killed and many others
seriously injured. After an all-day melee, the
guards tried to
surrender and were escorted off the barges by the
strikers, only to be attacked by the mob onshore
as
they walked the gauntlet. The strike continued.
Eventually, after numerous attempts by different
factions, the
state militia finally arrived at Homestead and
quelled the riot.
With an armed forcein charge, the company was
then able to hire
replacement workers to get the plant up and
running, and the
strike cameto an end. From Carnegie and Frick’s
perspective, one
could conclude that the strike was a success:
The Carnegie Steel
Company remained without a union for the next 40
years (Brody,
1969).
Some of the strikers were arrested, and 16
were tried for

conspiracy and murder. The union spent its
time, energy, and
finances defending those members; the strain on its
coffers and
the loss of jobs resulted in the union’s ruination. In
the end only one of the workers was convicted of
a
crime and sentenced to serve time.
The lingering effects of the violence and the bad
impression it left on the American public,
however,
remained long after the strike was over.Shortly
thereafter, Carnegie instituted lower wages
and longer
hours. Frick, however, may be considered a
casualty of the strike. He and Carnegie worked
together at
arm’s length for someyears and eventually
had a falling out in 1899, at which
time Carnegie bought him
out for some$32 million. Frick went on to found
United States Steel, as discussed in the
next chapter.
The reputations of both Carnegie and Frick,
however, were forever tarnished by the events of
the

Homestead Strike (Standiford, 2005).
The Early 20th Century and the Lawrence Textile
Strike of 1912
Steel was not the only major manufacturing enterprise
in the United States. Another large and
flourishing industry located predominantly in the
northeast consisted of textile mills. The mills
were
large, impersonal places to work with dangerous
machinery and poor working conditions.
Workers got
sick from inhaling dust and clothfibers, caught limbs
in the poorly maintained machinery, and
generally
suffered from debilitating conditions and long hours.
Unskilled workers were allowed to run the machinery,
and as a result, the millsemployed thousands of
women and children who toiled for $6 per week
that oftenincluded 6 or 7 working days.
When their
long workday was over,workers returned home to a
crowded and dirty tenement building where there
was little food to sustain them.

One of the largest employersof the time was the
American Woolen Mills in Lawrence,
Massachusetts.
The intolerable conditions at places like the
American Woolen Mills made joining a
union appealing to
the workers, and rising from the conditions of
the time was the Industrial Workers of the
World
(IWW), whose members cameto be known as
Wobblies (Green, 1993). The IWW was
considered by
many to be a radical organization because it
adhered to the belief that militant action
was necessary to
improve the lives of its members, and it was
determined to represent the mill workers.
One daunting problem facing the IWW’s attempts at
unification was the varied backgrounds of
its
members, who were immigrants from widely diverse
places such as Poland, Italy, and Ireland. It
was a
daunting task to organize workers who spoke a
variety of languages, practiced different
customs, and

held strong but varying beliefs about
unionization.
Nevertheless, the IWW was successfulin organizing
a significant number of the workers and
planned a
strike when the state of Massachusetts passed a
law requiring that the workweek be reduced from 56
to
54 hours, which went into effect on January 1,
1912. In response to the decreased hours—
which meant a
corresponding cut in wages—the mills deducted
money from their workers’ wages to
represent the
fewer hours worked. The first to notice the
reduction in their wages were the Polish women
working in
the Everett, Massachusetts, cotton mills. They walked
out of the plant, leaving the millsidle. Soon
both
men and women went on strike, and within a
weektherewere 20,000 strikers; it was estimated
that
more than 25 nationalities were represented in the
strike, which included workers of German,
Italian,

Polish, Scottish, and Lithuanian descent (Lawrence
Textile Strike, 2014).
The women estimated that the pay cuts translated
into two to three fewer loaves of bread a
week,
resulting in the now famous phrase shouted by
the strikers, “We want bread and roses too.”
The
immediate reaction was to send in the militia to
quellthe strike; workers were attacked with water
hoses from the rooftops of adjoining houses.
Workers contacted the IWW to assist them
with the strike,
and the IWW sent Joe Ettor and Arturo
Giovannitti, who came to unite the workers
and form a
democratic means of representing them.
A Closer Look: Bread and Roses Today
The rallying cry of the women at the American
Woolen Mills may seema distant historical
incident, but “bread and roses” is alive and still
part of American laborculture.
A movie by that name, released in 2000,
depicted the struggle of workers in Los
Angeles who

worked at nightcleaning downtownoffice buildings.
The dichotomy between rich and poor was
just as evident for the janitors as it was for
the women in the mills.
The workers eventually formed an alliance named
Justice for Janitors, which is an example of
a
ground-uporganization that succeeded in attaining its
demands. The storyis especially intriguing
because the workers used unconventional methods such as
“housevisits, face-to-face organizing,
member-intensive organizing and strategic analyses of
the political and economic contexts, and
organizational renewal of moribund locals” (Milkman &
Voss, 2004).
One important tenet of the union was its belief in
respectingthe language and culture of each of
the
groups working in the mill, no matter what country
they camefrom. Rather than division, the IWW
sought to bring the workers together in a
bid to gain better working conditions. Women
played a

significant role in the Lawrence Textile Strike,
not just because they were the key workers at
the mill,
but because they insisted on a nonviolent
approach, oftenmarching at the front of strike
parades in an
attempt to keep violence down.
National attention was drawn to the strike because
the women sent their children out of town by
train to
protect them. The children were sent to New York
City, where they took place in parades and
otherwise
drew attention to the strike. As a result, the
next time the strikers tried to send more children on
the
trains, the militia showed up and tried to wrest
the children away from their mothers (Kornbluh &
Thompson, 1998). This resulted in massive
publicity and eventual hearings in Congress. After
the
hearings commenced, the mill owners backed down
and granted concessions to the strikers. The
strikers
received what they originally asked for: wage

increases between 5% and 25%, compensation
for
working overtime, and no retribution against the
strikers.
At the congressional hearings on the strike, one
woman’s testimony stood out. Her name was
Camella
Teoli, and she was just a teenager when she
appeared before Congress. Some of her
testimony is as
follows:
CHAIRMAN. Camella, how old are you?
Miss TEOLI. Fourteen years and eightmonths.
CHAIRMAN. How many children are therein your
family?
Miss TEOLI. Five.
CHAIRMAN. Where do you work?
Miss TEOLI. In the woolen mill.
CHAIRMAN. What sort of work do you do?
Miss TEOLI. Twisting.
CHAIRMAN. How much do you get a week?
Miss TEOLI. $6.55.

CHAIRMAN. What is the smallest pay?
Miss TEOLI. $2.64.
CHAIRMAN. Do you have to pay anything for water?
Miss TEOLI. Yes.
CHAIRMAN. How much?
Miss TEOLI. 10 centsevery two weeks.
CHAIRMAN. Now, did you ever get hurt in the
mill?
Miss TEOLI. Yes.
CHAIRMAN. Well, how were you hurt?
Miss TEOLI. The machine pulled the scalpoff.
CHAIRMAN. The machine pulled your scalpoff?
Miss TEOLI. Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN. How long ago was that?
Miss TEOLI. A year ago, or about a year ago.
CHAIRMAN. Were you in the hospital after that?
Miss TEOLI. I was in the hospital seven months.

CHAIRMAN. Did the company pay your bills while
you were in the hospital?
Miss TEOLI. The company only paid my bills; they
didn’t give me anything else.
CHAIRMAN. They only paid your hospital bills; they
did not give you any pay?
Miss TEOLI. No, sir.
CHAIRMAN. But paid the doctors bills and hospital
fees?
Miss TEOLI. Yes, sir.
Mr. LENROOT. They did not pay your wages?
Miss TEOLI. No, sir. (Camella Teoli testifies, n.d.)
In the News: From Lawrence to Bangladesh—Is
It Any Better for
Factory Workers Today?
Based on the article, Despite Low Pay, Poor Work
Conditions, Garment Factories Empowering
Millions of Bangladeshi Women, by Palash Ghosh.
International Business Times (March 25, 2014).
The intolerable conditions at the American Woolen
Mills in Lawrence,Massachusetts, that
eventually led to the successfulstrike by the
Wobblies took place in 1912, more than 100

years
ago. Textile millsin the United States have now
been replaced by millsoverseas, with Bangladesh
second only to China in terms of production.
Bangladesh has closeto 6,000 garment factories
and exports the majority of goods, generating
more than $20 billion in annual revenues. The entire
country depends on theseexports to prop
up its immensely poor population. It was under
this sort of economic pressure that in April
2013,
the dilapidated conditions at the Rana Plaza
factory on the outskirts of Dhaka led to its
collapse. It
is considered the deadliest garment factory
accident in history: 1,129 workers were buried
alive
and another 2,515 injured (Ghosh, 2014). Read
the following article about this calamity and
then
answer the questions below:
http://www.ibtimes.com/despite -low-pay-poor-work-
conditions-garment-factories-empowering-millions-bangladeshi

-women-1563419
(http://www.ibtimes.com/despite-low-pay-poor-work-conditions
-garment-factories-empowering-
millions-bangladeshi-women-1563419) .
Discussion Questions
1. To what lengths should employersgo to ensure
the health and safety of their workers?
Are thereany aspects of health and safety for
which employersshould not be
responsible?
2. How would you as a manager handle a
situation in which employees were placed in
an
unsafe environment and the owners of the
business did not care?
3. Do you thinkthat managers and/or owners should
be personally liable for deaths and
injuries that result from workplacecatastrophes?
4. How do you thinkunion representation benefits
workers in such circumstances?
5. How could the formation of a union in an
unsafe factory lead to better working
conditions

for the employees?
By the end of the 19th century, the labormovement
had come a long way. From the shopkeepers
in the
beginning of the century to the AFL and IWW
at its end, labor had experienced great
strides in
organizing successfulunions and affecting changes in
working conditions; but it had also experienced
violence and had yet to universally achieve better
working conditions, wages, and hours for all
workers.
Americans were starting to become more outraged at
the treatment their fellow workers received both
at the hands of the factory owners and by
police sent in to stop the riots. Their
disbelief led to anger and
demands that working conditions change, setting
the stage for the significant legislation about
to be
passed by Congress and state governments.
Labor History

Summary & Resources
Summary of Chapter Concepts
• The 1700s and 1800s featured rural farms
and master craftsmen who ran their own shops.
Master craftsmen ran businesses in which they
knew their employees, understood their needs,
and treated them as individuals.
• The Industrial Revolution took place during
the mid- to late 1800s, during which there
was an
influx of cheap labor, a massive expansion of
railways, the start of numerous factories, the
requirement to arm soldiers for the CivilWar, and
later, the importance of meeting the needs
of
a growing population.
• As travel and commerce began to crossstate lines,
so did competition, making businesses more
cost-conscious.This oftenresulted in lower wages,
which caused worker disgruntlement.
• Commonwealth v. Pullis held that workers who
joined together to strike were engaging in
illegal

conspiracy. This antiunion decision was not overturned
for some40 years until the decision in
Commonwealthv. Hunt, which held that tradeunions
are per se lawful organizations.
• The first major union in the United States
was the National Labor Union, which was
founded for
any workers, skilled or unskilled, and sought an
8-hour workday and better wages.
• The Great Railway Strike in 1877 shut down
the nation’s railroads and resulted in extensive
damage to railroad property; it ended only when
the militia was called in to quellthe strike.
This
strike demonstrated the need for a cohesive, strong
organization.
• The Knights of Labor reached a forceof
700,000 workers, who were socialisticin outlook.
They
also focused on achieving an 8-hour workday and on
prohibiting children under age 14 from
being hiredfor work. The group dwindled in
membership in part because its acceptance of
all
types of workers blurred its focus.

• The fall of the Knights of Labor occurred as
the Federation of OrganizedTrades and Labor
Unions was rising. This group limited its
membership to only skilled workers but was
decimated
by the Haymarket Square Riot.
• The American Federation of Labor emerged as
a powerful successor to FOTLU. Under the
leadershipof Samuel Gompers, it became an
amalgamation of 38 tradeunions and quickly
reached a membership of closeto 2 million.
• The late 1800s also featured the rise of the
steel industry and the emergence of Henry
Clay Frick
and Andrew Carnegie. Despite their brilliance in
building the steel industry, Carnegie and Frick’s
actions during the Homestead Strike raised
serious issues about their treatment of
workers.
• In the textile industry a strike in which
women demanded “bread and roses” became a
national
event.

Chapter 2 Review Quiz
Chapter 2 Flashcards
Key Terms
Amalgamated Association of Iron and SteelWorkers
A union made up of workers in the steel
industry in Pittsburghin the late 1800s.
American Federation of Labor
An amalgamation of tradeunions founded by Samuel
Gompers in the early1900s.
apprentices
Young men who trained in a shop to learna
skill.
Battle of the Viaduct
An uprising that was an offshoot of the Great
Railway Strike of 1877 and occurred in
Chicago, Illinois.
Bessemer Iron Works
Part of the largesteel holdings of Andrew Carnegie.

Andrew Carnegie
A steel magnate and head of Carnegie Steelduring
the Homestead Strike.
Carnegie Steel
The name of the steel plants owned by Andrew
Carnegie.
Commonwealthv. Hunt
A law case that held that forming a laborunion is
per se legal; it overturned the decision in
Commonwealthv. Pullis.
Commonwealthv. Pullis
A law case that held that forming a laborunion is
an illegal and criminal conspiracy; it was
overturned
by Commonwealthv. Hunt.
conspiracy
When two or more people join together and plan a
crime.
cordwainers

The name given to earlyshoemakers.
Federation of OrganizedTrades and Labor Unions
(FOTLU)
A union that formed in the 1880s and
admitted only skilled labor. It declared the
strike at the
McCormick Reaper Plantthat led to the Haymarket
Square Riot.
Henry Clay Frick
An entrepreneur who was a colleague of Andrew
Carnegie and who ran the Homestead SteelWorks
during the Homestead Strike; the violence and
death during that strike are attributed to
him.
Samuel Gompers
A union activist and one of the founders of
the American Federation of Labor, the
precursor to the
AFL-CIO.
Jay Gould
A financier and railroad developer to whom a
greateconomic crash is attributed in the 1880s;
it led to

the Great SouthwestStrike.
Great Railway Strike of 1877
A particularly bloody and violent strike that
took place against the nation’s railroads in
1877 and led
to the formation of the Knights of Labor; also
known as the Great Strike.
Great SouthwestStrike
A strike organized by the Knights of Labor in
1886.
Haymarket Square Riot
A riot that took place as a result of a
strike by FOTLU on the McCormick Reaper
Plantin 1886.
Homestead SteelWorks
One of Carnegie’s steel plants; the site of the
Homestead Strike.
Industrial Revolution
An era in U.S. history spanning the years 1820 to
1840, during which therewas a tremendous
growth
in industry.
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

A union based on socialist principles that arose
out of the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912.
journeymen
Apprentices in a workshop; young men who
learned a tradeby assisting in a shop.
Knights of Labor
One of the earliest, largest, and most sustained labor
unions of the 1800s, which sought to be
inclusive
of both skilled and unskilled laborand worked to
implement an 8-hour workday.
master craftsmen
Skilled tradesmen who oftenstarted as apprentices in
a shop.
National Labor Union
One of the earliest unions formed (1866–1873)
that represented workers and sought an 8-hour
workday.
Terence V. Powderly
The successor to Uriah Smith Stephens as

president of the Knights of Labor.
Reading Railroad Massacre
Part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877; a
shooting in Reading, Pennsylvania, that resulted in
16
casualties.
scabs
A derogatory term for workers who replace people
on strike.
Uriah Smith Stephens
The founder of the laborunion the Knights of
Labor.
William Sylvis
The founder of the National Labor Union.
wildcat strike
A strike organized by the workers without the
permission or blessing of union
management.
Wobblies
The name given to the members of the
Industrial Workers of the World; the term has no
clear origin

or explanation.
Critical Thinking Questions
1. What were the driving forces that led people to
sacrifice so much to form unions? Was it
worth
it? What benefits were derived? What sacrifices
were made?
2. Compare and contrast the first unions. What
did they have in common? What are someof
the
distinctions between them? What unions had
conservative philosophies? Which ones were more
liberal?
3. Violence played a largerole in the formation of
the earlyunions. To what do you attribute this?
What part did the unions play in creating
situations that engendered violence? What part
did the
government play?
4. How did the economic boom and depression in
the 19th century contribute to both the
development and destruction of unions?
Research Projects

1. Watch the film The Homestead SteelStrike of
1892 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=1NljbZAGk0w
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NljbZAGk0w) .
a. After watching the film, describe the strike from
the viewpoint of the steel workers and
then from the viewpoint of the Pinkerton guards.
b. Some commentators have stated that the strike
was both a victory and a defeat for
organized labor. In your opinion, what does this mean?
c. Martha Frick Sanger, great-granddaughter of Henry
Clay Frick, appears in the film. What
position does she take about her greatgrandfather’s
actions in the strike?
d. What is your opinion of the strike after
watching the movie? Has your opinion changed
sincereading the chapter?
2. The labormovementhas many heroes, from Samuel
Gompers to the Wobblies. Much
information and research about earlylaborleaders is
available on the Internet and YouTube.
Choose one person or organization that you find

particularly interesting and writea brief
biography and description of this party’s
accomplishments on behalf of labor.
3. Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick are
oftenportrayed as enemies of labor. Is this
portrayal
accurate? Choose one of thesemen and investigate if
this assumption is really true. Some good
places to start include “Where a Tycoon Made
It Just to Give It Away
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/travel/21footsteps.html?p
agewanted=all&_r=0) ”; “Carnegie
vs. Frick Dueling Egos on Fifth Avenue
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/02/realestate/streetscapes-the
-frick-mansion-carnegie-vs-frick-
dueling-egos-on-fifth-avenue.html?module=Search&mabReward
=relbias%3Aw%2C%7B%222%22%
3A%22RI%3A15%22%7D) ”; and “Henry Clay Frick:
Blood Pact
(http://www.pittsburghquarterly.com/index.php/Historic-Profile
s/article-template.html) .”

OL 325 Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric
The Strategic Analysis
The development of a strategic analysis guides all decisions
made regarding your compensation systems throughout the
project. The strategic analysis reveals
firm-specific challenges, objectives, and initiatives that allow
you to align the goals of a compensation system effectively with
those of the company strategy.
The strategic analysis allows you to better understand the
external market challenges e-sonic faces in addition to its
internal capabilities. As a consultant, a
thorough understanding of e-sonic’s business environment
allows you to better align your competitive system design with
e-sonic’s goals, challenges, and
objectives. Follow the outline below when completing this
portion of the project.
Strategic Analysis Outline:
1. Executive Summary (Concisely conveys the project
objectives and main findings. The executive summary is
completed last, but included first in the
strategic analysis.)
2. Strategic Analysis
a) Identification of e-sonic’s industry based on the North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
b) Analysis of e-sonic’s external market environment
i. Industry Profile
ii. Competition
iii. Foreign Demand

iv. Long-Term Industry Prospects
v. Labor-Market Assessment
c) Analysis of Internal Capabilities
i. Functional Capabilities
ii. Human Resource Capabilities
The Strategic Analysis section is fully described in the
MyManagementLab Building Strategic Compensation Systems
casebook for faculty and students, linked in
the MyLab course menu. Follow the explanations and outline to
complete this milestone. The Strategic Analysis section is due
at the end of Module Three.
Rubric
Requirements of submission: Each section of the final project
must follow these formatting guidelines: 5–7 pages, double
spacing, 12-point Times New Roman
font, one-inch margins, and discipline-appropriate citations.
Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in
Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade
Center. For more information,
review these instructions.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs
Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value

The Strategic
Analysis
Provides in-depth analysis that
includes an executive summary
and the strategic analysis with
all of the elements of the
outlines provided in the
Building Strategic
Compensation Project
documentation, demonstrating
a complete understanding of all
concepts
Provides in-depth analysis that
most of the elements of the
Building Strategic
documentation
Provides an analysis that
some of the elements in the
Building Strategic
documentation
Does not provide an analysis

that includes an executive
summary and/or the strategic
analysis with elements in the
Building Strategic
documentation
50
Integration and
Application
All of the course concepts are
correctly applied
Most of the course concepts
are correctly applied
Some of the course concepts
are correctly applied
Does not correctly apply any of
the course concepts
20
Critical Thinking Draws insightful conclusions
that are thoroughly defended
with evidence and examples
Draws informed conclusions
that are justified with evidence

Draws logical conclusions, but
does not defend with evidence
Does not draw logical
conclusions
20
Writing
(Mechanics/
Citations)
No errors related to
organization, grammar and
style, and APA citations
Minor errors related to
Some errors related to
Major errors related to
10
Total 100%

http://snhu-
media.snhu.edu/files/production_documentation/formatting/rubr
ic_feedback_instructions_student.pdf
Final Project Milestone 1
Running Head: FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE
Final Project Milestone Comment by Martin, Amy: Your paper
should be between 5-7 pages. Remember 5 is the min. and only
measn you are meeting expectations. Typically you will not
score 100% if you are only meeting the min. requirements. Min.
requirements result in a passing score of 70%- typically at least
:)
Your Name
Southern New Hampshire University

Historical Perspective Comment by Martin, Amy: Headigns
are not bolded. I did this for demonstration purposes and so you
could see which headings you should use. Please make sure to
refer to the library's APA page for rules on setting up headings.
The rubric requires that the historical persepective be 1-2 pages.
This requires you to give a historical perspective on
compensation. How has comp changes? What are some major
historical events in relationship to total comp?
Description of Compensation in the US (brief overview of
compensation in the US from a historical perspective)
Executive Summary
Strategic Analysis Comment by Martin, Amy: Please
remember that each heading needs to be supported with
evidence and include in-text citations. If you do not support
each heading the highest marking you will get for each area will
be proficient. Expelary requires you to provide an in-depth
understading of the concept and that requires you show that you
have researched the material and the research is your evidence
used to support your findings. Comment by Martin, Amy:
Appendx 1 of the Project Manual offers an excellent explination
of each part of the strategic analysis.
(Should include executive summary and strategic analysis. In
other words why did you arrive at the plan you chose and how
will this drive the business strategically)
External Environment
Industry profile.
Competition.
Foreign demand.
Long-Term Industry Prospects.
Labor-market assessment.
Internal Capabilities
Functional capabilities.
Human resources capabilities.
Job Descriptions Comment by Martin, Amy: In this section
you will discuss the proper way to write job descriptions, what
info do you need and how will you gather it. The four job

descriptions you create will actually go into the appendix 1.
Job Structures Comment by Martin, Amy: In this section you
will tell me what job structures are, and how you would design
them. The actual job structures go in appendix 2.,
Point Evaluation Method Comment by Martin, Amy: In this
section you will determine which benchmark jobs you will be
using, you will chose compensable factors based on your
bechmark jobs, you will design your factor degree statements,
and determine weights for each compensable factor. Any tables
or charts used in this section will not go in the body of the
paper, but rather will be put in Appendix 2. All written work
explaining the four items required for this heading should be
explained in the body of the paper. Please remember to cite
your work and support your answers. Chapter 6 of our text is a
good place to look for information on this section.
Determining Appropriate Pay-Policy Mix
Pay Policy Level Decisions
Compensation Survey Comment by Martin, Amy: For the
requirement to reconcile jobs, please put that graph or table in
Appendix 3. When it talks about updating CPI-U they mean to
do that on the Excel spreadsheet. You can Google the CPI
history and use those numbers.
Competitors
Benchmark Jobs
Reconciling Differences
External Competitiveness
Implementation
Interpretation of Results Comment by Martin, Amy: Chapter 7
is a good place to start to help you with this section.
Summary of Decision of Job Structure Placement
Appropriate Contributions Policy Comment by Martin, Amy:
You need to do this for each job structure. You will find info
on this is section III of the Project outline. B-D will be captured
on your graphs and charts, but A needs to be explained in the
body of the paper

Summary
References Comment by Martin, Amy: Please make sure you
use proper APA formatting and also remember to remove your
hyperlinkes. YOu can do this by right clicking on the link and
chosing remove hyperlink
Appendix 1 Comment by Martin, Amy: Your four job
descriptions will go here.
Appendix 2 Comment by Martin, Amy: Job Structures
section: Put any charts or graphs in this section. You will also
want to make sure you follow the directions under Section 1
Outline (D) nos 1-7. This is what I will be looking for in this
section.
· Other pointers:
· Remember to avoid first person in APA
· Remember to avoid personification (companies are not living
things so they cannot perform living actions)
· Remember to avoid starting sentences with pronouns
· Remember that college-level writing is formal and informal
grammar should be avoided
· Remember this is a milestone paper and the guide I have
provided here is what your final paper will look like. You need
to review the rubrics for each milestone to determine what must
be contained in each. You will have three different milestones,
each building on the one prior. Then you will take all three and
combine to turn in for your final project grade. You will need to
make the suggested changes in each milestone. If you do not
make the change the secondary deduction will be higher than
the first since you were provided feedback.
· Each milestone is 5-7 pages, including the body of the paper

only. Your title page, reference page and appendix do not count
towards the 5-7 page requirement. That means the final project
you turn in will be between 15-21 pages in the body of the
paper, plus your title page, reference page and appendix.
Grading
Exemplary: I would assign this mark if you meet the page
length requirement, cover all of the required topics under the
heading, and use proper APA formatting, grammar and citation.
You must use a citation in every heading and section in order to
receive this marking.
Proficient: I would assign this mark if you were missing one of
the elements listed under the exemplary, but met all the other
requirements.
Needs Improvement: I would assign this mark if you were
missing two or more of the elements listed under the exemplary,
but met all the other requirements.
Not Evident: I would assign this mark if you do not cover the
required section.
Finding the Project Information
1. From the course homepage find the “MyManagementLab” tab
on the left-hand side of the course.
2. Sign on to the “Pearson” page. I do not have your password
info, so if you do not have your info you will need to contact
the help desk.
3. Click on your course. ID: martin21384
4. There are also directions in the announcements on how to
access this information
5. Once you are in the course, click on “Building Strategic
Compensation Project”
6. You will see both a TXT file and an Excel Spreadsheet. You
will need the Spreadsheet later in the project. All of the project
info and directions are in the TXT file. Also please remember to
review the four rubrics for the project.

Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you should be
able to:
• Evaluatethe roles of the threemajor players in
laborrelations.
• Describe union formation and the reasons why
unions are formed.
• Compare and contrast the different types of
unions and union structures and
organizations.
1Introduction to the Study of Labor Relations
Mark Humphrey/Associated Press
Introduction
Managers of businesses deal with many varied
employment issues. They encounter challenges
and
issues such as wageand hour disputes, discrimination
claims, health care coverage, and employee rights.

Whether the workplaceis represented by a union
adds further layers of responsibility.
The presence of laborunions in the workforce relates
to the field of study known as labor
relations,
and this textbook is meant to introduce you to
someof theseimportant concepts. A laborunion
consists
of workers who have come together under state or
federal law, are legally recognized, and can
bargain
with their employer regarding the terms and
conditions of their employment. Labor
relations is the
study of unions, management, and their
interrelationship.
You will learn about the earlyhistory of laborin
the United States and why workers formed
unions.
Conditions in factories during the 1800s can
seemshocking, but an understanding of this era
will lay a
foundation for your study of why later laws were
enacted. You will learnabout the difference
between
organized laborin the private versus public sectors

and why this distinction is important.
Although this
may seema subtle dividing line at first, it is in
fact a significant one that has wide-ranging
repercussions,
and your understanding of it will be essential to
your role as a manager. The presence of a
laborunion
will obligate you to comply with extensive laws and
administrative procedures.
Likewise, laws relating to employees, or wageand
salary workers, even if they are not unionized,
are
also significant. Unionizedor not, your relationship
with employees will require an in-depth
knowledge
of laborlaw and laborrelations. An understanding of
the culture of laborwill add immeasurably to
your
ability to manage both ethically and legally.
1.1 Union Membership
What is the likelihood that you will work in
employment with a union presence? Although
laborunion

membership has been diminishing at a consistent
rate, unions are still viable entities that wield
political
and economic power. Approximately 14.5 million
workers belonged to unions in 2013, or
11.3% of all
workers (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013).
Compare that statistic to the year 1983, in
which 20% of all
workers, or 17.7 million, were union members
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014b). Figure
1.1 shows the
decline in both the number and percentage of
union members between 1983 and 2012.
Figure 1.1: Union affiliation of employed wageand
salary
workers, annual wages, 1983–2012
The total number of workers affiliated with unions
decreased from 17.7 million in
1983 to 14.4 million in 2012.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In 2012, unions represented 15.9 million wage
and salary workers. This includes both union
members
(14.4 million) and workers who are not affiliated

with any union, but whose jobs are covered by
a union
contract (1.6 million). In 2012, a total of 7.3
million employees in the public sector
belonged to a union,
compared to 7 million union workers in the
private sector. Public sector workers
(35.9%) had a much
higher union membership rate (35.9%) than private
sector ones (6.6%) (Bureau of Labor
Statistics,
2013). Figure 1.2 shows the relative proportion
of workers in private unions (at the top of
the chart) and
the much larger percentage of workers in
governmental public unions (at the bottom of
the chart)
during the years 2011 and 2012.
Within the public sector, local government
workers—including heavily unionized fields such as
teachers,
police officers, and firefighters—had the highest
union membership rate, at 41.7%. Examples of
private
sector industries with high unionization rates
include transportation and utilities (20.6%) and

construction (13.2%). Agriculture and related
industries have low unionization rates (1.4%), as
do
financial activities sectors (1.9%) (Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 2013).
Figure 1.2: Union membership rate of employed
wageand
salary workers, by industry, annual averages, 2011–
2012
Union membership rates from 2011 to 2012 declined in
public sector industries
and in private sector industries.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Despite a decline in membership, the likelihood of
encountering unionized employees is significant,
and
in someindustries, probable. In 2012 more than 15.9
million workers were represented by a
collective
bargaining agreement(Mayer, 2014).
What is a laborrelations issue? On any given
day, the news reflects a multitude of laborissues,
all of

which impact business. In one part of the
country, a strike or work stoppage might be
ending, with
employees returning to their jobs. In another, 30,000
grocery store workers might authorize a
walkout if
an agreementis not met. In 2013 four Tennessee
workers filed a grievance with the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that
oversees laborissues in private industries,
claiming
that they were being coerced to join a union.
Meanwhile, in 2013 a union in San Diego
that offers sheet-
metal workers an apprenticeship with the prospect of
earning $70,000 upon graduation was overrun
with applicants. As you can see, the issues are
varied, far reaching, and impactful.
1.2 The Three MainPlayers in Labor Relations
Let us begin our discussion with an overview of
the threemajor players in laborrelations: (a)
state and
federal governments; (b) labor unions, which
consist of employees; and (c) management or

the
employer. Each one will be discussed separately.
The Government
When we use the term government, we are
referring to a wide range of entities. Recall
that thereare
both state and federal governments. State
governments are administered by the state
executive
branch, the part of the government that consists of
the governor and various state administrative
agencies. The governor may issueexecutive orders, which
are enforceable against state employees
and state administrative agencies. If, for example, the
governor signed an executive order requiring all
workers to be drug tested, this mandate would
not apply to private workers but only to
state workers.
A state administrative agency is a governmental
entity that oversees a particular area that
requires
expertise, such as labor, and makes laws by holding
hearings. Each state has its own laboragency that
governs laborissues and may issueopinions about

labordisputes. New York, for example, has the
New
York StateDepartment of Labor, an agency that
enforces state laborlaws regarding the minimum wage,
hours of work, conditions of work,
unemployment insurance,and otherissues.
What laws are made by a state executive
branch? The governor may propose a law, but it
must be
passed by the legislature—so it is untrue that
the governor makes laws, otherthan executive
orders.
Administrative agencies oftenhold hearings that are similar
to courts. They are presided over by an
administrative law judge who “makes laws” by
ruling on controversies. It is accurate to say
that
administrative agencies make laws in the form of
opinions emanatingfrom thesehearings.
The second branch of government that makes
laws regarding labor is the legislative branch. A
legislature consists of representatives elected by
the people for the purpose of passing state
statutes

(legislation) to govern the state. Each state may
have a different name for its legislative
branch, but they
all perform the same function: They pass statutes or
state laws. A laborlaw that a legislature
might pass
would be one stating that children under age 14
may not be employed in a full-time job.
The third branch is the judicial branch, which
consists of the courts in that state. Every
state has its
own courtsystem, and in thesecourts the laws
formulated by the executive branch and the
legislature
may be challenged and reviewed. Although courts do
not necessarily make laws, they write
decisions
that interpret the law. A court’s interpretation of
the law stands as important language for what
the law
actually means. You will read courtcases throughout
this textbook that interpret important statutes
concerning workers and their rights. A court’s
interpretation of what a statute means may be
much
different from your own. The court’s interpretation of
statutes is not a precise science—which

can result
in a hodgepodge of laws, dependingon which
state you study.
All threeof theseentities taken together—the
executive branch through the governor, the
legislature,
and the courts—make laws that form the
building blocks of employees’ rights and duties.
When
speaking of state laborlaw, therefore, we mean not
one law but composites of laws as represented
by
the aggregate of the threebranches. A schematic of
thesebranches is represented in Figure 1.3.
Figure 1.3: Overview of how state law is made
Statelaborlaw is a composite of laws, as
represented by the aggregate of the
legislative, executive,and judicial branches.
The state governments and the federal government
coexist and function on two parallel planes.
The
states deal with someissues, and the federal branch
dealswith others. Discerning which issueis
covered

by which entity is oftena complex task and
beyond the scope of this textbook.
The federal level has the same system that also
consists of threebranches: the executive,legislative,
and
judicial. The federal executive branch is headed by
the president, who is empowered under the
U.S.
Constitution with veto power over congressional
legislation, as well as the power to recommend
legislation. The president has powers regarding strikes,
especially when they threaten national welfare.
In this sense presidents “make laws” regarding
labor. Some presidents have used their political
powers
to greatly impact the power and reach of
unions, whereas others have used the same powers
to diminish
their strength.
Under the executive branch are also federal
administrative agencies. At the federal level,
the NLRB is
the most important administrative agency that oversees
federal laborlaw and union activity for private

industry. The NLRB holds hearings to resolve
important labordisputes; theseoperate much like a
court
proceeding.
The federal legislative branch is named
Congress, and it passes statutes, someof which
have to do with
labor. Throughout this textbook, we will speak of
federal laws with names like the National
Labor
Relations Act or the Labor Management Relations
Act. These are just two examples of laws passed
by
Congress that impact unions.
The third branch is the federal judicial system, or
courtsystem, which also plays a significant
role in
laborrelations. Courts hear controversies and issuewritten
opinions. These judicial opinions form a
body of law called case law; for example, thereare
thousands of federal courtdecisions pertaining to
laborissues. These decisions are instructive about
what the law is, so reading cases is an
important part
of understanding laborrelations. Throughout this text

you will read actual courtdecisions pertaining to
topics in the chapters and see the courts’
reasoning on complex issues.
Another way in which courts play an essential
role in laborrelations is by issuing injunctions,
which are
orders by a courtto do a specific act, or
refrain from doing an act. For example, a
courtmight issuean
injunction against a striking union (a union
that is refusing to work), ordering its
workers to return to
work; or an injunction might order
management to refrain from conducting
surveillance of striking
workers. Taken together, federal legislation
(statutes), federal court decisions (judicial), and
presidential power and administrative agencies
(executive) form a body of federal labor
relations law.
Figure 1.4 illustrates the federal sources of labor
law.
Figure 1.4: Federal sources of laborlaw
Taken together, the legislative, executive,and judicial

branches form a body of
federal laborrelations law.
In summary, the role of the government in labor
relations takesplace via the courts, where
judges make
decisions about labor controversies. Administrative
agencies such as the NLRB oversee the
labor
process, and the legislative branch passes
statutes that oversee labor, such as the
National Labor
Relations Act.
Labor Unions
The next player in the field of laborrelations is
the union itself. A laborunion is a
collective body of
workers who usually join together to achieve higher
wages and certain benefits. Oncea laborunion
is
formed at a business or within an industry,
management is obligated to sit down and
negotiate an
agreement with that union’s representatives; this
agreement is called a collective bargaining
agreement(CBA). The process of labor meeting

with management to negotiate is termed collective
bargaining.
The collective bargaining agreementis a contract
that sets out in detail the understanding
between labor
and management of the terms and conditions of
employment, such as wages, vacations,
and hours
worked per week. By forcing management to
come to the bargaining table and hear labor’s
concerns and
address each one, the power differential between
laborand management is diminished. Without a
labor
union, this right to collectively bargain would
not exist.
In addition to compelling a collective bargaining
agreement, another advantage of a laborunion
is its
ability to strike, thus shutting down an
employer’s ability to produce its product.
This economic threat
may force an employer to bargain and reach
an agreement with the union so that the
workers will

return to their jobs and production can
resume. The threat of a strike may compel
management to
concede to better conditions for workers. Thus,
the collective nature of a union—the idea
that thereis
strength in numbers—works to improve working
conditions. Without a union, workers would
have a
difficult time organizing or presenting a united
front.
Unions also hold important economic and political sway
outside the confines of a business. Consider
that
more than 14.5 million workers belong to a union,
and each worker pays union dues. Unions
therefore
have millions of dollars to spend. One way they
spend that money is by supporting the
election of
political candidates who are pro-labor. Unions’
influence on elections may have a significant
ripple
effect. If a pro-labor president is elected, he or
she will have the authority to appoint judges
who oversee

labordisputes and select members of the NLRB,
which sets the country’s laborpolicy.
With 14.5 million members, unions are also a
powerful political force. Assuming that union
members
vote the same way, the size of their
organizations alone could affect the outcome of
an election. The
heads of labororganizations are oftenpowerful and
influential people who are skilled at
representing
the needs of the workers and shaping the
American people’s view of labor.
Historically, labor unions first formed when
employees became tired of suffering brutal
working
conditions that featured few rules governing the number
of hours worked, safety of conditions, or
fair
pay. Although initial organizing improved some
aspects of work, unions continued to grow
because
employees were still paid poorly and remained
unprotected in other areas, such as safety,
medical
coverage for injuries, health benefits, or retirement
funds. By collectively organizing, employees

realized
they had the power to improve their working lives.
Union power and activities can also negatively
affect workers, however. The coal mining industry
provides a dramatic example of this. In what is
referred to as the Hocking Valley Coal Miners’
Strike of
1874, workers went on strike when the
company slashed their wages. Many of the
miners and their
families livedin company-owned housing. When
they went on strike, the company evicted the
miners’
wives and children from their homes and hiredarmed
guards to harass them. The workers had no
place
to live and created tent cities for their families.
The armed guards went on a moving train
through one of
the encampments, firing rifles at the workers
and their families. The strikers retaliated, killing 16
guards
in the process. The violence was not quelled until
the army was called in to end the dispute
(Cotkin,
1978).

Such tragedies are part of America’s labor
history. This example demonstrates that although labor
unions’ goal is to improve the lives of workers, its
pursuit has also been marked by incidents of
violence
that have left a lasting impression on the
collective conscience of the American people. For
more
information on the Hocking Valley Coal
Miners’ Strike, click here
(http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Great_Hocking_Valley_C
oal_Strike_of_1884-1885?rec=501) .
Employees
The field of laborrelations is concerned with unions,
which are formed by employees.
Understanding
who is and is not an employee will be essential to
your understanding of who can form a union.
Monkey Business Images/Thinkstock
A roofer is an example of an independent
contractor, someone who is hiredfor a

specific job, paid for completing that job,
and subject to his or her own control
rather than an employer’s.
An employee is a worker hiredby the employer to
perform certain tasksunder the employer’s
direct
supervision. Generally, employees are
characterized by the following: Their
employer dictates what time
they will come to work, exactly what job they
will do when they get there, where the
work will take
place, and how much the employee will be paid. In
short, the employer controls how, when, and
where
the employee works.
Independent Contractors
Independent contractors, on the other hand,
are not
employees because they are not under the control
of an
employer. Instead, they work at their own discretion.
For
instance, if you needed a new roof for your

home, you
could hire a building contractor. That contractor
would
arrive at your home at a time he chose,
use materials he
selected, install the materials in a manner he
thought
best, and complete the job at his own pace in
his own
way. Unlike an employee, independent contractors
are
usually hired for one job, paid once instead of
on a
continuing basis, and subject to their own
control, not
the employer’s. As a result, the homeowner in
this
example would not be deemed an employer,
and the
roofer would not be an employee but instead
an
independent contractor.
There are many grey areasto independent
contractors,

however, and thus ongoing debate about whether
certain
types of workers are in fact employees or
independent
contractors. The distinction is not always clear,
but the ramifications of the classification are
significant.
One reason that employers classify workers as
independent contractors is so the employer does
not
have to pay for that worker’s Social Security or
health benefits. Classifying a worker as an
independent
contractor also means the worker cannot be part of
the union.
In any event both the courts and the NLRB
vacillate about whether a group of workers
are in fact
employees. Would you think, for example, that
graduate teaching assistants are employees and
thus may
form a union? In the 2004 decision Brown
University, the NLRB ruledthat “graduate student
assistants
who perform services at a university in connection
with their studies are not statutory employees

within
the meaning of Section 2(3) of the National Labor
Relations Act, because they have a primarily
educational, not economic relationship with their
university” (Brown University v. NLRB, 2004).
As a
result, the teaching assistants were not allowed to
unionize. Thus, the classification of a worker
as an
employee and the ability to discern which
workers will be classified as employees and
who will not is
essential in understanding who may and may not
unionize. To read the full Brown University v.
NLRB
2004 decision, click here
(http://mynlrb.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d458000
76ac) .
Management and Employers
The third major player in laborrelations is
management. Management may consist of salaried
workers,
as opposed to those paid on an hourly basis.
Salaried workers are oftenreferred to as exempt,
which

means they are exempt from the Fair Labor
Standards Act, whereas hourly employees are called
nonexempt because they are under the purview of
the act.
Management can range from the legions of
supervisors at a largecorporation to a
two-person business
that consists of the owner (management) and the
worker. In the context of labor relations, it is
important to identify who is a supervisor because
a significant legal line is drawn between
management
and labor(workers).
If a particular business is governed by the
National Labor Relations Act, one part of the
act dictates what
management is obligated to do and another relates
to unionized workers. Managers sit on one side of
the
table when the parties negotiate a contract, and
the workers or their union representatives sit
across
from them. Thus, in businesses in which
workers are represented by a labor

organization, the dichotomy
between management and workers has legal, social,
political, economic,and cultural ramifications.
Management has a different perspective and group
of needs that are oftendiametrically opposite to
that
of labor. The pressures on managers include
producing a quality product or service, competing
in a
global marketplace, keeping costs to a
minimum, and retaining satisfied customers.
Management is
concerned with the bottom line: If the company is
not making money then it will go out of
business.
Therefore, cost is the utmost concern. Labor, on
the otherhand, wants to earn a fair wage
and work in a
safe environment. But what is a fair wage? What
is a safe environment? How much will it
cost?
There are pressures on every sector that
complicate seemingly simple issues. For
example, management
might want to cut costs, which might mean
decreasing health benefits for employees. Or
the company

may wish to move to a different section of
the country where costsare lower, but that
means all workers
in the current facility will lose their jobs.
There is a natural tension between the group
that wants to
compete at the cheapest priceand the group that
wants to work in an environment that
provides basic
necessities.
The resulting tension may lead to dissatisfaction on
the part of both management and employees.
Employees can feel especially helpless to change
their working conditions or discounted if
they bring
problems to management’s attention. Employees who
feel unheard and powerless to change their work
environment oftenfind unionizing empowering, because
it forces management to listen to
concerns and
make necessary changes. There is a direct
correlation between discontent and
unionization. On the
other hand, having management listen to and
work with employees so they are part of the
decision-

making process helps diminish such discontent.
If a union is formed in a particular
business, the manager must learnthe rules and
regulations governing
labor relations very quickly. Unionization presents
various legal requirements and lists of do’s and
don’ts that management must be aware of,
comply with, and educate its staff about or
face serious
consequences that include fines and expensive legal costs.
Because the stakes are so high,thereis a high
demand for people trained in the study of
laborrelations.
Employment opportunities in this area include union
organizers, managers with labor experience,
negotiators, mediators, neutrals, arbitrators, and
labor attorneys, as well as judges, administrative
hearing officers, and support staff.
Watch This
To view a video concerning the
National Football League’s collective

bargaining agreement, visit
1.3 Introduction to Unionization
At the heartof laborrelations is the concept that
employees have much more power when
they join
together and collectively present concerns to
management through a union. A union is
typically an
organization whose function is to protect the
rights of employees, whether in terms of
wages, hours,
conditions of employment, grievances, disputes, or
any otherfunction of the work environment.
We will learnfrom the history of unions discussed
later in this text that when employees band
together
and make demands of their employers, their
work conditions often change for the
better. Wages
increase, workplaces become safer, and employee
grievances are heard and resolved. According
to a
2003 Economic Policy Institute study, someof the
advantages enjoyed by unionized workers include
a
28.2% greater chance of getting health

insurance and a 53.9% better chance of
having a pension. The
decline of unions sincethe 1950s, on the other
hand, has resulted in significant wage
decreases as well
as wageinequality (Mishel, 2012).
There is a downside to organized labor,
however. Economists are divided about
whether unions driveup
the priceof goods by demanding pay that is
not representative of supply and demand. As a
result, unions
are oftenviewed as inflating the cost of living. In
addition, because union members can go on
strike and
shut down a business, they can have serious
and deleterious effects on the national economy.
Furthermore, in someof the largest unions, officers
have been convicted of fraud and corruption,
giving
unions a reputation for illegal activities.
Political leadershipin the United States has also
run the gamut from being proactive about
labor—such
as President Franklin D. Roosevelt—to being
antiunion, as someconsidered President George

W. Bush.
In short, the American people and their leaders
are generally conflicted about whether unions
are a
positive force; this conflict impacts every aspect
of the field of laborrelations.
CollectiveBargaining
Collectivebargaining is the process whereby the
union represents employees in formulating a
contract
with management. Before that can happen, however,
thereare a number of stepsand conditions to
be
fulfilled. First, the employees must belong to an
identifiable group of workers called a
bargaining unit.
A bargaining unit is a discrete group of
workers within a plant, firm, occupation, or
industry that, on the
basisof commonality of interest or production
process, is determined by the NLRB to be
the appropriate
unit for collective bargaining purposes. For example,
workers who have a commonality of interest,
such
as working in the same plant, or workers

engaged in the same industry like building cars
could be a
bargaining unit. If the bargaining unit is
recognized by the NLRB, then the unit is
the only one that can
negotiate with management. The end product of
collective bargaining is a collective bargaining
agreement. You may wonder what this looks like.
The following video shows you an example of
the
agreementthat was hammeredout by the National
Football league to cover the years 2006 to
2012.
This is important because one of the main
reasons to form a
union is to forcemanagement to bargain with
the union over the
terms and conditions of employment. The union
is the exclusive
representative for all the employees within the
bargaining unit.
Exclusive representation means that management cannot
enter
into separate agreements with different workers. Once
workers

are officially recognized as a union, management
is mandated to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=_pKPLIt3ZO0
v=_pKPLIt3ZO0)
deal with that union and bargain in good faith,
which means
management and workers must come to the
bargaining table
with the intent to enterinto a final agreementthat
will spell out
the terms and conditions of employment.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, the federal
law that
governs unions, there are certain employees
who may not form a bargaining unit. These
include
supervisors, independent contractors, managers, and
agricultural workers, who are all deemed exempt

from the act.
When the union negotiates a collective
bargaining agreement with management, it is
essentially a
contract that governs the working conditions. To
negotiate the CBA, the union may send
representatives,
or the workers themselves may elect otherworkers to
represent them at the bargaining table. Oncean
agreementis written, it is presented to the
employees for a vote;a majority vote means
the agreementis
ratified, or approved. If ratified, both management
and the union must operate under the CBA
for the
length of that agreementor they will be in
violation of it.
Note that when a majority of workers vote for
the agreement, the minority—evenif it is
49% of the
workers—is still governed by the terms of the
contract, even if they do not agree with the
wages, hours,
or conditions of employment that the union
and management agreed on. Though all of the
terms

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