Labor Unions: An Exhaustively Researched Project by Andrew Kodama

Introduction 

Unions have long been fighting for better working conditions, higher pay and rights within the work place. A union is an organization of workers that group together to achieve common goals. As a united group of people they are able to more effectively work for their goals. Labor Unions commonly used strikes, both peaceful and violent to get their aims across. Labor unions in American history go back to the 19^th century. In 1869, the Knights of Labor was formed. Everyone, from skilled to unskilled workers, was welcome. They worked collectively for an 8 hour work day, no child labor and minimum wage. This provided the basis for the unions that would come all the way up to the present day. Then in 1881 the American Federation of Labor was formed. This was unique because it only encompassed skilled workers. Then in 1955 the AFL/CIO was formed. They had stronger aims and are still around today. They are the largest federations of unions in the United States, made up of 56 unions. Today unions are a part of most places of work, including schools. Las Lomas, for example has a teachers union that works to make sure teachers are paid enough for their hours. 



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Opinion
In my opinion unions are vital to the well-being of workers everywhere. I feel as if unions are a good thing because they not only keep big businesses in check, they also make sure all their workers are working under the right conditions for the right amount of pay. In many industries of the past, workers worked under extremely dangerous conditions, earning very little pay with no legal protection within their place of work. Unions have proven to be successful in achieving many improvements for such workers. For example, in the industrial era of the late 1800’s, many worked 14 hour or longer days. Children and women were exposed to life threatening ailments due to the unfit working conditions. Oftentimes children were given the most dangerous jobs because their small fingers were able to fit into small spaces to fix parts. Children were also seen as cheap labor. Unions fought to stop this injustice and they brought working conditions down to reasonable hours with no child labor. Unions indeed have an important impact today. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union members in 1999 had an average yearly salary of $34,944 while non-union workers had average yearly incomes of only $26, 382. According to statistics Unions encourage economic growth. During the period of 1945 when there were many unions, wages rose along with the rising productivity which resulted in great economic growth. However since 1973, union numbers have lowered causing wages to stay the same despite the rise in national productivity. According to Brown and Medoff, workplaces with unions in place are about 22% more productive than those with no unions. This statistic should be obvious. If workers are happy and if they feel as if their hard work is rewarded properly then their work would certainly reflect this. Workers with low wages and no voice would understandably be less motivated to work hard, thus lowering productivity. This is just one reason why Unions are beneficial for the United States. Higher wages would also lead to a wealthier workforce and public. Better wages means workers can provide for themselves and their families which can lead to a decrease in the national poverty levels. According to experts, the reason the United States is stuck in an economic depression stems from the fact that workers do not have the “purchasing power to drive our economy”. Consumer activity accounts for nearly 70% of the nation’s economy. Union workers have successfully paved the path for middle-class Americans. They brought them various benefits such as health-care programs and pensions. Without the unified voices that are unions, workers would not be enjoying these benefits. Unions are also responsible for creating and maintaining a strong middle class. It is no secret that a strong middle class is vital for an economy and nation to be successful. When there is a large split between the upper and lower class with no middle, debt increases and the poor only get poorer. Unions are also good for democracy. Unions give workers a represented voice in the workplace and have been essential to the passage of very important legislations of the past century. The Fair Labor Standards Act established the 40 hour workweek, minimum wage and outlawed child labor. They have also accomplished improvements in areas including overtime pay and social security benefits. The current percentage of American’s in unions is only 12% as of 2006. However under a poll taken by the Peter Hart Research Associates, 58% of non-managerial workers would join a union if they did not feel intimidated or if they had no pressure from their superiors. This shows that workers want to be in unions and that they should be seen as acceptable in the workplace. Yellow Dog Contracts were also very important to me and my people…