Discussion

Example Article Report

Note - Business Essentials for Central Texas College, was the text prior to using Open Stax. You will not have an Ebert citation.

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Laws Governing Labor Movements

Summary:

According to Akash Chougle in the Investors Daily, the year of 2017 is going to be one of the great changes for laws affecting state-based unions. Labor laws in Kentucky, Missouri, and Iowa have changed so far as the right to work, unionization activities, and year recertification of unions (1). Chougle writes that the movement is going to make 2017 the most work-friendly year in generations (1).

Discussion:

The article covers topics that are presented in the section of the text titled “Laws Governing Labor-Management Relations.” (Ebert et al. 626). The laws related to this article are the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act and the Taft-Hartley Act. The National Labor Relations Act gives workers the right to form unions, bargain collectively with management and engage in strikes to reach the union’s goals. It forces management/owners to bargain with union representatives, and it prevents employers from discriminating against union members in hiring, promoting, and firing.

The Taft Hartley Act, among many prohibitions for unions, prohibited union shops. In a union shop, workers can be forced to join a union to get a job, but the Taft Hartley Act prohibited the formation of union shops. The Taft Hartley Act gave states the right to enact right-to-work laws that make it illegal for union membership to be required in order for a worker to get a job. States that pass those laws are known as Right to the Work States, and the authors report that there are 21 states which are Right to the Work States.

There are notable state laws that have changed the way that unions are going to operate in states. Kentucky and Missouri passed laws to make those states Right to the Work States. Kentucky passed a law that requires a written form to be signed by the union member employees that allows membership dues to be deducted from the union member’s salary. Union dues can’t be just deducted. There are other state changes in the Right to the Work States that occurred since 2012, and those states are Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.

State actions that are relative to the National Labor Relations Act are the following: (1) In Wisconsin, there has to be an annual recertification of the union that represents state workers. In other words, unions have to earn the right annually to represent workers who are employed by the state. (2) In Missouri, there are no more times for union activities allowed on the taxpayer’s dime. The union organization activities have to occur on the workers’ personal time.

Student Opinion:

The authors state, “Although millions of workers still belong to labor unions, union membership as a percentage of the workforce has continued to decline.” (Ebert et al. 622). The authors give reasons for the decline such as companies hiring workers who are not good candidates for union membership like women and ethnic minorities (Ebert et al. 623). Additionally, companies are giving workers the same benefits that unions have gained except that the companies don’t charge workers union dues for the benefit. For instance, “Motorola…offers no-lay-off guarantees.” (Ebert et al. 623). Having security in employment is a great benefit for the workers.

The latter reason given is the one that makes sense. Managers have recognized that “Effectively managing human resources is the lifeblood of organizations” (Ebert et al.311). Previously management somewhat abused workers, and those times brought the growth of unions.

Presently, organizations recognize past failures with worker relations and have taken actions to improve the conditions of workers. Concomitantly, state governments have allowed the workers to be free to make choices about using unions or let companies provide benefits without workers paying union dues.

Works Cited:

Chougle, Akash. "2017: A Year of State Labor Reforms."Investors Business Daily, 03 Mar. 2017, p. 1. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=121614934&site=ehost-live.

Ebert, Ronald, and Griffin, Ricky. Business Essentials for Central Texas College, Custom Version 2nd Edition. Pearson. 2017.