
Give one pro and con for the following
business organizations…
› Sole-proprietorship
› Corporation
› Partnership
› Franchise
What is the most common tool
associated with unions?
 What are 3 options that both sides can
take in a collective bargaining
agreement?
 What reasons might have led to the
decline in union membership?
 What’s a “picket line?”

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Define labor union, and explain how unions
rose to power in the United States.
Analyze the reasons for the decline in
union membership in the last few decades
Describe the types of union workplaces
Summarize how collective bargaining
works
Evaluate the pros and cons of labor strikes,
and explain how settlements are reached
Labor Union
 Strike
 Industrial Union
 Craft Union
 Right-to-work Law
 Blue-collar worker
 White-collar worker








Labor Union – organization of workers that tries to
improve conditions, wages, and benefits for
members
Strike – organized work stoppage intended to force
an employer to address union demands
Industrial Union – organization of workers in a variety
of occupations within a single industry
Craft Union – organization of workers in a single
occupation
Right-to-work Law – bans mandatory union
membership
Blue-collar worker – person who works industrial job,
earns wages
White-collar worker – a professional who earns salary
What does a Union do?
3 factors of production: Land, Labor, and
Capital
 Labor Union

› By joining together employees can make an
impact on the conditions of their work.
› Strike
Why the need for Unions?
 Poor working conditions

› 12-16 hour days
› $2/week

Lowell Factory Girls

1869 Knights of Labor (KOL)
› Industrial union
› African American and Women Membership

1886 American Federation of Labor (AFL)
› Samuel Gompers
› Craft union
› Congress of Industrial Organizations
› 1886 Chicago
Pullman Railroad strike
Haymarket riot
› McCormick Workers strike for 8 hour days (KOL)
› Police tried to disperse crowd, unknown person
threw bomb killing several people
› 1894 Pullman, Illinois
› Railroad Workers strike after decrease in wages
› Gov’t steps in to end it

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
› NYC 1911
› 146 workers died in a tragic fire
› Action taken for workplace safety

Ludlow Massacre
› Ludlow, Colorado 1914
› United Mine Workers strike
› Colorado National Guard breaks strike, killing
39


Identified and fired union organizers
“Yellow-dog” contracts
› Workers promised not to join Unions

Injunctions
› Court order for workers to end strike

“Scabs” - derogatory
› Strikebreakers brought in by Company to replace
strikers

Pinkerton Agency
› Companies would hire own private militias to harass
strikers

Claimed unions violated the Sherman Antitrust
Act of 1890
› Said Unions restricted competition, courts agreed till
1930

Norris-La Guardia Act (1932)
› Outlawed Yellow-dog contracts
› More difficult to get injunctions

National Labor Relations Act (1935)
› Gave workers the right to organize, required
companies to bargain in good faith
› Created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
› Minimum Wage
› Outlawed Child labor
› 40 hour work week

As a result union membership soared
There once was a union maid, she never was afraid
Of goons and ginks and company finks and the deputy
sheriffs who made the raid.
She went to the union hall when a meeting it was called,
And when the Legion boys come 'round
She always stood her ground.
Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union, I'm sticking to the union.
Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union 'til the day I die.
This union maid was wise to the tricks of company spies,
She couldn't be fooled by a company stool, she'd always
organize the guys.
She always got her way when she struck for better pay.
She'd show her card to the National Guard
And this is what she'd say
You gals who want to be free, just take a tip from me;
Get you a man who's a union man and join the ladies'
auxiliary.
Married life ain't hard when you got a union card,
A union man has a happy life when he's got a union wife.

Corruption in the Unions
› Teamsters
 Organized Crime

Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
› Right-to-work laws
 Banned mandatory Union membership





1. Less blue-collar workers, more white collar
2. Outsourcing of manufacturing
3. Women in the Labor Force
4. Industries moved South
5. Goals of the Unions have been fulfilled
› Evidence: Laws for safety standards in
workplace

Public sector unions have increased.

Types of Workplaces
› Closed Shop
› Union Shop
› Agency Shop

Types of Workplaces
› Closed Shop – hires only union members
 Now illegal
› Union Shop – will hire nonunion members but
requires membership after period of time
› Agency Shop – will hire nonunion members
does not require membership
 Free-rider problem
Collective Bargaining – union and
company representatives meet to
negotiate labor contract
 Settlement Techniques

› Mediation
› Arbitration
Collective Bargaining – union and
company representatives meet to
negotiate labor contract
 Settlement Techniques

› Mediation – a neutral mediator meets with
each side to try to find a solution that both
sides will accept
› Arbitration – a third party reviews the case
and imposes a decision that is legally
binding for both sides
Wages and Benefits
 Working Conditions
 Job Security


If CBAs are at a standstill
› Strikes
› Mediation
› Arbitration

Air-Traffic Controllers
› Pg. 219

Draw a political/editorial cartoon
depicting a union.
› This can show unions in a positive or negative
light
› You can use an event to portray
OR…
 Create a picket sign slogan

Ask a parent or grandparent to describe
one of their first jobs.
 Ask them:

› How old were they?
› What were the working conditions, the pay,
the hours?
› How did they like the job? Their co-workers?

Take notes and be prepared to share
with your classmates.