Trade union

A trade union (or a labor union in American English), often simply called a union, is an organization of workers who have come together to achieve many common goals, such as protecting the integrity of their trade, improving safety standards, and attaining better wages, benefits (such as vacation, health care, and retirement), and working conditions through the increased bargaining power wielded by the creation of a monopoly of the workers. Trade unions typically fund the formal organization, head office, and legal team functions of the trade union through regular fees or union dues. The delegate staff of the trade union representation in the workforce are made up of workplace volunteers who are appointed by members in democratic elections.

The trade union, through an elected leadership and bargaining committee, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labour contracts (collective bargaining) with employers. The most common purpose of these associations or unions is "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment".[1] This may include the negotiation of wages, work rules, occupational health and safety standards, complaint procedures, rules governing status of employees including promotions, just cause conditions for termination, and employment benefits.

Unions may organize a particular section of skilled workers (craft unionism),[2] a cross-section of workers from various trades (general unionism), or attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry (industrial unionism). The agreements negotiated by a union are binding on the rank and file members and the employer and in some cases on other non-member workers. Trade unions traditionally have a constitution which details the governance of their bargaining unit and also have governance at various levels of government depending on the industry that binds them legally to their negotiations and functioning.

Originating in Great Britain, trade unions became popular in many countries during the Industrial Revolution. Trade unions may be composed of individual workers, professionals, past workers, students, apprentices or the unemployed. Trade union density, or the percentage of workers belonging to a trade union, is highest in the Nordic countries.[3][4]

Definition

Garment workers on strike, New York City circa 1913.

Since the publication of the History of Trade Unionism (1894) by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, the predominant historical view is that a trade union "is a continuous association on wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment."[1] Karl Marx described trade unions thus: "The value of labour-power constitutes the conscious and explicit foundation of the trade unions, whose importance for the [...] working class can scarcely be overestimated. The trade unions aim at nothing less than to prevent the reduction of wages below the level that is traditionally maintained in the various branches of industry. That is to say, they wish to prevent the price of labour-power from falling below its value" (Capital V1, 1867, p. 1069).

A modern definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics states that a trade union is "an organization consisting predominantly of employees, the principal activities of which include the negotiation of rates of pay and conditions of employment for its members."[5]

Yet historian R.A. Leeson, in United we Stand (1971), said:

Two conflicting views of the trade-union movement strove for ascendancy in the nineteenth century: one the defensive-restrictive guild-craft tradition passed down through journeymen's clubs and friendly societies, ... the other the aggressive-expansionist drive to unite all 'labouring men and women' for a 'different order of things'.

Recent historical research by Bob James in Craft, Trade or Mystery (2001) puts forward the view that trade unions are part of a broader movement of benefit societies, which includes medieval guilds, Freemasons, Oddfellows, friendly societies, and other fraternal organizations.

The 18th century economist Adam Smith noted the imbalance in the rights of workers in regards to owners (or "masters"). In The Wealth of Nations, Book I, chapter 8, Smith wrote:

We rarely hear, it has been said, of the combination of masters, though frequently of those of workmen. But whoever imagines, upon this account, that masters rarely combine, is as ignorant of the world as of the subject. Masters are always and everywhere in a sort of tacit, but constant and uniform combination, not to raise the wages of labor above their actual rate[.] When workers combine, masters ... never cease to call aloud for the assistance of the civil magistrate, and the rigorous execution of those laws which have been enacted with so much severity against the combination of servants, labourers and journeymen.

As Smith noted, unions were illegal for many years in most countries, although Smith argued that it should remain illegal to fix wages or prices by employees or employers. There were severe penalties for attempting to organize unions, up to and including execution. Despite this, unions were formed and began to acquire political power, eventually resulting in a body of labour law that not only legalized organizing efforts, but codified the relationship between employers and those employees organized into unions.

History

Early 19th century workplace militancy manifested in the Luddite riots, when unemployed workers destroyed labour saving machines

The origins of trade unions can be traced back to 18th century Britain, where the rapid expansion of industrial society then taking place drew women, children, rural workers and immigrants into the work force in large numbers and in new roles. They encountered a large hostility in their early existence from employers and government groups; at the time, unions and unionists were regularly prosecuted under various restraint of trade and conspiracy statutes. This pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labour spontaneously organized in fits and starts throughout its beginnings,[1] and would later be an important arena for the development of trade unions. Trade unions have sometimes been seen as successors to the guilds of medieval Europe, though the relationship between the two is disputed, as the masters of the guilds employed workers (apprentices and journeymen) who were not allowed to organize.[6][7]

Trade unions and collective bargaining were outlawed from no later than the middle of the 14th century, when the Ordinance of Labourers was enacted in the Kingdom of England, but their way of thinking was the one that endured down the centuries, inspiring evolutions and advances in thinking which eventually gave workers their necessary rights. As collective bargaining and early worker unions grew with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the government began to clamp down on what it saw as the danger of popular unrest at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1799, the Combination Act was passed, which banned trade unions and collective bargaining by British workers. Although the unions were subject to often severe repression until 1824, they were already widespread in cities such as London. Workplace militancy had also manifested itself as Luddism and had been prominent in struggles such as the 1820 Rising in Scotland, in which 60,000 workers went on a general strike, which was soon crushed. Sympathy for the plight of the workers brought repeal of the acts in 1824, although the Combination Act 1825 severely restricted their activity.

By the 1810s, the first labour organizations to bring together workers of divergent occupations were formed. Possibly the first such union was the General Union of Trades, also known as the Philanthropic Society, founded in 1818 in Manchester. The latter name was to hide the organization's real purpose in a time when trade unions were still illegal.[8]

National general unions

Poster issued by the London Trades Council, advertising a demonstration held on 2 June 1873

The first attempts at setting up a national general union were made in the 1820s and 30s. The National Association for the Protection of Labour was established in 1830 by John Doherty, after an apparently unsuccessful attempt to create a similar national presence with the National Union of Cotton-spinners. The Association quickly enrolled approximately 150 unions, consisting mostly of textile related unions, but also including mechanics, blacksmiths, and various others. Membership rose to between 10,000 and 20,000 individuals spread across the five counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire within a year.[9] To establish awareness and legitimacy, the union started the weekly Voice of the People publication, having the declared intention "to unite the productive classes of the community in one common bond of union."[10]

In 1834, the Welsh socialist Robert Owen established the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union. The organization attracted a range of socialists from Owenites to revolutionaries and played a part in the protests after the Tolpuddle Martyrs' case, but soon collapsed.

More permanent trade unions were established from the 1850s, better resourced but often less radical. The London Trades Council was founded in 1860, and the Sheffield Outrages spurred the establishment of the Trades Union Congress in 1868, the first long-lived national trade union center. By this time, the existence and the demands of the trade unions were becoming accepted by liberal middle class opinion. In Principles of Political Economy (1871) John Stuart Mill wrote:

If it were possible for the working classes, by combining among themselves, to raise or keep up the general rate of wages, it needs hardly be said that this would be a thing not to be punished, but to be welcomed and rejoiced at. Unfortunately the effect is quite beyond attainment by such means. The multitudes who compose the working class are too numerous and too widely scattered to combine at all, much more to combine effectually. If they could do so, they might doubtless succeed in diminishing the hours of labour, and obtaining the same wages for less work. They would also have a limited power of obtaining, by combination, an increase of general wages at the expense of profits.[11]

Legalization and expansion

Trade union demonstrators held at bay by soldiers during the 1912 Lawrence textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts

Trade unions were finally legalized in 1872, after a Royal Commission on Trade Unions in 1867 agreed that the establishment of the organizations was to the advantage of both employers and employees.

This period also saw the growth of trade unions in other industrializing countries, especially the United States, Germany and France.

In the United States, the first effective nationwide labour organization was the Knights of Labor, in 1869, which began to grow after 1880. Legalization occurred slowly as a result of a series of court decisions.[12] The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions began in 1881 as a federation of different unions that did not directly enrol workers. In 1886, it became known as the American Federation of Labor or AFL.

In Germany the Free Association of German Trade Unions was formed in 1897 after the conservative Anti-Socialist Laws of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck were repealed.

In France, labour organization was illegal until 1884. The Bourse du Travail was founded in 1887 and merged with the Fédération nationale des syndicats (National Federation of Trade Unions) in 1895 to form the General Confederation of Labour (France).

Prevalence worldwide

The prevalence of unions in various countries can be measured by the concept of "union density", which is expressed as a percentage of the total number of workers in a given location who are trade union members.[13] Trade union density around the world shows great variation.

CountryYearDensity (%)
Albania201313.3
Argentina201427.7
Armenia201532.2
Australia201614.5
Austria201626.9
Belgium201865.0
Belize20129.1
Bermuda201223.0
Bolivia201439.1
Bosnia and Herzegovina201230.0
Brazil201618.9
Cambodia20129.6
Cameroon20146.9
Canada201628.4
Chile201619.6
China201544.9
Colombia20169.5
Costa Rica201619.4
Croatia201625.8
Cuba200881.4
Cyprus201447.7
Czech Republic201610.5
Denmark201667.2
Dominican Republic201511.0
Egypt201243.2
El Salvador201619.0
Estonia20154.5
Ethiopia20139.6
Finland201664.6
France20157.9
Ghana201620.6
Greece201618.6
Guatemala20162.6
Hong Kong201626.1
Hungary20168.5
Iceland201690.4
India201112.8
Indonesia20127.0
Ireland201624.4
Israel201628.0
Italy201634.4
Japan201617.3
Kazakhstan201249.2
Korea, Republic of201510.1
Lao People's Democratic Republic201015.5
Latvia201512.6
Lesotho20105.8
Lithuania20167.7
Luxembourg201632.0
North Macedonia201028.0
Malawi20135.5
Malaysia20168.8
Malta201551.4
Mauritius201628.1
Mexico201612.5
Moldova, Republic of201623.9
Montenegro201225.9
Myanmar20151.0
Namibia201617.5
Netherlands201617.3
New Zealand201517.9
Niger200835.6
Norway201552.5
Pakistan20085.6
Panama201611.9
Paraguay20156.7
Peru20165.7
Philippines20148.7
Poland201612.1
Portugal201516.3
Romania201325.2
Russian Federation201530.5
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines20104.9
Samoa201311.8
Senegal201522.4
Serbia201027.9
Seychelles20112.1
Sierra Leone200841.0
Singapore201521.2
Slovakia201412.0
Slovenia201626.9
South Africa201628.1
Spain201513.9
Sri Lanka201615.3
Sweden201567.0
Switzerland201515.7
Taiwan, Republic of China201039.3
Tanzania, United Republic of201524.3
Thailand20163.5
Trinidad and Tobago201319.8
Tunisia201120.4
Turkey20168.2
Uganda20051.5
Ukraine201543.8
United Kingdom201623.5
United States201610.3
Vietnam201114.6
Zambia201425.9
Zimbabwe20107.5

Source: ILO[4]

Trade unions by country

Australia

The Australian labour movement generally sought to end child labour practices, improve worker safety, increase wages for both union workers and non-union workers, raise the entire society's standard of living, reduce the hours in a work week, provide public education for children, and bring other benefits to working class families.[14]

Melbourne Trades Hall was opened in 1859 with Trades and Labour Councils and Trades Halls opening in all cities and most regional towns in the next forty years. During the 1880s Trade unions developed among shearers, miners, and stevedores (wharf workers), but soon spread to cover almost all blue-collar jobs. Shortages of labour led to high wages for a prosperous skilled working class, whose unions demanded and got an eight-hour day and other benefits unheard of in Europe.

Eight-hour day march circa 1900, outside Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne.

Australia gained a reputation as "the working man's paradise." Some employers tried to undercut the unions by importing Chinese labour. This produced a reaction which led to all the colonies restricting Chinese and other Asian immigration. This was the foundation of the White Australia Policy. The "Australian compact", based around centralised industrial arbitration, a degree of government assistance particularly for primary industries, and White Australia, was to continue for many years before gradually dissolving in the second half of the 20th century.

In the 1870s and 1880s, the growing trade union movement began a series of protests against foreign labour. Their arguments were that Asians and Chinese took jobs away from white men, worked for "substandard" wages, lowered working conditions and refused unionisation.[15]

Objections to these arguments came largely from wealthy land owners in rural areas.[15] It was argued that without Asiatics to work in the tropical areas of the Northern Territory and Queensland, the area would have to be abandoned.[16] Despite these objections to restricting immigration, between 1875 and 1888 all Australian colonies enacted legislation which excluded all further Chinese immigration.[16] Asian immigrants already residing in the Australian colonies were not expelled and retained the same rights as their Anglo and Southern compatriots.

The Barton Government which came to power after the first elections to the Commonwealth parliament in 1901 was formed by the Protectionist Party with the support of the Australian Labor Party. The support of the Labor Party was contingent upon restricting non-white immigration, reflecting the attitudes of the Australian Workers Union and other labour organisations at the time, upon whose support the Labor Party was founded.

Baltic states

In the Baltic states trade unions were the part of the Soviet Union trade union system and closely connected with the party in the state. Industrial actions were not a part of their activities. After 1990 trade unions in the Baltic states have experienced rapid loss of membership and economic power, while employers’ organisations increased both power and membership. Low financial and organisational capacity caused by declining membership adds to the problem of interest definition, aggregation and protection in negotiations with employers’ and state organisations. Even the difference exists in the way of organization trade union and density. Starting from 2008 the union density slightly decrease in Latvia and Lithuania. In case of Estonia this indicator is lower than in Latvia and Lithuania but stays stable average 7 percent from total number of employment.[17] Historical legitimacy is one of the negative factors that determine low associational power.[18]

Belgium

With 65% of the workers belonging to a union Belgium is a country with one of the highest percentages of trade union membership. Only the Scandinavian countries have a higher trade union density. The biggest union with around 1.7 million members is the Christian democrat Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (ACV-CSC) which was founded in 1904.[19] The origins of the union can be traced back to the "Anti-Socialist Cotton Workers Union" that was founded in 1886.[20] The second biggest union is the socialist General Federation of Belgian Labour (ABVV-FGTB) which has a membership of more than 1.5 million.[21] The ABVV-FGTB traces its origins to 1857, when the first Belgian union was founded in Ghent by a group of weavers. This and other socialist unions became unified around 1898. The ABVV-FGTB in its current form dates back to 1945. The third major multi-sector union in Belgium is the liberal (classical liberal) union General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (ACLVB-CGSLB) which is relatively small in comparison to the first two with a little under 290 thousand members.[22] The ACLVB-CGSLB was founded in 1920 in an effort to unite the many small liberal unions. Back then the liberal union was known as the "Nationale Centrale der Liberale Vakbonden van België". In 1930, the ACLVB-CGSLB adopted its current name.[23]

Besides these "big three" there are a number of smaller unions, some more influential than others. These smaller unions tend to specialize in one profession or economic sector. Next to these specialized unions there is also the Neutral and Independent Union that rejects the pillarization of the "big three" trade unions (their affiliation with political parties). There is also a small Flemish nationalist union that exists only in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, called the Vlaamse Solidaire Vakbond. The last Belgian union worth mentioning is the very small, but highly active anarchist union called the Vrije Bond.

Canada

Canada's first trade union, the Labourers' Benevolent Association (now International Longshoremen's Association Local 273), formed in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1849. The union was formed when Saint John's longshoremen banded together to lobby for regular pay and a shorter workday.[24] Canadian unionism had early ties with Britain and Ireland. Tradesmen who came from Britain brought traditions of the British trade union movement, and many British unions had branches in Canada. Canadian unionism's ties with the United States eventually replaced those with Britain.

Collective bargaining was first recognized in 1945, after the strike by the United Auto Workers at the General Motors' plant in Oshawa, Ontario. Justice Ivan Rand issued a landmark legal decision after the strike in Windsor, Ontario, involving 17,000 Ford workers. He granted the union the compulsory check-off of union dues. Rand ruled that all workers in a bargaining unit benefit from a union-negotiated contract. Therefore, he reasoned they must pay union dues, although they do not have to join the union.

The post-World War II era also saw an increased pattern of unionization in the public service. Teachers, nurses, social workers, professors and cultural workers (those employed in museums, orchestras and art galleries) all sought private-sector collective bargaining rights. The Canadian Labour Congress was founded in 1956 as the national trade union center for Canada.

In the 1970s the federal government came under intense pressures to curtail labour cost and inflation. In 1975, the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau introduced mandatory price and wage controls. Under the new law, wages increases were monitored and those ruled to be unacceptably high were rolled back by the government.

Pressures on unions continued into the 1980s and '90s. Private sector unions faced plant closures in many manufacturing industries and demands to reduce wages and increase productivity. Public sector unions came under attack by federal and provincial governments as they attempted to reduce spending, reduce taxes and balance budgets. Legislation was introduced in many jurisdictions reversing union collective bargaining rights, and many jobs were lost to contractors.[25]

Prominent domestic unions in Canada include ACTRA, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the National Union of Public and General Employees, and Unifor. International unions active in Canada include the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, United Automobile Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers, and United Steelworkers.

Colombia

Until around 1990 Colombian trade unions were among the strongest in Latin America.[26] However, the 1980s expansion of paramilitarism in Colombia saw trade union leaders and members increasingly targeted for assassination, and as a result Colombia has been the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists for several decades.[27][28][29] Between 2000 and 2010 Colombia accounted for 63.12% of trade unionists murdered globally.[30] According to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) there were 2832 murders of trade unionists between 1 January 1986 and 30 April 2010,[30] meaning that "on average, men and women trade unionists in Colombia have been killed at the rate of one every three days over the last 23 years."[31]

Costa Rica

Costa Rican agricultural unions demonstration, January 2011

In Costa Rica, trade unions first appeared in the late 1800s to support workers in a variety of urban and industrial jobs, such as railroad builders and craft tradesmen.[32] After facing violent repression, such as during the 1934 United Fruit Strike, unions gained more power after the 1948 Costa Rican Civil War.[32] Today, Costa Rican unions are strongest in the public sector, including the fields of education and medicine, but also have a strong presence in the agricultural sector.[32] In general, Costa Rican unions support government regulation of the banking, medical, and education fields, as well as improved wages and working conditions.[33]

Germany

Trade unions in Germany have a history reaching back to the German revolution in 1848, and still play an important role in the German economy and society. In 1875 the SDP, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, which is one of the biggest political parties in Germany, supported the forming of unions in Germany.[34] The most important labour organisation is the German Confederation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund – DGB), which represents more than 6 million people (31 December 2011) and is the umbrella association of several single trade unions for special economic sectors. The DGB is not the only Union Organization that represents the working trade. There are smaller organizations, such as the CGB, which is a Christian-based confederation, that represent over 1.5 million people.[35]

India

In India, the Trade Union movement is generally divided on political lines. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, trade unions had a combined membership of 24,601,589 in 2002. As of 2008, there are 11 Central Trade Union Organisations (CTUO) recognized by the Ministry of Labour.[36] The forming of these unions was a big deal in India. It led to a big push for more regulatory laws which gave workers a lot more power.[37]

AITUC is the oldest trade union in India. It is a left supported organization. A trade union with nearly 2,000,000 members is the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) which protects the rights of Indian women working in the informal economy. In addition to the protection of rights, SEWA educates, mobilizes, finances, and exalts their members' trades.[38] Multiple other organizations represent workers. These organizations are formed upon different political groups. These different groups allow different groups of people with different political views to join a Union.[39]

Japan

Trade unions emerged in Japan in the second half of the Meiji period as the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization.[40] Until 1945, however, the labour movement remained weak, impeded by lack of legal rights,[41] anti-union legislation,[40] management-organised factory councils, and political divisions between “cooperative” and radical unionists.[42] In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the US Occupation authorities initially encouraged the formation of independent unions.[41] Legislation was passed that enshrined the right to organise,[43] and membership rapidly rose to 5 million by February 1947.[41] The organisation rate, however, peaked at 55.8% in 1949 and subsequently declined to 18.2% (2006).[44] The labour movement went through a process of reorganisation from 1987 to 1991[45] from which emerged the present configuration of three major trade union federations, Rengo, Zenroren, and Zenrokyo, along with other smaller national union organisations.

Mexico

Before the 1990s, unions in Mexico had been historically part of a state institutional system. From 1940 until the 1980s, during the worldwide spread of neoliberalism through the Washington Consensus, the Mexican unions did not operate independently, but instead as part of a state institutional system, largely controlled by the ruling party.[46]

During these 40 years, the primary aim of the trade unions was not to benefit the workers, but to carry out the state's economic policy under their cosy relationship with the ruling party. This economic policy, which peaked in the 1950s and 60s with the so-called "Mexican Miracle", saw rising incomes and improved standards of living but the primary beneficiaries were the wealthy.[46]

In the 1980s, Mexico began adhering to Washington Consensus policies, selling off state industries such as railroad and telecommunications to private industries. The new owners had an antagonistic attitude towards unions, which, accustomed to comfortable relationships with the state, were not prepared to fight back. A movement of new unions began to emerge under a more independent model, while the former institutionalized unions had become very corrupt, violent, and led by gangsters. From the 1990s onwards, this new model of independent unions prevailed, a number of them represented by the National Union of Workers / Unión Nacional de Trabajadores.[46]

Current old institutions like the Oil Workers Union and the National Education Workers' Union (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación, or SNTE) are examples of how the use of government benefits are not being applied to improve the quality in the investigation of the use of oil or the basic education in Mexico as long as their leaders show publicly that they are living wealthily. With 1.4 million members, the teachers' union is Latin America's largest; half of Mexico's government employees are teachers. It controls school curriculums, and all teacher appointments. Until recently, retiring teachers routinely "gave" their lifelong appointment to a relative or "sell" it for anywhere in between $4,700 and $11,800.[47]

Nordic countries

Workers on strike in Oslo, Norway, 2012

Trade unions (Danish: Fagforeninger, Norwegian: Fagforeninger/Fagforeiningar Swedish: Fackföreningar) have a long tradition in Scandinavian and Nordic society. Beginning in the mid-19th century, they today have a large impact on the nature of employment and workers' rights in many of the Nordic countries. One of the largest trade unions in Sweden is the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions, (LO, Landsorganisationen), incorporating unions such as the Swedish Metal Workers' Union (IF Metall = Industrifacket Metall), the Swedish Electricians' Union (Svenska Elektrikerförbundet) and the Swedish Municipality Workers' Union (Svenska Kommunalarbetareförbundet, abbreviated Kommunal).[48] One of the aims of IF Metall is to transform jobs into "good jobs", also called "developing jobs".[49] Swedish system is strongly based on the so-called Swedish model, which argues the importance of collective agreements between trade unions and employers.[18]

Today, the world's highest rates of union membership are in the Nordic countries. As of 2018 or latest year, the percentage of workers belonging to a union (trade union density) was 90.4% in Iceland, 67.2% in Denmark, 66.1% in Sweden, 64.4 in Finland and 52.5% in Norway, while it is unknown in Greenland, Faroe Islands and the Åland Islands.[50] Excluding full-time students working part-time, Swedish union density was 68% in 2019.[51] In all the Nordic countries with a Ghent system—Sweden,[52] Denmark and Finland—union density is about 70%. The considerably raised membership fees of Swedish union unemployment funds implemented by the new center-right government in January 2007 caused large drops in membership in both unemployment funds and trade unions. From 2006 to 2008, union density declined by six percentage points: from 77% to 71%.[53]

Spain

During the Spanish civil war anarchists, and syndicalists took control over much of Spain. Implementing worker control through a system of libertarian socialism with organizations like the anarcho-syndicalist CNT organizing throughout Spain. Unions were particularly present in Revolutionary Catalonia, in which anarchists were already the basis for most of society with over 90% of industries being organized through work cooperatives.[54] The republicans, anarchists and leftists would later lose control over Spain, with Francisco Franco becoming dictator of Spain.

During the fascist regime of Spain the Francoist regime saw the worker movement and union movement as a threat, Franco banned all existing trade unions and set up the government controlled Spanish Syndical Organization as the only legal Spanish trade union, with the organization existing to maintain Francos power.[55]

Many anarchists, communists and leftist turned towards insurgent tactics as Franco implemented wide reaching authoritarian policies, with the CNT and other unions being forced underground. Anarchists would operate covertly setting up local organizations and underground movements to challenge Franco.[56] On the 20 of December the ETA assassinated Luis Carrero. The death of Carrero Blanco had numerous political implications. By the end of 1973, the physical health of Francisco Franco had declined significantly, and it epitomized the final crisis of the Francoist regime. After his death, the most conservative sector of the Francoist State, known as the búnker, wanted to influence Franco so that he would choose an ultraconservative as Prime Minister. Finally, he chose Carlos Arias Navarro, who originally announced a partial relaxation of the most rigid aspects of the Francoist State, but quickly retreated under pressure from the búnker. After Franco's death Arias Navarro began relaxing Spanish authoritarianism.

During the Spanish transition to democracy, leftist organizations became legal once again. In modern Spain trade unions now contribute massively towards Spanish society, being again the main catalyst for political change in Spain, with cooperatives employing large parts of the Spanish population such as the Mondragon Corporation. Trade unions today lead mass protests against the Spanish government, and are one of the main vectors of political change.[57]

United Kingdom

Public sector workers in Leeds striking over pension changes by the government in November 2011

Moderate New Model Unions dominated the union movement from the mid-19th century and where trade unionism was stronger than the political labour movement until the formation and growth of the Labour Party in the early years of the 20th century.

Trade unionism in the United Kingdom was a major factor in some of the economic crises during the 1960s and the 1970s, culminating in the "Winter of Discontent" of late-1978 and early-1979, when a significant percentage of the nation's public sector workers went on strike. By this stage, some 12,000,000 workers in the United Kingdom were trade union members. However, the election victory of the Conservative Party led by Margaret Thatcher at the 1979 general election, at the expense of Labour's James Callaghan, saw substantial trade union reform which saw the level of strikes fall. The level of trade union membership also fell sharply in the 1980s, and continued falling for most of the 1990s. The long decline of most of the industries in which manual trade unions were strong – e.g. steel, coal, printing, the docks – was one of the causes of this loss of trade union members.[58]

In 2011, there were 6,135,126 members in TUC-affiliated unions, down from a peak of 12,172,508 in 1980. Trade union density was 14.1% in the private sector and 56.5% in the public sector.[59]

United States

Labor unions are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries in the United States. In the United States, unions were formed based on power with the people, not over the people like the government at the time.[60] Their activity today centres on collective bargaining over wages, benefits and working conditions for their membership, and on representing their members in disputes with management over violations of contract provisions. Larger unions also typically engage in lobbying activities and supporting endorsed candidates at the state and federal level.

Most unions in America are aligned with one of two larger umbrella organizations: the AFL-CIO created in 1955, and the Change to Win Federation which split from the AFL-CIO in 2005. Both advocate policies and legislation on behalf of workers in the United States and Canada, and take an active role in politics. The AFL-CIO is especially concerned with global trade issues.

Child labourers in an Indiana glass works. Labor unions have an objective interest in combating child labour.

In 2010, the percentage of workers belonging to a union in the United States (or total labor union "density") was 11.4%, compared to 18.3% in Japan, 27.5% in Canada and 70% in Finland.[61] Union membership in the private sector has fallen under 7%[62] – levels not seen since 1932. Unions allege that employer-incited opposition has contributed to this decline in membership.

The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers, police and other non-managerial or non-executive federal, state, county and municipal employees. Members of unions are disproportionately older, male and residents of the Northeast, the Midwest, and California.[63]

Union workers in the private sector average 10–30% higher pay than non-union in America after controlling for individual, job, and labour market characteristics.[64] Because of their inherently governmental function, public sector workers are paid the same regardless of union affiliation or non-affiliation after controlling for individual, job, and labour market characteristics.

The economist Joseph Stiglitz has asserted that, "Strong unions have helped to reduce inequality, whereas weaker unions have made it easier for CEOs, sometimes working with market forces that they have helped shape, to increase it." The decline in unionization since the Second World War in the United States has been associated with a pronounced rise in income and wealth inequality and, since 1967, with loss of middle class income.[65][66][67][68]

Vatican (Holy See)

The Association of Vatican Lay Workers represents lay employees in the Vatican.

Structure and politics

Cesar Chavez speaking at a 1974 United Farm Workers rally in Delano, California. The UFW during Chavez's tenure was committed to restricting immigration.

Unions may organize a particular section of skilled workers (craft unionism, traditionally found in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US[2]), a cross-section of workers from various trades (general unionism, traditionally found in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, the UK and the US), or attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry (industrial unionism, found in Australia, Canada, Germany, Finland, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US). These unions are often divided into "locals", and united in national federations. These federations themselves will affiliate with Internationals, such as the International Trade Union Confederation. However, in Japan, union organization is slightly different due to the presence of enterprise unions, i.e. unions that are specific to a plant or company. These enterprise unions, however, join industry-wide federations which in turn are members of Rengo, the Japanese national trade union confederation.

In Western Europe, professional associations often carry out the functions of a trade union. In these cases, they may be negotiating for white-collar or professional workers, such as physicians, engineers or teachers. Typically such trade unions refrain from politics or pursue a more liberal politics than their blue-collar counterparts.

A union may acquire the status of a "juristic person" (an artificial legal entity), with a mandate to negotiate with employers for the workers it represents. In such cases, unions have certain legal rights, most importantly the right to engage in collective bargaining with the employer (or employers) over wages, working hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The inability of the parties to reach an agreement may lead to industrial action, culminating in either strike action or management lockout, or binding arbitration. In extreme cases, violent or illegal activities may develop around these events.

The Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886 was a trade union strike involving more than 200,000 workers[69]

In other circumstances, unions may not have the legal right to represent workers, or the right may be in question. This lack of status can range from non-recognition of a union to political or criminal prosecution of union activists and members, with many cases of violence and deaths having been recorded historically.[70]

Unions may also engage in broader political or social struggle. Social Unionism encompasses many unions that use their organizational strength to advocate for social policies and legislation favourable to their members or to workers in general. As well, unions in some countries are closely aligned with political parties.

Unions are also delineated by the service model and the organizing model. The service model union focuses more on maintaining worker rights, providing services, and resolving disputes. Alternately, the organizing model typically involves full-time union organizers, who work by building up confidence, strong networks, and leaders within the workforce; and confrontational campaigns involving large numbers of union members. Many unions are a blend of these two philosophies, and the definitions of the models themselves are still debated.

In Britain, the perceived left-leaning nature of trade unions has resulted in the formation of a reactionary right-wing trade union called Solidarity which is supported by the far-right BNP. In Denmark, there are some newer apolitical "discount" unions who offer a very basic level of services, as opposed to the dominating Danish pattern of extensive services and organizing.[71]

A rally of the trade union UNISON in Oxford during a strike on 28 March 2006

In contrast, in several European countries (e.g. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland), religious unions have existed for decades. These unions typically distanced themselves from some of the doctrines of orthodox Marxism, such as the preference of atheism and from rhetoric suggesting that employees' interests always are in conflict with those of employers. Some of these Christian unions have had some ties to centrist or conservative political movements and some do not regard strikes as acceptable political means for achieving employees' goals.[2] In Poland, the biggest trade union Solidarity emerged as an anti-communist movement with religious nationalist overtones[72] and today it supports the right-wing Law and Justice party.[73]

Although their political structure and autonomy varies widely, union leaderships are usually formed through democratic elections.[74] Some research, such as that conducted by the Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training,[75] argues that unionized workers enjoy better conditions and wages than those who are not unionized.

Shop types

Companies that employ workers with a union generally operate on one of several models:

  • A closed shop (US) or a "pre-entry closed shop" (UK) employs only people who are already union members. The compulsory hiring hall is an example of a closed shop – in this case the employer must recruit directly from the union, as well as the employee working strictly for unionized employers.
  • A union shop (US) or a "post-entry closed shop" (UK) employs non-union workers as well, but sets a time limit within which new employees must join a union.
  • An agency shop requires non-union workers to pay a fee to the union for its services in negotiating their contract. This is sometimes called the Rand formula. In certain situations involving state public employees in the United States, such as California, "fair share laws" make it easy to require these sorts of payments.
  • An open shop does not require union membership in employing or keeping workers. Where a union is active, workers who do not contribute to a union may include those who approve of the union contract (free riders) and those who do not. In the United States, state level right-to-work laws mandate the open shop in some states. In Germany only open shops are legal; that is, all discrimination based on union membership is forbidden. This affects the function and services of the union.

An EU case concerning Italy stated that, "The principle of trade union freedom in the Italian system implies recognition of the right of the individual not to belong to any trade union ("negative" freedom of association/trade union freedom), and the unlawfulness of discrimination liable to cause harm to non-unionized employees."[76]

In Britain, previous to this EU jurisprudence, a series of laws introduced during the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher's government restricted closed and union shops. All agreements requiring a worker to join a union are now illegal. In the United States, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 outlawed the closed shop.

In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights found Danish closed-shop agreements to be in breach of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It was stressed that Denmark and Iceland were among a limited number of contracting states that continue to permit the conclusion of closed-shop agreements.[77]

Diversity of international unions

Union law varies from country to country, as does the function of unions. For example, German and Dutch unions have played a greater role in management decisions through participation in corporate boards and co-determination than have unions in the United States.[78] Moreover, in the United States, collective bargaining is most commonly undertaken by unions directly with employers, whereas in Austria, Denmark, Germany or Sweden, unions most often negotiate with employers associations.

Concerning labour market regulation in the EU, Gold (1993)[79] and Hall (1994)[80] have identified three distinct systems of labour market regulation, which also influence the role that unions play:

  • "In the Continental European System of labour market regulation, the government plays an important role as there is a strong legislative core of employee rights, which provides the basis for agreements as well as a framework for discord between unions on one side and employers or employers' associations on the other. This model was said to be found in EU core countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, and it is also mirrored and emulated to some extent in the institutions of the EU, due to the relative weight that these countries had in the EU until the EU expansion by the inclusion of 10 new Eastern European member states in 2004.
  • In the Anglo-Saxon System of labour market regulation, the government's legislative role is much more limited, which allows for more issues to be decided between employers and employees and any union or employers' associations which might represent these parties in the decision-making process. However, in these countries, collective agreements are not widespread; only a few businesses and a few sectors of the economy have a strong tradition of finding collective solutions in labour relations. Ireland and the UK belong to this category, and in contrast to the EU core countries above, these countries first joined the EU in 1973.
  • In the Nordic System of labour market regulation, the government's legislative role is limited in the same way as in the Anglo-Saxon system. However, in contrast to the countries in the Anglo-Saxon system category, this is a much more widespread network of collective agreements, which covers most industries and most firms. This model was said to encompass Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Here, Denmark joined the EU in 1973, whereas Finland and Sweden joined in 1995."[81]

The United States takes a more laissez-faire approach, setting some minimum standards but leaving most workers' wages and benefits to collective bargaining and market forces. Thus, it comes closest to the above Anglo-Saxon model. Also, the Eastern European countries that have recently entered into the EU come closest to the Anglo-Saxon model.

In contrast, in Germany, the relation between individual employees and employers is considered to be asymmetrical. In consequence, many working conditions are not negotiable due to a strong legal protection of individuals. However, the German flavor or works legislation has as its main objective to create a balance of power between employees organized in unions and employers organized in employers associations. This allows much wider legal boundaries for collective bargaining, compared to the narrow boundaries for individual negotiations. As a condition to obtain the legal status of a trade union, employee associations need to prove that their leverage is strong enough to serve as a counterforce in negotiations with employers. If such an employees association is competing against another union, its leverage may be questioned by unions and then evaluated in a court trial. In Germany, only very few professional associations obtained the right to negotiate salaries and working conditions for their members, notably the medical doctors association Marburger Bund and the pilots association Vereinigung Cockpit. The engineers association Verein Deutscher Ingenieure does not strive to act as a union, as it also represents the interests of engineering businesses.

Beyond the classification listed above, unions' relations with political parties vary. In many countries unions are tightly bonded, or even share leadership, with a political party intended to represent the interests of the working class. Typically this is a left-wing, socialist, or social democratic party, but many exceptions exist, including some of the aforementioned Christian unions.[2] In the United States, trade unions are almost always aligned with the Democratic Party with a few exceptions. For example, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has supported Republican Party candidates on a number of occasions and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) endorsed Ronald Reagan in 1980. In Britain trade union movement's relationship with the Labour Party frayed as party leadership embarked on privatization plans at odds with what unions see as the worker's interests. However, it has strengthened once more after the Labour party's election of Ed Miliband, who beat his brother David Miliband to become leader of the party after Ed secured the trade union votes. Additionally, in the past, there was a group known as the Conservative Trade Unionists, or CTU, formed of people who sympathized with right wing Tory policy but were Trade Unionists.

Historically, the Republic of Korea has regulated collective bargaining by requiring employers to participate, but collective bargaining has only been legal if held in sessions before the lunar new year.

International unionization

The largest trade union federation in the world is the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which has approximately 309 affiliated organizations in 156 countries and territories, with a combined membership of 166 million. The ITUC is a federation of national trade union centres, such as the AFL-CIO in the United States and the Trades Union Congress in the United Kingdom. Other global trade union organizations include the World Federation of Trade Unions.

National and regional trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups also form global union federations, such as Union Network International, the International Transport Workers Federation, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Arts and Entertainment Alliance or Public Services International.

Impact

Economics

Research has found that high unionization rates lead to substantial increases in firm productivity, as well as increases in workers' wages.[82] Right-to-work laws have been linked to greater economic inequality.[83][84]

Milton Friedman, economist and advocate of laissez-faire capitalism, sought to show that unionization produces higher wages (for the union members) at the expense of fewer jobs, and that, if some industries are unionized while others are not, wages will tend to decline in non-unionized industries.[85]

A response to the argument that unionized workers raise their own wages above their natural rate at the expense of their businesses or other workers is that unions are capable of raising productivity by reducing turnover. For example, by increasing coordination between workers and management, and by increasing workers' motivation.[86][87][88] Another argument raised by union supporters is that unionized workers will spend their higher wages, driving economic growth and creating new jobs.[89]

Politics

In the United States, the weakening of unions has been linked to more favorable electoral outcomes for the Republican Party.[90][91][92] Legislators in areas with high unionization rates are more responsive to the interests of the poor, whereas areas with lower unionization rates are more responsive to the interests of the rich.[93] Higher unionization rates increase the likelihood of parental leave policies being adopted.[94] Republican-controlled states are less likely to adopt more restrictive labor policies when unions are strong in the state.[95]

Unions have been linked to lower racial resentment among whites.[96] Membership in unions increases political knowledge, in particular among those with less formal education.[97]

Health

Unions have been linked to improved health outcomes.[98][99]

Union publications

Several sources of current news exist about the trade union movement in the world. These include LabourStart and the official website of the international trade union movement Global Unions. A source of international news about unions is RadioLabour which provides daily (Monday to Friday) news reports.

Labor Notes is the largest circulation cross-union publication remaining in the United States. It reports news and analysis about union activity or problems facing the labour movement. Another source of union news is the Workers Independent News, a news organization providing radio articles to independent and syndicated radio shows in the United States.

Film

See also

Notes and references

  1. Webb, Sidney; Webb, Beatrice (1920). History of Trade Unionism. Longmans and Co. London. ch. I
  2. Poole, M., 1986. Industrial Relations: Origins and Patterns of National Diversity. London UK: Routledge.
  3. OECD. Retrieved: 1 December 2017.
  4. "Industrial relations". ILOSTAT. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  5. "Trade Union Census". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  6. (1928). The Guild and the Trade Union. The Age.
  7. Kautsky, Karl (April 1901). "Trades Unions and Socialism". International Socialist Review. 1 (10). Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  8. G. D. H. Cole (2010). Attempts at General Union. Taylor & Francis. p. 3. ISBN 9781136885167.
  9. Webb, Sidney; Webb, Beatrice (1894). History of Trade Unionism. London: Longmans Green and Co. pp. 120–124.
  10. Webb & Webb 1894, p. 122.
  11. Principles of Political Economy (1871)Book V, Ch.10, para. 5
  12. "Trade union". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  13. "Industrial relations" (PDF). International Labour Organisation. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  14. History of the ACTU. Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine Australian Council of Trade Unions.
  15. Markey, Raymond (1 January 1996). "Race and organized labor in Australia, 1850–1901". Highbeam Research. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2006.
  16. Griffiths, Phil (4 July 2002). "Towards White Australia: The shadow of Mill and the spectre of slavery in the 1880s debates on Chinese immigration" (RTF). 11th Biennial National Conference of the Australian Historical Association. Retrieved 14 June 2006.
  17. Dvorak, Jaroslav; Karnite, Raita; Guogis, Arvydas (26 January 2018). "The Characteristic Features of Social Dialogue in the Baltics". Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika. 16 (16): 26–36. doi:10.15388/STEPP.2018.16.11425.
  18. Dvorak, J., Civinskas, R. (2018). The Determinants of Cooperation and the Need for Better Communication between Stakeholders in EU Countries: The Case of Posted Workers. Polish Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 18 (1), p. 94-106 https://pjms.zim.pcz.pl/resources/html/article/details?id=183839
  19. "Aantal leden christelijke vakbond neemt jaar na jaar toe". Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  20. "130 jaar ACV-geschiedenis". Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  21. "Hoeveel leden telt het ABVV? – Vlaams ABVV – Socialistische vakbond in Vlaanderen – Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond ABVV". www.vlaamsabvv.be. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  22. "Structuur en kerncijfers van de ACLVB". 12 October 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  23. "Geschiedenis van de ACLVB". 12 October 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  24. "For Whom The Bells Toll". Hatheway Labour Exhibit Center. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  26. American Center for International Labor Solidarity (2006), Justice For All: The Struggle for Worker Rights in Colombia Archived 17 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine, p11
  27. An ILO mission in 2000 reported that "the number of assassinations, abductions, death threats and other violent assaults on trade union leaders and unionized workers in Colombia is without historical precedent". According to the Colombian Government, during the period 1991–99 there were 593 assassinations of trade union leaders and unionized workers while the National Trade Union School holds that 1 336 union members were assassinated." – ILO, 16 June 2000, Special ILO Representative for cooperation with Colombia to be appointed by Director-General
  28. "By the 1990s, Colombia had become the most dangerous country in the world for unionists" – Chomsky, Aviva (2008), Linked labor histories: New England, Colombia, and the making of a global working class, Duke University Press, p11
  29. "Colombia has the world's worst record on these assassinations..." – 20 November 2008, Colombia: Not Time for a Trade Deal
  30. International Trade Union Confederation, 11 June 2010, ITUC responds to the press release issued by the Colombian Interior Ministry concerning its survey
  31. International Trade Union Confederation (2010), Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights: Colombia
  32. "Historia del Sindicalismo". SITRAPEQUIA website (in Spanish). San José: Sindicato de Trabajadores(as) Petroléros Químicos y Afines. 2014. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  33. Herrera, Manuel (30 April 2014). "Sindicatos alzarán la voz contra modelo neoliberal en celebraciones del 1° de mayo". La Nacion (in Spanish). San Jose. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  34. Conradt, David. "Social Democratic Party of Germany". ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA. 2017 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
  35. Fulton, L. (2015). "Trade Unions. Worker Participation. SEEurope Network". Worker-Participation.eu. SEEurope Network. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  36. Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  37. Sengupta, Meghna. "Trade Unions in India". Pocket Lawyer. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  38. Datta, Rekah. "From Development to Empowerment: The Self-Employed Women's Association in India". International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society.
  39. Chand, Smriti (17 February 2014). "6 Major Central Trade Unions of India". Your Article Library. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  40. Nimura, K. The Formation of Japanese Labor Movement: 1868–1914 (Translated by Terry Boardman). Retrieved 11 June 2011
  41. Cross Currents. Labor unions in Japan. CULCON. Retrieved 11 June 2011
  42. Weathers, C. (2009). Business and Labor. In William M. Tsutsui (Ed.), A Companion to Japanese History (pp. 493–510). Chichester, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
  43. Jung, L. (30 March 2011). National Labour Law Profile: Japan. ILO. Retrieved 10 June 2011
  44. Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training. Labor Situation in Japan and Analysis: 2009/2010. Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 10 June 2011
  45. Dolan, R. E. & Worden, R. L. (Eds.). Japan: A Country Study. Labor Unions, Employment and Labor Relations. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1994. Retrieved 12 June 2011
  46. Dan La Botz U.S.-supported Economics Spurred Mexican Emigration, pt.1, interview at The Real News, 1 May 2010.
  47. Juan Montes; José de Córdoba (21 December 2012). "Mexico Takes On Teachers Over School Control". Wall Street Journal.
  48. Anders Kjellberg (2020) Den svenska modellen i en oviss tid. Fack, arbetsgivare och kollektivavtal på en föränderlig arbetsmarknad – Statistik och analyser: facklig medlemsutveckling, organisationsgrad och kollektivavtalstäckning 2000–2029". Stockholm: Arena Idé 2020
  49. Anders Bruhn, Anders Kjellberg and Åke Sandberg (2013) "A New World of Work Challenging Swedish Unions" in Åke Sandberg (ed.) Nordic Lights. Work, Management and Welfare in Scandinavia. Stockholm: SNS (pp. 155–160)
  50. "Trade Union Density" OECD. Accessed: 06 October 2019.
  51. Anders Kjellberg (2020) Kollektivavtalens täckningsgrad samt organisationsgraden hos arbetsgivarförbund och fackförbund, Department of Sociology, Lund University. Studies in Social Policy, Industrial Relations, Working Life and Mobility. Research Reports 2020:1, Appendix 3 (in English) Table A
  52. Anders Kjellberg (2011) "The Decline in Swedish Union Density since 2007" Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies (NJWLS) Vol. 1. No 1 (August 2011), pp. 67–93
  53. Anders Kjellberg "The Decline in Swedish Union Density since 2007" Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies (NJWLS) Vol. 1. No 1 (August 2011), pp. 67–93
  54. https://mirror.anarhija.net/theanarchistlibrary.org/mirror/s/sd/sam-dolgoff-editor-the-anarchist-collectives.lt.pdf
  55. https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/cetra/papers/files/pegenaute-1999.pdf
  56. Romanos, Eduardo (2014). "Emotions, Moral Batteries and High-Risk Activism: Understanding the Emotional Practices of the Spanish Anarchists under Franco's Dictatorship". Contemporary European History. 23 (4): 545–564. doi:10.1017/S0960777314000319. JSTOR 43299690.
  57. https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/10096/3/Anarchist_Studies_Syndicalism.pdf
  58. Schifferes, Steve (8 March 2004). "The trade unions' long decline". BBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  59. "United Kingdom: Industrial relations profile". EUROPA. 15 April 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  60. Kazin, Michael (1995). The Populist Persuasion. BasicBooks. p. 154.
  61. Trade Union Density OECD. StatExtracts. Retrieved: 17 November 2011.
  62. Union Members Summary Bureau of Labor Statistics, 27 January 2012 Retrieved: 26 February 2012
  63. "Not With a Bang, But a Whimper: The Long, Slow Death Spiral of America's Labor Movement". The New Republic. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  64. 8-31-2004 Union Membership Trends in the United States Gerald Mayer. Congressional Research Service. 31 Aug 2004
  65. Doree Armstrong (12 February 2014). Jake Rosenfeld explores the sharp decline of union membership, influence. UW Today. Retrieved 6 March 2015. See also: Jake Rosenfeld (2014) What Unions No Longer Do. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674725115
  66. Keith Naughton, Lynn Doan and Jeffrey Green (20 February 2015). As the Rich Get Richer, Unions Are Poised for Comeback. Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
    • "A 2011 study drew a link between the decline in union membership since 1973 and expanding wage disparity. Those trends have since continued, said Bruce Western, a professor of sociology at Harvard University who co-authored the study."
  67. Stiglitz, Joseph E. (4 June 2012). The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future (Kindle Locations 1148–1149). Norton. Kindle Edition.
  68. Barry T. Hirsch, David A. Macpherson, and Wayne G. Vroman, "Estimates of Union Density by State," Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 124, No. 7, July 2001.
  69. "The 10 Biggest Strikes in American History Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine". Fox Business. 9 August 2011
  70. Amnesty International report 23 September 2005 – fear for safety of SINALTRAINAL member José Onofre Esquivel Luna
  71. See the website of the Danish discount union "Det faglige Hus" at http://www.detfagligehus.dk/ (website in Danish)
  72. Poland, Professor Jacek Tittenbrun of Poznan University. "The economic and social processes that led to the revolt of the Polish workers in the early eighties". www.marxist.com. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  73. Solidarność popiera Kaczyńskiego jak kiedyś Wałęsę at news.money.pl (in Polish)
  74. See E McGaughey, 'Democracy or Oligarchy? Models of Union Governance in the UK, Germany and US' (2017) ssrn.com
  75. "Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training report" (PDF). Acirrt.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  76. Eurofound website "FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION/TRADE UNION FREEDOM", "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 April 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  77. Eurofound, http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2006/01/feature/dk0601104f.htm
  78. Bamberg, Ulrich (June 2004). "The role of German trade unions in the national and European standardisation process" (PDF). TUTB Newsletter. 24–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  79. Gold, M., 1993. The Social Dimension – Employment Policy in the European Community. Basingstroke England UK: Macmillan Publishing
  80. Hall, M., 1994. Industrial Relations and the Social Dimension of European Integration: Before and after Maastricht, pp. 281–331 in Hyman, R. & Ferner A., eds.: New Frontiers in European Industrial Relations, Basil Blackwell Publishing
  81. Wagtmann, M.A. (2010): Module 3, Maritime & Port Wages, Benefits, Labour Relations. International Maritime Human Resource Management textbook modules. Available at: https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=f90c069a3e6bb729&id=F90C069A3E6BB729%21107#cid=F90C069A3E6BB729&id=F90C069A3E6BB729%21182
  82. Barth, Erling; Bryson, Alex; Dale-Olsen, Harald (16 October 2020). "Union Density Effects on Productivity and Wages". The Economic Journal. 130 (631): 1898–1936. doi:10.1093/ej/ueaa048. ISSN 0013-0133.
  83. VanHeuvelen, Tom (1 March 2020). "The Right to Work, Power Resources, and Economic Inequality". American Journal of Sociology. 125 (5): 1255–1302. doi:10.1086/708067. ISSN 0002-9602. S2CID 219517711.
  84. Western, Bruce; Rosenfeld, Jake (1 August 2011). "Unions, Norms, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality". American Sociological Review. 76 (4): 513–537. doi:10.1177/0003122411414817. ISSN 0003-1224. S2CID 18351034.
  85. Friedman, Milton (2007). Price theory ([New ed.], 3rd printing ed.). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-202-30969-9.
  86. "CEP | Staff". cep.lse.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  87. "Unions Are Good for Business, Productivity and the Economy". Aflcio.org. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  88. "Union productivity effects | Monthly Labor Review". Find Articles. 1985. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  89. Madl, David; Walter, Karla (18 February 2009). "Unions Are Good for the American Economy". Center for American Progress Action. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  90. Abdul-Razzak, Nour; Prato, Carlo; Wolton, Stephane (1 October 2020). "After Citizens United: How outside spending shapes American democracy". Electoral Studies. 67: 102190. doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102190. ISSN 0261-3794.
  91. Macdonald, David (25 June 2020). "Labor Unions and White Democratic Partisanship". Political Behavior. doi:10.1007/s11109-020-09624-3. ISSN 1573-6687. S2CID 220512676.
  92. Hertel-Fernandez, Alexander (2018). "Policy Feedback as Political Weapon: Conservative Advocacy and the Demobilization of the Public Sector Labor Movement". Perspectives on Politics. 16 (2): 364–379. doi:10.1017/S1537592717004236. ISSN 1537-5927.
  93. Becher, Michael; Stegmueller, Daniel (2020). "Reducing Unequal Representation: The Impact of Labor Unions on Legislative Responsiveness in the U.S. Congress". Perspectives on Politics: 1–18. doi:10.1017/S153759272000208X. ISSN 1537-5927.
  94. Engeman, Cassandra (2020). "When Do Unions Matter to Social Policy? Organized Labor and Leave Legislation in US States". Social Forces. doi:10.1093/sf/soaa074.
  95. Bucci, Laura C.; Jansa, Joshua M. (2020). "Who passes restrictive labour policy? A view from the States". Journal of Public Policy: 1–31. doi:10.1017/S0143814X20000070. ISSN 0143-814X.
  96. Frymer, Paul; Grumbach, Jacob M. (2020). "Labor Unions and White Racial Politics". American Journal of Political Science. n/a (n/a): 225–240. doi:10.1111/ajps.12537. ISSN 1540-5907.
  97. Macdonald, David (29 April 2019). "How Labor Unions Increase Political Knowledge: Evidence from the United States". Political Behavior. doi:10.1007/s11109-019-09548-7. ISSN 1573-6687. S2CID 159071392.
  98. Eisenberg‐Guyot, Jerzy; Mooney, Stephen J.; Hagopian, Amy; Barrington, Wendy E.; Hajat, Anjum (2020). "Solidarity and disparity: Declining labor union density and changing racial and educational mortality inequities in the United States". American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 63 (3): 218–231. doi:10.1002/ajim.23081. ISSN 1097-0274. PMC 7293351. PMID 31845387.
  99. Dean, Adam; Venkataramani, Atheendar; Kimmel, Simeon (10 September 2020). "Mortality Rates From COVID-19 Are Lower In Unionized Nursing Homes". Health Affairs. 39 (11): 1993–2001. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01011. ISSN 0278-2715. PMID 32910688.

Further reading

Britain

  • Aldcroft, D. H. and Oliver, M. J., eds. Trade Unions and the Economy, 1870–2000. (2000).
  • Campbell, A., Fishman, N., and McIlroy, J. eds. British Trade Unions and Industrial Politics: The Post-War Compromise 1945–64 (1999).
  • Clegg, H.A. et al. A History of British Trade Unions Since 1889 (1964); A History of British Trade Unions Since 1889: vol. 2 1911–1933. (1985); A History of British Trade Unionism Since 1889, vol. 3: 1934–51 (1994), The major scholarly history; highly detailed.
  • Davies, A. J. To Build a New Jerusalem: Labour Movement from the 1890s to the 1990s (1996).
  • Laybourn, Keith. A history of British trade unionism c. 1770–1990 (1992).
  • Minkin, Lewis. The Contentious Alliance: Trade Unions and the Labour Party (1991) 708 pp online
  • Pelling, Henry. A history of British trade unionism (1987).
  • Wrigley, Chris, ed. British Trade Unions, 1945–1995 (Manchester University Press, 1997)
  • Zeitlin, Jonathan. "From labour history to the history of industrial relations." Economic History Review 40.2 (1987): 159–184. Historiography
  • Directory of Employer's Associations, Trade unions, Joint Organisations, published by HMSO (Her Majesty's Stationery Office) on 1986 ISBN 0-11-361250-8

United States

  • Arnesen, Eric, ed. Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-Class History (2006), 3 vol; 2064pp; 650 articles by experts excerpt and text search
  • Beik, Millie, ed. Labor Relations: Major Issues in American History (2005) over 100 annotated primary documents excerpt and text search
  • Boris, Eileen, and Nelson Lichtenstein, eds. Major Problems In The History Of American Workers: Documents and Essays (2002)
  • Brody, David. In Labor's Cause: Main Themes on the History of the American Worker (1993) excerpt and text search
  • Dubofsky, Melvyn, and Foster Rhea Dulles. Labor in America: A History (2004), textbook, based on earlier textbooks by Dulles.
  • Taylor, Paul F. The ABC-CLIO Companion to the American Labor Movement (1993) 237pp; short encyclopedia
  • Zieger, Robert H., and Gilbert J. Gall, American Workers, American Unions: The Twentieth Century(3rd ed. 2002) excerpt and text search

Other

  • Berghahn, Volker R., and Detlev Karsten. Industrial Relations in West Germany (Bloomsbury Academic, 1988).
  • European Commission, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion: Industrial Relations in Europe 2010.
  • Gumbrell-McCormick, Rebecca, and Richard Hyman. Trade unions in western Europe: Hard times, hard choices (Oxford UP, 2013).
  • Hodder, A. and L. Kretsos, eds. Young Workers and Trade Unions: A Global View (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2015). review
  • Kester, Gérard. Trade unions and workplace democracy in Africa (Routledge, 2016).
  • Kjellberg, Anders. "The Decline in Swedish Union Density since 2007", Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies (NJWLS) Vol. 1. No 1 (August 2011), pp. 67–93.
  • Kjellberg, Anders (2017) The Membership Development of Swedish Trade Unions and Union Confederations Since the End of the Nineteenth Century (Studies in Social Policy, Industrial Relations, Working Life and Mobility). Research Reports 2017:2. Lund: Department of Sociology, Lund University.
  • Lipton, Charles (1967). The Trade Union Movement of Canada: 1827–1959. (3rd ed. Toronto, Ont.: New Canada Publications, 1973).
  • Markovits, Andrei. The Politics of West German Trade Unions: Strategies of Class and Interest Representation in Growth and Crisis (Routledge, 2016).
  • McGaughey, Ewan, 'Democracy or Oligarchy? Models of Union Governance in the UK, Germany and US' (2017) ssrn.com
  • Misner, Paul. Catholic Labor Movements in Europe. Social Thought and Action, 1914–1965 (2015). online review
  • Mommsen, Wolfgang J., and Hans-Gerhard Husung, eds. The development of trade unionism in Great Britain and Germany, 1880–1914 (Taylor & Francis, 1985).
  • Orr, Charles A. "Trade Unionism in Colonial Africa" Journal of Modern African Studies, 4 (1966), pp. 65–81
  • Panitch, Leo & Swartz, Donald (2003). From consent to coercion: The assault on trade union freedoms, third edition. Ontario: Garamound Press.
  • Ribeiro, Ana Teresa. "Recent Trends in Collective Bargaining in Europe." E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies 5.1 (2016). online
  • Taylor, Andrew. Trade Unions and Politics: A Comparative Introduction (Macmillan, 1989).
  • Upchurch, Martin, and Graham Taylor. The Crisis of Social Democratic Trade Unionism in Western Europe: The Search for Alternatives (Routledge, 2016).
  • Visser, Jelle. "Union membership statistics in 24 countries." Monthly Labor Review. 129 (2006): 38+ online
  • Visser, Jelle. "ICTWSS: Database on institutional characteristics of trade unions, wage setting, state intervention and social pacts in 34 countries between 1960 and 2007." Institute for Advanced Labour Studies, AIAS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam (2011). online

Australia

Europe

United States

Jewish Law (Halakhah)

Benjamin Brown, "Trade Unions, Strikes, and the Renewal of Halakhic Labor Law: Ideologies in the Rulings of Rabbis Kook, Uziel, and Feinstein"

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.