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Labor Organization and Tactics Shane Hall Demand Media

Labor unions represent workers in particular industries, trades or sectors. They organize their members to negotiate improved
wages, benefits and working conditions. Labor unions grew very rapidly during the late 1800s and early 1900s as a response to
poor working conditions and wages. Although union membership in the United States peaked in the mid-20th century and has
declined since then, various types of labor unions remain an influential force in American business and politics.
Types
Economists Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Robert Smith, authors of "Modern Labor Economics," identify two main types of labor
unions: craft unions and industrial unions. Craft unions represent workers in a specific occupation. Industrial unions represent
workers in a particular industry, regardless of the workers' specific occupations.
Craft Unions
Craft unions have their roots in the guilds of medieval Europe. In occupations such as bakers and blacksmiths, apprentices
learned their trades from masters through the guilds, which regulated production by setting prices and limiting wages and
employment, according to the Economic History Association's EH.net website. Modern craft unions continue to represent
workers in specific occupations, especially skilled trades. Craft unions in the United States include the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the United Auto Workers, and the International Association of Machinists.
Industrial Unions
In contrast to craft unions, which represent members in specific trades, such as machinists, carpenters and electrical workers,
industrial unions represent workers in industrial sectors, such as transportation or food service. One of the largest industrial
unions in the United States is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Initially a union that represented workers in long-
haul trucking, the Teamsters' membership comprises workers in a variety of industrial jobs, including trucking, warehouse and
construction. Other industrial unions in the United States include the United Food and Commercial Workers, consisting of
workers in restaurants and other food service industries, and the Organization of Chemical and Atomic Workers, which
represents workers in chemical industries and nuclear power plants.
Tactics
Unions and organized labor use many tactics in order to negotiate with management. Below find an overview of some tactics.

Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching
agreements to regulate working conditions. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of
a trade union to which the employees belong. The collective agreements reached by these negotiations usually set out wage
scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or
company affairs.
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an
expression of protest, usually for social or political reasons. Workers can encourage others to boycott the businesses that they
work for in order to encourage the business to improve its treatment of workers.
Strike action, also called labor strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually
takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the Industrial Revolution, when
mass labor became important in factories and mines.
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a company through obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace
setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions.
Lets imagine you are a worker whose job doesnt require many specialized skills (it only takes an hour to train your
replacement). Your job is surrounded by dangerous machinery and the pay is low but your work is actually
extremely important to society (you are responsible for inspecting medicine vials at a medicine factory to make
sure the child-safety caps work; without you, children might die). What type of union might you join? Why? Next,
rank the tactics listed above from what you think would be the most effective (best) to the least effective (worst)
for getting demands met. Explain your reasoning.