how a labor union works
labor unions generally have a democratic structure holding elections to choose officers to make decisions that are beneficial to the members employees pay dues to the union in return the labor union acts as an advocate on the employees behalf labor unions are often industry specific and tend to be most common today among public sector government employees and those in transportation and utilities 34to form a union a locally based group of employees obtains a charter from a national level labor organization two large organizations oversee most of the labor unions in the u s the change to win federation ctw and the american federation of labor and congress of industrial organizations afl cio the afl cio was formed in 1955 after the two groups merged the ctw spun off from the afl cio in 2005 562nearly all unions are structured and work in similar ways u s law requires an employer to actively bargain with a union in good faith however the employer is not required to agree to any specific terms multiple negotiation rounds are conducted between the union s bargaining unit a group of members whose duty is to assure that its members are properly compensated and represented and the employer a collective bargaining agreement cba is eventually agreed upon and signed the cba outlines pay scales and includes other terms of employment such as vacation and sick days benefits working hours and working conditions 7after signing the cba an employer cannot change the agreement without a union representative s approval however cbas eventually expire at which time the labor union and management must negotiate and sign a new agreement 8despite being a boon to workers labor unions have seen membership decrease significantly since their heyday in the mid 20th century 9example of a labor unionthe national education association nea represents teachers and other education professionals and is the largest labor union in the united states with nearly 3 million members 10it represents public school teachers substitute teachers higher education faculty members education support workers administrators retired teachers and students working to become teachers the nea works with local and state educational systems to set adequate wages and working conditions for its members among other activities 11history of labor unionslabor unions have played a critical role in the workforce of the united states in the industrial space labor unions fought for safer conditions better working hours and better pay labor unions also worked to stop child labor the history of labor unions in the u s pre date the country the first strike occurred in 1768 when new york journeyman tailors protested against a wage reduction as a result the federal society of journeyman cordwainers was created in 1794 in philadelphia and is considered to be the beginning of trade union organization 12refusal to admit black people women and immigrant groups were common in labor unions in the 19th and early 20th century and excluded groups formed their own unions today labor union membership is very diverse including more women and black and latinx workers than ever before though asian workers are underrepresented 1314the right to form unions was established in 1935 by the national labor relations act also known as the wagner act it gave unionized employees the right to strike and bargain jointly for working conditions the act encouraged collective bargaining stopped unfair tactics by employers and set up enforcement in a new independent agency the national labor relations board 15the number of u s wage and salary workers who were members of unions in 2023 9in recent years legislation and court decisions have weakened the ability of unions to organize today right to work laws in 27 states prohibit contracts that require workers to join a labor union to get or keep a job 16public employees cannot be required to pay dues to a union to support its collective bargaining activities on their behalf according to a 2018 u s supreme court decision in janus v american federation of state county and municipal employees 17in march 2021 the united states house of representatives passed the protecting the right to organize act pro act the pro union legislation aims to make it easier to form unions and overrides right to work laws as of september 2022 the legislation has been stalled by the senate with most republicans opposing the act and referring it to the committee on health education labor and pensions 1819labor unions todayunion membership in the u s reached its peak in the 1950s when nearly a third of the workforce was represented by unions unions have been in a steady decline ever since for a number of reasons not least of which is the collapse of domestic manufacturing that provided many blue collar jobs 20in a report released in late 2023 the u s department of the treasury draws a strong correlation between declining union representation and the growing income equality between middle class americans and the top paid tier 20today only about 10 of american workers are represented by unions government and public sector jobs including teachers police and firefighters are most likely to be unionized accounting for about a third of union members 9industries with relatively high rates of unionization include utilities transportation and warehousing educational services and the entertainment industries 21criticisms of labor unionssome business owners industry associations and think tanks support right to work laws on the grounds that requiring union membership to obtain a job reduces competition in the free market economy some labor union contracts such as those of the teacher and police unions have been criticized for making it too difficult to fire incompetent and even violent employees 2223for example according to a 2019 study of 656 police union contracts across the country 73 included an appeals process in which final decisions on firing and disciplining officers were in the hands of arbitrators selected in part by the local police union the result is that many disciplinary actions taken against abusive police officers have been overturned 2425some in the labor movement have called for the expulsion of police unions on the grounds that they protect violent officers the afl cio s recommendations in 2020 on police reform said the best way to address police brutality was to engage police affiliates not isolate them 26at times labor unions have been found complicit in organized criminal activity the u s department of justice reports as of 2020 the united states had obtained relief in 24 civil rico cases involving labor organizations affiliated with the international brotherhood of teamsters ibt the laborers international union of north america liuna the former hotel employees and restaurant employees international union hereiu and the international longshoreman s association ila 27political role of labor unionslabor unions play a significant role in politics endorsing candidates in local and national elections and representing their members interests in occupational safety issues the 2018 supreme court decision banning mandatory dues for public workers protected by unions undermined the unions ability to fund political advocacy 17the democratic party expresses support for the labor movement in its platform and wins many labor union endorsements some unions including law enforcement groups tend to support republican candidates traditionally the republican party has viewed unions as a threat to freedom in the workplace and opposes legislation that makes it easier for unions to organize such as the pro act 282930