Economic Motivations of Labor Union Membership

This research considers the economic motivations for labor union membership. In the context of the research objective, economic motivations are more inclusive than wages. Economic motivations also include working conditions, control, and the right to bargain collectively.

While labor organization has been present in American society from almost the beginning of nationhood, unions were repressed legislatively, judicially, and socially until the early1930s (McConnell, 1989). At that point, under the "New Deal" programs of the Franklin Roosevelt Administration, progressive labor legislation began to be introduced. From that time through the mid1940s, organized labor grew, became a socially acceptable institution, and suffered far less from judicial repression. During the 1930s, however, bloody labor wars which occurred, as industrial managements attempted to thwart the development of the labor movement. Most of these labor wars involved member unions of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), as opposed to those of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), which was composed primarily of craft unions.

The 1947 Congress marked the first time since the initial election of Franklin Roosevelt as President that the Republicans held a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. About the only notable legislation they passed in their shortlived (twoyear) majority was the Taft Hartley Act, which im

. . .
p. One of the proudest claims of labor unions is that they raise the real income levels of their members. Diewart (1974) found that labor unions could, indeed, increase the real income levels of their members in the shortterm. This shortterm increase occurs at the expense of the owners of capital. Whether labor union activity raises real income for union members over the longterm is a contentious issue (McConnell, 1989). Nevertheless, the fact that labor unions do raise the real income of their members over the shortterm is a strong motivation for labor union membership. Employment discrimination provides another economic motivation for labor union membership. Social responsibility is imposed on business and industry in the interest area of employment discrimination in the contexts of hiring, promotion, retention, and compensation. The regulation of business and industry in these contexts is intended to eliminate overt discrimination on the basis of sex, racial or ethnic background, religious preference, or age. In many instances, such regulation is also intended to rectify the effects of past discrimination based upon these same characteristics. In practice, the greatest emphasis is placed on discrimination
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
AFL CIO, Republicans Congress, Lundberg Startz, Western European, LABOR UNIONS, Roosevelt Administration, Hartley Act, labor unions, North American, Journal Economics, Labor AFL, labor union, union membership, collective bargaining, labor union membership, mcconnell 1989, motivation labor union, income distribution, motivation labor, collective bargaining process, minimum wage, bargaining process, organized labor, workers labor unions, capital labor union,
Approximate Word count = 1550
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)