Labor Unions Today - 930 Words

Labor unions today Today most labor unions in the United States are members of one of two larger umbrella organizations: the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) or the Change to Win Federation, which split from the AFL-CIO in 2005. Both organizations advocate policies and legislation favorable to workers in the United States and Canada, and take an active role in Democratic party politics. The AFL-CIO is especially concerned with global trade issues. Private sector union members are tightly regulated by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), passed in 1935. The law is overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), part of the United States Department of Labor. Public sector unions are†¦show more content†¦It protects the right of workers to engage in any concerted activity for mutual aid or protection. Thus, no union connection is needed. Concerted activity in its inception involves only a speaker and a listener, for such activity is an indispensable preliminary step to employee self-organization.[4] Labor Education Programs in the United States In the US, labor education programs such as the Harvard Trade Union Program created in 1942 by Harvard University professor John T. Dunlop sought to educate union members to deal with important contemporary workplace and labor law issues of the day. The Harvard Trade Union Program is now currently part of a broader initiative at Harvard Law School called the Labor and Worklife Program that deals with a wide variety of labor and employment issues from union pension investment funds to the effects of nanotechnology on labor markets and the workplace. [edit] Jurisdiction of labor unions Labor unions use the term jurisdiction to refer to their claims to represent workers who perform a certain type of work and the right of their members to perform such work. For example, the work of unloading containerized cargo at United States ports, which both the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have claimed rightfully should be assigned to workers they represent. A jurisdictional strike is a concerted refusal to work undertaken by a union to assert its members right to suchShow MoreRelatedDoes America Need Labor Unions Today?2811 Words   |  12 Pages English 102 Section 401 November 24, 2012 Does America Need Labor Unions Today? President John F. Kennedy once said, â€Å"The American Labor Movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. 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