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64-544: The Oregon AFL–CIO engages in assisting unions in organizing , political education campaigns, legislative advocacy , building labor-community partnerships, education and training. Among the Oregon AFL–CIO's areas of interest are: creating family-wage jobs, workers' rights, economic development, community engagement, activist training and labor education. In 2015 11 of Oregon AFL–CIO's autonomous Central Labor Councils (CLC) were dissolved and consolidated into larger chapters of

128-521: A compromise position several years later under pressure from Congress that allowed craft unions to seek separate representation of smaller groups of workers at the same time that another union was seeking a wall-to-wall unit. Employers and their allies in Congress also criticized the NLRA for its expansive definition of "employee" and for allowing supervisors and plant guards to form unions, sometimes affiliated with

192-489: A different capacity. William W. Delaney's "My Father Was Killed By Pinkerton Men" is a song about the violence that often surrounded early American labor strife. The most famous movie about organizing is the 1979 factually based film Norma Rae , the story of a Jewish organizer from New York City who came to the American South to organize a textile mill . He recruits Norma Rae, played by Sally Field . Norma becomes

256-464: A group, and so is not based on a formal or legal relationship between an employer and employee. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which was established in NLRA 1935 sections 3 to 6 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 153–156 ), is the primary enforcer of the Act. Employees and unions may act themselves in support of their rights, however because of collective action problems and the costs of litigation,

320-480: A key union activist who defies management at great personal risk. The 1987 production of Matewan is another factually based story of an organizer who visits a small mining town in West Virginia and who is able to unite rival ethnic groups against a common enemy: the company. Both of these stories feature outsiders entering rural company towns and stirring workers up against exploitative management. This

384-434: A labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized in section 158 (a)(3) of this title." National Labor Relations Act of 1935 § 7 Under section 8 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 158 ) the law defines a set of prohibited actions by employers, employees, and unions, known as an unfair labor practice. The first five unfair labor practices aimed at employers are in section 8(a). These are, In addition, added by

448-420: A majority of the employees agree to union representation, the results bind the company to recognize and negotiate with the union. Normally, both sides are given a chance to campaign for or against unionization, though management has a decided advantage due to their greater access to the employees, as well as management's inherent ability to discipline or terminate employees. It is in this electioneering model where

512-456: A non-discrimination provision to the bill to protect against union and employee race discrimination. Despite pushes from the NAACP and National Urban League to correct discriminatory practices, the law was written without the inclusion of an anti-discrimination clause. The act also excludes independent contractors , domestic workers, and farm workers. In recent years, advocacy organizations like

576-530: A provision that is similar to one of the proposed amendments in the Employee Free Choice Act . Under the NLRA, unions can become the representative based on signed union authorization cards only if the employer voluntarily recognizes the union. If the employer refuses to recognize the union, the union can be certified through a secret-ballot election conducted by the NLRB. In the 2010s, Democrats began seeking

640-458: A series of banned unfair labor practices , including interference with the formation or organization of labor unions by employers. The act does not apply to certain workers, including supervisors, agricultural employees, domestic workers, government employees, and independent contractors. The NLRA was strongly opposed by conservatives and members of the Republican Party , but it was upheld in

704-489: A step forward in labor relations, the company union was effectively a public relations ploy that had the opposite impact of thwarting the organization of trade unions in the great organizing drives of the period. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the legislation into law on July 5, 1935. It also has its roots in a variety of different labor acts previously enacted: Under section 1 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 151 ) of

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768-442: A successful organizing campaign usually demonstrably benefits the labor at the expense of management. Critics will often circulate horror stories about plant closures and retaliatory firings to discourage union activity and uptake among the workers. Real or imagined, such horror stories are taken as warnings and have a chilling effect on voting. Though illegal, retaliatory terminations remain a problem for organizers to overcome. Fear

832-739: A trade union are entitled to not associate or financially support it. The NLRA 1935 also does not include additional measures to protect the rights of racial minorities in the workplace. At the time, unions like the American Federation of Labor did not grant membership to black laborers while other unions like the CIO engaged in internal discrimination, providing more preferable jobs and seniority to its white members. Employers also engaged in discrimination against black union members by restricting their ability to organize and collectively bargain with white laborers. The NAACP urged Senator Robert Wagner to add

896-662: A union organizer is a union representative who "organizes" or unionizes non-union companies or worksites. Organizers primarily exist to assist non-union workers in forming chapters of locals, usually by leading them in their efforts. Organizers employ various methods to secure recognition by the employer as being a legitimate union, the ultimate goal being a collective bargaining agreement . The methods can be classified as being either top-down organizing or bottom-up organizing. Top-down organizing focuses on persuading management through salesmanship or pressure tactics. The salesmanship may include offering access to resources such as to

960-545: A union's presence, the same issues arise in any vocation . Also, both of the movies take place in the Detroit , Michigan area, a city which has produced some great organizers. The 1992 production Hoffa , starring Jack Nicholson as famed labor leader Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters , begins the story where Hoffa's career began: organizing truck drivers and warehouse workers in and around Detroit. Jimmy Hoffa went on to become one of

1024-444: A well-trained and skilled supply of labor or access to union cartels . Pressure tactics may include picketing with the intention of embarrassing management or disrupting business, as well as assisting the government in investigating employment law and labor law violations. A strict enforcement of these laws might result in fines and might serve to hurt the violator's chances in a competitive bidding process. Top-down organizing

1088-613: Is a common theme in organizing. The workers are cast as simple commoners being oppressed by powerful managers cast in the role of villains . The organizer is portrayed as a liberator. There is some truth in these stories since companies did, in fact, historically hire armed thugs to break up organizing drives through unethical and oppressive means. Modern unions work within the existing system, rather than against it, through sophisticated political action programs. Most unions have reinvented themselves as streamlined, professional machines. 10,000 Black Men Named George , released in 2002,

1152-505: Is a movie based on the true story of A. Philip Randolph , the famous black organizer who organized the railroad company's largely black Pullman Porters . The film Bread and Roses (2001) depicts the Service Employees International Union 's " Justice for Janitors " campaign to organize cleaners. The story is also a love story between an idealistic young organizer and a female Hispanic immigrant among those he

1216-508: Is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. In some unions, the organizer's role is to recruit groups of workers under the organizing model . In other unions, the organizer's role is largely that of servicing members and enforcing work rules, similar to the role of a shop steward . In some unions, organizers may also take on industrial/legal roles such as making representations before Fair Work Commission , tribunals, or courts . In North America ,

1280-452: Is generally considered easier than bottom-up and is practiced more in the construction industry. Bottom-up organizing focuses on the workers and usually involves a certification process, normally overseen by a labor relations board such as the NLRB in the U.S. The process entails either a secret ballot election or, in some cases, a card-signing effort (called card check). In either case, should

1344-486: Is organizing. Both of these stories incorporate pro-union messages with ethnic determination. In the case of the Pullman Porters, Randolph is remembered as a civil rights hero . The Justice for Janitors campaign is about immigrants' rights, as many of the organized janitors are from Spanish-speaking or Slavic countries. The status of the characters as minorities paints a picture of them as being outside of, or on

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1408-544: Is the New York City version of the Wagner Act. The New York State Employment Relations Act was enacted in 1937. Along with other factors, the act contributed to tremendous growth of membership in the labor unions, especially in the mass-production sector. The total number of labor union members grew from three million in 1933 to eight million at the end of the 1930s, with the vast majority of union members living outside of

1472-402: Is the leading obstacle to organizing. In bottom-up organizing, management and labor are pitted against each other and management often schedules retaliatory, aggressive tactics in an effort to break the chapter, called " union-busting ." The intention of such union-busting may be to "nip it in the bud" before getting locked into a costly collective bargaining agreement. Management may feel that

1536-653: Is the promotion of collective bargaining between independent trade unions, on behalf of the workforce, and the employer. encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection. Various definitions are explained in section 2, ( 29 U.S.C.   § 152 ) including 2(5) defining "labor organization" and 2(9) defining "labor dispute". The Act aims to protect employees as

1600-753: The AFL–CIO , for not doing enough to organize. In fact, this has been cited as the genesis of the split within the American labor movement that led to the formation of the Change to Win Federation (a rival umbrella organization of North American unions set up as an alternative to the AFL–CIO in 2005), by Change to Win advocates at least. Many unions see organizing as a way to ensure the future of their organization. Unions who emphasize organizing and are expansionist are said to have

1664-484: The National Domestic Workers' Alliance have worked on the state level to pass a Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights , to extend to domestic workers the protections granted under the NLRA. Similar advocacy efforts are taking place on behalf of farm workers. "Nothing in this subchapter, except as specifically provided for herein, shall be construed so as either to interfere with or impede or diminish in any way

1728-554: The Supreme Court case of NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. , decided April 12, 1937. The 1947 Taft–Hartley Act amended the NLRA, establishing a series of labor practices for unions and granting states the power to pass right-to-work laws . The act's origins may be traced to the bloody Colorado Fuel and Iron Strike of 1914. Colorado Fuel was a subsidiary of Standard Oil, and John D. Rockefeller Jr. sought expert advice from

1792-467: The Taft–Hartley Act , there are seven unfair labor practices aimed at unions and employees. Under section 9 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 159 ) the people elected by a majority of the workforce have the right to become the exclusive representatives of workers in collective bargaining with the employer. The NLRA 1935 does not cover two main groups of employees: those working for the government and in

1856-551: The Wagner Act , is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions , engage in collective bargaining , and take collective action such as strikes . Central to the act was a ban on company unions . The act was written by Senator Robert F. Wagner , passed by the 74th United States Congress , and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt . The National Labor Relations Act seeks to correct

1920-460: The profits and respect on the job. In the 1997 action movie Grosse Pointe Blank , Dan Aykroyd 's villainous character pursues fellow assassin John Cusack in order to include him in a ridiculous assassins' union. These latter two movies use organizing as a plot device, though they involve black market businesses and are far-fetched for this reason. Nonetheless, they demonstrate how, absent

1984-408: The right to strike , or to affect the limitations or qualifications on that right." Wagner Act 1935 § 13 The act was bitterly opposed by the Republican Party and business groups. The American Liberty League viewed the act as a threat to freedom and engaged in a campaign of opposition in order to repeal these "socialist" efforts. This included encouraging employers to refuse to comply with

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2048-490: The " inequality of bargaining power " between employers and employees by promoting collective bargaining between trade unions and employers. The law established the National Labor Relations Board to prosecute violations of labor law and to oversee the process by which employees decide whether to be represented by a labor organization. It also established various rules concerning collective bargaining and defined

2112-473: The "organizing model." By contrast, other unions are said to have the " servicing model ," spending most of their resources on providing services to the existing membership (i.e., non-expansionist). Within the labor movement, there is some resistance to organizing, though more in deed than in word. Organizing can be seen as a drain on scarce resources with insignificant returns and with results tenuous. In transient industries such as construction, an increase in

2176-411: The Act, the key principles and policy findings on which the Act was based are explained. The Act aims to correct the " inequality of bargaining power between employees who, according to the Act's proponents, do not possess full freedom of association or actual liberty of contract and employers who are organized in the corporate or other forms of ownership association". To achieve this, the central idea

2240-486: The NLRA. Others developed in reaction to NLRB decisions. Over all, they wanted the NLRB to be neutral as to bargaining power, but the NLRA's policy section takes a decidedly pro-employee position: It is declared to be the policy of the United States to eliminate the causes of certain substantial obstructions to the free flow of commerce and to mitigate and eliminate these obstructions when they have occurred by encouraging

2304-545: The NLRB and supporting the nationwide filing of injunctions to keep the NLRB from functioning. This campaign continued until the NLRA was found constitutional by the Supreme Court in National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation (1937). Labor groups, while overwhelmingly supportive, expressed a set of reservations. The American Federation of Labor and some employers accused

2368-557: The NLRB of favoring the Congress of Industrial Organizations , particularly when determining whether to hold union elections in plant-wide, or wall-to-wall, units, which the CIO usually sought, or to hold separate elections in separate craft units, which the craft unions in the AFL favored. While the NLRB initially favored plant-wide units, which tacitly favored the CIO's industrial unionism , it retreated to

2432-630: The National Labor Relations Board is designed to assist and bear some of the costs. Under section 3, ( 29 U.S.C.   § 153 ) the NLRB has two basic functions: overseeing the process by which employees decide whether to be represented by a labor organization and prosecuting violations. Those processes are initiated in the regional offices of the NLRB. The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board give legal advice. Sections 4 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 154 ) and 5 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 155 ) set out provisions on

2496-558: The boss, "This isn't over." The Fred Savage sitcom Working had an episode where the main character organizes his fellow workers into a union and tells management it is because he really cares about the well-being of his coworkers, exhibiting solidarity. The song " Solidarity Forever " by Ralph Chaplin has become the anthem of large parts of the labor movement such as those in North America. National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 , also known as

2560-462: The courts. Under section 11 it can lead investigations, collect evidence, issue subpoenas , and require witnesses to give evidence. Under section 12 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 162 ) it is an offense for people to unduly interfere with the Board's conduct. In practice, the act was often ignored when it suited political powers, most notably by Walt Disney in 1940 who formed a company union in violation of

2624-601: The efficacy of the NLRA by inhibiting the law from applying to shifting circumstances. Opponents of the Wagner Act introduced several hundred bills to amend or repeal the law in the decade after its passage. All of them failed or were vetoed until the passage of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, or the Taft–Hartley Act , in 1947. More recent unsuccessful efforts included attempts in 1978 to permit triple backpay awards and union collective bargaining certification based on signed union authorization cards,

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2688-563: The election process. The emergence of union-busting as an industry is a relatively new phenomenon and is described in Martin Levitt's book Confessions of A Union Buster. Prior to the emergence of the union-avoidance industry, practitioners were mainly " goon squads " also used for strike-breaking. In the U.S., the largest and most well-known "goon squad" for hire was the Pinkerton Detective Agency , still active today, though in

2752-412: The fractious effects of union-on-union competition and perceived issues of raiding . Expansionism and the scramble for members in organizing programs bring to light these border issues. Opponents of organizing, mainly in management and business, argue that unionization divides employees against their employer and results in increased costs. Such accusations are not entirely without foundation: Indeed,

2816-578: The labor movement believes the entire process to be slanted against them in enforcement and interpretation of labor laws. Sometimes, organizing involves legal wrangling over issues such as voter eligibility. In such cases, issues are often settled by appeal to the Labor Board who serves, essentially, as a referee during the process. Intrigue during heated campaigns is not uncommon. In various cases, one or both sides have used spying and information-gathering techniques tantamount to industrial espionage . Within

2880-418: The labor movement, organizing is the cause within the cause. In most industrialized nations, there has been a steady decline in union membership and in the influence of organized labor since the 1950s. A response to this decline has been a renewed organizing effort. The heads of unions are well aware of the problem. In the U.S., many labor activists have blamed John Sweeney , the former (1995–2009) President of

2944-627: The law in order to prevent the Cartoon Unionists Guild, a Trade Union, from gaining a foothold in Disney Studios. Section 7 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 157 ) sets out the general principle that employees have the right to join a trade union and engage in collective bargaining. Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for

3008-608: The limitation on working in the employer's usual business. Objections are based on the inconveniences and costs of meeting the criterion. For instance, it prevents small venues from hiring performers, even for one-night stands, unless they are hired as employees. As a result, in the California phase of the campaign, numerous occupations of independent contractors were exempted from the test in California Assembly Bill 5 (2019) . The Little Wagner Act, written by Ida Klaus ,

3072-461: The margins of, the American Dream , thus further casting workers and activists as underdogs. The underdog theme is an inspirational archetype in myth . In the 2005 action movie Four Brothers , one of the characters is a former union activist who turns the bad guy's henchmen against him by informally organizing them against their boss based on the common organizing themes of a greater share in

3136-416: The most powerful labor leaders in U.S. history. The 1978 movie F.I.S.T , tells the same story of Hoffa's beginnings as an organizer and of his rise to power, albeit with more liberties taken. Sylvester Stallone plays Hoffa as a man with good intentions, dogged on both sides, by both sides of the law. Both Hoffa stories feature Hoffa as a tough "man of the people" and chronicle how his organizing swelled

3200-400: The narrowing of the Act's provisions allowing workers to be hired as independent contractors, thus bringing them under the jurisdiction of the Act. Legislators have introduced a standard for independent contracting termed the "ABC test", after its three criteria A, B and C. To be hired as an independent contractor, the worker must: Independent contractors and employers have objected to B,

3264-490: The new field of public relations to prolong the settlement of the strike. He also recruited the former Canadian Labour Secretary (and future Prime Minister) MacKenzie King to the Rockefeller Foundation to broker a solution to the prolonged strike. The settlement resulted in the establishment of a Management-Labor conciliation board, which evolved into a company union and template for settling labor disputes. Although

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3328-404: The officers of the Board and their expenses. Section 6 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 156 ) empowers the Board to issue rules interpreting the labor legislation. This will generally be binding, unless a court deems it to have acted outside its authority. Under section 10 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 160 ) the NLRB is empowered to prevent unfair labor practices, which may ultimately be reviewed by

3392-429: The organizer really organizes: arranging meetings, devising strategy, and developing an internal structure known as an organizing committee . It is from the pool of activists recruited to the organizing committee that the union typically later draws its shop stewards. Though some mistake organizing as strictly being a recruitment effort, numerous obstacles emerge which require more than simple enlistment and promotion of

3456-487: The organizing campaign encourages and capitalizes upon worker disobedience and perceived disloyalty. For this reason, management may hire anti-union consultants or lawyers known as "union-busters" or "union avoidance consultants." With the goal of thwarting organizing, union-busters typically have a two-pronged approach: firstly, management will cut deals with individual workers to betray the union and secondly, to exploit loopholes in labor law in an effort to derail or sandbag

3520-438: The practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection . Some of these changes were later achieved in the 1947 amendments. Over time, the U.S. Supreme Court has gradually undone

3584-416: The purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized in section 8(a)(3). Specific rules in support of collective bargaining are as follows. "Employees shall have

3648-475: The railway or airline industries. Section 2(2) (29 USC §152(2)) states that the Act does not apply to employees of the "United States or any wholly owned Government corporation, or any Federal Reserve Bank , or any State or political subdivision thereof, or any person subject to the Railway Labor Act ". Under section 19 ( 29 U.S.C.   § 169 ), people who have religious convictions against joining

3712-498: The ranks of the Teamsters. Hoffa was notorious for taking an "ends justifies the means" approach to organizing. Hoffa's legacy remains: his son, James P. Hoffa , is the current general president of the Teamsters. In an episode of the popular American sit-com The Office , the characters hold an organizing meeting that ends with a manager threatening to fire everyone involved. The character played by comedian Patrice O'Neal tells

3776-437: The right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in

3840-553: The statewide affiliate. These chapters, still known as either area labor federations or central labor councils (CLC) act as a regional representative for union individuals, union affiliates at the regional level. Personnel at the CLC level assist in the facilitation of strategic planning, budgeting, and assist in political campaigns . Union organizing A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling )

3904-418: The supply of labor from newly organized shops may cause the supply of jobs to dwindle below what an increased membership can absorb. Most disputes between unions are jurisdictional (territorial). Union jurisdiction is based on geographic scope, craft , industry , historical claim, and compromise. Unions have overlapping jurisdictions. Critics within the labor movement have blamed the movement itself for

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3968-410: The union. During organizing, management has greater means to reward or punish workers, far overshadowing methods available to the union. For this reason, in most countries, laws such as the U.S. National Labor Relations Act , guarantee the rights of workers to seek union membership and forbid management's use of undue influence such as bribes or threats. Nonetheless, such charges are hard to prove and

4032-419: The unions that represented the employees whom they were supposed to supervise or police. Many accused the NLRB of a general pro-union and anti-employer bias, pointing to the Board's controversial decisions in such areas as employer free speech and "mixed motive" cases, in which the NLRB held that an employer violated the Act by using misconduct that ordinarily would not result in termination to fire an employee who

4096-465: Was engaged in pro-union activity. In addition, employers campaigned over the years to outlaw a number of union practices such as closed shops , secondary boycotts , jurisdictional strikes , mass picketing, strikes in violation of contractual no-strike clauses, pension and health and welfare plans sponsored by unions and multi-employer bargaining . Many of these criticisms included provisions that employers and their allies were unable to have included in

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