Collective Bargaining the Taft-Harley Act Research Proposal

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1).

The steel industry, lead by the United Steel Workers of America (USWA) has also had a substantial force in the promotion of collective bargaining agreements. As well as being a skilled, blue-collar industry, the steel industry shares with automotive industry the common feature that it is deemed integral to the success of the U.S. economy as a whole, thus increasing worker's bargaining power. "Access to steel supply has been deemed an essential feature of every developing economy," (Mangum 1997, p.4).

This is one reason why in the current economic stimulus bill, protection for the steel industry were included, even though officially the U.S. does not support protectionism. Also, the American automobile industry's rehabilitation is seen as key in the redevelopment of the American economy as a whole: 'As GM goes, so goes the nation,' is the often-repeated common wisdom. Although unions are less powerful today, unions in these industries came to power and retail their power because of the importance of these industries in America's infrastructure. The Teamsters, another historically powerful union, represented workers who performed a vital service in transportation and freight-related industries, thus increasing its relative power in the American labor force.

In contrast to these powerful blue-collar workers, workers that have had little success in generating effective union membership roles and collective bargaining agreements include retail workers at establishments such as Wal-Mart. True, Wal-Mart has discouraged unionization, but so did the automotive, steel, and transportation unions at the beginning of the century. Wal-Mart employees do not possess unique skills, and are viewed as replaceable, even 'disposable' as employees. Retail workers are often employed part-time, as two part-time workers can do the same labor as one full-time worker, and be paid fewer benefits.

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Retail workers may be young, recent immigrants, and are more likely to be members of historically discriminated groups such as women. They thus lack the cohesive group solidarity of the United Auto Workers (UAW), the United Steel Workers of America (USWA), and the Teamsters.

It should also be noted, however, that the court of public opinion and government also weighs against retail worker's unionization. Despite the increasing importance of the service industry in America, steel and cars are seen as more important for local economies, and retail workers are often viewed as providing a secondary income to their family, even though this is not necessarily the case: the traditional image of retail workers if of women bringing in a supplementary salary or at teen workers temporarily supporting themselves through college.

Not only blue-collar industries engage in collective bargaining, however. Teacher's unions in many states are quite powerful, even though they represent white professionals. Most states have extended the provisions of the Wagner Act to public employees, "including teachers at public school districts. Many states require school districts to bargain collectively with teachers who have formed a union" (Phelps 2004). Teachers, as educators of the young, have a powerful position in society. They have sought to protect their unique professional needs, such as the need for tenure to promote free expression in education and the to protect teachers from being fired simply for exercising freedom of speech or engaging in unpopular decisions regarding, for example, disciplining a student or giving a child a poor grade.

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