The Implications of Global Competitiveness on U.S. Unionization Essay

The Implications of Global Competitiveness on U.S. Unionization - Essay Example This essay discusses that in the late nineteenth century, unions were formed by craftsman or artisans; they had a high degree of autonomy in their political and economic activity The first union was formed by the name â€Å"Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions† in the year 1881. This later transformed into â€Å"American Federation of Labor† in 1886. The main objective was to maximize the members of the group and consider the well being of the members of the group. The labor unions are formed unintentionally in the USA; they have become precursor in the US organizations. They are formed out of mutual interest or perceived danger. The latter is always a reason for cohesiveness among workers in an organization. The relation between threat and cohesiveness is hypothetical but linked. Let us take an example from John Fossum’s theory of â€Å"Relationship between threat and Cohesiveness†. According to John A. Fossum, The cohesiveness of a group are of two types: Group Cohesiveness –The group is formed due to similar interest. They tend to behave similarly, as they have a similar thought process, beliefs, norms etc. Class Cohesiveness: The classes of employers and employees are different. The relationship is also very different. As the class consciousness increased, so did the unionization. The practice of labor relation process is governed by the laws incorporated by the organization. The laws incorporated by the organization are universally applicable, as they are a common set of laws used by all organizations. The act was enacted in 1935. This act gave authority to the private sector employees to engage in an organized union activity. It also gave workers the right to select their own representatives and to bargain with their own employees. The employers had no right to intervene in their decision making. Farm workers were debarred from the rights. There was a severe decline in labor unions during the years 1977 to 1987 . This was due to increased competiveness from local and international competitors. In this period the number of US workers in the manufacturing industry declined by 2.6 million, whereas there was a decline of 1.2 million workers from the period 1987 to 1997.