Overview

This lesson will provide the framework for this course and the labor relations process. In this lesson, you will be introduced to the field of employment relations in the United States and define key terms that are common to the field and that will be used throughout the semester. In the first part of this lesson, we will take steps to define employee relations and the employment relationship and how these relate to human resource management. We will discuss why labor relations is important. We will also outline the objectives of the employment relationship for all stakeholders— employers, employees, unions, society, and public policy. This lesson will also present the basic features of the contemporary U.S. labor relations system and describe the current pressures on the U.S. labor relations system. A key takeaway from this first lesson is that labor relations is a process. This process goes through the steps of the strategic/organizing phase, the bargaining phase, and the management of the CBA phase. The process is impacted by environmental factors, such as the sociocultural environment, the economic environment, the legal environment, and labor history. 

In the next sections of this lesson, we will explore the labor problem and the three big goals of the labor relations process. We will learn four basic theories about how to best solve the labor relations problem. These are referred to by Budd as the "four schools of thought." Each of these schools of thought is built on assumptions about the roles and behaviors of the stakeholders in the labor relations process (employers, employees, unions, the government, etc.). These assumptions are used to build models of how the labor problem can best be solved.   

Looking at the “labor problem” from the perspective of workers, the problem has existed throughout labor history. It entails issues or concerns over unsafe work, long hours, or low wages. Looking at the problem historically, the labor problem at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century included common workweeks of 50–60 hours and even more than 70 hours in some industries. Wage levels were often well below a “living wage.” Workplace safety issues included daily dangerous work, such as the average of one death per day at the Pressed Steel Car Company, outside of Pittsburgh, and larger tragedies such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911, where 146 workers perished. In fact during World War I, more workers died on the job than in the war. The insecurity of work was also part of the labor problem, with workers being fired indiscriminately. This labor problem has a particular toll on workers individually, but also had a negative impact on the macroeconomy. 

Today, while many workers are insulated from much of this labor problem, the reality is that the problem persists. In the United States in particular, workers work longer hours than in any other industrialized countries. For many low-wage workers in the United States today, these working hours mean working for multiple employers. The wages of American workers also continue to be part of the labor problem, with median wages (meaning that half of all workers in the U.S. earn below this level) and the minimum wage well below any semblance of living wages. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 brought to light concerns about workplace safety in the United States, but these concerns also have been present outside of the pandemic, with the high rates of workplace injuries and injuries and deaths related to workplace injuries in jobs from meatpacking to warehousing to hospitality, and catastrophic events, such as the explosions at the Sago and Upper Big Branch mines, West, Texas, and Deepwater Horizon. Finally, fear of job loss continues to be the largest workplace stressor for U.S. workers, as the United States continues to follow a standard of employment at will (workers can be fired for any reason with or without any notice—unless the reason is specifically prohibited by a law, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act). 

Using both labor history and current outcomes in the labor relationship, you will begin to test the theories/schools of thought about the labor relations process and will develop your own theories and concepts about how the labor relationship is best managed.   

Learning Objectives 

After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 

• Define the key terms that will be used throughout this course.
• Define employee relations and the employment relationship and how this relates to human resource management.
• Define the objectives of the employment relationship.
• Explain why studying labor relations is important.
• Describe the basic features of the contemporary U.S. labor relations system.
• Describe the current pressures on the U.S. labor relations system.
• Describe how the labor relations process builds on itself and how each step of the process impacts all other steps. 
• Describe the four distinct schools of thought or views of labor relations and the employment relationship and the assumptions of each school.
• Test the assumptions of the four schools of thought by applying lessons from labor history and current outcomes in the labor relationship.
• Identify and define what unions do in terms of outcomes for workers, employers and organizations, and society. 
• Compare employee representation through labor unions to other methods of workplace governance.
• Describe the origins of the labor movement and why workers have historically attempted to form unions.
• Explain the role of the government in the development of labor history.
• Identify the major events, leaders, and organizations in labor history.
• Identify the accomplishments of employee efforts to organize.
• Explain how labor history impacts the current labor relations process in the United States.
• State the lessons we can take from labor history and apply them to today.

 

Readings and Activities

Check the Course Schedule for specific details on what to read this week.