Union-Management Relationships in Perspective Essay

Union-Management Relationships in Perspective - Essay Example The main people involved in the labor relationships are management and the union. There are other groups of people who are affected but not to a great extent. Labor relationships in the United States involve the following three assumptions. First, there is a conflict of interest between employees and employers. Employees aim at increasing their personal wealth through higher wages and safer working environments whereas the main of a goal of the management is to increase the returns. This results in a conflict of interest between the two parties. The second assumption that is made is that employees have a right to pursue their employment interests within the parameters of the law in a free society. This is usually not the case since employees usually face some constraints which deter them from fully pursuing their rights. Finally, employees are not required to join a labor union but if the majority of the employee group wants to join a union they should be permitted but in most cases, employees belong to a union. The performance of the economy affects the bargaining item. The focus when the economy is doing well will be different from when the economy is downsizing. International forces also influence bargaining in one way or another since no single economy operates in isolation. In the past few years, union membership has decreased. There have been various labor organizations, the earliest ones dating to early 1900. Prior to World War I there were three major national labor organizations. They were the Knights of Labor (KOL), the American Federation of Labor and the Industrial Workers of the World. The KOL opposed spreading of technology in a bid to protect its members from being replaced by machines. The American Federation of Labor major goal was to improve the material conditions of its members through the existing capitalistic system.