Labor Issues
Status
In 1935, the right of most American workers to organize into labor unions was codified into law by the National Labor Relations Act. Since the advent of labor unions, many American workers have had a voice in the terms of their own employment. Unionization has brought real benefits to hard-working Americans in addition to the dignity that comes with workers negotiating as equals with their employers.
With a solid union behind them, workers can stand up for themselves on the job and have more sophisticated labor-management relations than non-union workers. The AFL-CIO, America's largest labor union, notes that union workers enjoy a higher standard of living-a thirty percent difference between union and non-union earnings on average. For women, African Americans, and immigrants, average earnings are even higher above non-union levels. Latinos affiliated with unions earn a staggering 52% more than Latinos not associated with unions. Union workers are more likely to have health insurance, a decent pension and other benefits.
Relationships between employers and unions are always strained and the views of both parties are valid at the negotiation table. Yet some companies have placed unfair roadblocks in the way of unionizing workers, denying them their lawful right to organize. Other companies impede the formation of unions with a barrage of litigation, delaying justice. Finally, some workers in America are still denied the right to organize.
Issue Summary
BLOCKING UNIONIZATION
A shocking number of companies embark on a campaign of intimidation, speech restriction, and even calculated firings when their workers show signs of organizing. According to the AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions, 91% of employers force workers in the process of organizing to attend anti-union lectures, barring union representatives and committed union supporters from the meeting.
More insidious still, 79% of employers have supervisors engage in one-on-one "counseling" sessions with employees, in which employees are intimidated with subtle and carefully-worded threats. Before 31% of National Labor Relations Board elections (the initial step in forming a governmentally recognized union) employees spearheading the effort are fired.
Immigrants face more direct exploitation at the hands of employers. Employers who turn a blind eye to an individual's immigration status at the time of hiring threaten to alert the Immigration Naturalization Service when hints of unionization circulate. While preventing these workers from organizing, employers engage in the worst abuses of their laborers, including denying them pay for weeks of work.
UNIONIZATION AND NEGOTIATION STALLED
Even having mustered the critical mass for the formation of unions, some workers continue to face exploitation at the hands of uncompromising employers. Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, the only non-union shipyard in America, is a notorious example. Though employees there voted overwhelmingly in favor of unionization in 1993, the management has maintained an incessant litigation campaign suspending unionization indefinitely. A 1998 New York Times article attests, "At a time when labor unions nationwide are stepping up efforts to organize millions of workers, labor leaders and even some government officials [recognize] that the nation's labor laws are cumbersome and replete with loopholes, and that companies intent on keeping unions out have become more adroit at exploiting them." Since, eighty percent of the shipyard's business is done with the United States Navy, taxpayer money covers the shipyards legal fees as it continues to elude dialogue with its workers. Similar litigation campaigns have postponed justice in a number of labor disputes.
Frustration pervades American labor struggles. In 30-40% of cases in which workers have organized, the management successfully avoids engaging them and the union never reaches a first contract. Under current law, this is perfectly within the employer's rights, however unjust. Other countries (e.g. Germany) have developed a tripartite system in which both parties in a dispute are forced to approach the negotiating table.
WORKERS DENIED THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE
Though the 1935 National Labor Relations Act guaranteed most workers the right to organized, certain laborers were left out in the cold. For example, farm workers were not given the right to organize. This inequity continues; only farm workers in California have successfully won the right to unionize. Independent contractors, including some taxi drivers and truck drivers are similarly denied the right to organize. The glaring injustice is that these low-income workers need union representation the most. Workers employed through temporary employment agencies (i.e. "temps") are allowed to organize only within their temp agency. Yet the agency is not their place of employment; it is in their actual workplace that they need union representation.
Discriminaton Against Gays and Lesbians
In recent years, legislators have become more aware of issues that arise in the workplace with regard to gays and lesbians. There is currently no federal law prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, and it is legal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in 39 states. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) (S.1276H.R.2355), introduced on June 24, 1999, prohibits employers from using sexual orientation as the basis for employment decisions such as hiring, firing, and promotion. For more information on ENDA, visit the RAC's Gay and Lesbian Rights Issue Page.
Religious Rights in the Workplace
Senator John F. Kerry and Representative Jerrold Nadler introduced the Workplace Religious Freedom Act S.1668/H.R.4237). This bill amends current civil rights statutes to require employers to grant their employees greater accommodations for religious observances (including time off for religious holidays). For more information on the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, visit the RAC's Separation of Church and State Issue Page.
Fair Labor Standards
In the last year, there have been a number of amendments proposed to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. They relate to a whole range of issues, including gender salary discrepancy and child labor violations. One of these bills, the Paycheck Fairness Act (HR2397), indroduced by Representative Rosa L. DeLauro, directly addresses discrimination on the basis of gender and seeks to eliminate salary disparities between working men and women by increasing penalties for businesses that do not comply with the Equal Pay Act. Another amendment entitled the Young American Workers' Bill of Rights (HR2119) seeks to create tougher penalties for those who violate child labor laws.
Workplace Safety
The last few years have brought increasing awareness of workplace safety. However, in June, 2000, the House of Representatives voted to maintain a ban on the federal government from issuing new ergonomics standards proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These standards were designed to prevent the nearly 2 million injuries workers suffer each year from poorly designed workplaces and repetitive, stressful motions. This bill formed part of a larger fiscal year 2001 spending bill.
Position of the Reform Jewish Movement
The Torah emphasizes the importance of fairness to workers. "You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer", but you must pay him his wages on the same day, for he is needy and urgently depends on it (Deuteronomy 24:14-15)."
Unions are models of self-sufficiency: workers stand up to demand their own rights. As Jews we have an obligation not only to assist the downtrodden but also to help those in need become self-sufficient (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah), a goal we can pursue by promoting unions.
The Union for Reform Judaism has often affirmed its commitment to America's workers. A 1961 resolution on "Migrant Farmers" states the Union for Reform Judaism's commitment to raise the status of farm-workers from degradation to "dignity and equality." A 1948 resolution entitled "Urging Elimination of Labor and Management Abuses" looks back on the strident labor reform of the 1930s: "We rejoice in the gains that labor has made in the past generation and hope that they will be retained. We urge that abuses in labor and management will be remedied."
The CCAR has spoken out directly in its support of unions. In a 1921 resolution, the CCAR resolved, "Under the present organization of society, labor's only safeguard against a retrogression to former inhuman standards is the union."
Ethical Practices for Domestic Workers
