Portal:Organized Labour

Introduction

The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considered an instance of class conflict.

In trade unions, workers campaign for higher wages, better working conditions and fair treatment from their employers, and through the implementation of labour laws, from their governments. They do this through collective bargaining, sectoral bargaining, and when needed, strike action. In some countries, co-determination gives representatives of workers seats on the board of directors of their employers.

Political parties representing the interests of workers campaign for labour rights, social security and the welfare state. They are usually called a labour party (in English-speaking countries), a social democratic party (in Germanic and Slavic countries), a socialist party (in Romance countries), or sometimes a workers' party.
Though historically less prominent, the cooperative movement campaigns to replace capitalist ownership of the economy with worker cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, and other types of cooperative ownership. This is related to the concept of economic democracy.

The labour movement developed as a response to capitalism and the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, at about the same time as socialism. The early goals of the movement were the right to unionise, the right to vote, democracy, safe working conditions and the 40-hour week. As these were achieved in many of the advanced economies of Western Europe and North America in the early decades of the 20th century, the labour movement expanded to issues of welfare and social insurance, wealth distribution and income distribution, public services like health care and education, social housing and in some cases common ownership. (Full article...)

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The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a labor union that represents approximately 887,000 workers and retirees in the electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands; in particular electricians, or inside wiremen, in the construction industry and lineworkers and other employees of public utilities. The union also represents some workers in the computer, telecommunications, and broadcasting industries, and other fields related to electrical work.

IBEW conducts apprenticeship programs for electricians, linemen, and VDV (voice, data, and video) installers (who install low-voltage wiring such as computer networks), in conjunction with the National Electrical Contractors Association, under the auspices of the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, which allows apprentices to "earn while you learn." In Canadian jurisdictions, the IBEW does not deliver apprenticeship training, but does conduct supplemental training for government trained apprentices and journeypersons, often at little or no cost to its members. (Full article...)

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August in Labor History

Significant dates in labour history.

August 01 - The Jiu Valley miners' strike of 1977 began in Romania; the 1942–44 musicians' strike began in the U.S.; Mary Harris "Mother" Jones was born; the United Firefighters Union of Australia was founded
August 02 - Robert Zieger was born; the Contrat nouvelle embauche entered into force in France in 2005
August 03 - The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization strike began in the U.S.
August 04 - Joseph Paul-Boncour was born; the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers was formed
August 05 - The Lupeni Strike of 1929 occurred in Romania; the National Labor Board was created; Devan Nair was born
August 06 - Jackie Presser was born
August 07 - Frank Fitzsimmons was born
August 08 - David McDonald died; the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was formed; Arthur Goldberg was born
August 09 - The California School Employees Association was founded; Raymond McKay died; Harry Davenport died; Thomas E. Scanlon died; the 1981 Major League Baseball strike ended in the U.S. and Canada; John Willcock was born
August 10 - The U.S. Steel recognition strike of 1901 began; Iorwith Wilbur Abel died; Dorothy Jacobs Bellanca was born
August 11 - The International Longshore and Warehouse Union was founded; Iorwith Wilbur Abel was born; Rose Schneiderman died; Edwin D. Hill was born
August 12 - The Buffalo switchmen's strike of 1892 began; the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike began in the U.S. and Canada; the National War Labor Board was abolished in 1919; the Chorus Equity Association was founded; the Unión General de Trabajadores was founded
August 13 - Carlos Ortega escaped from prison in Venezuela and disappeared
August 14 - Solidarity struck for the first time; Joseph Curran died; Lane Kirkland died; Selig Perlman died; N. M. Perera died
August 15 - The 1890 Australian maritime dispute began; Herbert Hill died; lockout of the Canadian Media Guild began in 2005 in Canada; Anna Walentynowicz was born
August 16 - George Meany was born; Dorothy Jacobs Bellanca died
August 18 - The 1989 Australian pilots' strike began; the American Federation of Government Employees was founded; Alberto Hurtado died
August 19 - The Maritime Trades Department of the AFL–CIO was founded; Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association launched a strike against Northwest Airlines
August 22 - The United Farm Workers was founded; the Association of Flight Attendants was founded
August 23 - The Gurindji strike began in 1966 in Australia; the Salad Bowl strike began in the U.S.
August 24 - Ray Stevenson died
August 25 - The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was founded; the Battle of Blair Mountain began in 1921 in the U.S.; the 2006 Progressive Enterprises dispute began in New Zealand; the Buffalo switchmen's strike ended in the U.S.; Charles Millard was born; Miron Cozma was born
August 26 - The Dublin Lock-out began in 1913
August 27 - Juan Lechín Oquendo died
August 28 - The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom occurred; the film Matewan was released; the Central Única dos Trabalhadores was founded
August 29 - The British police strikes in 1918 and 1919 began; the U.S. Supreme Court ruled picketing is not a breach of the peace in Cox v. Louisiana; Emmanuel Christopher Loblack was born
August 31 - The Gdańsk Agreement was signed, ending the first wave of strikes by Solidarity

Jan•Feb•Mar•Apr•May•Jun•Jul•Aug•Sep•Oct•Nov•Dec

More Did you know (auto-generated)

... that while the United States publicly denied any wrongdoing in a 2013 drone strike on a wedding convoy, it likely gave over $1 million in compensation to the victims' families?
... that Bal Krishna Kaul, who served as the first Home and Finance minister of Ajmer State, undertook a 22-day hunger strike in Ajmer Jail?
... that a 23-day CBC strike thrust Don Goodwin into the Canadian national spotlight and into "folk-hero status"?
... that Russian pianist Pavel Kushnir died on a hunger strike after his arrest for anti-war videos posted on a YouTube channel with five subscribers?
... that the murder of Luisa Lallana sparked a general strike in Rosario, Argentina?
... that the American Society of Marine Engineers was a company union established to supplant its labor union counterpart?

Related Portals

Selected image

Image 1George Meany, former leader of the AFL–CIO.
Image 2Union elections with an illegal firing, 1951 to 2007.
Image 3A. Philip Randolph.
Image 4Mary Harris "Mother" Jones.
Image 5Rally in Dhaka, organized by Jatiyo Nari Shramik Trade Union Kendra (National Women Workers Trade Union Centre), an organization affiliated with the Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra.
Image 6Joe Hill.
Image 7Crowd gathered outside old City Hall during the Winnipeg general strike, June 21, 1919.
Image 8Political cartoon about the Coal Strike of 1902 from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Image 9Cripple Creek, Colo., under martial law, during the 1894 strike.
Image 10Memorial marker for the Bay View Tragedy.
Image 11AFL–CIO unions protest outside Verizon headquarters in Philadelphia using a giant inflatable rat.
Image 12The Western Federation of Miners' famous flyer entitled "Is Colorado in America?".
Image 13United Mine Workers of America poster circa 1902.
Image 14Striking workers march moments before the Swedish military opened fire, killing five workers during the Ådalen shootings.
Image 15National Federation of Federal Employees officials sign a collective bargaining agreement with the U.S. 8th Army in October 2002.
Image 16Samuel Gompers.
Image 17Detail of monument to the Reesor Siding Strike of 1963.
Image 18American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Albert Shanker.
Image 19Exaggerated 19th century engraving showing flames and smoke following the Haymarket riot.
Image 20During World War II, a female aircraft worker checks electrical assemblies at the Vega Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California.
Image 21Barges set ablaze by steelworkers during the Homestead strike in 1892.
Image 22Registered nurses on strike in 2006 outside Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Image 23Camp put up by striking Pepsi-Cola workers, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, 2008.
Image 24Striking American Railway Union members confront Illinois National Guard troops in Chicago, Illinois, during the Pullman Strike in 1894.
Image 25Big Bill Haywood, a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World.
Image 26Strike leaders at the Paterson silk strike of 1913. From left, Patrick Quinlan, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Adolph Lessig, and Bill Haywood.
Image 27Striking teamsters armed with pipes battle police in the streets during the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934.
Image 28Members of the United Steelworkers in Ohio phone bank other union members to educate them about critical issues in the 2008 election in the U.S.
Image 29Striking I.W.W. members confront Massachusetts National Guard troops in Boston, during the Lawrence textile strike in 1912.
Image 30Breaker boys, child laborers, working in a U.S. coal mine in 1911.
Image 31Armed vigilantes deport striking copper miners during the Bisbee Deportation in Bisbee, Arizona, July 12, 1917.
Image 32Knights of Labor Grand Master Workman Terence V. Powderly.
Image 33The Ludlow massacre monument located in Ludlow, Colorado, United States.
Image 34Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) notice of subway closure during the 2005 New York City transit strike.
Image 35Shields used by striking workers at the Carnegie Steel Works during the Homestead Strike in 1892.
Image 36Union members march in Argentina on Human Rights Day in December 2005. The signs read "Worker rights are human rights..
Image 37May Day Rally in Mumbai, India, 2004.
Image 38Picket signs at the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike.
Image 39The Place de la Sorbonne in Paris is closed by police during the 2006 labour protests in France.
Image 40Australian industrial relations legislation national day of protest, 2005.
Image 41Richard Trumka.
Image 42Public and Commercial Services Union members on strike in Manchester 2006.
Image 43Wilma B. Liebman, chair, NLRB.
Image 44William Green, president of the AFL–CIO from 1924 to 1952.
Image 45Empty Gare du Nord train station during the November 2007 strikes in France.
Image 46J. Warren Madden, the first Chair of the National Labor Relations Board.
Image 47Protesters barricade the street on June 22 during the 2006 Oaxaca protests.
Image 48Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
Image 49Mounted police chase demonstrators through Vancouver's East End during the Battle of Ballantyne Pier in 1935.
Image 50John L. Lewis (right, President of the United Mine Workers, confers with Thomas Kennedy (left), UMW Secretary-Treasurer of the UMW, and a UMW official at the War Labor Board in 1943 about a coal miners' strike.

Selected Quote

Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work."

— Susan B. Anthony.

Did you know

...that Sandra Feldman, former president of the American Federation of Teachers, was mentored by civil rights activist Bayard Rustin and arrested twice during the Freedom Rides?
...that the first labor investigations by a United States government body were prompted by petitions from the Lowell Mill Girls, textile workers in Lowell, Massachusetts, during the mid-nineteenth century?
... that Konocti Harbor, a now-closed resort and music venue in Lake County, California, was originally founded in 1959 as low-cost vacation housing for members of a plumbers union?

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