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| 701 Labor Corner: Labor Rights Won By Unions | ||||
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Do you know your labor history? Whether someone is a union worker or not, they benefit from rights won by and protected by unions. For over 200 years, unions have been fighting to make lives better for working Americans. Let's look at a few examples of union wins: 8-Hour Workdays and Weekends In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions passed a resolution stating that the workday should be limited to eight hours. Later, strikes from Carpenters Union workers and United Mine Workers led to the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, establishing a five-day workweek with a two-day weekend. In 1940, Congress amended the act to stipulate that the workweek be 40 hours. Minimum Wages Due to persistent efforts by unions across the U.S., in the 1930s, states that had passed minimum-wage protection laws in the 20s for women and children began to include men and non-unionized workers in the protections. The Fair Labor Standards Act also aided workers in achieving fairer wages. Safe Working Conditions Working conditions for workers of all ages (including children) were bleak in the U.S. for many decades. In the 60s, the U.S. Department of Labor says disabling injuries increased by 20 percent, with 14,000 workers dying on the job each year. In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed The Occupational Safety and Health Act, establishing:
The Act succeeded in large part due to the relentless outcry from workers and unions demanding safer working conditions and federal regulation of their protections. Today, unions continue to fight for better working conditions by pushing for the highest safety standards and training, and by supporting agencies like OSHA in their efforts to enforce workplace health and safety. Prevailing Wage The Davis–Bacon Act of 1931 codified prevailing wage requirements (the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of workers within a particular area for particular work) for federal public projects. States can have their own prevailing wages as well, which are increased above the federal standard. While the prevailing wage is enforced by agencies like the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries, through bargaining for high wages, unions set the prevailing wage that all unionized or un-unionized employers must pay their workers on public projects. Anti-Discrimination Protections Many unions and workers fought for the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibited sex-based wage discrimination, leveling the wage field for women doing the same jobs as men. Race-based wage discrimination protections took longer for unions to achieve in the U.S., with some unions fighting against racial equality. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 established laws against racial discrimination. Today’s largest national federal labor federation, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization, played a large part in lobbying for these acts to pass. - Additional Reading: Workers Rights Won by Unions, From the 8-Hour Workday to Overtime Pay - Teen Vogue What is Minimum Wage: A Short Story - International Labour Organization The Epic, Surprisingly Sexist Fight That Brought the Minimum Wage to America - The Atlantic The Evolution of Compensation in a Changing Economy - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CCF Equal Pay Symposium: 50 Years Since the Equal Pay Act of 1963 - Council on Contemporary Families A Brief History of Labor, Race and Solidarity - AFL-CIO - - |
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