Portal:Organized Labour

Introduction A trade union, also called a labour union (Canada) or labor union (US), is an organization of workers who have come together to achieve many common goals, such as protecting the integrity of its trade, improving safety standards, and attaining better wages, benefits (such as vacation, health care, and retirement), and working conditions through the increased bargaining power wielded by the creation of a monopoly of the workers. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labour contracts (collective bargaining) with employers. The most common purpose of these associations or unions is "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment". This may include the negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules governing hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and policies. Unions may organize a particular section of skilled workers (craft unionism), a cross-section of workers from various trades (general unionism), or attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry (industrial unionism). The agreements negotiated by a union are binding on the rank and file members and the employer and in some cases on other non-member workers. Trade unions traditionally have a constitution which details the governance of their bargaining unit and also have governance at various levels of government depending on the industry that binds them legally to their negotiations and functioning. Originating in Great Britain, trade unions became popular in many countries during the Industrial Revolution. Trade unions may be composed of individual workers, professionals, past workers, students, apprentices or the unemployed. Trade union density, or the percentage of workers belonging to a trade union, is highest in the Nordic countries. Selected article Spartacist militia in Berlin The Spartacist uprising (German: Spartakusaufstand), also known as the January uprising (Januaraufstand), was a general strike (and the armed battles accompanying it) in Germany from 4 to 15 January 1919. Germany was in the middle of a post-war revolution, and two of the perceived paths forward were either social democracy or a council republic similar to the one which had been established by the Bolsheviks in Russia. The uprising was primarily a power struggle between the moderate Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) led by Friedrich Ebert, and the radical communists of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, who had previously founded and led the Spartacist League (Spartakusbund). This power struggle was the result of the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the resignation of Chancellor Max von Baden, who had passed power to Ebert, as the leader of the largest party in the German parliament. Similar uprisings occurred and were suppressed in Bremen, the Ruhr, Rhineland, Saxony, Hamburg, Thuringia and Bavaria, and another round of even bloodier street battles occurred in Berlin in March, which led to popular disillusionment with the Weimar Government. Read more... November in Labor History Significant dates in labour history. November 01 - Malbone Street Wreck occurs on the first day of the BLE strike in 1918 in the U.S.; the first congress of the International Trade Union Confederation is held; the International Harvester strike of 1979–80 began November 02 - Brian Behan died November 03 - Nathan Feinsinger died; the U.S. Supreme Court decided Marquez v. Screen Actors Guild Inc.; Dennis McDermott was born November 04 - Tomasz Arciszewski was born; James Green was born November 05 - Eugene V. Debs was born; Nimrod Workman was born; Agustín Tosco died; the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike began November 06 - Lloyd McBride died November 08 - Ed Boyce was born; the 1892 New Orleans general strike began November 09 - Congress of Industrial Organizations founded in the U.S.; Philip Murray died; Danny Greene was born; the Chicago Federation of Labor is founded November 11 - Centralia massacre occurs in the U.S. November 12 - Bituminous coal strike of 1974 begins in the U.S.; the Democratic Confederation of San Marino Workers is formed November 13 - The UK firefighter dispute 2002–03 begins; Karen Silkwood died; the International Typographical Union begins publishing the Green Bay News-Chronicle during a strike November 14 - The High Court of Australia issues its ruling in New South Wales v Commonwealth, upholding the validity of WorkChoices; Daniel J. Tobin died; the 2007 German national rail strike began November 15 - Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions founded in the U.S.; Raymond McKay was born November 16 - Jean Maitron died; the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers is founded; Georges Marchais died November 17 - Harold J. Gibbons died November 18 - Chris Watson died November 19 - William J. McCarthy died; Joe Hill is executed; the National Writers Union is formed November 20 - Giles Hart was born; Richard Cordtz died November 21 - William Green died; the Columbine Mine massacre occurred in 1927 in the U.S. November 22 - David McDonald was born; Philip Murray is elected president of the CIO November 23 - Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. died November 24 - Charles Millard died November 25 - George Mock died; the 2006 Progressive Enterprises dispute begins in New Zealand; Ted Saskin becomes executive director of the NHLPA in 2005 November 26 - The National Confederation of the Trade-Union Organizations of Ukraine is formed; Nimrod Workman died; Eliot V. Elliott died November 27 - Donald Richberg died November 28 - The U.S. Supreme Court decides Eastern Associated Coal Corp. v. United Mine Workers of America; André Morell died; William McFetridge was born November 29 - John P. Frey died November 30 - Mary Harris "Mother" Jones died; the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea is formed Jan•Feb•Mar•Apr•May•Jun•Jul•Aug•Sep•Oct•Nov•Dec Selected Quote Capital organizes and therefore labor must organize. — Theodore Roosevelt, 1912 Did You Know? ...that the Free Association of German Trade Unions was the only trade union in Germany to reject the Burgfrieden, a civil truce between the socialist movement and the German state during World War I? ...that although an Iron Workers union member planted the dynamite in the 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing, the 21 people who died in the explosion and fire were all workers and not managers? ... that Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Irving Brown was dubbed "The Most Dangerous Man" by Time in 1952? Selected image An AFL–CIO protest of Rite Aid, with Rev. Mark Reisinger (Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania), Bill George, and Richard Bloomingdale. Public and Commercial Services Union members on strike in Manchester 2006. Samuel Gompers, President of the American Federation of Labor, and his wife, circa 1908. United Mine Workers of America poster circa 1902. American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Albert Shanker. Registered nurses on strike in 2006 outside Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Union members picketing recent NLRB rulings outside the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters in November 2007. Big Bill Haywood, a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World. Cripple Creek, Colo., under martial law, during the 1894 strike. William Green, president of the AFL–CIO from 1924 to 1952. Richard Trumka. Shields used by striking workers at the Carnegie Steel Works during the Homestead Strike in 1892. J. Warren Madden, the first Chair of the National Labor Relations Board. Breaker boys, child laborers, working in a U.S. coal mine in 1911. Union elections with an illegal firing, 1951 to 2007. Detail of monument to the Reesor Siding Strike of 1963. Striking teamsters armed with pipes battle police in the streets during the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934. Wilma B. Liebman, chair, NLRB. Nyctransitstrikesign.jpg Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) notice of subway closure during the 2005 New York City transit strike. A. Philip Randolph. Mounted police chase demonstrators through Vancouver's East End during the Battle of Ballantyne Pier in 1935. National Federation of Federal Employees officials sign a collective bargaining agreement with the U.S. 8th Army in October 2002. Samuel Gompers. Memorial marker for the Bay View Tragedy. The Ludlow massacre monument located in Ludlow, Colorado, United States. 8marchrallydhaka (55).jpg Rally 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. Guatepepsi0885.jpg Camp put up by striking Pepsi-Cola workers, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, 2008. Armed vigilantes deport striking copper miners during the Bisbee Deportation in Bisbee, Arizona, July 12, 1917. Knights of Labor Grand Master Workman Terence V. Powderly. Great Railroad Strike of 1877. AFL–CIO unions protest outside Verizon headquarters in Philadelphia using a giant inflatable rat. Abgesprerrter Place de la Sorbonne 18 Maerz 2006.jpg The Place de la Sorbonne in Paris is closed by police during the 2006 labour protests in France. Political cartoon about the Coal Strike of 1902 from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Mary Harris "Mother" Jones. Strike leaders at the Paterson silk strike of 1913. From left, Patrick Quinlan, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Adolph Lessig, and Bill Haywood. The front page of the Union Record on the Seattle General Strike of 1919. Illustration from the Brisbane Worker newspaper condemning the brutality of the Queensland Police on Black Friday during the 1912 Brisbane General Strike. Striking American Railway Union members confront Illinois National Guard troops in Chicago, Illinois, during the Pullman Strike in 1894. Joe Hill. Marcha-obrera-Argentina-2005.jpg Union members march in Argentina on Human Rights Day in December 2005. The signs read "Worker rights are human rights.. George Meany, former leader of the AFL–CIO. During World War II, a female aircraft worker checks electrical assemblies at the Vega Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California. UMWA Former HQ 2008.jpg Former headquarters of the United Mine Workers of America and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, 900 15th Street NW, Washington, D.C., in 200. Mumbaimaydayrally0645.jpg May Day Rally in Mumbai, India, 2004. Western Federation of Miners-Is Colorado in America.jpg The Western Federation of Miners' famous flyer entitled "Is Colorado in America?". Protesters barricade the street on June 22 during the 2006 Oaxaca protests. Members 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. Striking I.W.W. members confront Massachusetts National Guard troops in Boston, during the Lawrence textile strike in 1912. John 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. Lewis Hine's 1920 image "Power house mechanic working on steam pump," which shows a working class young American man with wrench in hand, hunched over, surrounded by the machinery that defines his work. Barges set ablaze by steelworkers during the Homestead strike in 1892. Empty Gare du Nord train station during the November 2007 strikes in France. Strike sign used by the German Train Drivers' Union in the German national rail strike of 2007. Crowd gathered outside old City Hall during the Winnipeg general strike, June 21, 1919. Australian industrial relations legislation national day of protest, 2005. Picket signs at the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. Striking workers march moments before the Swedish military opened fire, killing five workers during the Ådalen shootings. Exaggerated 19th century engraving showing flames and smoke following the Haymarket riot. Project Tasks The Organized Labour WikiProject is a group of editors who create and maintain labour-related articles. Here are some open tasks anybody can complete. Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : 1926 Passaic textile strike - Needs a couple good action photos of strike violence but 1926 photos are probably not in the public domain... Expand : Permanent & Casual Wharf Labourers Union of Australia, Maharashtra General Kamgar Union, Force Ouvrière, Jerome Wurf, Samuel Gompers, Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968) Update : National Labor Relations Board Two board members, needs attention! Strike action (also fix formatting), NHL Players Association, Teamsters for a Democratic Union Associated Wikimedia Related Portals Human Rights Law Business and economics Politics Communism Socialism Capitalism Society

Portal:Organized labour