- 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 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 common ownership. (Full article...)
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action such as strikes. Central to the act was a ban on company unions. The act was written by Senator Robert F. Wagner, passed by the 74th United States Congress, and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The National Labor Relations Act seeks to correct the "inequality of bargaining power" between employers and employees by promoting collective bargaining between trade unions and employers. The law established the National Labor Relations Board to prosecute violations of labor law and to oversee the process by which employees decide whether to be represented by a labor organization. It also established various rules concerning collective bargaining and defined a series of banned unfair labor practices, including interference with the formation or organization of labor unions by employers. The act does not apply to certain workers, including supervisors, agricultural employees, domestic workers, government employees, and independent contractors.
The NLRA was strongly opposed by conservatives and members of the Republican Party, but it was upheld in the Supreme Court case of NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., decided April 12, 1937. The 1947 Taft–Hartley Act amended the NLRA, establishing a series of labor practices for unions and granting states the power to pass right-to-work laws. (Full article...)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
- ... that John Sterling, Anthony Harrison and Chuck Compton were all signed by the Green Bay Packers as replacement players because of a players' strike during the 1987 NFL season?
- ... that 55,000 Berlin workers went on strike on 28 June 1916 to protest the arrest and trial of anti-war campaigner Karl Liebknecht?
- ... that a strike by uranium miners in 1974 in Ontario led to the creation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act?
- ... that the Russian airstrike on Kyiv TV Tower (video featured) killed Yevhenii Sakun, one of at least 14 civilian journalists killed in the line of duty during the Russo-Ukrainian War?
- ... that the day after returning to Atlanta following his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance in 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. joined picketers who were on strike against Scripto?
- ... that a 1994 lightning strike in Egypt led to 469 deaths after oil tanks were ignited and flooded the village of Dronka with burning fuel?
Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work."
|
— Susan B. Anthony. |
- ...that American activist Nelson Cruikshank is considered the most important non-legislator responsible for the enactment of the U.S. Social Security Disability Insurance in 1956 and Medicare in 1965?
- ...that scandal erupted after the Department of Justice initiated prosecution of Jackie Presser only to abruptly end it once the press revealed Presser had been an informant for the FBI for over 10 years?
- ...that the supply of natural gas and electricity in New Orleans, ceased as a result of the 1892 New Orleans general strike, plunging the city into darkness for four nights?
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus