Labour Unions

Labour Unions

  • Submitted By: lt04fj
  • Date Submitted: 02/07/2009 7:30 PM
  • Category: Business
  • Words: 480
  • Page: 2
  • Views: 443

Assignment #1

The word labour is used to describe work or services performed, by any person in the production of wealth. Although, impossible to measure, labour is often quantified according to the value and quantity of the goods or services produced. To simplify the definition, labour can often be defined as the bulk of workers or wage earners in society.

Like the fictional character Rose, my understanding about labour unions is very limited. After reading unit one, my familiarity with the term labour and labour movement conformed to what was stated in the introduction but was still very vague as I have not studied labour relations or conducted any in depth research on the above topics in the past. The readings strengthened my understanding of basic concepts and affirmed my understanding of labour unions as I was already aware that unions are organized on the basis of occupation or industry who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages, hours, and working conditions. Further clarifying my familiarity of the terms labour movement and labour, unit one, in The Canadian Labour Movement by Craig Heron mentions that unions provide job security for its workers. By giving its employees power in numbers, unions allow its members to have a stronger voice when striking or calling for change, need it be in areas related to work or in other areas such as education, healthcare, or housing.

Until the early 1900’s, people often worked long hours for low wages. The term labour movement came about as people started to work together to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and political governments. In the 1930’s, the labour movement started to gain momentum as people started collective organizations within societies, organized for the purpose of representing the interests of workers and the working class. With an abundance of labour, employers could easier replace workers thus labour unions such...

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