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The “Sweetest Sounding” Words Of Civil Rights: A Labor Origin Story Of The “Right To Work”, Thomas A. Castillo Aug 2025

The “Sweetest Sounding” Words Of Civil Rights: A Labor Origin Story Of The “Right To Work”, Thomas A. Castillo

History

This essay revisits the idea of “right to work” by offering historical context of Florida’s passage of its 1944 right to work constitutional amendment. A brief overview of the history of the term right to work and its contested nature indicates how the phrase likely led to confusion especially in the arena of political economy. A close evaluation of the amendment and its incongruent nature reveals the intent of its proponents was to deceive voters with the “sweetest sounding” words of civil rights while weakening their ability to organize labor unions. The history of safeguarding the free market entailed disciplining …


Starbucks Workers United And The Future Of American Labor Activism, Sophia Drake Braymen Jun 2024

Starbucks Workers United And The Future Of American Labor Activism, Sophia Drake Braymen

Honors Projects

This essay explores the goals, motivations, and methods of Starbucks Workers United (the campaign of the labor union Workers United that is aimed at organizing Starbucks employees), as well as the Starbucks Company’s response to it. The analysis is informed by the author’s interviews with both a Workers United organizer and a Starbucks corporate employee. This essay explores the position of Starbucks Workers United within the broader history of American labor activism and our current epoch of union decline, as well as what the recent breakthrough in cooperation between Workers United and Starbucks means for American workers going into the …


Discourses That Undermine Union Movements: A Multimodal Analysis Of Union-Busting Videos, Theresa A. Catalano, Julia Schleck Jan 2024

Discourses That Undermine Union Movements: A Multimodal Analysis Of Union-Busting Videos, Theresa A. Catalano, Julia Schleck

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Labor unions in the United States have experienced decades of decline, but recent years have seen a rebirth of union campaigns and successes. Because unions are once again becoming a threat to large companies, it is reasonable to assume that efforts to discourage organizing efforts will increase and become even more robust in the near future. Although traditionally, companies have worked to suspend union organizing through captive audience meetings in which unions were discussed via verbal or written modes, more recent means of reaching workers with anti-union messages incorporate a variety of communication strategies to get the message across. As …


Unions - Bowling Green, Kentucky (Sc 3673), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Feb 2023

Unions - Bowling Green, Kentucky (Sc 3673), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3673. By-Laws and Trade Rules of Union Local No. 2156, Bowling Green, Kentucky, of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.


Labor Unions In The United States, Argentina, And The United Kingdom: A Comparative Study, Jake Mozeleski May 2022

Labor Unions In The United States, Argentina, And The United Kingdom: A Comparative Study, Jake Mozeleski

College Honors Program

Since major neoliberal financial reforms occurred during the 1980s and 1990s, labor unions’ membership numbers and political influence have waned. While this is true of labor unions in most countries, these changes are incredibly notable in the United States. Scholars from a multitude of disciplines and with varying critical lenses have attempted to understand this phenomenon, but some arguments seem much more convincing than others. This thesis analyzes the validity of various proposed hypotheses, especially the influence of corporatist traditions, the formal and informal links between labor unions and political parties, and the fundraising sources of political parties, using the …


Labor’S Obstacles And Democracy’S Demise, Angela B. Cornell Jan 2022

Labor’S Obstacles And Democracy’S Demise, Angela B. Cornell

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

At a time when democratic institutions have been weakened by populist and authoritarian-leaning regimes around the globe, it is imperative that we revisit the fundamentals of democracy-building institutions, including the importance of strong, independent trade unions. Social science research has confirmed the critical role trade unions have played forging and sustaining democracies. The international human rights framework has long considered labor rights and labor unions as fundamental for social justice, securing peace, and bolstering democracy. Strengthening the meaningful exercise of labor rights is one important way to bolster democratic institutions. Union density in the USA reached its lowest point in …


Saying Goodbye To Unions In Higher Education: The Yale Hunger Strike In Perspective, Raymond L. Hogler Oct 2017

Saying Goodbye To Unions In Higher Education: The Yale Hunger Strike In Perspective, Raymond L. Hogler

Academic Labor: Research and Artistry (2017-2022 archives)

No abstract provided.


Disability Rights And Labor: Is This Conflict Really Necessary?, Samuel R. Bagenstos Jan 2016

Disability Rights And Labor: Is This Conflict Really Necessary?, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Indiana Law Journal

In this Essay, I hope to do two things: First, I try to put the current labor-disability controversy into that broader context. Second, and perhaps more important, I take a position on how disability rights advocates should approach both the current contro-versy and labor-disability tensions more broadly. As to the narrow dispute over wage-and-hour protections for personal-assistance workers, I argue both that those workers have a compelling normative claim to full FLSA protection—a claim that disability rights advocates should recognize—and that supporting the claim of those workers is pragmatically in the best interests of the disability rights movement. As to …


Labor And Media: A Strained Relationship, Mac-Z Zurawski Oct 2010

Labor And Media: A Strained Relationship, Mac-Z Zurawski

All Student Theses and Dissertations

The labor movement or union community of America has been in a steady decline for more than a decade. The 1950s saw the pinnacle of success with one-third of the U.S. workforce being unionized. Today only 8% of the private workforce is unionized. One way in which this decline may be perceived as more pronounced is through media alienation. According to journalists across the nation such as Philip M.Dine unions have been alienated by media and its type of union coverage. In this study, I analyze the way in which the New York Times portrays the labor movement during the …


Workplace Justice Without Unions, Hoyt N. Wheeler, Brian S. Klaas, Douglas M. Mahony Jan 2005

Workplace Justice Without Unions, Hoyt N. Wheeler, Brian S. Klaas, Douglas M. Mahony

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.


Workplace Justice Without Unions, Hoyt N. Wheeler, Brian S. Klaas, Douglas M. Mahony Jan 2004

Workplace Justice Without Unions, Hoyt N. Wheeler, Brian S. Klaas, Douglas M. Mahony

Upjohn Press

Wheeler, Klaas, and Mahony provide a thorough analysis of organizational justice systems by exploring nonunion systems of workplace justice and comparing them with the union system, American courts, and systems in 11 other countries.


Teacher Pay And Teacher Quality, Dale Ballou, Michael Podgursky Jan 1997

Teacher Pay And Teacher Quality, Dale Ballou, Michael Podgursky

Upjohn Press

Ballou and Podgursky offer solid economic analysis on issues surrounding the debate over whether increasing salaries for teachers leads to a more qualified teaching workforce. The authors find little evidence to support the link between increased salaries and teacher quality, then address two questions: (1) What went wrong? and (2) Which reforms are likely to meet with increased success?


Two-Tier Compensation Structures: Their Impact On Unions, Employers, And Employees, James Martin, Thomas D. Heetderks Jan 1990

Two-Tier Compensation Structures: Their Impact On Unions, Employers, And Employees, James Martin, Thomas D. Heetderks

Upjohn Press

Martin conducted a study at a large company where its various wage tier systems allowed assessment of the long-term impact of tiers. Part of this study included the development of a survey designed to explore eight research questions related to tiers and to test five hypotheses of low-tier v. high-tier employees.


Union Organizing And Public Policy: Failure To Secure First Contracts, William N. Cooke Jan 1985

Union Organizing And Public Policy: Failure To Secure First Contracts, William N. Cooke

Upjohn Press

Investigates factors that explain why 25-30 percent of the time unions fail to obtain collective bargaining agreements after winning the right to negotiate.


Worker Participation And American Unions: Threat Or Opportunity, Thomas A. Kochan, Harry Charles Katz, Nancy R. Mower Jan 1984

Worker Participation And American Unions: Threat Or Opportunity, Thomas A. Kochan, Harry Charles Katz, Nancy R. Mower

Upjohn Press

A comprehensive analysis of the effects of QWL and other forms of worker participation on the collective bargaining process.


Union-Management Cooperation: Structure, Process, Impact, Michael H. Schuster Jan 1984

Union-Management Cooperation: Structure, Process, Impact, Michael H. Schuster

Upjohn Press

Presents the findings of a five-year study of the structure, process and impact of six forms of union-management programs aimed at improving productivity.