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Union Membership | ||||
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Member Participation | ||||
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Stewards | ||||
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Local Officers | ||||
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Women & Minorities in the Labor Movement | ||||
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Gender & Work: Occupational Gender Discrimination & Its Causes | ||||
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Discrimination & Work | ||||
Intro to the Political Economy of the Labor Movement | |||||
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The Union Environment | ||||
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Union Strategies: The Business Approach | ||||
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Employment Law & Admin: Norris LaGuardia & Wagner Acts set most rules for representation & bargaining rules & formed the NLRB | ||||
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Wagner aka the Taft Hartley Act (THA) | ||||
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The Amended Taft Harley Act (ATHA) | ||||
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The Norris LaGuardia Anti Injunction Act ( NLGA ) | ||||
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The NLRB | ||||
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Economics | ||||
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NAFTA | ||||
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Labor's Political Action | ||||
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Lobbying | ||||
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The Future of the Labor Movement |
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Minorities participate equally in locals, but are often under represented in officer positions |
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One major reason for the continuing segregation in unions is that firms have the right to hire who they want | |||||
Segregated union patterns generally follow segregated workplace patterns | |||||
Occupational segregation is widespread | |||||
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Occupation segregation is greatest btwn the genders in that there are "men's jobs" & there are "women's jobs" | ||||
There are many occupations that are segregated by race or ethnicity such as farm workers are Hispanic, uranium miners are Native American, & more | |||||
Unions have traditionally favored civil rights, but have not been able to enforce them in the workplace |
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Civil rights in the workplace is considered to be a mgt prerogative |
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Unions now have policy of no discrimination in the union, but union leaders at the national level do not necessarily reflect the demographics of the members |
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Except for minority dominated unions, there are no minority national union presidents |
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The racial demographics of the Labor Movement approximates the racial demographics of the working population they represent, except that minorities are slightly more likely to be in a union |
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Thus, the Labor Movement is nearly racially representative of the overall population, but is somewhat voluntarily concentrated by race because races & ethnic groups are occupationally concentrated |
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In 1881, the Knights of Labor appointed a special committee to promote the interests of women | |||||
In 1899, the Women's International Union Labor League was formed | |||||
The AFL tried to persuade women to take action against corrupt business mgt in the early 1900s | |||||
In 1903, the National Women's Trade Union League was formed | |||||
Women were forced, or allowed, to work in time of war, esp WW 2 | |||||
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Unions that were created during WW 2 include the:
- Sewing Women's Protective Benevolent Union - Working Women's Relief Association |
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Today, important women's issues in the workplace include:
- sexual discrimination - occupational sex socialization - occupational gender segregation - hiring patterns - comparable worth - sexual harassment - feminization of poverty - affirmative action |
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Today, important civil rights issues in the workplace include:
- hiring patterns - comparable worth - affirmative action - institutional discrimination |
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Women were instrumental in the struggle of the Pitson Strike of 1989 |
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From a sociological perspective, the "environment" is made up of TWO aspects which have form & content, social structure & culture | |||||
a. Social structure is the form & shape of society which occurs on many levels from the personal level to the small group level to the organizational level to the societal level | |||||
In Labor relations, the primary concern is w/ TWO of the ten social structures including the: | |||||
i. economic system | |||||
ii. government or political system | |||||
b. Culture is the content of society which is the societal aggregation, the collective consciousness of knowledge, beliefs, values, & norms | |||||
Culture is manifested in the values, ideology, interests, etc. of people inside & outside of the Labor Movement | |||||
History is constructed of, & constructs this environment of social structure & culture | |||||
More specifically, Labor has to struggle with: | |||||
- employers who did not see them as legitimate | |||||
- the media who did not see them as legitimate | |||||
- a public who did not see them as legitimate | |||||
- courts that enjoined & punished collective activity | |||||
- Congress & the President who have no legislative support & first, then some mixed support | |||||
- competition from immigrant labor | |||||
Unions arise as a collective response to exploitation & alienation |
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The emergence of unions as a collective response to exploitation & alienation occurs w/ the development of class consciousness |
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See Also: Ideology, Class & False Consciousness | |||||
The first stage in the development of class consciousness at work it often a personal reaction to exploitation at work characterized by w/drawl, quitting, apathy, depression, etc. |
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The second stage in the development of class consciousness at work is that often the informal wk grp becomes a medium for airing complaints, but actions are few & largely personal |
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In the second stage, the wkr may come to rely on family, community, ethnic group, etc. for support in relation to problems at work | |||||
The third stage in the development of class consciousness at work is organized collective action which requires leadership from one or more workers |
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In order for wkplace organizing to take place, wkrs must overcome the paralyzing fear of mgt, recognizing that some fear will always be present |
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The reasons & development of collective responses to conditions at work are essentially the same throughout history whether the worker is a peasant in Egypt in 2000 BC or a programmer in Redmond, OR at Microsoft in 2000 AD |
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The dual economic development ( of agriculture & industry ) impacts unionization in US |
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Agrarian capitalism allowed small farmers to grow |
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Industrialization & urbanization & concentration of agriculture encouraged shift from small farmer to the industrial worker | |||||
Factory work was low pay & low status & employed mostly women & children | |||||
This established the mode of a high level of control in factory work | |||||
Early manufacturing work had been done by crafts & guilds | |||||
This system of early manufacturing was destroyed by the assembly line & the division of labor | |||||
As males moved into the factory, family wage arose & status, authority, etc. increased marginally | |||||
The env of the Labor Mvmt includes all the social, historical, cultural, & political factors that make up society | |||||
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The env of the Labor Mvmt includes the history of
- racial discrimination - gender discrimination - conflict btwn labor & mgt - war - econ growth & decline - globalization - deindustrialization - technological development & more |
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Common or juridical law: is law made by the decisions of courts, usually Fed District Cts or the Sup Ct; also includes unwritten law based on usage & custom as distinct from statute law | ||||
Statutory law is law established. by legislatures | ||||
Laws are made by fed, state, & local legislatures & by many courts | ||||
Civil law pertains to the private rights of individuals & to legal rights in the ordinary affairs of life | ||||
Rules are the "law" established by govt agencies as they implement common, statutory law, or executive orders | ||||
Executive Orders are "rules" written by the President which have the force of law in telling govt agencies how to operate | ||||
Examples of rules include
- the NLRB rules on elections - the EPA's rules on emissions - the school board's rules on the dress code |
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Criminal Law is law that govt will help an individual prosecute; it will be their advocate as typically embodied in the county, state, or fed prosecutor | ||||
In most cases, the govt will not help an individual prosecute civil laws, but the govt will prosecute criminal law for an individual |
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Examples of govtl involvement in law can be seen in that a prosecutor will prosecute someone who robs another, but if a person tricks an individual out of their money, the aggrieved person must sue | ||||
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The Sherman Anti Trust Act was designed to bust the trusts, but was used against Labor | |||
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The Clayton Anti Trust Act revised the Sherman Anti Trust Act by removing the provisions that prevent Labor Organization & by adding more teeth to its anti trust aspects | |||
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The Railway Labor Act estbed an early mediation board to resolve labor mgt conflict; involved the govt in the transportation sector; estbed emergency boards to impose solutions, all of which were labor mgt relations innovations which were embodied on other laws in other sectors | |||
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The Norris LaGuardia Act, along w/ the Wagner Acts, set most rules for representation & bargaining rules & formed the NLRB | |||
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The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) presaged imp sections of the Wagner act in that it guaranteed the right to form a union, it assisted mgt & labor in resolving conflict, etc. | |||
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The Copeland Anti Kickback Act prohibits kickbacks as required part of continued employment | |||
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The Wagner Act, along w/ the Norris LaGuardia Act, set most rules for representation & bargaining rules & formed the NLRB | |||
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Labor Court Cases: In NLRB v Laughlin Steel, the Wagner Act was upheld because Roosevelt packed the Supreme Ct | |||
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The Brynes Act made it illegal to recruit & / or transport people across state lines to interfere w/ picketing, organizing, etc. | |||
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The Smith Connally Anti Strike Act, aka the War Labor Dispute Act minimized the impact of labor mgt conflict during WW 2 | |||
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The Taft Hartley Act (Truman) estbed unfair labor practices by unions | |||
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The Landrum Griffin Act (Eisenhower) estbed a labor union member bill of rights | |||
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Executive Order 10988 (JFK) allows public sector workers to join unions | |||
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RICO was passed to fight organized crime & was also used to fight corruption in unions | |||
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The Amended Wagner & Taft Hartley Acts (Nixon) wrote EO 10988 into law, estbing organizing rights for public employees | |||
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The Civil Service Reform Act codified (made into law) EOs 10988, 11491, 11616, 11838 which estbed the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the equivalent of the NLRB, & estbed the requirements & mechanisms for impasses of contracts & grievances | |||
Failed labor law in the 70s | ||||
The Common Situs Picketing Bill would have permitted unions to picket any site involved in a labor dispute | ||||
If the Common Situs Picketing Bill has passed, a a single union could've shut down a site, but it was vetoed by President Ford in 1976 | ||||
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A bill authorizing punitive damages for employer violation of labor contract died in the Senate | |||
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Alternative Dispute Resolution & Rulemaking Act helps the FMCS offer alternative dispute resolution | |||
Labor Law Reform | ||||
The NLRB under Reagan & Bush had Labor leaders saying they would be better off w/o the NLRB! | ||||
Clinton has been more favorable to Labor than most recent Presidents w/ the exception of his support for NAFTA | ||||
Clinton recommended penalties for businesses who stall during organizing elections | ||||
The 1994 Republican Landslide, lead by Newt Gingrich, dashed hopes for labor law reform | ||||
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Work teams, QCs, etc. | |||
In the court case, Electromation Inc. 309 NLRB No. 163 (1992) held that such practices as QCs, etc. violated the Wagner Act | ||||
Mgt & labor stay w/in the bounds of the Electromation decision by limiting the scope of employee involvement programs | ||||
The "Team Act" was vetoed by Clinton in 1996 to applause of Labor because it would have changed OT rules, allowing the owner schedule wkrs to work 4 10 hr days w/o your permission, with no OT | ||||
Currently Labor & Mgt. advocates want reform to allow work teams-- esp to Wagner Act Section 8(a)2 | ||||
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NAFTA | |||
- often include min labor standards that usually are not met by 3rd world countries, most treaties have few enforcement measures | ||||
- was vehemently opposed by Labor | ||||
- was supported by Clinton & Republicans (except Buchanan) | ||||
- was opposed by Labor because they feared losing jobs to Mexico | ||||
- supporters claimed it would be made up by more trade | ||||
A debate rages today on what has happened as the result of NAFTA | ||||
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Bush, Jr. Administration 2000 - 2008 | |||
During first week in office, the President issued an Executive Order limiting the use of unions dues for political purposes | ||||
Bush policies of the largest debt growth in history, & unprecedented dereg & lack of oversight of the financial sector results in the Bush Depression of 2007-2010 | ||||
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Obama Administration 2008 - | |||
During his first 2 yrs in office, Obama passes a universal healthcare program & attempts to pull the econ out of the Bush recession of 2007-2010 | ||||
After midterm elections of 2010, Tea Party members in the House obstruct legislation of both Dems & Reps, creating the infamous "Do Nothing Congress" of this century | ||||
The Tea Party obstructs even routine procedures such as passing a budget, but also such govt housekeeping such as appointing members to the NLRB & the financial watchdog agency |
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- Introduction: The Wagner Act, aka the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), was enacted in 1935 & is the cornerstone of our National Labor Policy | |||||
- Summary: The NLRA guarantees the rights of workers to organize & to bargain collectively w/ employers. It encourages collective bargaining & provides govt processes for the selection of employee bargaining representatives. It established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) | |||||
From the Preamble to the National Labor Relations Act: "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to eliminate the causes of certain substantial obstructions to the free flow of commerce and to mitigate and eliminate these obstructions when they have occurred by encouraging the practice of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection." |
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The Wagner Act was passed in the throes of the Depression |
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It was a period of of weakness for Labor |
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The Great Depression & the Wagner Act sent a strong message to the people which was that things could change, & that the govt helped the small person too | |||||
Many people joined Marxist/socialist/communist related groups, but in effect FDR's New Deal reformed the system & headed off revolution | |||||
The Wagner Act can be seen as an important part of the New Deal | |||||
The Wagner Act of 1935 essentially legalized unions & union activities & founded the basis of the modern labor movement |
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Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act, employees are entitled to form, join, or assist labor organizations |
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There are TEN major provisions of the Wagner Act |
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1. Employees may form a union |
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2. Employees may join a union |
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3. Prohibits interference w/ assisting a union |
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4. Employees may financially contribute to a union |
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5. Prohibits discriminating against a union member |
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6. Employers must bargain in good faith |
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7. Employees may strike & have a right to open jobs upon their return | |||||
8. Employers must recognize a union as having the right to exclusive representation of workers |
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9. The NLRB is created as an independent govt agency that reports only to Congress |
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10. Some workers are not covered by the Wagner Act & therefore have little right to organize: supervisors & mgrs., agricultural workers, domestics, family workers, federal, state, & local employees, & employees covered by the RLA |
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The provisions of the Wagner Act are often seen as establishing the rights of unions, the rules of collective bargaining, workers' rights to unionize, unfair labor practices | |||||
The NLRA does not spell out wages & working conditions | |||||
There are EIGHT minor provisions of the Wagner Act: |
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1. Labor & mgt must bargain in “good faith” | |||||
2. the union becomes sole bargaining agent for workers | |||||
3. there must be secret ballot elections for union representative |
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4. wkrs cannot be fired or harassed for union activity | |||||
5. closed shops are allowed, but can only be mandated by state law | |||||
6. company unions are illegal | |||||
7. if strikers return to work, they must be rehired for open jobs that they qualify for | |||||
8. if strikers return to work, they must be given preference when jobs become open | |||||
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In essence the Wagner Act declared certain practices by employers against unions to be illegal |
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A study tracking organizing success following the passage of the Wagner Act found that organized firms had a 20% lower rate of return than non union firms | |||||
Because the Supreme Court declared the NIRA void in 1935, employers thought the same would happen w/ the Wagner Act | |||||
Therefore employers were intransigent & did not obey the Wagner Act | |||||
Most of the strikes from 1935 to 1937 were over union attempts to be recognized & not over wages or other issues | |||||
Employers fought back w/ programs such as the Mohawk Valley Formula | |||||
But in 1937, in NLRB v. Laughlin Steel Corp, the Supreme Court ruled the Wagner Act to be constitutional | |||||
The Wagner Act was amended for the first time in 1947 by the Labor Management Relations Act, commonly known as the Taft Hartley Act | |||||
The NLRA was again amended in 1959 by the Labor Management Reporting & Disclosure Act, commonly known at the Landrum Griffin Act | |||||
The Wagner Act was amended & extended by both the Taft Hartley the Amended Taft Hartley Acts in 1974 under Pres Nixon | |||||
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The NLRB, which was estbed by the Wagner Act, is the most important Labor relation regulatory agency |
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The Wagner Act of 1935 established the right to organize |
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The Taft Hartley Act of 1947 extended & amended the Wagner Act |
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The Landrum Griffin Act of 1959 rescinded some of Labor's power, estb a labor relations bill of rights for workers & businesses |
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The Amended Taft Hartley Act of 1974 (ATHA) extends many of the rights & obligations of the earlier labor laws to private, non profit healthcare workers, & modified some features of these laws |
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The Amended Taft Hartley Act gives public workers similar rights to private workers |
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The ATHA codified (made into law) an EO, e.g. EO 10988 | |||||
The ATHA defines who is & is not an employer, employee, & supervisor thus defining who can organize whom |
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See Also: Organizational Actors | |||||
Employer |
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Under the ATHA, the employer: | |||||
- must have 2 or more employees |
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- can be fed, state, & local govts (except the PO which is covered under a separate law) |
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- must allow union representatives to function in their official capacity |
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- may be primarily in agriculture |
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- may have small gross receipts |
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- may be exclusive exporters |
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- may be primarily employing domestic wkrs | |||||
Employees |
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Under the ATHA, the employees: | |||||
- include the wkrs in the firm, but also those other wkrs affected by a strike |
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- include striking workers |
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- include those who struck & were discharged by unfair labor practices |
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- do NOT include workers who while striking accept a job elsewhere |
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- do NOT include a child being groomed for mgt | |||||
- do NOT include workers of employers not covered (see above) | |||||
Supervisor | |||||
Under the ATHA, a supervisor is one who possesses
authority to change someone else's job, e.g.:
- hiring - adjust grievance - firing - change pay - promoting - assign tasks - demoting - impose discipline - transferring |
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Professional Employee | |||||
Under the ATHA, a prof employee: | |||||
- does intellectual, abstract wk | |||||
- has performance criteria which cannot be measured in standardized fashion | |||||
- has skills learned through prolonged, specialized instruction | |||||
- may be organized, but cannot be included in a nonprofessional unit w/o the majority vote of professionals | |||||
- includes those who work in non profit hospitals | |||||
- includes such profs as physicians, attorneys, CPAs, engineers, & certain other employees | |||||
The ATHA also included additional rules for the health care sector | |||||
Unfair Labor Practices are defined under the Amended Taft Hartley Act | |||||
It is ironic that when many laws take up volumes, Section 7, the heart of these acts, is one sentence: | |||||
Employees shall have the right to self organization,
to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through
representatives of their own choosing and to engage in concerted activities,
for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.
Section 7, Wagner Act
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Provisions: Section 7 Employer Unfair Labor Practices | |||||
Employer may not: | |||||
- deal w/ either of two unions vying for power | |||||
- create a company union | |||||
- form group of workers to set wages, hours, terms & conditions | |||||
- penalize or discriminate against workers for charging employer w/ unfair labor practice | |||||
Employer MAY require union membership as condition of employment | |||||
Section 7 Union Unfair Labor Practices | |||||
Unions may not: | |||||
- require employer to punish worker for anything but failure to pay dues | |||||
- force self employed worker to join union | |||||
- force employer to bargain w/ uncertified union | |||||
- force employer to cease bargain w/ cert. union | |||||
- force employer to assign wk to union | |||||
- require excessive fees | |||||
- force employer to pay for services not rendered | |||||
- picket to force recognition if | |||||
a. group has not been certified | |||||
b. either no union election has taken place w/in 12 mo or picketers request election w/in 30 days, bu | |||||
c. union may picket to advise public that employer is not unionized, but may not interfere w/ operations | |||||
Other Provisions of the Amended Taft Hartley Act: | |||||
Right to express views in any form | |||||
Hot cargo: no right to refuse to handle/use products of certain employers-- except for construction union | |||||
Construction workers can organize w/o majority status (many construction jobs are short run) | |||||
Must notify FMCS if picketing health care facilities | |||||
Representation Elections S 9(b) | |||||
All workers regardless of union membership are represented | |||||
The NLRB determines which group of employees is to be represented, but cannot: | |||||
a. include professional & nonprofessional in same unit unless majority of professionals agree | |||||
b. deny representation to a craft. Crafts may form own unit; NLRB interpreted this broadly so that crafts often are included in larger unit | |||||
c. include plant guards in unit w/ other workers | |||||
d. Supervisors & mgrs. may not be included in unit | |||||
National Emergency Disputes | |||||
This is a provision of the original Landrum Griffin act | |||||
President believes strike imperils national interest | |||||
Appoints board of inquiry to investigate | |||||
If board concurs, Attorney General directed to ask district Ct. to enjoin strike or lockout | |||||
If Court agrees, it issues injunction | |||||
Board monitors negotiation for 60 days | |||||
Next 15 days NLRB holds election to see if workers accept offer | |||||
5 more days to certify results | |||||
If no settlement President forwards info to Congress for action/inaction |
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In the midst of the Great Depression ( circa 1929 - 1940 ), the Hoover administration provided some indirect benefits for Labor |
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By 1932, the legitimacy of collective bargaining had informally been accepted, but was not written into law | |||||
And labor mgt relations were not legalized until FDR was elected | |||||
After stormy debate, Congress passed the Norris LaGuardia Anti Injunction Act (NLGA) in 1932 |
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The NLGA of 1932 sharply restricted the use of injunctions in labor disputes |
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But well into the 1900s, govt interference in favor of owners represented a major barrier that workers had to overcome | |||||
The NLGA was one of the first laws that actually encouraged union activity |
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The act was sponsored by Senator Norris of NE & Rep. LaGuardia of NY, both Republicans |
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The NLGA was a legislative attempt to Supreme Court limitations on the activities of Labor, especially as those enacted btwn the Clayton Anti Trust Act in 1914 & the end of the 1920s | |||||
The NLGA was based on the theory that lower courts are creations not of the Constitution, but of Congress, & that Congress therefore has wide power in defining & restricting jurisdiction | |||||
Before the NLGA, a firm could get an injunction to stop any union activity that hurt the business in any way |
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The NLGA banned injunctions unless the firm had made every possible effort to settle through negotiations w/ the union |
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The NLGA required a firm to prove that the lack of an injunction would hurt the firm more than the union |
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Thus, the NLGA begins the trend to balance the needs of business & labor | |||||
Provisions of the NLGA: |
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a. "Yellow dog" contracts are banned | |||||
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Yellow dog contracts required an assurance from applicants as a condition of hire that they were not members of a labor union at the time, nor would become so in the future |
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b. Business could not use injunctions against labor
orgs for the following activities such as
- strikes - picketing - organizing - refusing to work - aid for those being sued - union membership drives - publicizing a Labor dispute - strike benefits, unemployment benefits - notifying people that any Labor activity is occurring - agreeing to engage or not engage in Labor related acts - advising others to engage or not engage in Labor related acts |
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c. Injunctions may be issued: if there was |
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- substantial injury to property will occur |
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- greater injury on party requesting injunction than on adversary |
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- no adequate legal remedy exists |
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- a situation where authorities are unable or unwilling to give protection | |||||
- an owner who agreed to deposit a bond for the possible damages of an injunction | |||||
The Taft Hartley Act of 1947 allows injunctions in certain other cases | |||||
The NLGA finally laid to rest the 18th C Conspiracy Doctrine as ruled in Commonwealth of Philadelphia v. Pullis, aka The Cordwainers Case | |||||
NLGA does not require an owner to recognize or bargain w/ a union | |||||
Boycott damages (as established in the Danbury Hatters Case) were reduced because no one is liable for other's independent acts | |||||
The NLGA made it impossible to enforce yellow dog contracts | |||||
Yellow dog contracts were promises by workers to not join or aid a union | |||||
The NLGA prevented firms from suing employees for breaking yellow dog contracts | |||||
Because firms could not enforce such contracts, they eventually stopped using them |
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- Project: Free Trade, NAFTA, Protectionism |
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- See Also: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS): NAFTA http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/Policy/nafta/nafta.asp |
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NAFTA HAS OPENED UP TRADE IN NO AM, BUT THERE IS WIDESPREAD DISAGREEMENT ON THE COSTS & BENEFITS TO THE US, MEX, & CANADA | |||||
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NAFTA is an acronym for the North American Free Trade Agreement |
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NAFTA was ratified by Canada, Mexico & the US in 1993 & went into effect in early 1994 |
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NAFTA unites Canada, Mexico, & the US in one of the world's largest free trade zones | |||||
NAFTA builds on a free trade agreement btwn the US & Canada that became effective in 1989 | |||||
Under NAFTA, tariffs on most goods produced & sold in No Am are to be gradually eliminated over 10 years | |||||
Trade of a few additional products will continue to be restricted for another 5 years. The first reductions took place in 1994 | |||||
NAFTA also establishes rights & obligations regarding trade in services, intellectual property, & intl investment | |||||
The provisions of NAFTA could serve as models for future global & regional trade agreements | |||||
NAFTA's GOALS WERE TO LIBERALIZE TRADE, REDUCE TARIFFS, & ELIMINATE TRADE BARRIERS | |||||
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NAFTA attempted to: |
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a. remove trade barriers |
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b. reduce & eliminate many tariffs |
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c. eliminate other barriers such as inspections, etc. |
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NAFTA's BENEFITS INCLUDE LOWER PRICES, INCREASED DEMAND, & LOWER LABOR COSTS | |||||
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The benefits of NAFTA include: |
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a. all countries see lower prices for goods & services because they can now buy the cheapest product from which-ever country |
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b. the producing countries should see more demand |
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c. competition puts more pressure on producers, labor & wages |
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NAFTA made it easier for US corps to relocate plants to Mexico | |||||
NAFTA supporters: | |||||
- believe that the US, Canada, & Mexico would all benefit from increased trade & larger markets | |||||
- maintain that those plants would move there regardless of how difficult it was, & that NAFTA would create other jobs in the US by opening Mexican & Canadian markets | |||||
- argued that the Clinton administration had gotten improved envl protection in Mexico, while NAFTA opponents argued that the controls were weak & ineffective | |||||
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THE POLITICAL ALLIES WHICH PASSED NAFTA CONSISTED OF AN UNLIKELY COALITION OF FREE TRADER CLINTONITES & REAGAN REPUBLICANS, & WAS OPPOSED BY LIBERTARIAN REPUBLICANS & LABOR UNION DEMOCRATS |
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NAFTA was proposed by Bush Sr. during his 1988-1992 administration |
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NAFTA became a big campaign issue for 1992 election |
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Bush & Clinton supported it |
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Perot opposed it |
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Labor strongly opposed NAFTA & campaigned against President Bush, Sr. |
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When Clinton was elected in 1992, his support of NAFTA was a major wedge btwn the President & Labor |
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Labor points out that whatever the advantages, NAFTA has negative points that should not be overlooked |
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NAFTA generated extensive opposition in the US because of concerns that it would result in a loss of US jobs | |||||
Opponents feared the job losses would result from increased Mexican imports & from a shift in US production to Mexican plants | |||||
Environmental groups feared NAFTA would increase air & water pollution, particularly in the US Mexican border region | |||||
THE WEAKNESSES OF NAFTA ARE IT CAN ELIMINATE JOBS IN ONE NATION, IT HAS NO WKRS RIGHTS FOR MEX, JOBS ARE SHIFTED TO LOW WAGE NATIONS, NO ENVL SAFEGUARDS, DISPUTES OVER GOVT SUBSIDIES, SWEATSHOP CONDITIONS IN SOME NATIONS, WEAK WKPLACE SAFETY | |||||
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For Labor, the weaknesses of NAFTA include that |
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a. there are not enough employment safeguards |
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b. Mexican workers are exploited; for example they have no minimum wage & no OSHA |
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c. Mexican wages are not a 'living wage' even in Mexico |
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Mexican wages are 12.5% of US wages |
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Canadian wages are 7.5% above US wages |
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d. there are not enough envl safeguards |
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e. Canadian workers & firms are subsidized by the govt |
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Canadian health care is subsidized & is considered to be one of the best systems in the world |
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Certain industries in the US are subsidized such as pork, tobacco, steel, etc. |
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Certain industries in the US are protected from imports such as cars, lumber, airplanes, etc. | |||||
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Strike in Mexico |
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Reynosa, Mexico has four auto plants w/ 70,000 workers |
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Workers at an auto plant in Reynosa, Mexico struck over inadequate profit sharing of only $30 per worker |
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The UAW did an econ analysis, pointing out the high levels profits to the manufacturers |
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The UAW's analysis of profits at the plants in Reynosa, Mexico won an increase in profit sharing to $44 w/ food coupons worth $32 |
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It is in the interest of Am workers to see that all workers around the world are treated fairly |
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THE EFFECTS OF NAFTA INCLUDE US JOB GAINS & LOSSES, LABOR ABUSE, ECON INSTABILITY IN MEX, MANY SPECIFIC TRADE DISPUTES | |||||
Labor & Perot predicted the loss of many jobs to Mexico as a result of NAFTA | |||||
Job losses have happened to some extent, in that NAFTA made wages open for negotiation because of intl competitive pressure thus reversing the Labor's historic gain where they had reduced the wage differentials & created a stable wage base for the mid class | |||||
There has been some job loss, but growth in the US econ has covered up the southern job migration | |||||
Labor abuse in Mexico is widespread | |||||
Mexican plants sometimes have guards to keep workers in line & keep reporters, unionists, activists, etc. out | |||||
The UAW wants US manufacturers w/ plants in Mexico to treat workers fairly | |||||
NAFTA did not create as many US jobs as its backers promised & more jobs have gone South than anticipated | |||||
The US trade surplus w/ Mexico narrowed in 1994 because of the surge in US imports from Mexico | |||||
The surge in Mexican imports relative to US exports to Mexico is evidence that NAFTA did not create as many jobs as predicted | |||||
The Clinton Administration estimated that NAFTA created 320,000 jobs | |||||
The Dept of Labor estimated that NAFTA eliminated 215,000 jobs | |||||
NAFTA supporters question all these job figures | |||||
The devaluation of the Mexican peso hurt the Mex econ thus limiting the predicted level of Am product purchases by Mexs | |||||
One of the major reasons for the decline of the peso was because Mexico owed so much money to the intl community, & was at risk in paying it back | |||||
The devaluation of the peso lowered the standard of living of average Mexicans | |||||
The envl protections of NAFTA are weak in that there are many cases of illegal hazardous waste disposal, an increase in birth defects, & a lack of water & sewage treatment | |||||
NAFTA, globalization, deindustrialization, & other "sudden impact" trade policies have created competition which has reduced growth in the Am standard of living | |||||
In the 1950s & 60, the US standard of living rose rapidly, but since then the average wages of Am. workers have grown more slowly & the wages of younger wkrs w/o a college education have declined resulting in increased income inequality since around 1980 | |||||
MEXICO HAS EXPERIENCED ECON INSTABILITY AS A RESULT OF NAFTA | |||||
NAFTA has not helped Mexican workers, furthermore, globalization has not helped non core workers primarily because "free trade" is occurring at a faster rate than societies & wkrs can adapt | |||||
Wages in Mexico, the US & Canada have fallen since NAFTA was implemented | |||||
The ultimate effect of free trade, NAFTA, etc. is that core workers lose jobs, or must work at a lower wage, the env is harmed, all while corp profits have grown | |||||
In response to opposition to the pact in the US, the three countries agreed in 1993 to supplement NAFTA w/ three side agreements | |||||
The three pacts or side agreements to NAFTA established commissions to monitor developments related to envl & labor issues and to help solve problems that may arise as regional trade & investment expands |
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THE ACTORS IN THE POLICY PROCESS | |||||
There are many "Players' or actors in the policy formation
process, that lobby & produce policy documents
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Each policy actor has a direct role in making policy, & lobbying the other players | |||||
Miscellaneous interest groups (e.g. envl groups, gun groups, anti- & pro- abortion, etc.) & the general public (& organized publics) have input through letters, phone, email, direct contact: spontaneous or "solicited" | |||||
Interest groups & the general public (& organized publics) sometimes produce policy documents as do the "players" discussed above, but more often they simply lobby by voicing their opinion | |||||
See Also: The Policy Formation Process ( Making Law ) | |||||
See Also: Participants in the Envl Debate | |||||
CONGRESSIONAL LOBBYING IS WHERE MOST LOBBYING OCCURS | |||||
Congressional lobbying is a high stakes, risky "business" | |||||
In the past, all Congressmen had safes in their offices where they kept the money lobbyists gave them | |||||
Today, the distinction btwn lobbyist & contributor is wider; only that there is no quid pro quo | |||||
In 1990, there were more than 6,800 congressional lobbying groups in the US, however most of them tend to represent certain groups of interests, such as Domhoff three key interest groups | |||||
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Lobbyists are all registered: There are 8000 registered lobbyists in the mid 1990s |
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In 2005, there were more than 14,000 registered lobbying groups in Washington, DC, averaging just over two employees each for a total over 30,000 lobbyists (many lobbying firms are small) | |||||
In 2005, there were approximately 30,000 members of Congress & staff members, making the ratio of lobbyists to officials on the Hill nearly 1 to 1 | |||||
In the early 90s the total value of earmarks added to bills was under $100 mm, while in 2005 the value was over $32 bb | |||||
Because of corporate influence on govt, there is an inverse relation of corporate size & the amount of taxes paid | |||||
ENVL LOBBYISTS PERFECTED LOBBYING FOR INTEREST GRPS | |||||
Since the late 1960s, the envl mvmt developed lobbying & political tactics for interest groups, NGO's, etc. | |||||
W/ the dawn of the envl mvmt in the 1960s, the envl mvmt first focused on passage of fed envl laws, e.g. lobbying Congress | |||||
Today, the envl mvmt plays a greater role: | |||||
a. in the implementation of envl regs | |||||
b. court cases about the env | |||||
c. w/ state laws, implementation & court cases | |||||
INDL LOBBYISTS HAVE A VERY LONG RECORD OF LOBBYING | |||||
Industry groups developed counter interest groups of lobbying & political tactics | |||||
In the past, industry appeared to give up after the policy adoption stage, i.e. law making, only to come back during implementation | |||||
Now, like the envl mvmt, industry struggles w/ policy at all levels | |||||
Industry has attempted to keep the envl mvmt out of the rule making & implementation processes by limiting public access to rule making | |||||
THE GOVT IS THE TARGET OF LOBBYING | |||||
In the rule making process, a person must show standing by showing continuing interest in a project or by showing a material interest | |||||
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Participation is difficult due to short comment periods on proposed rules; usually 30 days | ||||
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After Reagan's govtl downsizing of the govt, agencies & commissions are often ill equipped & under funded when it comes to implementing policy |
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Most govt agencies are ill equipped to handle public comment, & this is a place where social scientist are useful in govt. |
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Most govt. agencies are heavily lobbied at all stages of the implementation process & thus try to find "legal peace" among conflicting parties |
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Most people & agencies in govt. ( Congressmen & women, Reps, etc. ) all respond similarly to lobbying by seeking legal peace & compromise among the parties |
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In seeking compromise, govt agencies often seek simply to end the conflict rather than finding the most just outcome that may reduce conflict, but not totally end it | |||||
In seeking less than optimally just outcomes, & instead pursing legal peace, govt agencies are eschewing their responsibility to the greater good, ignoring the fact that they too are a player in the public policy formulation process & not merely a broker | |||||
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The policy implementation is a slow, minutely focused, incremental process |
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Rules, procedures, etc. change, minutely, year by year, month by month, even day by day |
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EXAMPLES OF LOBBYING ON ENVL ISSUES | |||||
THE SALVAGE LOGGING RIDER | |||||
In the salvage logging example, lobbyists lobbied over the definition of a dead tree |
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1994 was a big wildfire season & therefore in the fall of 1994 & spring & fall of 1995, salvage logging of the burned trees became a priority, which was strongly lobbied |
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As a result of lobbying, the Salvage Logging Rider ( SLR ) was passed after the devastating 1994 fire season |
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While there was considerable lobbying around the passage of the SLR itself, lobbying continued throughout the formation of the agency rules to implement the law as seen in the counting of "dead" trees, which may be salvage logged | ||||
The players in the SLR policy debate developed policy because there was no "science" on determining when a tree is dead | |||||
The players in the SLR policy debate knew that if you wait too long, dead trees cannot be harvested | |||||
W/ the SLR there was approximately a 1 year window to salvage the burned timber before the wood became too rotten | |||||
W/ the SLR FS personnel, loggers, & envlists argued about the criteria such as 'what % of each species of tree can be brown & it is still likely that the tree will survive?' | |||||
In the SLR policy debate, 3 parties argued over actual measurement of brown needles on fire damaged trees | |||||
W/ the SLR the FS, the logging corps, & the envlist went to court & a compromise was reached over how to define a dead tree | |||||
Compromises in policy are often based as much on politics as science | |||||
The implementation of salvage logging changed day by day as either logging corps or envl group members "worked w/" FS officials in the office or out in the field | |||||
FOREST HEALTH | |||||
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In 2002 & 2003, an example of a public policy debate included the proposed Forest Health Legislation | ||||
In the 2002/03 proposed Forest Health Legislation, the public policy issue was whether the forest was overgrown because of wildland fire suppression | |||||
Public policy explored whether the problem of forest health existed & how it could be fixed | |||||
The solutions to forest health, whether the problem exists or not included burning, mechanical thinning, logging, some combination of the above | |||||
The forest health public policy debate explored where should the problem be addressed, including in the WUI, in the back country, in particular areas chosen according to particular criteria, etc. | |||||
The forest health public policy sought to define WUI, by for example, determining whether it included watersheds, rural zones, etc. | |||||
Some players in the forest health public policy sought to exclude NEPA, public comment, & to include categorical exclusions ( CEs ) | |||||
An example of a public policy debate included whether Microsoft is involved in accusations of monopolistic practices | |||||
The example of the Microsoft public policy saw, for the first time, Microsoft "becoming involved in politics" by contributing $$$ to the Republican Party |
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