| Revision as of 19:16, 7 January 2002 editF. Lee Horn (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 20:53, 7 January 2002 edit undoLee Daniel Crocker (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users4,416 editsmNo edit summaryNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| A labor union, or ], is a legal entity comprised of employees or workers |
A '''labor union''', or ], is a legal entity comprised of employees or workers | ||
| having a common interest (such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the trades workers | |||
| in a particular industry) who form a union for the purpose of collectively negotiating with an employer | |||
| (or employers) over wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. | |||
| The concept of labor unions began early in the industrial revolution. More and more people left farming as an occupation and began to work for employers, usually in appaling conditions and for very low wages. The labor movement arose as an outgrowth of the disparity between the power of employers and the powerlessness of individual employees. | |||
| The concept of labor unions began early in the industrial revolution. | |||
| Labor unions were illegal for many years in most countries. There were severe penalties for attempting to organize labor unions, up to and including execution. Despite this, labor unions were formed and began to acquire political power, eventually resulting in a body of ] which not only legalized organizing efforts, but codified the relationship between employers and those employees organized into labor unions. | |||
| More and more people left farming as an occupation and began to work for employers, | |||
| usually in appaling conditions and for very low wages. | |||
| The labor movement arose as an outgrowth of the disparity between the power of employers | |||
| Some countries, such as ] have strong, centralized unions, where every type of work has a specific union, which are then gathered in large unions. The largest Swedish union is ], <i>Landsorganisationen</i>. LO has over 2.1 million members, which is more than a fifth of Swedens population. | |||
| and the powerlessness of individual employees. | |||
| Labor unions were illegal for many years in most countries. | |||
| There were severe penalties for attempting to organize labor unions, up to and including execution. | |||
| Despite this, labor unions were formed and began to acquire political power, eventually resulting | |||
| in a body of ] which not only legalized organizing efforts, but codified the relationship | |||
| between employers and those employees organized into labor unions. | |||
| Some countries such as ] have strong, centralized unions, where every type of work | |||
| has a specific union, which are then gathered in large national unions. | |||
| The largest Swedish union is ], ''Landsorganisationen''. | |||
| LO has over 2.1 million members, which is more than a fifth of Sweden's population. | |||
Revision as of 20:53, 7 January 2002
A labor union, or labor organization, is a legal entity comprised of employees or workers
having a common interest (such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the trades workers
in a particular industry) who form a union for the purpose of collectively negotiating with an employer
(or employers) over wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.
The concept of labor unions began early in the industrial revolution.
More and more people left farming as an occupation and began to work for employers,
usually in appaling conditions and for very low wages.
The labor movement arose as an outgrowth of the disparity between the power of employers
and the powerlessness of individual employees.
Labor unions were illegal for many years in most countries.
There were severe penalties for attempting to organize labor unions, up to and including execution.
Despite this, labor unions were formed and began to acquire political power, eventually resulting
in a body of labor law which not only legalized organizing efforts, but codified the relationship
between employers and those employees organized into labor unions.
Some countries such as Sweden have strong, centralized unions, where every type of work
has a specific union, which are then gathered in large national unions.
The largest Swedish union is LO, Landsorganisationen.
LO has over 2.1 million members, which is more than a fifth of Sweden's population.
See also Salting, Labor organization, Labor law