American Labor IP

The American Labor IP is an interest project from the Girl Scouts of Riverland Council Wisconsin.

Activities

Complete 8 activities, including those starred.

*In 500 words or more, write about one of the women activists in organized labor in the United States, past or present.
*Develop a time line of significant history of the American labor movement from the 1770s to today.
*Check with news sources where you live – public library; federal, state, county, or municipal employment office; labor union office – for information about working people and their concerns. Discuss these concerns about job related issues. (Safety, job assignments, seniority, wages, child care, etc.)
*With permission, attend a meeting of a local union or an AFL-CIO Labor Council. Talk with people there and find out what the organization does. Draw a diagram of the organizational structure of the association you visited from the local to the national level, if possible.
Chart a comparison of wages, benefits, and working conditions in an educated and high school level job.
Explain some major differences between private and public sector employee jobs. Give examples of each.
Research one of the following:

Issues that concern American workers.
Federal and State labor laws showing how these laws affect American workers.
Current issues you have learned about from the national union or employee group.

Be prepared to define and discuss some of the key terms used in labor relations.
*Two types of bargaining processes used in negotiating labor contracts are Adversarial and Consensual (win-win). Define the two terms and describe how each works. Cite positive and negative of each. List two examples of labor and management in your state using each type of negotiating process.
Describe different methods of impasse resolution, such as mediation/arbitration, strikes, blue flu, etc. How do the various methods impact on the company, the community, and the union?
Discuss the importance of maintaining good relationships among business, labor, and government.
Check with your community and state to see if there is an active Labor/Management Council in your area. What may dome of the goals be for a Labor/Management Council?