The Blue Eagle was the symbol of one of the early New Deal's premier experiments in industrial democracy, the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. The symbol became a marker for fair competition in the workplace, and one of its codes ? the guaranteed right of employees to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing ? was later embodied in the National Labor Relations, or Wagner Act, in 1935 and became a foundation principle of American labor law.
Charles J. Morris is an emeritus professor at Southern Methodist University School of Law and a labor law scholar. His study focuses on the guarantees employees struggled to gain in the 1930's and in particular on a still legal but unused aspect of our labor law ? the so-called minority-union, members-only right to representation.
The practice of minority-union, members-only organizing was common prior to the great period of upsurge in union membership in the 1930's and 1940's. Morris states about 21 percent of all union members employed in mining and manufacturing in 1933 were represented by minority unions that engaged in members-only bargaining. At the time of the creation of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, minority-union collective bargaining by labor unions was often a first step in organizing majority-based exclusive bargaining units.
As unions swelled organized labor's ranks in those years, minority-union organizing began to fade. Unions abandoned the legal practice of minority-union representation ? where elections were not required ? for the greater payoff of NLRB-sanctioned majority unit elections. The legal right to represent workers through minority-union, members only organizing was forgotten. Time and conventional wisdom have now all but obscured the practice.
Morris' legal and legislative analysis of the origin and development of our national labor laws is comprehensive and compelling. Anyone interested in the legislative crafting of these laws and the historical debates that surrounded worker rights back then would be well advised to read The Blue Eagle at Work. Morris recounts the rich values and principles that underscore America's private sector labor laws ? the right of workers to take concerted action, to form unions and bargain collectively, to practice freedom of association, to organize economic power for themselves, and above all to select representatives of their own choosing.
In considering the lost organizing tool of minority-union, members-only organizing Morris also offers a case study of how this right could be reestablish, how to put this arrow back in labor's quiver. His case is made more compelling by a legal road map of strategies that organized labor might adopt to clarify and affirm this right in law.
So, is Professor Morris' idea a good one? Should organized labor take him up on his challenge?
Those attuned to the current debates about organized labor's future see a landscape dotted with big and small plans and many ideas. Unions must consolidate. Organize for density in industry sectors. Find associate members for unions. Form alliances with communities, or friendly employers to stop Wal-Mart. Where is labor going? What should unions do?
These and other ideas prove their value when tested. Here's an idea that once had some practical value. It just might bear some fruit.
Professor Morris' call to re-examine an old method of organizing should be considered on labor's ideas list. Given practical scrutiny and tried and tested experimentation, the strategic significance of Morris' mousetrap may be proven. Labor organizers and unions themselves will have to embrace his idea in practical terms to find out. Short of this, Professor Morris offers a very thorough account of a fascinating organizing approach and its history; one that's still on the books.
Tom Beer is a former union staff member for AFSCME in Minnesota. He has advised labor unions on elections, developed union contract campaign and legislative strategies, and was Senator Paul Wellstone's chief labor staff in the 2002 election.
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The Blue Eagle was the symbol of one of the early New Deal’s premier experiments in industrial democracy, the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. The symbol became a marker for fair competition in the workplace, and one of its codes ? the guaranteed right of employees to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing ? was later embodied in the National Labor Relations, or Wagner Act, in 1935 and became a foundation principle of American labor law.
Charles J. Morris is an emeritus professor at Southern Methodist University School of Law and a labor law scholar. His study focuses on the guarantees employees struggled to gain in the 1930’s and in particular on a still legal but unused aspect of our labor law ? the so-called minority-union, members-only right to representation.
The practice of minority-union, members-only organizing was common prior to the great period of upsurge in union membership in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Morris states about 21 percent of all union members employed in mining and manufacturing in 1933 were represented by minority unions that engaged in members-only bargaining. At the time of the creation of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, minority-union collective bargaining by labor unions was often a first step in organizing majority-based exclusive bargaining units.
As unions swelled organized labor’s ranks in those years, minority-union organizing began to fade. Unions abandoned the legal practice of minority-union representation ? where elections were not required ? for the greater payoff of NLRB-sanctioned majority unit elections. The legal right to represent workers through minority-union, members only organizing was forgotten. Time and conventional wisdom have now all but obscured the practice.
Morris’ legal and legislative analysis of the origin and development of our national labor laws is comprehensive and compelling. Anyone interested in the legislative crafting of these laws and the historical debates that surrounded worker rights back then would be well advised to read The Blue Eagle at Work. Morris recounts the rich values and principles that underscore America’s private sector labor laws ? the right of workers to take concerted action, to form unions and bargain collectively, to practice freedom of association, to organize economic power for themselves, and above all to select representatives of their own choosing.
In considering the lost organizing tool of minority-union, members-only organizing Morris also offers a case study of how this right could be reestablish, how to put this arrow back in labor’s quiver. His case is made more compelling by a legal road map of strategies that organized labor might adopt to clarify and affirm this right in law.
So, is Professor Morris’ idea a good one? Should organized labor take him up on his challenge?
Those attuned to the current debates about organized labor’s future see a landscape dotted with big and small plans and many ideas. Unions must consolidate. Organize for density in industry sectors. Find associate members for unions. Form alliances with communities, or friendly employers to stop Wal-Mart. Where is labor going? What should unions do?
These and other ideas prove their value when tested. Here’s an idea that once had some practical value. It just might bear some fruit.
Professor Morris’ call to re-examine an old method of organizing should be considered on labor’s ideas list. Given practical scrutiny and tried and tested experimentation, the strategic significance of Morris’ mousetrap may be proven. Labor organizers and unions themselves will have to embrace his idea in practical terms to find out. Short of this, Professor Morris offers a very thorough account of a fascinating organizing approach and its history; one that’s still on the books.
Tom Beer is a former union staff member for AFSCME in Minnesota. He has advised labor unions on elections, developed union contract campaign and legislative strategies, and was Senator Paul Wellstone’s chief labor staff in the 2002 election.