What Is the Sherman Anti-Trust Act Free Essays

The American government has engaged in the process of creating and enforcing legislation as the course of action for everyone to follow when dealing with labor issues and the workforce. In my research, I found several pieces of legislation such as the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, and the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Act (Federal Trade Commission, n.d. We will write a custom essay sample on What Is the Sherman Anti-Trust Act? or any similar topic only for you Order Now ), and per text the Wagner Act of 1935, and the Taft-Hartley Act (DeCenzo, 2016). Congress passed this legislation as the determining element in how much control that management and/ or unions would have in protecting the rights of the workers and the organizations. The US government has been involved in the process of acting as a mediator between the organizations and unions with labor clashes. In the 1800’s, there weren’t many laws that would govern how unions would operate within the organization. So in the early stages of unions organizations thought that the unions were illegal and that they would interfere with the progress of the organization. The Sherman Antitrust Act was the initial legislation adopted that shaped labor unions. This act was important to the organization because it prevented any â€Å"restraint of commerce across state lines and the courts ruled that union strikes or boycotts would be covered by the law†. There is two additional act of the Sherman Act, they are the Federal Trade Commission Act the prohibit bias procedures concerning competition and misleading forms of practice, the Clayton Act focuses on certain issues such as mergers and joining boards members. The main strike in 1894 between the Pullman Palace Car Company and the American Railway Union, where workers walked off of the job because wages were cut by as much as forty percent. At that time the organization was able to obtain a ruling that stopped both the strike and boycott. And because of this labor unions discovered that it would be harder to organize successfully (Shmoop, 2018). The National Labor Relation Act of 1935, which is also known as the Wagner Act was endorsed to protect both employers, and employees, it is the main key to union rights. The Wagner Act distinctively insist that employers should bargain in excellent confidence on issues such as wages, hours, and employment environments. This gave unions control over bias labor habits. Therefore, the Wagner Act empowered unions to be able to grow and advance, plus to establish unions permitting them to protect and bargain together, which means the workforce has the right to come as one to make their demands known even without a union (DeCenzo, 2016) (Shmoop, 2018). Because the Wagner Act sheltered the unions it led to the Taft-Hartley Act which is known as the Labor-Management Act (DeCenzo, 2016). This act covered the concerns of the employer in preventing bias practices of the unions. It prohibited closed stops by declaring them illegal and empowering the states to pass laws that would decrease mandatory union representation. It also disallowed secondary boycotts by giving the president authority whenever differences may influence national security. Both parties must bargain in â€Å"good faith† by coming to the table intending to reach an agreement. But if they don’t reach one the Taft-Hartley developed the FMCS to help in the talks (DeCenzo, 2016). All of these laws are vital to the organization and unions since they’re the basis of the relationship that is between the workforce and the employer. While the NLRA has changed over time it is very important because it includes how both should work together throughout the bargaining process. And how the Taft-Hartley controls the duration of the relationship. But they safeguard that everyone should work together during the conditions of the association. As a result, unionized workers through combined efforts of both the union and organizations cooperative bargaining have produced better wages, benefits, safe environment, and health conditions for the workforce. They have also included better opportunities for the non-unionized workers (Walters, 2003). References DeCenzo, D. A. (2016). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 12th Edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons Inc. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved from The Antitrust Laws: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws Shmoop. (2018). Retrieved from History of Labor Unions: https://www.shmoop.com/history-labor-unions/law.html Walters, M. a. (2003, 8 26). Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from How unions help all workers: https://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_bp143/ How to cite What Is the Sherman Anti-Trust Act?, Papers