Collective Bargaining Relationships during the Post World War 2 Era

Name Institutional Affiliation Course Title Instructor Date Collective Bargaining Relationships during the Post WWII Era The rise of contractual bargaining in the aftermath of WWII played a key role in formalizing the correlation between trade unions and employers. Meanwhile, such bargaining relationship started to break on the so-called shop floor activism. A trade union refers a group of organization of workers that represents their collective goals and interests. Some of the underlying reasons behind the establishment of trade unions include advocating for improved working conditions and better pay, employment security, wage security, and other benefits, including insurance benefits and paid leaves. This essay delves into David Brody’s argument that “the workplace rule of law” and “contractual logic” stifled self-activity. In the aftermath of WWII, contractual bargaining promised various benefits for workers in terms of redistributing authority and power in the American industry. Traditionally, workers were mainly focused on union recognition, work rules, speed-up and job security rather than on pay issues. However, the focus shifted to pay issues after the Second World War. In the electrical industry for instance, the union movement’s major goal was wage increases. One of the key contributing forces towards the union’s push for wage increases was the rising inflation rate that followed the Great Depression. The significance of collective bargaining for monetary purposes increased due to the emergence of reopener clauses. Meanwhile, there was an upsurge of fringe benefits. In addition, collective bargaining through trade unions resulted in steady increase in real income. For instance, the production workers’ gross weekly income increased significantly within a decade. Overall, the disposable real income for industrial workers increases significantly regardless...