Subject(s)
Delivery of Health Care , Health Facility Merger , Labor Unions , Physicians , Humans , Health Facility Merger/economics , Health Facility Merger/organization & administration , Labor Unions/economics , Labor Unions/organization & administration , Physicians/economics , Physicians/organization & administration , United States , Delivery of Health Care/economics , Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration , Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act/organization & administration , Professional Autonomy , Collective Bargaining/economics , Collective Bargaining/organization & administration , Employment/economicsABSTRACT
We apply a shift-share approach and historical unionisation data from 1918 to study the impact of regional unionisation changes in Norway on regional wage and productivity growth, job-creation and -destruction and social security uptake during the period 2003-2012. As unionisation increases, wages grow. Lay-offs through plant closures and shrinking workplaces increase, causing higher retirement rates, while job creation, plant entry and other social security uptakes are unaffected. Productivity grows, partly by enhanced productivity among surviving and new firms and partly by less productive firms forced to close due to increased labour costs. Thus, unions promote creative destruction.
Subject(s)
Labor Unions/economics , Labor Unions/trends , Workplace/economics , Efficiency , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Income/trends , Labor Unions/history , Norway , Salaries and Fringe Benefits/economics , Salaries and Fringe Benefits/trendsABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing critical failures in public and occupational health in the United States. So-called hazard pay for essential workers is a necessary but insufficient response to the lack of workplace protections. The roots of these failures in the weakening of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforcement and pandemic preparedness and the dramatic shifts in the economy and labor market in recent decades are explored along with the history of hazard pay. The current prominence of COVID-19-related workplace hazards, and the mobilization by both nonunion and union workers experiencing them, presents opportunities amid the crisis and tragic losses to envision a revival of worker protection measures. Strategies are needed for organizing and legislative advocacy to address the disparate impact of both normal and crisis conditions on low-wage workers, especially women and workers of color.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Occupational Health/standards , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Salaries and Fringe Benefits , Workplace/economics , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Humans , Labor Unions/economics , Labor Unions/standards , Pandemics , Racial Groups , SARS-CoV-2 , United States , United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration , Women, WorkingSubject(s)
Labor Unions/organization & administration , Occupational Health/legislation & jurisprudence , United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration/organization & administration , Accidents, Occupational/prevention & control , Federal Government , Humans , Labor Unions/economics , Occupational Diseases/prevention & control , State Government , United States , United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration/economics , United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
In February 2018, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Janus v. AFSCME, a case poised to make right-to-work (or, as some call it, right-to-work-for-less) the law in the public sector. At issue is the constitutionality of requiring non-union members, who benefit from collective bargaining, to pay fees that support contract negotiations on the terms and conditions of their employment. We argue that a win for Janus would threaten public health by eroding organized labor's power to improve working conditions. Furthermore, we critique the dubious legal theory underpinning Janus's case and describe the moneyed political interests backing his legal representation. Finally, we chart a path forward for labor organizing in a post- Janus world, drawing inspiration from the winter 2018 educators' strike in West Virginia. Regardless of how Janus itself is decided, the issues raised in this article remain crucial because the ongoing weakening of unions by legislative and judicial means undermines workers' health and exacerbates inequities.
Subject(s)
Labor Unions/legislation & jurisprudence , Labor Unions/organization & administration , Occupational Health/standards , Public Health , Public Sector , Collective Bargaining/legislation & jurisprudence , Humans , Labor Unions/economics , Politics , United StatesSubject(s)
Labor Unions/economics , Labor Unions/legislation & jurisprudence , Nursing Staff/economics , Nursing Staff/legislation & jurisprudence , Salaries and Fringe Benefits/economics , Salaries and Fringe Benefits/legislation & jurisprudence , State Medicine/economics , England , Humans , State Medicine/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
This article refutes the argument that high unemployment in Spain is due to labor market rigidities, questioning the premises on which this theory is based. It then goes on to explain how those advancing this argument are the very same forces responsible for the macroeconomic decisions that are currently causing unemployment.