Impact of Business Unionism

M1A1: Essay – Impact of Business Unionism Due Sunday by 11:55pm Points 100 Submitting an external tool Available after Jan 11 at 12am Before you begin this activity, be sure that you have: Read Chapters 1 and 2. Reviewed the videos: Ford and Taylor in the 1920s – Part 1 (Links to an external site.) [Video, 5:08 minutes] Ford and Taylor in the 1920s – Part 2 (Links to an external site.) [Video, 6:17 minutes] Ford During the Slide into the Great Depression (Links to an external site.) [Video, 8:27 minutes] Unionization at Ford During the 1930s and 1940s (Links to an external site.) [Video, 7:12 minutes] This assignment requires you to reflect on the concept of business unionism adopted by the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the impact that this philosophy has had on U.S. labor relations. By the end of this activity you should better understand the benefits and limitations of the business unionism approach of the U.S. labor movement. The American Federation of Labor succeeded in part because it adopted a “business unionism” approach that accepted the economic system based on capitalism and sought to secure gains for its members through negotiation with management. As part of the business unionism philosophy, the union bargained for better “bread and butter issues” – pay, benefits and working conditions. In a 2-3 page essay, discuss the benefits and limitations of this approach for the U.S. labor movement today. In your essay, be sure to consider the differences in the economic environment of the late 1800s and the economic environment today. Also, you must support your analysis with information from the readings and other sources, as appropriate. Compose your work in a .doc or .docx file type using a word processor (such as Microsoft Word, etc.) and save it frequently to your computer. For those assignments that are not written essays and require uploading images or PowerPoint slides, please follow uploading guidelines provided by your instructor. Check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Upload Submission.” Enter the submission title and then click on “Select a file to upload.” Browse your computer, and select your file. Click “Open” and verify the correct file name has appeared next to Submission File. Click on “Continue.” Confirm submission is correct and then click on “Accept Submission & Save.”