In the course of evolution of the USA from an agrarian society in the modern industrial state there were radical changes in character of the American labor.
Till the end of a XIX-th century the United States were substantially the agricultural country. In formation of the American economy hardly it was necessary to the unskilled workers receiving twice less qualified handicraftsmen, workmen and mechanics. In cities about 40 percent of workers represented low-paid handymen and the seamstresses working at factories on manufacture of clothes who lived in awful conditions. In process of growth of number of factories and factories on them work of children, women and the poor immigrants working for the machine tool began to be applied widely.
In the end of XIX and the beginning of the XX-th centuries there was a considerable growth of industrial production. Many Americans have left farms and small cities to work at factories and factories where mass production has been adjusted, the strict hierarchy is established, basically work of unskilled workers was applied and the low salary was paid. In similar conditions trade unions gradually began to be created. In due course they managed to achieve substantial improvement of working conditions. Trade unions have changed also the American political life. Often in the union with democratic party they represented one their key groups of the population thanks to which the considerable part of the American social legislation has been accepted, since time of "the New course» the president of Franklin D.Roosevelt in the thirties last century and finishing the stay period in power administrations Kennedy and Johnson in the sixties the XX-th centuries.
The workers organized in trade unions and remain today considerable political and economic force, but their influence is appreciable ослабло. The relative role of manufacturing industry has decreased, and scales of sector of services have increased. The increasing part of the amateur population becomes employees and technical officers, instead of industrial workers. In the meantime in new branches of economic activities try to employ highly skilled workers, able to adapt to the incessant changes caused by occurrence of computers and other new technologies. The increasing orientation to clientele and necessity of frequent updating of made production in reply to market requirements, has induced some employers to reduce scales of hierarchy and instead to rely on interbranch groups of workers independently directing the activity.
To the workers organized in trade unions which traditionally had strong positions in such branches as steel industry and heavy mechanical engineering, isn't possible to adapt to these changes. Trade unions prospered in the first years after the Second World War termination. However during the subsequent period in the conditions of reduction of number of workers in traditional processing industries the number of members of trade unions was reduced also. Having faced constant growth of a competition from the foreign manufacturers using cheap labor, employers began to aspire to finding большей flexibility in the policy of employment. They have started to use work of the people accepted for temporary job or working incomplete working day, and also to give less attention to payment and systems of provision of pensions and the insurance grants, calculated on maintenance of long-term relations with persons of wage labor. Employers also have started more active struggle against campaigns for creation of trade unions and carrying out of strikes. The politicians, once reluctantly opposing trade unions, passed now the laws even more undermining position of these organizations. In the meantime, qualified workers began to concern trade unions as to an anachronism limiting their independence. Only in sectors, basically functioning as monopolies, - such as public authorities and free comprehensive schools - position of trade unions continued to become stronger.
Despite easing of power of trade unions, qualified employees in prospering branches have won from many changes which have recently occurred in position of workers and employees. However to the unskilled workers occupied in traditional branches, often it is necessary to meet difficulties. In the eightieth and ninetieth years of last century rupture in the salary of the qualified and unskilled workers was observed. In spite of the fact that in the late nineties of the XX-th century the American workers and employees had at themselves behind shoulders decade of the growing prosperity which has become by result of considerable economic growth and a low rate of unemployment, many of them felt uncertainty in the future.
Labor standards
One of the reasons causing successes of the American economy, economists consider flexibility of its labor markets. Employers assert that their competitiveness partially depends on freedom presence to employ and dismiss workers in case of changes of conditions of the market. Meanwhile mobility traditionally is characteristic feature of American workers and employees.
Many of them consider change of a place of work as means of improvement of the living conditions. At the same time, businessmen also traditionally recognize that workers reach the greatest productivity if they believe that their work gives them long-term possibilities for advancement on an office ladder, and working consider as one of the main economic targets a guarantee of security work.
For history of the American manpower intensity presence between two following sets of values - flexibility and long-term adherence is characteristic. Since the middle of the eightieth years of the last century, many analysts come to the general conclusion that employers pay the increasing attention of flexibility. Perhaps, it leads to easing of communications between employers and workers on hiring. Till now the long list of laws of states and federal laws protects the rights of workers and employees. Some of the most important federal laws on work include the following:
The law on fair labor standards from 1938 establishes the minimum salary in the country and the maximum quantity of business hours which the businessman can demand from the face, working on hiring. In this law rules of overtime work and the standards, having the purpose prevention of abusings in child labor application also contain. In 1963 in the law about which there is a speech, the amendments forbidding discrimination of women at an establishment and payment of a salary have been made. The congress periodically regulates the size of the minimum salary though this question often causes political disputes. In 1999 the size of the minimum salary made 5,5 US dollars at an o'clock. However, the requirement for labor was at that time so great that many employers - paid the salary exceeding this established size of the minimum salary. Some states have entered at themselves higher level of the minimum salary.
The law on the civil rights from 1964 provides that employers have no right to resort to a discrimination practice at employment or work on hiring depending on a racial accessory, a floor, religion or a nationality.
The law on a discrimination non-admission on age at hiring from 1967 protects workers of an average and advanced age from discrimination at employment.
The law on the safety precautions and labor safety on manufacture from 1971 demands from employers of maintenance of safe working conditions. According to the given law labor safety Management (УОТ) develops standards of workplaces, spends inspections for the purpose of removal of an estimation of observance of these standards, lists the facts of their infringement and imposes penalties on infringers.
The law on provision of pensions working or ERISA establishes standards of systems of the provision of pensions operating at the enterprises or in other nonstate organizations. This law has been accepted in 1994
The law on a family, holiday on a birth of the child and holiday on family circumstances from 1993 guarantees to the persons working on hiring, unpaid holiday on pregnancy and sorts, holiday on adoption or an adoption and holiday on care of seriously sick relatives.
The law on the Americans-invalids, accepted in 1990, guarantees the right to work to people with physical or intellectual lacks.
New labor
During the period since 1950 till last months 1999 the aggregate number working on hiring in nonagricultural branches has grown from 45 million persons to 129,5 million person. The biggest growth of employment was observed in computer sector, sector of public health services and other sectors of sphere of service as the information technology played the increasing role in economy of the USA. In the eightieth and ninetieth years of the XX-th century the number of workplaces in sector of manufacture of the services including sphere of service, transport transportations, public utilities, wholesale and retail trade, the finance, insurance, sphere of real estate and government work, has increased on 35 million, having made all pure gain of number of workplaces for these two decades. Employment growth in sector of services absorbed a manpower liberated as a result of increase of labor productivity in manufacturing industry.
In 1946 on the branches concerning sphere of services, it was necessary 24, 4 million workplaces or 59 percent of employment in nonagricultural branches. By the end of 1999 the number of workplaces in this sector has increased to 104,3 million or to 81 percent of employment in nonagricultural branches. On the contrary, in 1946 the sector of manufacture of the goods into which enter manufacturing industry, building and the mining industry, has provided presence of 17,2 million workplaces or 41 percent of employment in nonagricultural areas, but in the end of 1999 it is number has increased only to 25,2 million and has made 19 percent of employment in nonagricultural areas. However on many of these new workplaces in sphere of services workers didn't receive the same high salary and so considerable grants and privileges, as in manufacturing industry. As a result, the intense financial position which has arisen in much families has induced many women to go to work.
In the eightieth and ninetieth years of last century many employers have passed to new methods of the organization of the manpower. In some companies of workers on hiring united in small groups and gave them considerable independence in performance of the problems put before them. If the management put certain problems before these groups of workers and carried out control over a course of work and its end results groups of workers solved among themselves as it is better to them to perform the work and how to correct the strategy in the conditions of change of requirements of clients and the general working conditions and the market. However many other employers haven't wanted to refuse traditional methods of a management of carried out work. Were also such for whom transition to new methods of a management has appeared difficult. The National board conclusions under labor relations that many groups of workers used by employers not having trade unions, were illegal "trade unions" in which the ascendent position occupied a management, often became an obstacle in a way of occurring changes.
Besides, in the eightieth and ninetieth years of the XX-th century employers had to deal with the increasing variety of a manpower. New ethnic groups joined labor numbers a wide stream, first of all Spanish-speaking Americans and immigrants from the various Asian countries, and more and more women began to occupy workplaces there where earlier the ascendent position was occupied traditionally with men. Constantly growing number of workers addressed in court, accusing employers of carrying out of a discrimination concerning working on hiring depending on their racial accessory, a sex, age or physical defects. The number of the affairs considered by the Commission on observance of equality at employment which is the first instance, accepting similar complaints, has increased with nearby 6 900 in 1991 to from above 16 000 in 1998, and courts choked with an abundance subject to disposal of legal proceeding. Decisions made by courts under the judicial claims connected with discrimination on manufacture or service, had the mixed character. Many of such claims have been rejected as unreasonable, but at the same time courts recognized necessity of presence of a wide range of remedies at law from abusings at employment, promotion, fall in a post and dismissal.
The question about «» still remains to equal payment for equal work actual when speech comes about working conditions in America. In spite of the fact that the federal legislation and legislations of states forbid an establishment of different rates of payment depending on a floor, has historically developed so that women receive for the work less, than men. Partially this difference in payment arises because rather more women is occupied on such works (many women work in service sector) where traditionally pay less, than in other places. However trade unions and the organizations on protection of the rights of women assert that here too finds reflection presence of direct discrimination. Complicates this question the phenomenon observed among employees and technical officers and known under name «a glass ceiling» even more. The invisible barrier which, according to some women, doesn't give them possibility to move ahead on service means and to occupy responsible posts in the companies and high position in the professional environment where men dominate. Last years women began to occupy more and more such posts, but all of them still considerably lag behind the stronger sex if to take into consideration their share in an aggregate number of the population of the country.
Similar problems arise, when business concerns payment and the posts received by representatives of various ethnic and racial groups, often named with "minority" as they make minority in a population aggregate number. (In the end of the XX-th century the majority of Americans represented white people of the European origin; truth, their share in a population aggregate number constantly decreased). Except the laws forbidding discrimination, in the sixtieth and seventieth years of last century the federal government and many states have passed laws on «positive actions», demanding that in certain circumstances at employment employers preferred minority. Supporters of similar laws asserted that minority should be preferred as indemnification for many long years to their discrimination in the past. However this idea has appeared the disputable approach to the decision of racial and ethnic problems. Critics of "positive actions» complained that «return discrimination» is unfair and leads to undesirable consequences. In the nineties the XX-th centuries some states, for example California, have refused «positive actions». Nevertheless, rupture in payment white and minority, and also the big difference between them in rates of unemployment is still observed. Along with the questions at issue, concerning places of the woman among workers and employees, there is a number of other most burning problems which should face the American employers and workers on hiring.
In the eightieth and ninetieth years of last century the general intensity which has resulted measures accepted in much companies on reduction of costs, has led still большему to an aggravation of conditions connected with presence of rupture in payment depending on a floor, a racial accessory or an ethnic origin. Actually, workers and employees, and also their trade unions in the big firms struggling for the survival felt that they should make concessions concerning the salary - reduction of the sizes of its increase or even on its decrease - in hope to receive the big security work or even to rescue the employers. On some airlines and in a number of other companies there was a two-level wage scale at which new workers got for the same work the smaller salary, than old. In the increasing degree the salary was established now not to serve as equal compensation of workers on hiring for their equal work, and to involve and keep workers in whom shortage, such as, for example, experts in the software of computers was felt. The created position promoted rupture growth in a salary between highly skilled and unskilled workers even more. There are no direct measurements of this rupture, but the statistical given Ministries of Labour of the USA allow to spend evident indirect comparisons of the mentioned difference in the salary. In 1979 average weekly earnings fluctuated in a range from 215 US dollars for workers and the employees who have left secondary school, to 348 US dollars for workers and the employees who have ended college. In 1998 rupture about which there is a speech, was in limits from 337 US dollars to 821 US dollars.
Even in the conditions of rupture increase in a salary many employers struggled for increase of the minimum salary established by the federal government. They asserted that the established bottom limit of a salary causes a damage to workers and serving means of increase of expenses for labor and by that complicates hiring of new workers by small enterprises. If in the seventies the last century the minimum salary grew every year in the eightieth and ninetieth years of the same century its rather rare increases took place some. As a result, the minimum salary didn't keep up with growth of cost of life; during the period with 1970 till last months 1999 the minimum salary has risen for 55 percent (from 1,45 US dollars at an o'clock to 5.15 US dollars at an o'clock) while consumer prices have increased for 334 percent. Employers also passed to system of payment of the salary on the work end results more and more, basing increase of payment of workers on results of activity of concrete persons or their divisions instead of equally increasing payment to all workers.
In process of increasing shortage of qualified workers and employees employers gave more attention to a professional training and spent for it of more money resources. They also have accelerated improvement of quality of educational programs at schools so that it is better to prepare their graduates for working conditions with application of modern high technology. Regional groups of employers for the purpose of a professional training solution of a problem in cooperation with local and technical colleges which organized work of corresponding courses were created. In the meantime in 1998 the federal government has passed the Law on an investment of means in preparation of personnel which has strengthened and has led to a uniform denominator of 100 programs of preparation of personnel with participation of federal divisions and divisions of states, and also economic objects, the organizations and the business enterprises. Adoption of this law represents attempt to connect the program of preparation of personnel with actual requirements of employers and to give to the last more than the rights to participation in drawing up and realization of these programs.
At the same time employers also aspired to meeting wishes to workers and serving to smooth contradictions between requirements of their work and necessary conditions of their private life. Bolshee distribution was received by the flexible hours of work giving to workers on hiring possibility more freely to dispose by working hours and to choose business hours. Last achievements in development of technologies of communication systems allow the increasing number of workers «to work in absentia», i.e., at least, partially to work in-home, using the computers connected to their place of work. Satisfying requirements of working mothers and other workers interested in work the incomplete working day, employers have applied such innovations, as, for example, workplace division between several workers. The government has joined this tendency, having accepted in 1993 The law on a family, holiday on a birth of the child and holiday on family circumstances which obliges employers to give to the workers on hiring of holiday in case of occurrence at them in a family of force majeure.
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