HRM/531
December 17, 2012
Labor Laws and Unions
The Ford Motor Company is the largest automobile manufacture in the world. The company later became unionized. The subject of this paper is to identify legal issues and obstacles that the Ford Motor company could encounter, determine which federal, state, or local laws could be broken because of the legal issues and why and provide recommendations of minimizing litigations.
Labor Law and Union: Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company was established by Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1903 (Bellis, 2012). With the use of the first assembly line, Ford became known for the development of mass production. Henry Ford gained notoriety by shortening the workday of his employees, paying his workers high wages and believing unionization was not necessary (Bellis, 2012). On June 20th 1941 the Ford Motor Company signed its first contract with the United Automobile Workers of America and Congress of Industrial Organizations (UAW – CIO) ("Ford Signs First Contract With Autoworkers ' Union," 2012). The Ford Motor company employs about 164,000 people and recorded revenues of $136,264 million during the financial year ending December 2011 (Research & Markets, 2012.)
Legal Issues and Obstacles Ford Could Encounter The Ford Motor Company could encounter legal issues and obstacles on the employment laws. It is unlawful for management to discriminate in employment because of union activities (Cascio, 2011, p. 517). Ford Motor Company is the largest automobile manufacturer in the world in which union and non-union workers are employed. The Ford Motor company must adhere to the Equal Employment Opportunity law in hiring and promoting workers. The management at Ford Motor Company must follow contract laws in that the company has signed a labor contract with the union. Employees should have the right to have a bargaining agent and The National Labor Relations Act of 1935
References: The Associated Press. (2011). The Bottom Line. Retrieved from http://bottomline.msnbc.msn. com/_news/2011/10/19/8396861-ford-union-workers-ratify-new-contract. Bellis, M. (2012). Henry Ford (1863-1947). Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/fstartinventors/a/HenryFord.htm Cascio, W. (2010). Managing human resources: Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Ford signs first contract with autoworkers ' union. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ford-signs-first-contract-with-autoworkers- union National Labor Relations Board. (2012). National Labor Relations Act. Retrieved from https://www.nlrb.gov/national-labor-relations-act Research and Markets. (2012). Ford Motor Company - SWOT Analysis. Retrieved from http://Ford Motor Company - SWOT Analysis