May is Labor History Month. During the past two decades, union membership of workers in private industry has decreased dramatically, with wages and benefits following the same downward trend. This has had a dramatic impact on the lifestyle of the middle class. It has also emboldened many companies to overlook health and safety concerns that unions traditionally and successfully supported.
A dramatic example of this concern was evident in April when 29 mine workers were killed in a deadly mine explosion in West Virginia. Mine safety experts indicated that the explosion could have been prevented and that mine safety was neglected in an effort to increase productivity and profit margins.
Mine investigators said they believe a buildup of highly combustible methane gas contributed to the explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Montcoal, WV, one of the many mines owned by Massey Energy Company.
The company had been cited over 3,000 times in the past for safety violations by the government, especially for problems with its methane gas ventilation system. Since Massey mine workers do not belong to unions, they had no power to inspect for and then enforce effective safety solutions.
Massey still is contesting more than one-third of all its violations at the Upper Big Branch mine since 2007. In the past year, federal inspectors have proposed more than $1 million in fines for violations at the mine, and only 16 percent have been paid, according to the AP's review of records from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. Bombarding federal regulators with appeals is an increasingly common industry tactic since the 2006 Sago mine disaster in Buckhannon, W.Va., killed 12 miners and led to stiffer fines and new enforcement.
Will this tragedy serve as a catalyst for a rebirth of the union movement in mining and other industries where safety is a major concern? Will increasing union membership in private industries help to restore the economic power of the middle class?
BookCart Learning Activity
ProQuest has created a BookCart learning activity to help your students learn more about the history, benefits, and challenges of the labor movement: "Labor Unions--Necessary or Obsolete?"
BookCarts save time for more teaching and learning that too often is consumed in non-productive searching and evaluating relevancy and credibility. BookCarts help teachers to differentiate instruction that educational research indicates is the key to more effective teaching and learning. Each Cart provides recommended essential questions to help teachers and students build essential 21st Century critical thinking skills while engaging in inquiry-based learning activities.
You can copy, edit, and adapt these models to differentiate instruction for your students. Start here!
Pathfinder for Copying
Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab (800 ProQuest models).
Type "Labor Unions--Necessary or Obsolete" in the Search box.
Click the COPY icon in the ACTIONS column to the right of the title.
Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS tab to end the copying process.
Librarians or teachers can edit this BookCart to customize it for their students.
Pathfinder for Editing
Click the new BookCart TITLE with the prefix "COPY OF".
Delete "Copy of" and then type your name in the AUTHOR boxes and your initials in the EMAIL box (required filler info).
Option: Edit any ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS for your students in the DESCRIPTION box.
Option: Edit the existing STUDENT DIRECTIONS in the Description box.
Scroll down and click SAVE.
Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS and view your new student learning activity.
Traditional Learning Activity
Assign students to write a report of at least 150 words, citing at least three resources (or a seven-slide/three-minute presentation), that addresses the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can add or substitute others):
What are the benefits of labor unions for workers?
What are the reasons for decline in the labor union movement?
How do labor unions benefit the economy?
Is the decline in union membership responsible for the decline in middle class wages during the last decade?
What reforms would you propose to make labor unions more viable in today's economy?
Research Pathfinder
Select Advanced Search option > Enter "Labor Unions" in the Search box > Type "Labor OR Unions" in the Document Title box
Use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.
ProQuest Learning: Literature Activity
May is Business Ethics Awareness Month. With so much news about greed and the pursuit of money today, students can look to the past to see what authors have said about this before.
Students should select an author and his work(s) from the pathfinder listed below and create a report of at least 150 words (or a two-minute presentation) that cites at least two resources. Students should address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can add to or substitute others):
What is the author's attitude toward money and ethics?
What examples does the author provide to give his opinion validity?
How much of the author's ideas are applicable today?
Research Pathfinder
Click the Authors tab > Type "money authors" in the Quick Search box
