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Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay and benefits to ensure that they have the highest standard of living, and safe working conditions. One of the most basic of these rights is the right to unionize, a form of freedom of association. Unions allow workers to take advantage of collective bargaining and industrial action to increase their wages and otherwise improve their situation. The labor movement initially focused on this right to unionize, but attention has shifted to other rights.
Critics of the labor rights movement claim that regulation promoted by labor rights activists may limit opportunities for work. In the United States, critics objected unions establishing closed shops, situations where employers could only hire union members. The Taft-Hartley Act banned the closed shop but allowed the less restrictive union shop. Taft-Hartley also allowed states to pass right-to-work laws, which require an open shop where a worker's employment is not affected by his union membership. Proponents of "right to work" legislation claim that workers have the right to work whether or not they join a union. Labor counters that the open shop leads to a free rider problem.
Background
Throughout history workers, claiming some sort of right, have attempted to pursue their interests. In Roman times, Spartacus led a slave revolt. During the Middle Ages, the Peasants' Revolt in England expressed demand for better wages and working conditions. One of the leaders of the revolt, John Ball famously argued that people were born equal saying, "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?" Laborers often appealed to traditional rights. For instance, English peasants fought against the enclosure movement, which took traditionally communal lands and made them private. More on [ Labor rights ]
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Meta Description: [ Campaigns for the freedom of millions of people worldwide who are trapped in situations of slavery or slavery-like practices. ]
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