Unionized Workers In America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unionized Workers In America - Essay Example In response to the strikes, RCA moved its operations from Camden to Bloomington (Romero 175). The same argument can be used to argue for the reason behind the dramatic changes in the number of unionized workers over the period from 1930 to 2003. During the early period of the 1930s and 1940s, most of the American companies set up their manufacturing hubs in different parts America. Initially, the corporations paid less salary to the members and extracted greater output from them. However, with the formation of unions, the workers started demanding more wages and this resulted in the fact that the manufacturing bases were often shifted from one place to another. However, with the rise of pressure from the worker's unions the management started getting cornered and were forced to comply with the demands of the workforce. However, with the start of globalization, the companies realized that they could get the same level of output as they were presently getting if they shifted the manufa cturing bases to countries like India and China. As the companies started to shift their manufacturing bases to third world countries the number of workers in America got reduced and this resulted in the fall of unionized workers in the USA. ConclusionThe above essay tries to provide an explanation behind the rise and fall of the number of unionized workers in America over the period from 1930 to 2002. The probable explanation is the shift of the manufacturing bases to third world countries.

Minimum Wage Essay Example for Free

Minimum Wage Essay American workers will have a 1.75$ increase in their hourly wage by the end of 2015, as President Barack Obama recently called to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour $9.00 an hour. This increase in the minimum wage of American citizen aims to help people with a low annual wage: cooks, employees of the janitorial industry and many others working these necessary menial occupations are set to benefit. The white house estimates that this measure will boost the wage of approximately 15 millions low-income workers. Raising the minimum wage, according to the White House press, will have some positive effect for low-income families; however, many companies are opposed to raising the minimum wage. A higher wage will have a direct impact on the cost of business. Some economists argue that higher minimum wage will result in an increased unemployment percentage. Although minimum wage laws can fix hourly pay, they cannot guarantee jobs. Employers are not willing to pay a worker more than the value of the additional product that he produces. For example, if a worker produces 4$ worth of goods per hour and because of the minimum wage he has to be paid 5.15$. Since he cost more than what he produces it makes it hard for him to find a job. At one point in the article, the President said that one of the best ways to get the economy going again is to put money in the pockets of people who work. (Lowrey)It is true that families with low income will earn more money: it is projected that a family that is earning $20,000 to $30,000 a year will see an additional $3,500 in their income. (Lowrey) This general positive outcome of increasing the minimum wage has led many law makers to wrongly assume that increasing the minimum wage is an effective way to fight  poverty. From the point of view of an economist, raising the minimum wage may increases the probability that a poor family will escape poverty through higher wages, but it does increase the probability of another family with average income will become poor as a result of minimum wage giving rise to inflation. It also decreases the proportion of families with income near the poverty line, suggesting that it more will be more difficult to escape poverty. We all know that if the minimum wage increases then the cost of living will inevitably increase as well as a result of inflation. Economists are against minimum wage laws because they create a price floor. In this case, a price floor is not the price that products can be sold for, but what price employers can spend on their employees. For non-economists, legislating a minimum wage is commonly seen as an effective way of giving raises to low-wage workers. Unfortunately it, like any other price floor, creates a surplus. In this case, the surplus is a larger than expected number of workers more of are willing to work in minimum-wage jobs than there are employers willing to hire at that wage. Economists think that there should not be any policies concerning wages: an employee should be paid what the employer thinks he/she deserves. Minimum wage increases make unskilled workers more expensive and therefore undesirable relative to all other factors of production. (Mankiw) For example, if skilled workers make 15$/hour and unskilled workers make three dollars an hour, skilled workers are five times as expensive as the unskilled. Imposing a minimum wage of five dollars an hour makes skilled workers relatively more attractive by making them only three times as expensive as unskilled workers. Another important characteristic of the policy to increase minimum wage that was not discussing in the article is that it may also negatively impact workers by changing how they are compensated. Benefits such as paid vacation, free room and board; inexpensive insurance and subsidized childcare are an important part of the total compensation for many low wageworkers. (Mankiw) When minimum wages rise, employers can control total compensation costs by cutting benefits; such is the case for the United States today. The employer always had to follow the minimum wage in order to pay their employee. The minimum wage should not be existent nowadays; the employer should have the choice to pay their employee based on their knowledge. An employee that knows more and produces more should have an higher hourly range. Sources: Textbook Mankiw, N. Gregory. Principles of Economics. 6th. Mason, OH, USA: 2012. Print. Website: Lowrey, Annie. Raising Minimum Wage Would Ease Income Gap but Carries Political Risks. New York Times. N.p., 13-02-2013. Web. 5 Oct 2013. .

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay -- To Kill a Mockingbird Essa

It’s interesting to see the ways different authors depict how a character matures. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird we can easily see how she chose to do it. The novel is set in Alabama in the 1930’s, while black vs. white racism was a big issue and problem for many. Atticus is the father of Scout and Jem, young children who witness the discrimination first hand when their father, a white man, defends a black man in court. Lee does a great job developing the characters; especially the narrator, Jean Louise Finch (Scout). Scout’s thoughts, conversations, and actions, illustrate that she’s emotionally maturing from the innocent child that she was. Through Scout’s thoughts, it’s obvious that she is growing up. Readers can see this early in the novel in chapter six. Jem and Scout weren’t as close as they used to be mostly because Jem was maturing suddenly and fast. He and Dill started leaving Scout out because she was too â€Å"girly†. Scout doesn’t like this at first when she says, â€Å"It was then I suppose that Jem and I first began to part company. Sometimes I did not understand him, but my periods of bewilderment were short-lived† (61). The fact that she accepts this, something not many young girls would do, shows that she too is maturing a bit. Thoughts that show Scout is maturing also come near the end of the novel. Although Atticus would always tell her to stand in other’s shoes and see things from their point of view, it never really came through to her. Not until she stands on Boo Radley’s porch after he saves her and Jem from Bob Ewell. She states, â€Å"A tticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough† (297). Standing on the porch lets Scout finally see things from Boo Radley’s point of view. Earlier in the novel, she was terrified every time she passed the house. Now as she stands on his porch, the way that she sees things has changed. The reader must realize that Scout herself has changed as well. As well as thoughts, the conversations and interactions between Scout and other characters show how she is mentally and emotionally aging. Near the end is where it’s more obvious that Scout has matured. After the Finch’s are safe from Bob Ewell, they go back to the house with the s... ... after all this behavior: "I ran along, wondering what had come over her. She had wanted to make up with me, that was it. She had always been too hard on me, she had at last seen the error of her fractious ways, she was sorry and too stubborn to say so." (29). This proves that Scout always thought that Calpurnia never liked her and that she didn't care about her, and that she deserves and accepts Cal's apology which is not what she would’ve done earlier in the beginning of the novel. Through Scout’s relationships, choices and actions, as well as the way she narrated the novel allows the readers to really see what kind of character Scout is and how she matured greatly. It’s surprising that we see it starting as early as page 29, and Lee does a wonderful job weaving it in through the story. When the novel is finished, it’s amazing how readers could glance right over the fact that Scout had matured, however they really have to look at how the author of any book, Harper Lee in this case, analyzes the characters through speech, thoughts, and actions. By the end of the novel Scout had grown up immensely, a very important step in everyone’s life.

Freedom of Contract in English Law

In earlier days, agreement was built on a very classic and simple basis: it is concluded at the moment that the acceptance of an offer takes place and that is all. In consequence, equal parties were non-existent and stronger parties had the possibility to impose unfair and domineering conditions upon those who were weak and vulnerable. It is in this context that both legislations and courts agreed that State action was indispensable to ensure fairness among individual parties, in an era where the exercise of law of freedom were extremely restricted.In today’s English law, freedom of contract is one the foundation of contract law. The existence of freedom of contract requires three main considerations: the freedom to contract or not to contract, the freedom to choose with whom to contract, and the freedom to decide the terms of the contract. Thus parties are totally free to engage or not to engage in agreements. However, freedom of contract can fail to have the desired or expec ted effect in contracts where power relations are not equal. The stronger party can impose its â€Å"will† to the weaker party.In order to deal with any potential conflict that can arise from this matter, English legal systems has set up rules ensuring the effective and fair exercise of freedom of contract. This essay will discuss and examine those rules in question, established by the English law in order to effectively balance freedom of contract and fairness between the contracting parties as well as fair contractual terms. And also on the other hand limits of freedom of contract will be exposed. Freedom of contract, as its appellation suggests, has a strong relationship with contract.In order to identify this relationship, it is important to understand what is meant by â€Å"contract† and the rules governing it. In English law, a contract is a legally binding agreement reached on a set of promises (or obligations) and specific terms. The validity of any contract re quires 4 main features: an offer, acceptance, consideration and intention to create legal relations. Thus, when one party (the offeror) makes an offer which the other (offeree) accepts, then agreement is concluded.However, the mere fact of an agreement is insufficient for a contract to be completely valid. This implies that a party must promise to give or do something for the other. This idea of exchanging promises is known as â€Å"consideration† and is an essential requisite of any valid contract. In Currie v Misa(1875) it (consideration) was held to constitute a benefit to one party or a detriment to the other. For instance, when a bottle of wine is bought from a shop, the benefit received is the bottle of wine, and the detriment is the money paid to the shop.Yet it is important to take into concern the rules governing consideration. First of all, consideration must not be in the past(as mentioned in the a. This rule suggests that if one party willingly performs an act, an d the other party then makes a promise the consideration said to be in the past. Therefore past consideration is regarded as no consideration at all. For instance, a pregnant woman named Julie, knowing that her neighbour, Lucy, is concerned about her health, offers to do the housework for her.This takes Lucy tremendous amount of time to do, and Julie is so content with the result that she promises to pay Lucy ? 30 for her effort. If Julie fails to pay, Lucy will not have the possibility to sue for breach of contract as Julie's promise to pay was after the completion of the work. The fact of this case is supported by the case of Re McArdle(1951,CA) in which it was held that no valid contract existed since the home improvements were past consideration; they had been carried out before any promise to pay had been made.Another rule is that consideration must move from the promisee which is very similar to the concept of law of privity. So for instance if A makes a promises to B, the pro mise will only be enforceable if B can equally show that he has provided consideration for A’s promise. This rule clearly demonstrates the fairness (among parties) of the doctrine of consideration. Finally, consideration must be sufficient but need not to be adequate. This rule stipulates that a good consideration must be of some value but there is not necessity for a bargain to be of adequate value.For example, if someone is willing to sell his Ferrari for ? 1, the contract will not be in vain due to lack of consideration and therefore will be sufficient. In this case, Courts will not measure the adequacy of the consideration (the fact that a Ferrari is offered to be sold at only ? 1) as it is up to one party to decide whether or not he agrees with the other party promises. The contract in English law enhances principle of freedom of contract.Indeed, the terms of the contract is freely determined and agreed by the parties. However, there are various circumstances in which ad ditional terms may be implied into the agreement. The aim of implied terms is often to provide a supplement to a contractual agreement in the interest of making bargain more effective, to achieve fairness between the parties and to alleviate hardship. Term may be implied by custom. Here it is suggested that a contract must always be examined in the light of its surrounding commercial context.So the parties automatically assume that sometimes their contract will be subject to the customs of a particular locality or trade and therefore do not deal specifically with the matter in their contract. One of the cases illustrating this is Hutton v Warren(1836). A term may equally be implied into a contract y Act of Parliament in the form of statutes. Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, ss 12-15 for instance, a seller automatically assumes certain obligations to the buyer as a result of terms which are automatically implied in every contract regulated by the Act.The seller is required by statut e to promise that he has lawful authority to transfer ownership of the goods(s12)(the seller would for example break this term if it turns out that the goods were stolen);that the goods being sold will match the description he provided the buyer(s13)(for instance a shirt described as 100 per cent cotton should not contain man-made fibres); that the quality of the goods being sold will satisfy the buyer(s14(2)); that the good will be suitable for any purpose specified by the buyer(s 14(3)); and that the goods being sold will match any sample shown to the buyer prior to the contract being made(s 15).Breach of any of these terms will put the buyer in a strong position and be given the option to be discharged from the contract or alternatively carry on with the contract and claim damages for the breach. This will lead us to the concept of remedies mentioned in the following part. In English contract law, a crucial aspect of the contractual relationship is the enforcement of the contract , as the obligation that pact must be kept firmly by parties is considered as the backbone of any contractual relationship.However, a problem can occur if a contract is not adequately performed and one of the parties renounces to perform its obligations. This is where the concept of non-performance and the remedies available to the injured party become applicable. Breach of contract arises from the non-respect of the pact (or terms) agreed between parties. The aggrieved party is then given the common law right to claim for a remedy resulting from any quantifiable loss or harm suffered. Damage (financial compensation) is the most basic remedy available to the innocent party.In today business environment, it is not rare for the parties to agree in advance the damages that will be payable in the occurrence of a breach of contract. These damages are referred to as liquidated damages. An illustration of liquidated damages is the charges imposed for cancelling a flight or the booking of a hotel room. But sometimes, there is a temptation for a party with stronger trading power to try imposing a penalty clause (punitive payment for the non-performance of a term or condition) as demonstrated in Wilson v. Love (1896) case.Other remedies such as quantum damages and injunction may be granted at the discretion of the court as part of its equitable jurisdiction. So, as mentioned above, remedies is all about compensating the aggrieved party for causing him loss or harm. This can be avoided by the consideration of the prevailing rules of freedom of contract. In other words, Freedom of contract allowing individual parties to freely contract or not to, and no one being forced to do it , whoever therefore who gives a contractual promise must then keep it.Or on the contrary case, as described in earlier parts can be constrained by legal authorities to honour its commitment or compensate the other party. However, performance of a contract becomes sometimes impossible due to the ci rcumstances beyond the control of either of the parties and not due to their fault. The legal term referring to this situation is frustration. An example of this unforeseen event is illustrated in the case of Taylor v Caldwell (1863) in which it was held that contract was impossible to perform due to an external and unforeseen event.Consequences are that the contract is killed and parties discharged from further liability. This limits the exercise of freedom of contract in a sense that the agreement formed by the parties is nullified, regardless individual parties will. Another limitation of freedom of contract is that the choice of other contracting party is not always free. For example, an employer is not totally free to hire the person of his choice. The fact that insurance contracts are sometimes made obligatory by parties equally render the exercise of freedom of contract limited, as concerned parties did not freely choose to contract with an insurance company.So far, this pap er has been about the relationship between the exercise of freedom of contract and law of contract. However not only is freedom of contract concerned with contract law but also with another component of the English private law, which is tort law. A tort is a civil wrong. In other words, it refers to the liability of a person who causes harm to another with the obligation to repair the damages suffered by the victim. An example of tort is damage to commercial interests, e. g. inducement of breach of contract.Also known as tortious interference, inducement of breach of contract arise where the wrongdoer convinces a party to breach the contract against the claimant, or where the wrongdoer prevents one party from performing his obligations(agreed with the other party), thus stopping the claimant from receiving the performance promised. Furthermore, after mentioning the existence of a duty of care, which is an element required making negligence claim (concerned with a wrongdoer’s careless conduct which cause damage or loss to the defendant), the claimant (the injured party) can prove that this duty has been broken by the defendant (the other party).Hence the close relationship between duty of care and the requisites of freedom of contract in the sense that if parties freely agree to contract (including the terms of it), then, it is suggested, that they owe a duty of care to each other because the careless conduct (which can affect the contract) of one party can prevent the other one from receiving the performance promised, regardless to the external factor that caused the misconduct of the blamed party. This fact is supported by the case of Garret v.Taylor (1620) in which the court upheld a judgment for the claimant. To conclude, the purpose of this essay has been to describe and make a connection between law of contract as well as law of torts and freedom of contract. Thus, English legal systems have established multiple rules of conduct from different part ies to a contract in order to ensure fairness between them. Henceforth, contracting parties are given freedom to contract with whoever they want, including the terms of the contracts.Also, thanks to rules such as of duty of care, or of doctrine of remedies, an injured party is now given the possibility to claim for compensation of loss or harm caused by the blamed party, who will be then obliged by legal authorities to repair the damages caused to the aggrieved party due to non-respect of the rules established. In the end, it must be acknowledge that English Law has stroke an appropriate balance between freedom of contract and fairness. References:Currie v Misa (1875) LR 10 Ex 153; (1875-76) LR 1 App Cas 554:Definition of consideration Garret v. Taylor, 79 Eng. Rep. 485 (K. B. 1620): Tortious interference Hutton v Warren (1836) 1 M;W 460:Implied terms Re McArdle(1951,CA ):Past consideration being unacceptable Sale of Goods Act 1979, ss 12-15 : Statutory implied terms Taylor v Caldwe ll (1863) 3 B ; S 826; 122 ER 309; [1863] EWHC QB J1: impossibility of performance of contract Wilson v. Love (1896) : Liquidated damages

Ap Bio Chapter 4 Course Learning Objectives

Chapter 4 CLO 1. A branch of chemistry dealing with compounds of Carbon. 2. Carbon’s has 4 valence electrons that can form covalent bonds with others atoms (Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen and Carbon atoms mostly) to make large, complex and diverse organic molecules. 3. The carbon skeleton vary in 4 areas, 1. Length 2. Branching 3. Double Bond Position 4. Presence of Rings. Carbon skeletons can have double bonds in different locations and also different numbers of double bonds. . Hydrocarbons only have hydrogen and carbon molecules, hence the name. Hydrocarbons are hydrophobic because they mostly consist of hydrogen and carbon bonds that have no charge, therefore don’t attract additional bonds. 5. Isomers are compounds made up of the same number of atoms and the same type of elements but configured differently, giving them different functions. There are 3 types of isomers, 1. Structural isomers differ in the arrangement of their bonds. 2.Geometric isomers have different arra ngement around a double bond due to the double bond’s inflexibility for atoms to rotate around it. 3. Enantiomers isomers are mirror images of each other due to the arrangement of atoms around an asymmetric carbon atom. 6. a. Hydroxyl group is a hydrogen atom and oxygen atom, which is bonded to a Carbon atom. Is polar because the electrons spend more time by the negative oygen atom. Helps dissolve organic compounds because of ability to form hydrogen bonds. b. Carbonyl group is a carbon atom that is double bonded to a oxygen atom.The 2 types of Carbonyl group compounds (Ketones and Aldehydes) can be structural isomers, which would give them different properties. c. Carboxyl group is a oxygen atom double bonded to a carbon atom and bonded to a –OH group. Basically a combination of the Hydroxyl and Carbonyl groups. Acts as an acid. Has ability to give H+ atom due to polarity of the covalent bond of OH. Also has a charge of 1-, called carboxylate ion. d. Amino group is a nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms and the carbon atom.Acts as a base and can take the H+ from other compound. Also has a charge of 1+. e. Sulfhydryl group is a sulfur atom bonded to a hydrogen atom, shaped like hydroxyl group. Can stabilize protein structures by forming covalent bonds with another sulfhydryl group. f. Phosphate group is a phosphorus atom that is bonded to 4 oxygen atoms, two of which are negatively charged, one is bonded to the carbon atom and the last one is double bonded to the phosphorus. When at the end of a molecule the charge is 2-, when in a chain of phosphates the charge is 1-.Has potential to release energy by reacting with water. g. Methyl group is a carbon atom attached to 3 hydrogen atoms and to a carbon or different atom. Affects the expression of genes by addition to DNA or molecules bound to DNA. The methyl group’s arrangement affects the shape and function in male in female sex hormones. 7. The ATP functions as the primary energy tran sfer molecule by having a reaction with water. ATP reacts with water by having a phosphate atom split off. This reaction releases energy that the cell can use.