celebrity writers

AAI Labor Issues

All Aspects of the Industry Aspect Concerned with Employee Rights

May 23, 2008

Labor Issues Aspect, Microsoft Clipart Gallery

Labor Issues is the aspect from All Aspects of the Industry that provides educators guidelines to teach students about the rights of employees.

The Labor Issues aspect of the All Aspects of the Industry guidelines is designed to introduce students entering industry based careers to the rights of employees. The Labor Issues aspect does not promote training for a specific career; instead it gives a framework for students to learn how an industry operates. This includes concepts such as the rights and responsibilities of employees and management as well as the labor organizations involved. Also included are the methods in use currently and historically to expand the roles of employees.

Potential Topics

Labor Issues can be explained as the issues, wages, benefits and conditions for working within a specific industry. Some historical knowledge of unions and worker’s rights is necessary for students to put the current conditions into perspective. Frequently, this knowledge is gained through a social studies course and the technology teacher should build upon this while providing information for a specific industry. Some potential topics for this aspect include:

Why businesses need to be responsive to the needs of employees
Why industries need to address the needs and concerns of consumers
The role of labor unions in an industry
Knowing the rights of an employee in a certain industry
The differences in salary and hourly employment
The importance of a written job description
Why businesses insist on diversity and cultural sensitivity training

Implementing

Communication skills and team work are ideal for including the Labor Issues aspect in the curriculum. These projects can be individualized or used as group projects. Students should be exposed to a variety of scenarios; consider using a case study or a specific scenario and having students create a final product to demonstrate understanding. Examples for activities include:

Compare and contrast different job descriptions for a given job title
Create a presentation about the rights of employees for a specific industry
Debate why cultural sensitivity is important
Explain the legalities of hiring and terminating employees
Identify or explain the skills needed to effectively communicate with colleagues

Internships

Classroom activities can be enhanced by internship or job shadow opportunities. A field trip could also provide students with the opportunity to tour a business and speak with professionals about labor issues within their industry or business. Students should prepare questions in advance or a list of specific interactions to observe, such as asking an entrepreneur about the pros and cons of running his or her own business, how a union is involved with the employees of a specific industry, or even the job titles and specific roles of different people within a business.

The copyright of the article AAI Labor Issues in High School Curriculum is owned by Tammy Andrew. Permission to republish AAI Labor Issues in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.