A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English) is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labour contracts (collective bargaining) with employers. This may include the negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules governing hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and policies. The agreements negotiated by the union leaders are binding on the rank and file members and the employer and in some cases on other non-member workers.

Originating in Europe, trade unions became popular in many countries during the Industrial Revolution, when the lack of skill necessary to perform most jobs shifted employment bargaining power almost completely to the employers' side, causing many workers to be mistreated and underpaid. Trade union organizations may be composed of individual workers, professionals, past workers, or the unemployed. The most common, but by no means only, purpose of these organizations is "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment".

Over the last three hundred years, many trade unions have developed into a number of forms, influenced by differing political objectives. Activities of trade unions vary, but may include:

Provision of benefits to members: Early trade unions, like Friendly Societies, often provided a range of benefits to insure members against unemployment, ill health, old age and funeral expenses. In many developed countries, these functions have been assumed by the state; however, the provision of professional training, legal advice and representation for members is still an important benefit of trade union membership.

Collective bargaining: Where trade unions are able to operate openly and are recognized by employers, they may negotiate with employers over wages and working conditions.

Industrial action: Trade unions may enforce strikes or resistance to lockouts in furtherance of particular goals.

Political activity: Trade unions may promote legislation favourable to the interests of their members or workers as a whole. To this end they may pursue campaigns, undertake lobbying, or financially support individual candidates or parties (such as the Labour Party in Britain) for public office.

History

The origins of unions' existence can be traced from the 18th century, where the rapid expansion of industrial society drew women, children, rural workers, and immigrants to the work force in numbers and in new roles. This pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labour spontaneously organised in fits and starts throughout its beginnings, and would later be an important arena for the development of trade unions. Trade unions as such were endorsed by the Catholic Church towards the end of the 19th Century. Pope Leo XIII in his "Magna Carta"—Rerum Novarum—spoke against the atrocities workers faced and demanded that workers should be granted certain rights and safety regulations.

Origins and early history

Trade unions have sometimes been seen as successors to the guilds of medieval Europe, though the relationship between the two is disputed. Medieval guilds existed to protect and enhance their members' livelihoods through controlling the instructional capital of artisanship and the progression of members from apprentice to craftsman, journeyman, and eventually to master and grandmaster of their craft. A trade union might include workers from only one trade or craft, or might combine several or all the workers in one company or industry.

Trade unions and/or collective bargaining were outlawed from no later than the middle of the 14th century when the Ordinance of Labourers was enacted in the Kingdom of England. Union organizing would eventually be outlawed everywhere and remain so until the middle of the 19th century.

Since the publication of the History of Trade Unionism (1894) by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, the predominant historical view is that a trade union "is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment." A modern definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics states that a trade union is "an organization consisting predominantly of employees, the principal activities of which include the negotiation of rates of pay and conditions of employment for its members."

Yet historian R.A. Leeson, in United we Stand (1971), said:

Recent historical research by Bob James in Craft, Trade or Mystery (2001) puts forward the view that trade unions are part of a broader movement of benefit societies, which includes medieval guilds, Freemasons, Oddfellows, friendly societies, and other fraternal organisations.

The 18th century economist Adam Smith noted the imbalance in the rights of workers in regards to owners (or "masters"). In The Wealth of Nations, Book I, chapter 8, Smith wrote:

As Smith noted, unions were illegal for many years in most countries, although Smith argued that it should remain illegal to fix wages or prices by employees or employers. There were severe penalties for attempting to organize unions, up to and including execution. Despite this, unions were formed and began to acquire political power, eventually resulting in a body of labour law that not only legalized organizing efforts, but codified the relationship between employers and those employees organized into unions. Even after the legitimization of trade unions there was opposition, as the case of the Tolpuddle Martyrs shows.

The right to join a trade union is mentioned in article 23, subsection 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which also states in article 20, subsection 2 that "No one may be compelled to belong to an association". Prohibiting a person from joining or forming a union, as well as forcing a person to do the same (e.g. "closed shops" or "union shops", see below), whether by a government or by a business, is generally considered a human rights abuse. Similar allegations can be levelled if an employer discriminates based on trade union membership. Attempts by an employer, often with the help of outside agencies, to prevent union membership amongst their staff is known as union busting.

Europe

In France, Germany, and other European countries, socialist parties and democrats played a prominent role in forming and building up trade unions, especially from the 1870s onwards. This stood in contrast to the British experience, where moderate New Model Unions dominated the union movement from the mid-19th century and where trade unionism was stronger than the political labour movement until the formation and growth of the Labour Party in the early years of the 20th century.

Government opposition to Trade unionism in the United Kingdom was a major factor in economic crises during the 1960s and in particular the 1970s, culminating some would argue in the Winter of Discontent of late 1978 and early 1979, when a significant percentage of the nation's public sector workers went on strike. By this stage, some 12,000,000 workers in the United Kingdom were trade union members. However, the election of the Conservative Party led by Margaret Thatcher at the general election in May 1979, at the expense of Labour's James Callaghan, saw substantial trade union reform which saw the level of strikes fall, but also the level of trade union membership fall. By the end of the 1980s, membership had fallen to just over 6,000,000—little more than half the level of a decade earlier—and it also counted against the Labour Party's hopes of regaining power, as its relationship with the trade unions had traditionally been seen as a strength but after the Winter of Discontent it was seen as a liability. Manufacturing, the main source of union strength in the United Kingdom, had shrunk by half during the early 1980s recession pushing unemployment from 1,500,000 to more than 3,000,000.

Earlier in the 1970s, Conservative prime minister Edward Heath (elected in 1970) had attempted to reduce trade union powers due to the rising level of strikes across the country. However, he backed down with his stance against the unions following a backlash by the militant miners' union, which saw many of his own MPs turn against him. The strikes continued, and Heath responded by calling a snap election in February 1974. The election resulted in a hung parliament with the Tories having the most votes but Labour having slightly more seats, and failed attempts by Heath to form a coalition with the Liberals led to the resignation of his government and the return of Harold Wilson as prime minister of a minority Labour government, which gained a three-seat majority at a second election later in the year.

Unions in the United States

19th Century American Unionism

In the early 19th century, many men from large cities put together the organization which we now call the Trade Union Movement. Individuals who were members of unions at this time were skilled, experienced, and knew how to get the job done. Their main reasoning for starting this movement was to put on strikes. However, they did not have enough men to fulfill their needs and the unions which began this trendy movement collapsed quickly. The Mechanics’ Union Trade Association was the next approach to bring workers together. In 1827, this union was the first U.S. labor organization which brought together workers of divergent occupations. This was "the first city-wide federation of American workers, which recognized that all labor, regardless of trades, had common problems that could be solved only by united efforts as a class." This organization took off when carpentry workers from Philadelphia went on strike to protest their pay wages and working hours. This union strike was only a premonition of what was to come in the future.

According to history.com:

Workers realized what unionism was all about through the configuration of mechanics association and many people followed in their footsteps. The strike gave others hope that they could get their concerns out by word of mouth. Before this time many people did not speak about their concerns because of the lack of bodies. However, with more people comes more confidence. Strikes were a new way of speaking your mind and getting things accomplished.

The next established union which made an impact on the trade movement was the Grand National Consolidated Trade Union. This union was founded in 1834 as the first domestic association. However, this union was short lived due to the panic of 1837. "[Andrew] Jackson thought the Bank of the United States hurt ordinary citizens by exercising too much control over credit and economic opportunity, and he succeeded in shutting it down. But the state banks' reckless credit policies led to massive speculation in Western lands. By 1837, after Van Buren had become president, banks were clearly in trouble. Some began to close, businesses began to fail, and thousands of people lost their land." This collapse of financial support and businesses left workers unemployed. Many of these workers, who became affected by the 1837 disaster, were members of a union. It was very hard for them to stay together in an economic hardship and the trade union movement came to a bump in the road. But the economy was restored by the early 1840s and trade unions started doing better. National labor unions were forming, different than ones in the past, consisting now of members of the same occupation.

The work force was drastically impacted by the Civil War and the economy was thriving. Many workers gained employment because of this economic boom and unions increased greatly. "More than 30 national craft unions were established during the 1860s and early '70s." One of the significant national craft unions to be formed during this time was the National Labour Union (NLU). It was created in 1866 and included many types of workers. Although relatively short-lived, the NLU paved the way for future American unions. Following the decline of the NLU, the Knights of Labour became the leading countrywide union in the 1860s. This union did not include Chinese, and partially included black people and women.

Knights of Labour

The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labour (KOL) was founded in Philadelphia in 1869 by Uriah Stephens and six other men. The union was formed for the purpose of organising, educating and directing the power of the industrial masses, according to their Constitution of 1878. The Knights gathered people to join the Order who believed in creating "the greatest good to the greatest amount of people". The Knights took their set goals very seriously. Some of which consisted of "productive work, civic responsibility, education, a wholesome family life, temperance, and self-improvement."

The Knights of Labour worked as a secret fraternal society until 1881. The union grew slowly until the economic depression of the 1870s, when large numbers of workers joined the organisation. The Knights only permitted certain groups of individuals into their Order which promoted social division amongst the people around them. Bankers, speculators, lawyers, liquor dealers, gamblers, and teachers were all excluded from the union. These workers were known as the "non-producers" because their jobs did not entail physical labour. Factory workers and business men were known as the "producers" because their job constructed a physical product. The working force producers were welcomed into the Order. Women were also welcome to join the Knights, as well as black workers by the year 1883. However, Asians were excluded. In November 1885, the Knights of a Washington city pushed to get rid of their Asian population. The knights were strongly for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 because it greatly helped them deteriorate the Asian community. "The Act required the few non-labourers who sought entry to obtain certification from the Chinese government that they were qualified to immigrate. But this group found it increasingly difficult to prove that they were not labourers because the 1882 act defined excludables as ‘skilled and unskilled labourers and Chinese employed in mining.’ Thus very few Chinese could enter the country under the 1882 law."

The act also stated that if an Asian left the country, they needed a certificate to re-enter.

Although Asians were not welcomed in the union, black workers who joined the union brought a large number of blacks into the white labour movement. In 1886, the Union exceeded 700,000 members, 60,000 of them black. The Knights were told that they "broke the walls of prejudice"; the "colour line had been broken and black and white were found working in the same cause.

American Federation of Labor

The American Federation of Labour (AFL),founded by Samuel Gompers, was established due to the vexation of many Knights who parted from the KOL. Many Knights joined the AFL because they set themselves apart from the KOL. The KOL "tried to teach the American wage-earner that he was a wage-earner first and a bricklayer, carpenter, miner [...] after. This meant that the Order was teaching something that was not so in the hope that sometime it would be.’ But the AFL affiliates organised carpenters as carpenters, bricklayers as bricklayers, and so forth, teaching them all to place their own craft interests before those of other workers."

The AFL also differed from the KOL because it only allowed associations to be formed from workers and workers were the only people permitted to join them. Unlike the AFL, the knights also allowed small businesses to join. A small business is "An independently owned and operated business that is not dominant in its field of operation and conforms to standards set by the Small Business Administration or by state law regarding number of employees and yearly income called also small business concern."

Since the knights allowed an array of members into their association, they ended up getting rid of many because they did not fit the title. However, the AFL was right behind them picking up their pieces. This was another way in which the AFL helped to destroy the Knights. Once an associate was no longer a knight, and they fit the description of an AFL member, they hunted them down and offered them a spot. Many times spots were offered to men who were still Knights. This allowed the AFL to grow very strong with a diverse set of members.

The diversity in the AFL faltered when many of the black members were excluded. Gompers only wanted skilled workers representing his union and many black people were not considered skilled. The AFL claimed to not exclude the black members because of their race but because they were not qualified for the part. "So as long as wages rose, and they did, hours fell, and they did, security increased, and it appeared to, the AFL could grow fat while neglecting millions of labourers doomed to lives of misery and want." Even black workers considered skilled enough to fit the part were generally excluded from the Union. The AFL conducted literacy tests which had the effect of excluding immigrants and blacks. Regardless of black members being excluded, the AFL was the most prevalent union federation in America before the mid 1940s. The union was composed of over 10 million members before it combined with the Congress of Industrial Organisation (CIO).

Congress of Industrial Organisations

The CIO was put forth by John L. Lewis when troubles with the AFL persisted, after the death of Gompers in 1924. Many members of the union requested that they switch the rules which were laid out by Gompers. They wanted to support inexperienced workmen rather than only focusing on experienced workers of one occupation. John L. Lewis was the first member of the AFL to act upon this issue in 1935. He was the founder of the Committee for the Industrial Organisation which was an original union branched from the AFL. The Committee for the Industrial Organisation transformed into the Congress of Industrial Organisation. "The Congress of Industrial Organisations (CIO) encompassed the largest sustained surge of worker organisation in American history." In the 1930s, the CIO grabbed many of their member’s attention through victorious strikes. In the 1935, employees of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company formed their own union called the United Rubber Workers. The Rubber Workers went on strike in 1936 to protest an increase in product with lower pay wages. "There were forty-eight strikes in 1936 in which the strikers remained at their jobs for at least one day; in twenty-two of these work stoppages, involving 34,565 workers, the strikers stayed inside the plants for more than twenty-four hours." This tactic was called a "sit-down" strike which entailed workers to stop doing their job and sit in their place of employment. During these strikes, business owners were unable to bring in new workers to replace the ones who were on strike because they were still in their seats at the factory. This was unlike any strikes in the past. Before this time, workers showed their fury by leaving their factory and standing in picket lines. Walter Reuther was in control of the union at this time and moved forward to higher roles during 1955.

AFL-CIO

On May 5, 1955, union delegates gathered in NY on behalf of 16 million workers, to witness and support the merger of The American Federation of Labor and The Congress of Industrial Organization. The merger is a result of 20 years of effort put forth by both the AFL and CIO presidents, George Meany and Walter Reuther. The gathered delegates applauded loudly when the time came to nominate officers for the new AFL-CIO. Reuther who was named one of the 37 vice presidents of the union, nominated Meany for President. After Meany’s retirement in 1979, Lane Kirkland took over his position. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was elected in 1952, was the first to publicly address and congratulate the new union, which was now the largest in the world.

In Eisenhower’s telephone broadcast to the United States he acknowledged the impact union members had made to better the nation and one of these impacts was "the development of the American philosophy of labour." Eisenhower states three principles which he feels apply to the philosophy of labour. The first principles states that: "the ultimate values of mankind are spiritual; these values include liberty, human dignity, opportunity and equal rights and justice." Eisenhower was stating that every individual deserves a job with decent compensation, practical hours, and good working conditions that leave them feeling fulfilled. His second principle speaks of the economic interest of the employer and employee being a mutual prosperity. The employers and employees must work together in order for there to be the greatest amount of wealth for all. Workers have a right to strike when they feel their boundaries are being crossed and the best way for the employer to fix the employees unhappiness is to come to a mutual agreement. His last principle which he preached stated: "labour relations will be managed best when worked out in honest negotiation between employers and unions, without Government’s unwarranted interference." Eisenhower was saying that when both parties cooperate and act in mature fashion, it will be easier to work out situations and a better outcome will result because of it. Once he was done delivering the speech, everyone across the U.S. knew of the new AFL-CIO whose "mission [was] to bring social and economic justice to our nation by enabling working people to have a voice on the job, in government, in a changing global economy and in their communities."

This new alliance is made up of 56 nationwide and intercontinental labour unions. The unions which are a part of this alliance are composed of 2.5 million working Americans and 8.5 million other affiliated members. These members do not fall under one job title but they are very diversely spread out among the working area. Their jobs go from doctors to truck drivers and painters to bankers. The mission of these workers and the AFL-CIO "is to improve the lives of working families—to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation. To accomplish this mission we will build and change the American labour movement." The AFL-CIO also has many goals which coincide with their mission:

"We will build a broad movement of American workers by organizing workers into unions. We will build a strong political voice for workers in our nation. We will change our unions to provide a new voice to workers in a changing economy. We will change our labour movement by creating a new voice for workers in our communities."

The association was willing to go to any extent to help out their employers which is why the membership was so high. Members started to slowly disappear after 25 successful years of a steady membership. Starting out with 16 million members in 1955 and dropping down to 13 million by 1984 is a significant loss. This loss of members is in large part due to the 1957 removal of the Teamsters’ Union who were long time members of the AFL. The Teamsters’ were involved in organized crime and manipulating employers with strong force. The Teamsters’ philosophy was to

"Let each member do his duty as he sees fit. Let each put his shoulder to the wheel and work together to bring about better results. Let no member sow seeds of discord within our ranks, and let our enemies see that the Teamsters of this country are determined to get their just rewards and to make their organization as it should be—one of the largest and strongest trade unions in the country now and beyond."

This philosophy did not work well for Teamster presidents Beck, Hoffa, and Williams who were all accused of criminal acts and sent to prison. In 1987 the AFL-CIO membership grew to 14 million members when the Teamsters Union was restored to the association.

The AFL-CIO also lost many members due to financial struggles in the United States. During the late 20th century the U.S. dollar began to oscillate due to rivalry with foreign countries and their currencies. This affects global trafficking and results in job loss for American citizens. The issues between the United States and foreign countries cannot be resolved by Eisenhower’s third principle, which entailed honest negotiations. Consequently, the association has been dynamically supportive in administration policies which deal with global trafficking, the production of goods, and many other issues, which are optimistic policies that will add to an established financial system.

The AFL-CIO is now governed by a gathering of delegates who are present on behalf of association members who meet every four years. The delegates who are the spokespeople of the federation members are chosen by union members. While the delegates vote for new representatives every four years, they also lay down the goals and policies for the union. The most recent representatives for the organization along with 45 vice presidents are President John J. Sweeny, Secretary-treasurer Richard Trumka, and executive vice president Arlene Holt Baker

In the United States there are a total of 15.4 million union members, "11 million of whom belong to unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO." This number has grown rapidly since the beginning of the union movement because today, all individuals with different occupations are welcomed to join unions. "Today's unions include manufacturing and construction workers, teachers, technicians and doctors—and every type of worker in between. No matter what you do for a living, there's a union that has members who do the same thing." Educating union members about issues that shape lives of functioning families on a daily basis is one of the AFL-CIO’s policies. They give them confidence to have their voices heard for political purposes. They also prioritize in

"creating family-supporting jobs by investing tax dollars in schools, roads, bridges and airports; improving the lives of workers through education, job training and raising the minimum wage; keeping good jobs at home by reforming trade rules, reindustrializing the U.S. economy and redoubling efforts at worker protections in the global economy; strengthening Social Security and private pensions; making high-quality, affordable health care available to everyone; and holding corporations more accountable for their actions."

The AFL-CIO is very supportive of political issues and they show their concern by giving out information about existing political issues to families. This information is spread by volunteers and activists and includes where all the candidates stand on the issues.

Mexico

Before the 1990s, unions in Mexico had been historically part of a state institutional system. Between the end of the Mexican revolution in 1940, till the 1980s worldwide spread of neo-liberalism through the Washington Consensus, the Mexican unions did not operate independently, but instead as part of a state institutional system, largely controlled by the ruling party.

During these 40 years, the primary aim of the labour unions was not to benefit the workers, but to carry out the state's economic policy under their cosy relationship with the ruling party. This economic policy, which peaked in the 1950-60s with the so called Mexican Miracle, saw rising incomes and rising standards of living. Only a minor part went to the workers, while the primary beneficiaries had been the wealthy.

In the 1980s, Mexico began to follow the Washington Consensus, and sell off state industries (railroad, telecommunication) to private industries. The new owners had an antagonist attitude towards unions, and the unions, accustomed to the comfortable relationship with the state, were not prepared to fight back. A movement of new unions began to emerge with a more independent model, while the old institutionalised unions had become very corrupt, violent and gangster led. From the 1990s, the new model of independent unions prevailed, and a number of them were represented by the National Union of Workers.

Australia

Supporters of Unions, such as the ACTU or Australian Labor Party, often credit trade unions with leading the labour movement in the early 20th century, which generally sought to end child labour practices, improve worker safety, increase wages for both union workers and non union workers, raise the entire society's standard of living, reduce the hours in a work week, provide public education for children, and bring other benefits to working class families.

Structure and politics

: Union structures, politics, and legal status vary greatly from country to country. For specific country details see List of trade unions.

Unions may organize a particular section of skilled workers (craft unionism), a cross-section of workers from various trades (general unionism), or attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry (industrial unionism). These unions are often divided into "locals", and united in national federations. These federations themselves will affiliate with Internationals, such as the International Trade Union Confederation.

A union may acquire the status of a "juristic person" (an artificial legal entity), with a mandate to negotiate with employers for the workers it represents. In such cases, unions have certain legal rights, most importantly the right to engage in collective bargaining with the employer (or employers) over wages, working hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The inability of the parties to reach an agreement may lead to industrial action, culminating in either strike action or management lockout, or binding arbitration. In extreme cases, violent or illegal activities may develop around these events.

In other circumstances, unions may not have the legal right to represent workers, or the right may be in question. This lack of status can range from non-recognition of a union to political or criminal prosecution of union activists and members, with many cases of violence and deaths having been recorded both historically and contemporarily.

Unions may also engage in broader political or social struggle. Social Unionism encompasses many unions that use their organizational strength to advocate for social policies and legislation favourable to their members or to workers in general. As well, unions in some countries are closely aligned with political parties.

Unions are also delineated by the service model and the organizing model. The service model union focuses more on maintaining worker rights, providing services, and resolving disputes. Alternately, the organizing model typically involves full-time union organizers, who work by building up confidence, strong networks, and leaders within the workforce; and confrontational campaigns involving large numbers of union members. Many unions are a blend of these two philosophies, and the definitions of the models themselves are still debated.

Although their political structure and autonomy varies widely, union leaderships are usually formed through democratic elections.

Some research, such as that conducted by the ACIRRT, argues that unionized workers enjoy better conditions and wages than those who are not unionized.

In Britain, the perceived left-leaning nature of trade unions has resulted in the formation of a reactionary right-wing trade union called Solidarity which is supported by the far-right BNP.

Shop types

Companies that employ workers with a union generally operate on one of several models:

A closed shop (US) or a "pre-entry closed shop" (UK) employs only people who are already union members. The compulsory hiring hall is an example of a closed shop—in this case the employer must recruit directly from the union, as well as the employee working strictly for unionized employers.

A union shop (US) or a "post-entry closed shop" (UK) employs non-union workers as well, but sets a time limit within which new employees must join a union.

An agency shop requires non-union workers to pay a fee to the union for its services in negotiating their contract. This is sometimes called the Rand formula. In certain situations involving state public employees in the United States, such as California, "fair share laws" make it easy to require these sorts of payments.

An open shop does not require union membership in employing or keeping workers. Where a union is active, workers who do not contribute to a union still benefit from the collective bargaining process. In the United States, state level right-to-work laws mandate the open shop in some states.

Diversity of international unions

Union law varies from country to country, as does the function of unions. For example, in Germany only open shops are legal; that is, all discrimination based on union membership is forbidden. This affects the function and services of the union. In addition, German unions have played a greater role in management decisions through participation in corporate boards and co-determination than have unions in the United States.

In Britain, a series of laws introduced during the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher's government restricted closed and union shops. All agreements requiring a worker to join a union are now illegal. In the United States, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 outlawed the closed shop, and the union shop was deemed illegal by the Supreme Court.

In addition, unions' relations with political parties vary. In many countries unions are tightly bonded, or even share leadership, with a political party intended to represent the interests of working people. Typically this is a left-wing, socialist, or social democratic party, but many exceptions exist. In the United States, by contrast, although it is historically aligned with the Democratic Party, the union movement is by no means monolithic on that point; this is especially true among the individual "rank and file" members. For example, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has supported Republican Party candidates on a number of occasions and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) endorsed Ronald Reagan in 1980. In Britain the union movement's relationship with the Labour Party frayed as party leadership embarked on privatisation plans at odds with what unions see as the worker's interests. However, it has strengthened once more after the Labour party's election of Ed Milliband who beat his brother David Milliband, to become leader of the party after Ed secured the trade unions votes. On top of this in the past there as been a group known as the Conservative Trade Unionists or CTU. A group formed of people who sympathized with right wing Tory policy but were Trade Unionists.

In Western Europe, professional associations often carry out the functions of a trade union. In these cases, they may be negotiating for white-collar workers, such as physicians, engineers, or teachers. Typically such trade unions refrain from politics or pursue a more ordoliberal politics than their blue-collar counterparts .

In Germany the relation between individual employees and employers is considered to be asymmetrical. In consequence, many working conditions are not negotiable due to a strong legal protection of individuals. However, the German flavour or works legislation has as its main objective to create a balance of power between employees organized in unions and employers organized in employers associations. This allows much wider legal boundaries for collective bargaining, compared to the narrow boundaries for individual negotiations. As a condition to obtain the legal status of a trade union, employee associations need to prove that their leverage is strong enough to serve as a counterforce in negotiations with employers. If such an employees association is competing against another union, its leverage may be questioned by unions and then evaluated in a court trial. In Germany only very few professional associations obtained the right to negotiate salaries and working conditions for their members, notably the medical doctors association Marburger Bund and the pilots association Vereinigung Cockpit. The engineers association Verein Deutscher Ingenieure does not strive to act as a union, as it also represents the interests of engineering businesses.

Finally, the structure of employment laws affects unions' roles and how they carry out their business. In many western European countries wages and benefits are largely set by governmental action. The United States takes a more laissez-faire approach, setting some minimum standards but leaving most workers' wages and benefits to collective bargaining and market forces. Historically, the Republic of Korea has regulated collective bargaining by requiring employers to participate but collective bargaining has been legal only if held in sessions before the lunar new year.

Criticism

Trade unions have been accused of benefiting insider workers, those having secure jobs, at the cost of outsider workers, consumers of the goods or services produced, and the shareholders of the unionized business.

In the United States, the outsourcing of labour to Asia, Latin America, and Africa has been partially driven by increasing costs of union partnership, which gives other countries a comparative advantage in labour, making it more efficient to perform labour-intensive work there. Milton Friedman, Nobel economist and advocate of laissez-faire capitalism, sought to show that unionization produces higher wages (for the union members) at the expense of fewer jobs, and that, if some industries are unionized while others are not, wages will tend to decline in non-unionized industries.

Trade unions have been said to have ineffective policies on racism and sexism, such that a union is justified in not supporting a member taking action against another member. This was demonstrated by the 1987 judgment in the Weaver v NATFHE case in the UK, in which a black Muslim woman brought a complaint of workplace racist harassment against a co-trade unionist. The court found that the union, had it offered assistance to the plaintiff, would be in violation of its duty to protect the tenure of the accused member, and this judgment remains the precedent for cases in which union members who make complaints to the employer of racist or sexist harassment against member(s) of the same union cannot obtain union advice or assistance; this applies irrespective of the merit of the complaint.

International unionization

The largest trade union in the world is the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation, which today has approximately 309 affiliated organizations in 156 countries and territories, with a combined membership of 166 million. Other global trade union organizations include the World Federation of Trade Unions.

National and regional trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups also form global union federations, such as Union Network International, the International Federation of Journalists or the International Arts and Entertainment Alliance.

Union publications

Several sources of current news exist about the trade union movement in the world. These include LabourStart and the official website of the international trade union movement Global Unions.

Another source of union news is the Workers Independent News, a news organization providing radio articles to independent and syndicated radio shows.

Labor Notes is the largest circulation cross-union publication remaining in the United States. It reports news and analysis about union activity or problems facing the labour movement.

In film

The 2000 film Bread and Roses by British director Ken Loach depicted the struggle of cleaners in Los Angeles to fight for better pay, and working conditions, and the right to join a union.

Hoffa—A Danny DeVito film (1992): The man who was willing to pay the price for power. "Jack Nicholson gives a gigantic powerhouse performance"—The New York Times

The 1985 documentary film Final Offer by Sturla Gunnarsson and Robert Collision shows the 1984 union contract negotiations with General Motors.

The 1979 film Norma Rae, directed by Martin Ritt, is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Jordan's successful attempt to unionize her textile factory.

Other documentaries: Made in L.A. (2007); American Standoff (2002); The Fight in the Fields (1997); With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade (1979); Harlan County USA (1976); The Inheritance (1964)

Other dramatizations: 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002); Matewan (1987); American Playhouse—"The Killing Floor" (1985); Salt of the Earth (1954); The Grapes of Wrath (1940); Black Fury (1935)

See also

List of trade unions

;General

Eight-hour day

Anarcho-syndicalism

Political Catholicism

Labour aristocracy

New Unionism

Solidarity

Strike action

Salt (union organizing)

Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

Syndicalism

Workers' Memorial Day

Labour Day

Labour movement

Hazards Campaign

Opposition to trade unions

Union busting

Employers' organization

;Types of unions

Craft unionism

Directly Affiliated Local Union

General union

Industrial unionism

Labour council

Trades Hall

National trade union center

Anarcho-syndicalism

;Union federation

AFL-CIO

Change to Win Federation

Labor federation competition in the United States

International Trade Union Confederation

International Labor Rights Forum

International Workers Association

References

Further reading

Books

The Government of British Trade Unions: A study of Apathy and the Democratic Process in the Transport and General Worker Union by Joseph Goldstein The Early English Trade Unions: Documents from Home Office Papers in the Public Record Office by A. Aspinall Magnificent Journey: The Rise of the Trade Unions, by Francis Williams Trade Unions by Allan Flanders Trade Union Government and Administration in Great Britain by B C Roberts Union Power: The Growth and Challenge in Perspective by Claud Cockburn Directory of Employer's Associations, Trade Unions, Joint Organisations—No author and produced in paperback'' The History of the TUC (Trades Union Congress) 1868–1968: A pictorial Survey of a Social Revolution—Illustrated with Contemporary Prints, Documents and Photographs, edited by Lionel Birch

Panitch, Leo & Swartz, Donald (2003). From consent to coercion: The assault on trade union freedoms, third edition. Ontario: Garamound Press.

Phil Dine (2007). State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-148844-0

Articles

Charles A. Orr, "Trade Unionism in Colonial Africa" Journal of Modern African Studies, 4 (1966), pp. 65–81

;Notes

External links

;International

LabourStart international trade union news service

New Unionism Network

Younionize Global Union Directory

;Australia

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)- Australian Council of Trade Unions

;Europe

Trade union membership 1993–2003—European Industrial Relations Observatory report on membership trends in 26 European countries

Trade Union Ancestors—Listing of 5,000 UK trade unions with histories of main organizations, trade union "family trees" and details of union membership and strikes since 1900.

TUC History online—History of the British union movement

Trade EU—European Trade Directory

Short history of the UGT in Catalonia

;United States

Labor rights in the USA

Labor Notes magazine

Category:Labour relations Category:Organizational studies and human resource management

ar:اتحاد نقابة العمال cs:Odbory da:Fagforbund de:Gewerkschaft et:Ametiühing eo:Sindikato fa:سندیکا fr:Syndicat professionnel hi:श्रमिक संघ id:Serikat dagang is:Stéttarfélag it:Sindacato he:איגוד מקצועי kk:Тред-юниондар la:Collegium opificum lv:Tīmekļa sindikācija lt:Profesinė sąjunga hu:Szakszervezet ml:തൊഴിലാളിസംഘടന nl:Vakbond ja:労働組合 no:Fagforening nn:Fagorganisasjon pl:Związek zawodowy pt:Sindicato ro:Sindicat ru:Профессиональный союз simple:Trade union sk:Odbory fi:Ammattiliitto sv:Fackförening th:สหภาพแรงงาน uk:Професійна спілка ur:اتحاد صنعتی vi:Công đoàn zh-yue:工會 zh:工会

Coordinates	38°53′33.13″N77°0′51.94″N
name	Kim Kardashian Humphries
birth name	Kimberly Noel Kardashian
birth date	October 21, 1980
birth place	Los Angeles, California, US
nationality	American
ethnicity	Armenian, Dutch, Scottish
net worth	$35million
years active	2007–present
known for	Reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Kourtney and Kim Take New York
occupation	Entrepreneur, actress, model, socialite
height
measurements	35D-26-40
spouse	Damon Thomas (2000-2004) Kris Humphries (2011-present)
parents	Robert Kardashian (father)Kris Jenner (mother)Bruce Jenner (stepfather)
relatives	Kourtney Kardashian (sister)Khloé Kardashian (sister)Robert Kardashian Jr. (brother)Kylie Jenner (half-sister)Kendall Jenner (half-sister)
website	http://kimkardashian.celebuzz.com/ }}

Kimberly "Kim" Kardashian Humphries (née Kimberly Noel Kardashian; October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, television personality, model, and actress. She is the daughter of late attorney Robert Kardashian, and is known for a sex tape with her former boyfriend Ray J as well as her E! reality series that she shares with her family, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Kardashian's prominence has increased as of January 2011 with the premiere of Kourtney and Kim Take New York, the second spin-off of Keeping Up with the Kardashians (the first being Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami), debuting on E!, with the series following Kim and sister Kourtney Kardashian as they leave Los Angeles to open a third D-A-S-H store in New York City.

Kardashian has launched multiple fragrances, guest starred on numerous shows, competed on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and has had roles in movies such as Disaster Movie and Deep in the Valley. In 2010, Kardashian, along with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé, released an autobiography, Kardashian Konfidential.

Early life

Kardashian was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of late attorney Robert Kardashian and Kris Jenner (née Houghton). Her father was a third generation Armenian American and her mother is of Dutch and Scottish descent. Her paternal great-grandparents immigrated to Los Angeles from historic Armenia (then part of the Ottoman Empire, now in Turkey). Her last name in Armenian (spelled Քարտաշեան in Armenian) means "son of a stonemason." Although only half Armenian, she states that she "was raised with a huge Armenian influence, always hearing stories of Armenia, eating Armenian food and celebrating Armenian holidays".

Kardashian has two sisters, Kourtney and Khloé, and one brother, Robert. She has stepbrothers Burton Jenner, Brandon Jenner, and reality TV star Brody Jenner, step-sister Casey Jenner, and half-sisters Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner.

She attended Marymount High School. During high school, Kardashian worked at her father's music marketing firm, Movie Tunes.

Career

2007–present: Reality television

Kardashian first rose to fame in February 2007 when she starred in a sex tape with R&B; singer Ray J. In October 2007 she along with her two sisters, mother, brother, half-sisters, and stepfather starred in the E! television series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The series has aired five seasons to date, with two spin-off series.

Her first acting role was in the television series Beyond the Break. She then starred in the 2008 disaster film spoof Disaster Movie as Lisa. Kardashian appeared in the How I Met Your Mother episode "Benefits". She also appeared on the Season 3 premiere of the series 90210 with her sisters Khloé and Kourtney; they all played themselves. Kardashian was a guest hostess of WrestleMania XXIV and appeared as a guest judge during Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model. On December 16, 2009, Kardashian made a guest star appearance on CBS's CSI: NY with Vanessa Minnillo.

Kardashian was one of 13 participants on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with Mark Ballas and was the third contestant voted off the show on September 30, 2008, finishing in 11th place overall.

2007–2010: Modeling and retail

Kardashian co-owns a clothing boutique called D-A-S-H with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé.

In December 2007, Kardashian posed nude for Playboy. She has also featured in numerous international editions of FHM, including the cover of the April 2010 Australian edition and the UK March 2011 edition. In February 2008, Bongo Jeans announced that Kardashian would be their face model. She also models for Balenciaga shoes, Carl's Jr. fast food, Sugar Factory lollipops, and various other products.

Kardashian released her own fragrance product in 2010.

In March 2009, Kardashian launched an endorsement with ShoeDazzle shopping, of which she is the co-founder and chief fashion stylist.. The following month on April 9, 2009, Kardashian released a workout DVD series, Fit In Your Jeans By Friday, with trainers Jennifer Galardi and Patrick Goudeau. In September 2009, Fusion Beauty and Seven Bar Foundation launched "Kiss Away Poverty", with Kardashian as the face of the campaign. For every LipFusion lipgloss sold, $1 went to the Foundation to fund women entrepreneurs in the US.

Famous Cupcakes, a Los Angeles bakery, created a vanilla cupcake mix for Kardashian. The cupcake flavor is called Va-Va-Va-Nilla.

Kardashian has also created jewelry along with her sisters, Khloé and Kourtney. They produced a collection for Virgins, Saints, and Angels in 2010.

Again with her sisters, Kardashian has released various clothing lines. One called K-Dash was to be sold on QVC in 2010, and in the same year they produced a range for Bebe. As of August 2011 they are creating another for Sears, called the Kardashian Kollection.

In addition, Kardashian and her sisters created a sunless tanner called Kardashian Glamour Tan in 2010.

On July 1, 2010, the New York City branch of Madame Tussauds revealed a wax figure of Kardashian.

2010–present

Kardashian is the producer of The Spin Crowd, a reality television show about Command PR, a New York City public relations firm, run by Jonathan Cheban and Simon Huck. The show follows them as they settle into their new offices in Los Angeles. Kardashian is friends with both, specifically Cheban, and frequently appears on her reality shows. She also appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010. She also appeared in and was the subject and judge of a task on the ninth episode of Season 10 of The Apprentice in 2010; the two teams had to create an in-store display for her new perfume line, to be sold at Perfumania.

Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé wrote an autobiography entitled Kardashian Konfidential. The book was released in stores on November 23, 2010.

In December 2010, Kardashian filmed a music video for a song titled "Jam (Turn It Up)," the video was directed by Hype Williams; Kanye West makes a cameo in the video. Kardashian premiered the song during a New Year's Eve party at TAO Las Vegas on December 31, 2010. The song was produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. Kardashian said that she was forced into doing the song by friends such as Ciara, Kanye West, and "Turn It Up" producer The-Dream. When asked if an album is in the works, Kardashian replied: "There's no album in the works or anything – just one song we did for Kourtney and Kim Take New York, and a video Hype Williams directed, half of the proceeds we're giving away to a cancer foundation, because The-Dream's and one of my parents passed away from cancer. It's just all having fun – with a good cause". Jim Farber, writing for the Daily News, called the song a "dead-brained piece of generic dance music, without a single distinguishing feature," and suggested that the single made Kardashian the "worst singer in the reality TV universe."

Kardashian's 2010 earnings were the highest of any other reality star at $6 million.

A mainstream UK national newspaper, The Guardian, has commented on her ability to attract payments of up to US$10,000 from sponsors for each tweet that she broadcasts, noting that she is "an American reality TV star whose sole talent lies in her large rump".

Personal life

Relationships

In 2000, Kardashian married music producer Damon Thomas; their relationship ended in divorce in 2004. Subsequently she dated R&B; singer Ray J, NFL star Reggie Bush and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin. She was also seen with model Gabriel Aubry. Kardashian then began dating NBA player Kris Humphries of the New Jersey Nets; they married on August 20, 2011 in Montecito, California. Kardashian and Humphries made $17.9 million on nuptials.

Sex tape

In February 2007, a pornographic home video she made with singer Ray J was leaked. Vivid Entertainment bought the rights for $1 million and released the film as Kim Kardashian: Superstar on February 21. Kardashian sued Vivid for ownership of the tape. In late April 2007, Kardashian dropped the suit and settled with Vivid Entertainment for $5 million.

Cookie Diet lawsuit

Dr. Sanford Siegal, the creator of the Cookie Diet, sued Kardashian, claiming she defamed him on Twitter. According to Siegal, Kardashian tweeted in October that he was "falsely promoting" that she was on the cookie diet. Siegal filed a claim in a Florida state court claiming the statements are false and defamatory. He also alleges that Kardashian was on QuickTrim's payroll when she posted the tweet. Kardashian's tweet appears to stem from an article on CookieDiet.com, that named Kardashian as one of many celebrities who saw positive results on the diet. Kardashian sent a cease-and-desist order to Siegal, demanding the link be removed.

Activism

Kardashian has supported the recognition of the Armenian Genocide on numerous occasions and has encouraged Barack Obama and the United States government to consider its acknowledgement. On April 21, 2011, a few days before the 96th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, she has written about the issue on her blog in an effort to put it under spotlight and has also sent a tweet to her fans urging its recognition.

On April 1, 2010, Kardashian joined Cyndi Lauper in the launch of her Give a Damn campaign to create a wider awareness of discrimination against the LGBT community as part of her True Colors Fund.

However, she has also been on the receiving end of activism. Animal rights organization PETA has criticized her for repeatedly wearing fur coats, and named her as one of the five worst people or organizations of 2010 when it came to animal welfare.

Filmography

2007–present: Keeping Up with the Kardashians as Herself

2008: Dancing with the Stars as Herself

2008: Disaster Movie as Calvin's girlfriend, Lisa Taylor

2009: CSI: NY as Debbie Fallon (1 episode)

2009: Deep in the Valley as Summa Eve

2009: How I Met Your Mother as herself (1 episode)

2009: Beyond the Break as Elle (4 episodes)

2010: 90210 as herself (season 3 premiere)

2011–present: Kourtney and Kim Take New York

References

External links

Official website

Kardashians join forces with Australian designer at Mediasearch

Category:1980 births Category:American actors Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American people of Armenian descent Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American socialites Category:Businesspeople in fashion Category:Kardashian family Category:Living people Category:People from Los Angeles, California

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Re-education through labor (RTL) (), abbreviated () is a system of administrative detentions in the People's Republic of China which is generally used to detain persons for minor crimes such as petty theft, prostitution, and trafficking illegal drugs, as well as religious or political dissidents such as unregistered Christians or Falun Gong adherents. Sentences typically span one to three years, with the possibility of an additional one-year extension. Re-education through labor sentences are issued by police, rather than through the judicial system. While incarcerated, detainees are often subject to some form of political education; torture, sometimes resulting in death, has also been reported in labor camps. The re-education through labor system has been in place since 1957 and was subjected to minor reforms by the Chinese government in 2007. Estimates on the number of RTL detainees on any given year ranges from 190,000 - 2 million. China Daily estimated that there were a total of 310 re-education centers in China at that time.

Re-education through labor and the Chinese penal system

The People's Republic of China employs several forms of corrections for people who have been arrested, of which re-education through labor is one. The Laogai Research Foundation classifies re-education through labor as a sub-component under the umbrella of the laogai ("reform through labor") criminal justice system, which generally refers to prisons, prison farms, and labor camps for convicted criminals. Re-education through labor, on the other hand, refers to detentions for persons who are not considered criminals or have only committed minor offenses. Persons detained under re-education through labor are detained in facilities which are separate from the general prison system; furthermore, detainees in these re-education facilities receive a small salary, which laogai detainees do not, and in theory have shorter work hours. The laogai system is much larger than the re-education through labor system, with the Laogai Research Foundation identifying 1,045 laogai camps in 2006 (compared to 346 re-education centers). Both systems, however, involve penal labor and often do not allow trials or judicial hearings. The term "reform through labor" or laogai was officially replaced with "prison" in 1994, and the term "re-education center" or láojiàosuǒ (劳教所) was replaced with "correctional center" in 2007.

Other components of the prison system include detention centers for individuals awaiting sentence or execution, and juvenile detention camps for individuals under a minimum age (which has varied through the years, and may currently be under 14). The system formerly included components such as custody and repatriation for individuals without a residence permit; "forced job placement," which has not been widely practiced since the 1990s; and "shelter and investigation," a system of detentions for individuals under legal investigation, which was abolished in 1996. The Laogai Research Foundation also classifies psychiatric facilities, or ankang, as a form of detention for political dissidents, although it is not officially recognized as part of the laogai penal system.

History

Institutions similar to re-education through labor facilities, but called "new life schools" or "loafers' camps," existed in the early 1950s, although they did not become official until the anti-rightist campaigns in 1957 and 1958. A report by Human Rights in China (HRIC) states that re-education through labor was first used by the Communist Party of China in 1955 to punish counter-revolutionaries, and in 1957 was officially adopted into law to be implemented by the Ministry of Public Security. The law allowed police to sentence both minor offenders and "counter-revolutionaries" or "anti-socialist elements" to incarceration in labor camps without the right to a judicial hearing or trial, and did not allow judicial review to take place until after the punishment was being enforced. In the beginning there were no limits to the length for which detainees could be sentenced, and it was not until 1979 that a maximum sentence of four years (three years sentence plus one-year extension) was set. In 1983, the management and implementation of the re-education through labor system was passed from the Ministry of Public Security to the Ministry of Justice.

When Falun Gong was banned in mainland China in 1999, re-education through labor became a common punishment for practitioners. Some human rights groups claim that as many as 10,000 Falun Gong members were detained in between 1999 and 2002, with as many as 5,000 detained in 2001 alone. More recent estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong adherents are imprisoned in China, with some some sources estimating up to half of the official reeducation through labor camp population is Falun Gong practitioners. In some labor camp, Falun Gong practitioners make up the majority population.

In the past decade there have been numerous calls for the system to be reformed or replaced. As early as 1997, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) called for China to allow judicial control over detentions; in 2000, the UN Committee Against Torture recommended that all forms of administrative detention, including re-education through labor, be abolished; in 2004, the WGAD called for the establishment of rights to due process and counsel for individuals detained; and in 2005, the Special Rapporteur on Torture called for the outright abolition of re-education through labor. The prominent deaths of two inmates in spring 2003 prompted many calls within China for reform of the system, but reform did not happen immediately, though The China Daily reported that there was "general consensus" that reform was needed. In March 2007, however, the Chinese government did announce that it would abolish the re-education through labor system and replace it with a more lenient set of laws. According to the proposal, the maximum sentence would be lowered from four years to 18 months, re-education centers would be renamed "correction centers" and have their fences and gates removed. A month later, Chongqing municipality passed a law allowing lawyers to offer legal counsel in re-education through labor cases.

Many human rights groups, however, doubted the efficacy of the proposed reforms, saying that the new laws would only help minor criminals and not help political prisoners, and that the reforms would not actually abolish the re-education through labor system. The Laogai Research Foundation stated that lowering the maximum length of detention and changing the names of the detention facilities would not constitute a "fundamental change." Nine months after the declaration that the laws would be rewritten, the re-education through labor system had not been abolished; in December 2007, a group of academics drafted an open letter to the government calling for an end to the system. During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, there were reports that some individuals applying for permits to protest were detained without trial; of these, some were sentenced to re-education through labor. In the United Nations Human Rights Council's September 2008 Universal Periodic Review of the People's Republic of China, re-education through labor was listed as an "urgent human rights concern," and as of February 2009 there remains a large number of active facilities.

Statistics

Reports on re-education through labor have found it difficult to estimate the number of people in re-education centers, and nationwide statistics were often unavailable in the past. What data have become available often vary widely. align="center" align="center" align="center" align="center" align="center" align="center" align="center"

+ Number of RTL detentions per year and overall
width=40%	Source !! width=15#|Year !! width=25%|Number of detaineesin given year !! width=20%|Number of detaineessince founding
	2009	190,000
align="center"	2003	230,000
China Labour Bulletin	2007 ||	300,000
Laogai Research Foundation	2006, 2008 ||	500,000–2 million
Unspecified non-governmental organizations	2003 ||	310,000
Human Rights in China	2001 ||	200,000 (in 1990s)
Human Rights Watch	1998 ||	230,000 (in 1997)
Xinhua News Agency	Xinhua official news agency	2001 ||		3.5 million
China Daily	2007 ||		400,000

Of these detainees, 5 to 10 percent are estimated to be political prisoners, and as many as 40 percent drug offenders—in 1998, nearly one-third of the known re-education camps were meant specifically for holding drug offenders.

China Daily estimated that there were a total of 310 re-education centers in China at in 2007. The 2008 edition the Laogai Research Foundation's biennial report listed exactly 319 "confirmed" re-education centers in China, and 74 "unconfirmed" ones, but estimated that the actual number might be much higher. the provinces with the most centers being Guangdong (31), Heilongjiang (21), and Henan (21). In a February 2009 meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Chinese government stated that there are 320 centers. The provinces with the most re-education centers include Guangdong, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Henan.

Detentions

Conviction and detention

Sentencing for re-education through labor is generally carried out by the police rather than by the judicial system, so individuals are rarely charged or tried before being detained. Public security bureaus (police offices) are able to carry out administrative detentions for "minor" infringements that are not considered criminal acts; at least one analyst has suggested that local public security bureaus often abuse their authority and detain individuals for things such as personal vendettas. Individuals may also be sentenced to re-education through labor by courts, but the proportion of individuals who receive trials rather than going directly into administrative detention is determined in part by how much capacity that province has for re-education detainees—provinces with large re-education through labor apparatus generally allow fewer detainees to have trials. Where detainees have been allowed a trial, their lawyers have faced "intimidation and abuse," according to some reports, and the individuals under trial have sometimes been convicted on the basis of confessions that were coerced through "torture and severe psychological pressure." In at least one instance, convicted individuals were sent to re-education through labor even after being found not guilty in a trial.

Most detainees in re-education through labor facilities are reported to be drug users, petty criminals, and prostitutes, as well as some political prisoners; James Seymour has also claimed that most individuals sentenced to re-education through labor are from urban areas. Individuals who attempt to leave the country illegally have also been sentenced to re-education through labor upon their return. In periods leading up to visits from foreign dignitaries or politically sensitive anniversaries (such as the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989), local authorities have supposedly detained "undesirables" such as the homeless, mentally or physically disabled individuals, and migrant workers. One China specialist at the RAND Corporation has claimed that the police, faced with a lack of "modern rehabilitation and treatment programs," use re-education through labor convictions to "warehouse" individuals for "an increasing number of social problems." In some instances, individuals were sent to re-education through labor even after being found not guilty in a court of law.

Detainees can seek to have their detention repealed through an "administrative review" (xingzheng fuyi, 行政复议) of the decision or by filing an "administrative litigation" (xingzheng susong 行政诉讼) against the Re-education Through Labor Management Committee that detained them. According to the advocacy group Chinese Human Rights Defenders, however, these options are ineffective and the groups overseeing the reviews and litigations often have the same interests as the management committee that originally ordered the detention.

Conditions in the facilities

The United States Department of State called the conditions in prisons "harsh and frequently degrading," and said the conditions in re-education through labor facilities were similar, citing overcrowded living spaces, low-quality food, and poor or absent medical care. Detainees in camps are required to work for little or no pay; while Chinese law requires that prison laborers' workday be limited to 12 hours a day, The United States Department of State and the Laogai Research Foundation have speculated that re-education through labor detainees are forced to work longer. In 2001, sociologist Dean Rojek estimated that detainees generally worked six days a week, "in total silence." Much of the labor done by re-education through labor detainees is geared towards agriculture or producing goods, many of which are sold internationally, since re-education through labor detainees are not counted as official "prisoners" and therefore not subject to international treaties. They also perform work ranging "from tending vegetables and emptying septic pits to cutting stone blocks and construction work."

Although drug abusers are ostensibly placed in re-education through labor to be treated for their addictions, some testimonial evidence has suggested that little "meaningful treatment" takes place in at least some of the centers, and that drug abusers often relapse into addiction upon their release from detention.

The facilities have been widely criticized for the physical abuse that is said to go on within them. Corporal punishment is commonly used, and torture and physical abuse are also thought to be widespread in the facilities. In April 2003, Zhang Bin, an inmate at the re-education facility Huludao City Correctional Camp, was beaten to death, reportedly by other inmates and by the labor supervisor. Zhang's death, along with the March 2003 death of inmate Sun Zhigang in a custody and repatriation prison, sparked calls within China for reform of the system, although reforms were not made immediately.

Though most reports describe the conditions of re-education camps as "brutal," there are some claims of prisoners being well-treated. For example, when he was released from a three-year re-education sentence in 1999, dissident Liu Xiaobo said that he had been treated very mildly, that he had been allowed to spend time reading, and that the conditions had been "pretty good."

Life after release

Detainees who are released from re-education through labor camps may still be unable to travel or see other people freely. Individuals who remain in re-education through labor for 5 or more years may not be allowed to return to their homes, and those who do may be closely monitored and not permitted to leave certain areas. For example, in July 2003 a priest who had been released from detention was kept under house arrest, and five men who attempted to visit him were themselves detained.

According to Xinhua, the official news agency of the Communist Party of China, slightly over 50% of detainees released from prison and re-education through labor in 2006 received government aid in the form of funds or assistance in finding jobs.

Criticism

Human Rights Watch has stated that the "re-education through labor" system violates international law, specifically Article 9 (4.)of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which provides that "Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that the court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention..." The Chinese Ministry of Justice, as well, has admitted that the system violated items in the Chinese constitution. Wang Gongyi, vice-director of the Institute of Justice Research affiliated to the Ministry of Justice, said that the current re-education through labor practice contradicts several items in the Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Law, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights a United Nations human rights treaty China signed in 1998. Re-education through labor has also been criticized by numerous human rights groups for not offering procedural guarantees for the accused, and for being used to detain political dissidents, teachers, Chinese house church leaders, and Falun Gong practitioners. Furthermore, even though the law up until 2007 specified a maximum length of detainment of four years, at least one source mentions a "retention for in-camp employment" system that allowed authorities to keep detainees in the camps for longer than their official sentences.

Re-education through labor has been a focus of discussion not only among foreign human rights groups, but also among legal scholars in China, some of whom were involved in the drafting of the 2007 laws meant to replace the system. In addition to legal scholars, the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China had criticized the system. In light of the widespread disapproval of the system, HRIC called in 2001 for the system to be abolished entirely. Among its criticisms it cited the fact that the wording of re-education through labor laws was too loose, allowing authorities to manipulate it; the fact that the punishment given in re-education centers was too severe for the crimes committed; the abusive conditions at re-education centers; and the variation of re-education through labor laws from one province to another.

Although many human rights groups and legal scholars both within and without China called for the reform or total abolition of re-education through labor, some groups have defended the system. A 1997 report in China's Legal Daily hailed re-education through labor as a means to "maintain social peace and prevent and reduce crime." The Ministry of Public Security stated in 2005 that re-education through labor helped maintain rule of law and was mainly used for rehabilitating lawbreakers. In 2007, when new laws were drafted, the Ministry of Public Security was in favor of continuing the practice of not allowing judicial review before punishment was enforced.

See also

Human rights in the People's Republic of China

List of Re-education Through Labor camps in China

Mao Hengfeng, a human rights activist, who has been repeatedly ill-treated and tortured in the RTL camps.

Notes

References

Category:Penal imprisonment Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China Category:Penal labor Category:Unfree labor by country Category:Penal system in China

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