Introduction
The forces of supply and demand are the key to determining wage rates in our society. By learning how these and other factors affect the wages in your potential career, you can make wise choices regarding your education, skill development, and location to maximize your potential income. You will also learn about the differences in wages across different races, genders, ages, and other characteristics.
The lesson will finish with a history of the Labor Union Movement in this country. The interaction between management and labor has wound its way through a tremendous number of ups and downs. The clashes over working conditions, pay, and hours led to injuries and deaths. Despite the violence and harassment from not only businesses, but also the federal government, the persistence of the union movement gave us many of the characteristics of working today that everyone takes for granted. These workplace improvements include: the eight-hour day, the end of child labor, workman's compensation benefits for injury, pensions, unemployment insurance, and the minimum wage.
Lesson Objectives
Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: Economics objectives: 8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.6. |