Scouting/BSA/American Labor Merit Badge

The requirements to this merit badge are copyrighted by the Boy Scouts of America. They are reproduced in part here under fair use as a resource for Scouts and Scouters to use in the earning and teaching of merit badges. The requirements published by the Boy Scouts of America should always be used over the list here. If in doubt about the accuracy of a requirement, consult your Merit Badge Counselor.

Reading this page does not satisfy any requirement for any merit badge. Per National regulations, the only person who may sign off on requirements is a Merit Badge Counselor, duly registered and authorized by the local Council. To obtain a list of registered Merit Badge Counselors, or to begin a Merit Badge, please contact your Scoutmaster or Council Service Center.

WritersGuild-Strike 2007

Requirement 1

Using resources available to you, learn about working people and work-related concerns. List and briefly describe or give examples of at least EIGHT concerns of American workers. These may include, but are not limited to, working conditions, workplace safety, hours, wages, seniority, job security, equal opportunity employment and discrimination, guest workers, automation and technologies that replace workers, unemployment, layoffs, outsourcing, and employee benefits such as health care, child care, profit sharing, and retirement benefits.

Requirement 2

With your counselor's and parent's approval and permission, visit the office or attend a meeting of a local union, a central labor council, or an employee organization, or contact one of these organizations via the Internet. Then do EACH of the following:

A. Find out what the organization does.

B. Share the list of issues and concerns you made for requirement 1. Ask the people you communicate with which issues are of greatest interest or concern to them and why.

C. Draw a diagram showing how the organization is structured, from the local to the national level, if applicable.

Requirement 3

Explain to your counselor what labor unions are, what they do, and what services they provide to members. In your discussion, show that you understand the concepts of labor, management, collective bargaining, negotiation, union shops, open shops, grievance procedures, mediation, arbitration, work stoppages, strikes, and lockouts.

Requirement 4

Explain what is meant by the adversarial model of labor-management relations, compared with a cooperative-bargaining style.

Requirement 5

Do ONE of the following:

A. Develop a time line of significant events in the history of the American labor movement from the 1770s to the present.

 1648 - Boston shoemakers and coopers form guilds.
 1770 - Boston Massacre set off by a conflict between rope workers and British soldiers. 
 1776 - Declaration of Independence signed in Carpenter's Hall. 
 1790 - First textile mill, built in Pawtucket, RI, is staffed entirely by children under the age of 12. 
 1814 - The invention of the power loom makes weaving a factory occupation. 
 1827 - The first citywide labor council forms in Philadelphia. 
 1837 - Andrew Jackson declares a 10-hour workday in Philadelphia Navy Yard. 
 1868 - The first federal 8-hour day takes effect. It is very limited, though. 
 1874 - The union label is used for the first time by the Cigar Makers International Union. 
 1876 - Molly Maguires convicted for coal-field murders in Pennsylvania. 10 are hanged. 
 1882 - First Labor Day Celebration takes place in New York City. 
 1885 - The Foran Act bans immigration of laborers brought in under contract to break strikes. 
 1886 - The American Federation of Labor forms with Samuel Gompers as its first president. 
 1886 - The Haymarket Riot takes place in Chacago. Four are hanged. 
 1892 - The Homestead Strike in Pennsylvania ends in a Union loss. 
 1906 - The International Typographical Union successfully strikes for an 8-hour day. 
 1919 - A strike by Boston police is the first ever by public safety workers. 
 1935 - The Social Security act is approved. 
 1936 - The Walsh-Healey Act sets safety standards, minimum wage, overtime pay and child labor provisions on all federal contracts. 
 1938 - A federal minimum wage law takes effect. 
 1947 - The Taft-Hartley Act restricts union activities and lets states pass "right-to-work" laws. 
 1955 - The AFL and CIO reunite. 
 1964 - The Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination. 
 1981 - Ronald Reagan fires most of the nation's air traffic controllers for refusing to end strike. 
 1993 - The Family and Medical leave Act is passed. 
 1997 - UPS workers strike over control of retirement benefits. 

B. Prepare an exhibit, a scrapbook, or a computer presentation, such as a slide show, illustrating three major achievements of the American labor movement and how those achievements affect American workers.

C. With your counselor's and parent's approval and permission, watch a movie that addresses organized labor in the United States. Afterward, discuss the movie with your counselor and explain what you learned.

D. Read a biography (with your counselor's approval) of someone who has made a contribution to the American labor movement. Explain what contribution this person has made to the American labor movement.

Requirement 6

Explain the term globalization. Discuss with your counselor some effects of globalization on the workforce in the United States. Explain how this global workforce fits into the economic system of this country.

Requirement 7

Choose a labor issue of widespread interest to American workers-an issue in the news currently or known to you from your work on this merit badge. Before your counselor, or in writing, argue both sides of the issue, first taking management's side, then presenting labor's or the employee's point of view. In your presentation, summarize the basic rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, including union members and nonunion members.

Requirement 8

Discuss with your counselor the different goals that may motivate the owners of a business, its stockholders, its customers, its employees, the employees' representatives, the community, and public officials. Explain why agreements and compromises are made and how they affect each group in achieving its goals.

Requirement 9

Learn about opportunities in the field of labor relations. Choose one career in which you are interested and discuss with your counselor the major responsibilities of that position and the qualifications, education, and training such a position requires.

External links

• American Labor Merit Badge with Workbook PDF, current requirements, and resources.
• American Labor Merit Badge Presentation by Troop 23, Northwest GA Council, Coosa District
• AFL-CIO Labor History Timeline
• What do Employees in Labor Relations Do?