Technology and Workers Rights Essay Example for Free

Technology and Workers Rights Essay Whether it is over a cup of coffee with friends at the local Starbucks, in a crowded lunch room at work, or on a coworker’s Facebook wall, employees are talking about their jobs, especially to one another. New trends in modern technology, such as the recent explosion and popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, continue to constantly change the way employees can engage, share, and voice their work related concerns. According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an independent government agency charged with mediating disputes between management and labor unions, this new trend has become an important reminder that sometimes harsh criticism by employees is protected by federal law at work, at home, and now on the Internet. Although social media provides another forum for employees to exercise their protected collective activities, such as share complaints or address concerns to improve working conditions and pay, employers must make sure newly developed social media policies give due consideration to employees’ rights that are protected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The New York Times recently published that under the NLRA, â€Å"employees have the right to join together, with or without a union, to exercise their protected collective activities to share complaints, address concerns with employers, and negotiation to improve their working conditions and pay.† The NLRA also protects employees’ rights to discuss work-related issues with other employees that was first made into federal law back in 1935. Basically, criticism of an employer’s practices about wages, hours and working conditions is protected no matter how it is expressed, as long as it is ‘protected, concerted activity.’ The NLRA says that â€Å"protected† is any statement about wages, hours or working conditions, and â€Å"concerted† means the employee’s statements were engaged in with or on the authority of other employees. Workers need to be aware that statements made through this type of forum have to be directed to other employees or to the company on behalf of the employees – not just personal gripes. However, employers need to understand that it doesn’t matter where or even how the employee makes these statements as long as it is â€Å"protected† and â€Å"concerted†. As popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter continue to influence the way co-workers communicate on the job and outside the workplace, companies feel they do have the right to legally monitor their employees’ activities online, in order to ensure a most professional and lawsuit-proof workplace. â€Å"Bosses can penalize employees for what they deem as â€Å"inappropriate† post, videos and pictures on social-networking sites, even if a worker uses those sites during non-working hours†, states Lewis Maltby, author of the workplace rights book, Can They Do That? Though the most frequently cited justification for workplace monitoring is to prevent employee theft, sabotage, and violent incidents on the job, companies have also voiced concerns that they run huge risks with employees leaking â€Å"trade secrets† or other confidential and proprietary information about their people, products, and services to outside competitors online. In his book, The Naked Employee, author Frederick Lane, a workplace expert on the impact of technology and society, points out â€Å"employers are increasingly more interested in hiring employees who will not expose the company to additional costs and liability, while not hiring employees who will increase their cost through negligence, misconduct, and wrongdoing† (28). But the biggest threat companies are now beginning to fear is the line between an honest online discussion that may lead to defamation of a company, which can be blurry in certain situations, making it even more difficult to distinguish the truth. Although computers have revolutionized employees’ workplaces in ways that earlier generations could not have imagined, U. S. companies, such as retail giant Wal-Mart, may realize they are in catch-up mode with modern technology, due to new challenges brought on by the recent explosion of social media sites. The NLRB found that employers facing this growing trend need to establish social media policies that do not infringe on workers’ rights. For example, the NLRB learned that one company mandated it’s employees to stay away from controversial topics such as religion and politics, and adopt a professional tone in the use of their social media, while other companies had gone so far as to blatantly forbid their employees from posting anything potentially misleading about the company online, and even told their employees to be careful about â€Å"friending† other co-workers on Facebook. The Washington Times reported that in June of this year along, â€Å"the NLRB also found that six of the seven corporate social media policies it examined included provisions that failed to pass regulatory muster, proving to be too vague or intrusive on their workers’ rights to free expression online.† NLRB General Counsel, Lafe Solomon, cited other companies, including DIS H Network and Target, have also maintained similar corporate social media policies that at least partially violated provisions of the NLRA. This delicate balance became strikingly apparent in a recent case filed with the NLRB by a non-union employee fired from a non-unionized emergency medical response team. The employee filed a charge with the NLRB against the company for wrongful discharge after losing her job for posting negative comments about her boss on Facebook. According to the employer, the posting violated a company policy that prohibits employees from making negative remarks on the Internet about the company or its employees. However, the employee claimed that the policy and her discharge from the company violated the NLRA by denying employees their right to engage in the protected, concerted activity of sharing complaints about working conditions with fellow workers. The case settled before an actual hearing with the company agreeing to revise its policy to eliminate any social media restrictions on its employees that could be in violation of the NLRA. In the initial complaint against the company, the NLRB cl aimed the employer’s policy was overly broad and prohibited employees from writing personal personal depictions of the company online without permission or posting any disapproving comments. Cases such as these should serve as a reminder to every employer that the NLRA applies to unionized and non-unionized workers alike. But in this increasingly technologically savvy world, the larger questions looming for both employers and employees alike should be what are the boundaries of an employee’s privacy, and who is more entitled to draw that line. â€Å"Companies should protect themselves and their employees by setting clear expectations on proper social media use in the office,† says Dean Debnam, CEO of Workplace Options, a public policy polling company that surveys American workers. â€Å"However, employers must be cautious of how far they take these regulations. While social media polices are not a problem, survey results show that employees do not support any intrusive measures, such as demanding access to passwords.† As new avenues of self expression created by social media and newly developed technologies evolve, employees should definitely be mindful as to what constitutes a legitimate basis for termination. Companies’ rights to dismiss employees at will, unless that is some statute, like the Labor Act, prohibits a particular act of retaliation, should not be taken lightly. In this tough economy where companies feel that image is still everything, even applicants who have applied for jobs may find out later they have been denied employment, due to messages communicated to their friends on social networking sites they thought were private and password protected. The bigger notion that’s scary for some employees is that once you are hired, you may find that your employer has taken drastic steps to make sure that access to your privacy extends well beyond company working hours. Lane agrees that workplace monitoring is a major problem, because â€Å"technology makes it possible for employers to gather enormous amounts of data about employees, and often goes far beyond what is necessary to satisfy safety or productivity concerns (3-4). Few rights are as deeply treasured by American citizens as their freedom of speech. As the Internet and social media sites becomes more mainstream within the workplace, employers must find better ways to draft and implement employment policies that protect the company from things such as legal disputes and charges of discrimination, while at the same time making sure employee’s rights under the NLRA and other federal employment laws are protected and preserved. Works Cited Buddenberg, Roger. â€Å"Can Workers Vent on Facebook? – Lawyers’ Tips on Social Media for Workers.† Omaha World Herald (NE) 10 Oct. 2011. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Devaney, Tim. â€Å"Tweeting Workers ‘Friended’ by NLRB; Memo Warns of Restricting Rights.† Washington Times 26 June 2012. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sep. 2012. Kim, Susanna. â€Å"NLRB Backs Workers Fired After Facebook Post Ripping Boss.† ABC News, 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. Lane, Frederick S. The Naked Employee: How Technology is Compromising Workplace Privacy. New York: Amacom, 2003. Print. Petrecca, Laura. â€Å"More Employers Use Tech to Track Workers.† USA Today. USA Today, 17 March 2010. Web. 6 Sept. 2012.

The Decade Changing Realism Of A Common Man From The 50’s :: Essays Papers

The Decade Changing Realism Of A Common Man From The 50’s When all literature is written, the author or poet is influenced by the happenings of the time or era in which they live. What this does is give the reader a sense of how the author or poet perceives the time. In particular the poem entitled, â€Å"Life Cycle of Common Man† by Howard Stanley Nemerov shows a direct connection between the poem itself, and the time in which it was written. Nemerov uses his thoughts and experiences from the 50’s and 60’s to write a poem, which shows a brief overview of the life of a common man of the 50’s. The interesting thing about this particular piece is that it was written in 1960, which means that it was written when the changes of the two very different decades started to occur; furthermore, when the two very different types of thinking started to occur. The poem’s structure fits perfectly with this as well. Nemerov’s view of the 50’s is seen in the perspective view of his 60’s way of t hinking, possibly even being somewhat responsible for the change in mindset from change in decade. Howard Nemerov was a very different type of poet than the rest of the poets during the time when this piece was written. Nemerov had himself been in the war, and come back home to a new country of consumerism and routine. When the 50’s ways of anti-communism and conservative thoughts were on the outs and the more liberal/revolutionary ways of thinking and acting came around, Nemerov did not follow the path of most of writers then. Most writers of the time thought of themselves as artist making a social stand, Nemerov was not very keen on protests or big on writing about social class values. He more or less stood back and wrote from a more sarcastic, paradoxical way. Being known as a â€Å"satirist filled with compassion,† Nemerov wrote on his observations and gave his opinion of them in the tone in which he wrote each piece (Labrie 145). This is quite evident in his poetry from around this time frame especially in the piece â€Å"Life Cycle of Common Man.† â€Å"Life Cycle of Common Man† is broken up into three major parts. The first is a recap of the typical 50’s man.

Cause and Effects of Propaganda Essay

Throughout history you find that many techniques of propaganda have affected today’s society. Whether it affects it in a good way or a bad way, propaganda is efficacious and does influence the way we think and act. You probably aren’t aware of what sort of propaganda is circling its way around, but once you are, you’ll think â€Å"wow did I really fall for that†? Propaganda is â€Å"information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc† (Dictionary. Com). There are several techniques of propaganda. It can go to anywhere from a glittering generalities commercial with enough colors galore for you to actually purchase it, to a name calling ad saying that your choice of candidate is not the word you’d like him or her to be called. All of these propaganda techniques leave some sort of impact on your mind. There are three types of different messages your mind could classify propaganda underneath, one is being Ethos. An ethos message can be a message from propaganda ads advertising some one or something in your favor. In that case you might just be convinced that the product or message the advertiser is trying to tell to you about is worth it or correct. In commercials using ethos you’ll find that most of the ads are basically a testimonial ad. Advertisers take in mind that there is a chance that a famous star or person is someone you would admire and in that case you’d believe what the commercial advertisers want you to believe. The next message there is to look at is a pathos message. That being a message that is sent to you arousing your emotions to think differently. The American Cancer Society could put up an ad with a child hooked up to what seems like a million IV’s. This would affect people with a sympathetic mind who actually will look at the piteous sight and will be willing to donate those ten dollars because some advertiser knew he could get you with that little child. The final & third message is a Logos Message. When you hear or look at a logos type message you will find yourself come to reasoning. You’ll find yourself doing that because propaganda plus a logos message behind it will make sense and be clear and it will be seem realistic at the time. A logos message will send your mind the message â€Å"that’s a good reason to get that/ believe that†. Now knowing these three types of propaganda you are more aware of how to recognize propaganda and what it is classified as. How much can propaganda affect you and those around you? Looking at the three kinds of propaganda messages, you realize how easy it is for you and others to fall into a propaganda trap. A propagandist wants to do three things. One, they want to modify the content of our opinion, two, change most of society’s views, and three they want to destroy the moral of an enemy (259 Ellul). Sounds pretty evil right? If the finale of a propagandists â€Å"show† happens, it is thanks to society, the people who purchased the tickets to see that the moral enemy is destroyed. Not only will it affect the person being destroyed but it will affect us. Propaganda doesn’t simply leave an effect on ones thoughts it can adjust our attitude for life. â€Å"The way in which an individual reacts to a stimulus depends on the entire pattern of his attitudes†¦ Therefore propaganda must base itself on existing tendencies to have the greatest effect (279 Ellul). Jacques Ellul endorses that a propagandist will do anything to change our attitude because our attitude is the way we react to things and fulfill our life. Ponder about your attitude towards life. It probably has been influenced by propaganda without you even knowing. For instance you could be a teenager reading a magazine, you probably feel a little under pressure because you’ll never be like Taylor Swift. You’ll just spend long years caring about something that’s not going to happen and you don’t even recognize that the magazine you looked at for ten minutes switched your attitude towards yourself for many long years. Its time to take charge, and time for society to realize our own genuine beliefs. We as a group need to come out of the media and look at we really believe deep down inside. (16 Hibbert) Think before you share your opinions and make sure they aren’t lead by beliefs you as a person would actually never believe if it wasn’t for propaganda. We need to never let propaganda get a hold of us because once we do it will set off a trend if it already hasn’t. As shown in the past, propaganda has killed a whole nation; it has been sinner’s best friend. Propaganda can go a long way. Many leaders have gained power and authority through it. Stalin in the Russian revolution had propaganda as his oxygen basically. It is what kept him running. Within the revolutionary war people, wanted the Tsar, the leader at the time, to be thrown out and within time he was killed. Momentarily Stalin was in for leader. At the time of the circumstance, the communist controlled the paper company making Stalin seem like a really good guy, also history books were rewritten so it would show the â€Å"importance† of Stalin. It can be quite amusing to see how far people will go for a disaster waiting to happen. While kissing up to society and making sure his image looked great, Stalin was able to organize 10 million independent farmers to form a communist collective farm. And when they didn’t cooperate, he went and organized troops to kill them. Realizing the ammo was a little bit too much out of his selfish pocket he managed to remove most sources of food and cause the farmers to starve to death. But society thought Stalin was good. It doesn’t take that much brain power to realize that propaganda had a lot to do with this. If people in the first place would’ve just stood up and said Stalin was doing bad pernicious things, no one would’ve believed the propaganda communist were sending around (756 Bullock). Stalin was not the only man in history that used propaganda to his advantage. Adolf Hitler hit home base being able to convince part of the European Nation that all Jews were bad and weren’t human whatsoever. He then hit second base being able to form a group of Nazis to help him with his dream. Getting to third base, basically was making sure all the propaganda he needed to be spread got into the human mind. He made home base by killing around 6 million Jews; unfortunately he won his game. Yet again I don’t know why people couldn’t catch his teams’ ball by standing up and saying it was wrong in the first place. Did anyone ever stop to look at the propaganda being exposed and say what the heck?. No instead they just looked at the ball and let it go because what good could they do? In today’s society we can find propaganda being used all the time. 694 Bullock) Right now Obama is taking the word â€Å"hope† and using it as his own. He is giving it a new meaning. He is using pathos and making you feel better about choosing him as your president. Meanwhile he doesn’t show all the mishaps along the road that are soon to come. Don’t be the person to let propaganda affect someone else’s WHOLE life because you looked at it for three seconds. Because if one man can start only god knows what one person influenced can do. Now you may wonder how in the world you can ever make sure you’re not falling for a propagandists trap. The first thing you should do is form a belief system, and examine it to make sure that what you say you believe is actually what you believe. Then you should really just be careful before you judge. When you say something that might possibly cause controversy, don’t let thoughts influenced by propaganda get in the way. If you have even the slightest care for humanity, you won’t permit propaganda to cause or provoke someone again, and if you don’t have the slightest care, maybe should find somewhere in your heart to fit it. Because propaganda is powerful and will influence the way you think and act.

Advertisements On The Street With Advertising - 969 Words

†¢ I do feel bombarded by advertising in my daily life, because advertising is everywhere. In my daily life, I take a bus and go to school, and go to work, and use my phone and computer. I mostly see many ads on the side and back of every bus I take. Also, I can see many advertisements on the street with many advertising boards. Even when I log in to Facebook, I can see many ads on the side of my screen or in the middle of my friends’ posts. One that bothers me most is the ad that suddenly pops up during using my computer. Also, I really don’t like to see ads before seeing any YouTube videos. It is okay to watch movie trailers before watching actual movie in the theater. However, I think some ads don’t respect people’s thoughts. For example, I can’t watch any scary movies, and YouTube allows showing people scary movie trailer that I can’t even skip. Another thing that bothers me is that some people put ads in my mailbox and on the doorkn ob. 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