General Motors

Running Head: Labor Laws and Unions







Labor Laws and Unions
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Introduction & Background: General Motors Company is one of the automobiles giant of car industry. The company’s history can be traced back from 1908 when cars used to be an object of amazement and human greatness. With its prestigious headquarters in Deloit, the company operates in more than 120 countries of the world with a task force of more than 250,000 employees. (General Motors | About, 2001)
Legal issues & Obstacles: Various legal problems arise in respect of such a large task force. A few legal issues and obstacles for the company are mentioned below in bullets:
· Employment benefits, and its related assurance that they are being complied with as per laws and regulations.
· Ensuring that no racial, social, gender, or any other form of discrimination is taking place be it in recruitments, benefits, promotions or others.  
· Constant struggle to keep the task force motivated and happy otherwise production may slow down. (Davis & Michael, 1999)    
Influencing Factors of Legislation: Due to the fact that it has employees in different parts of the world, different labor laws would influence the company’s acts and decisions for a specific region. The Company’s Act 2008 could be a possible player of influence over GM as it would ask for more hiring of staff in respect of non-executive directors, chairman and secretary, formation of committees and selection of members who would add to the already complex task of employee handling.   Also, labor laws prevailing in the European Union could influence the company’s conduct directly. For example, Under the Directive, 2007/78 E.C. of Employment Equality Act 1998-2007, discrimination on unemployment is outlawed. (Price, 2008)

Benefits of Joining a Union: An employer union would be a collective group of all the employers of a similar industry. In the case of GM, the company could join a car maker’s...