Research Paper on:
Analysis of Peter J. Rachleff's Hard Pressed In The Heartland The Hormel Strike And The Future Of The Labor Movement by Peter J. Rachleff

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concerns that have been brewing since much of organized labor "became a shrinking island in the sea of the U.S. workforce" (Rachleff, 1993, p. 9). The 1980s saw a  significant change in the manner by which American businesses sought to fill labor positions, with many of them closing down their U.S.-based factories and relocating to Third World countries where  the cost of labor is far below the demands of American labor workers. This sudden outflow of jobs caught the labor union off guard and in dire straits; as  such, union support began to wane with the serious decline of its power. The internal struggles that existed at Hormel became too much for either side to resolve, ultimately  leading to a strike that many believe completely changed the impact of union strength and solidarity forever. Rachleffs (1993) underlying implication, above and beyond the specific Hormel strike itself, is  the notion that while meant to uphold workers rights, the power of union presence was crumbling at its very foundation. Conflict between and among various groups was proving detrimental  to the original tenets of unionized labor established more than a century ago to the point where anger and contempt were the only common denominators. According to Bernard S.  Mayer, author of The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution, conflict often presents itself without the involved parties truly understanding - or caring - why that conflict exists in the first place.  "The ambivalence about conflict is rooted in the same primary challenge conflict resolvers face - coming to terms with the nature of conflict...How we view conflict will largely determine  our attitude and approach to dealing with it" (Mayer, 2000, p. 3). When labor unions first appeared in the latter part of the