Advantages And Disadvantages Of Trade Unions

A union is an organization of workers who join together in order to have a voice in improving their jobs and the quality of work within the organization. In many occasions, unions help employees of an organization negotiate pay, benefits, flexible hours and other work conditions that may arise. Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management (Noe, 2003). In this paper, I will be discussing the impact of unions and labor relations within an organization.

Labor unions are an organized association of employees who come together who would all like to better the relationship with their employer. They have power to impact things such as wages, job training and other work related issues. So why would employees want to start and organize a union? Well, one reason employees would want to start a union it’s usually because employees are dissatisfied with something in their job and they would like to fix it. The ‘things’ they would like to fix could range from something as basic as wages and to job security (Hunter 1).

Labor unions were established as a way for workers’ needs and grievances to be heard by management. According to Fossum (2012), “forming a union creates a collective voice to influence change at work” (p. 7). The collective voice of workers in a union holds much more power than any single employee’s voice. It can loudly draw attention to mistreatment or abuse of workers. The organized collective voice of workers demands to be treated in a fair way by its management in terms of wages, hours, benefits, and working conditions.

The document outlines the pros and cons of labor unions in America. The analysis takes into consideration how unions have improved the working environments for workers, and may continue to do so. The paper considers the power of unions for net social benefit, including the role they play in lobbying lawmakers, using collective bargaining to advocate for employees, and the prevention of abuse and discrimination. The cons of labor unions are also addressed. These drawbacks to labor unions include but are not limited to: decline in competitive advantage for American companies, corruption, potential decrease in productivity, possible reduction in employee motivation, and increased inefficiencies.

Unionism is the concept that traditionally business, especially big businesses are inherently going to exploit their employees. Therefore, in order to protect themselves, the workers form organizations called unions, in which all laborers who work at a certain craft, or in a certain industry band together. By this process of “joining forces”, the unions gain power in numbers. Unions traditionally try to protect employee interests by negotiating with employers for wages and benefits, working hours, and better working conditions.

Why Labor Unions Are (A Short History of American Labor) Still Effective In America Today Labor, or trade, unions first started in America in 1794. They came about as a means to protect workers common interests. These labor unions were crucial in providing for fair and safe working conditions. They helped to put an end to long hours and little pay and child labor.

Currently, unions are able to deny workers of the “right to represent themselves”, and force workers to pay fees for representation even if the worker does not want to. The National Right to Work Act is a bill that is attempting to change this by giving workers the right to figure out whether it is or not they wish to join the labor union and pay its fees (“National Right to Work Act”). It would be beneficial for those that do not wish to support the unions with their own money and have such a right to refuse to. When unions go on strike, they may be getting more benefits for their members, but they are also harming nonunion workers, because of the law of demands, when the wages for union workers goes up, the amount of employees will go down as the employers will not be willing to pay as many workers at that rate (Reynolds). Because of this, nonunion workers will be the first to go as they “are considered “at-will” employees and can be fired at any time for almost any reason” (“Union Plus”). Unions have actually also railroaded the “economic advance of blacks, women, and other minorities”. This is due to the fact that once they raise the wages, there is a limited amount of jobs available so the union can discriminate based off of “blood relationships or skin color” rather than giving the jobs to the most qualified applicants

Should prerogatives at the local or national level take higher priority when negotiating new agreements with employers? In my opinion, as long as the new deals are made in a collective bargaining; process that allows workers to face employers in unified groups, then prerogatives at the local or national level should not take the higher priority. Ideally, unionized labor is primarily meant to take care of the typical employee. Unions protect workers; by uniting them under a single union banner, to allow them to listen to one clear voice concerning the working conditions or other worker-related issues.Notably, Unions commonly have political agendas or other plans that need attention. Specifically, national unions often pass their political agendas by prioritizing the needs of those at localized levels.

A contract of employment is a type of a contract used in labor law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a contract (Blum, 2007). On the one end stands an "employee" who is "employed" by an "employer". A written employment contract is a document that someone and their employee sign which sets forth the terms and conditions of the employment relationship (Tepper, 2011). Many rules, exceptions and considerations apply when dealing with employment contracts.

The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease,

An employment contract is a written legal document that lays out binding terms and conditions of employment between an employee and an employer. The employers in ZARA need to makw sure that their employees are aware of what rights and responsibilities they have as workers in ZARA. This contract also includes:

Employers initially resisted unions as they were seen as a ‘tool of worker power’, and some countries even banned the groups all together (Baoill 2011). Although these restraints have been lifted, restrictions and guidelines have been put in place by government bodies to govern union activity; and employees internationally have the right to form unions (Baoill 2011).

The rise of capitalism as the dominant economic system in the United States made the rise of unions inevitable; given the natural division between those with capital that control the means of production, and labor, who is treated simply as another factor of production (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008). While labor unions have made significant improvements to the working environment, with the regulation of safety, environment, labor and wage; labor unions have also contributed to the decline of U.S. dominance in industries like steel, automotive, education and airlines. In today’s global economy, can labor unions continue to be a force for good in the United States, or have they become harmful institutions?

The National Labor Relations Act was enacted by congress in 1935 in order to define and defend the rights of the employment relationship. The act allows employees of a company the right to form a union and have the union organization represent them through collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is the process of negotiation between both parties; Union representatives and a corporation, with the purpose of reaching an agreement for the best interests of employees and the corporation. In the negotiation process the attempt is to establish primary factors of importance which are advantages the union fights for and ultimately provide for its stakeholders that would otherwise not have

The contract of employment sets out the terms and conditions under which an employee will work. The contract will and should make it fairly clear what the organisation expects from the employee. It is very important for an employee to study his or her contract and to sure in keeping within its terms.