Advantages And Disadvantages Of Unionized Organization

Labor unions represent workers interests and the collective bargaining process provides a way to manage the conflict (Noe, 2003). More than ever, union employees have come to see unionizing as a way to achieve an

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.

In any organization, unions act as binding agreements between employees and management. In this case, a group of persons are responsible for conducting negotiations with the management for the purpose of enhancing the welfare of workers. Unions originate from the period of American depression when workers faced various work challenges including low remuneration, and unfavorable working conditions. The purpose of this essay is to explore the pros and cons of unions in America in the current times.

In 1820’s labor unions were organized by their specific trade and city and then later in 1834 the National Trades Union was created to form a single centralized unit. Labor unions helped create a stronger more stable working class with a better work environment. Unions helped create unity among

Unions were formed for a good reason, to fight back and  get their rights they deserved. It was to make sure no one person was fighting alone. The Union was a good way for the workers to have a strong voice. Striking was the easiest way to try to make the company weak. The Great Strike of

Unions in America were created to improve the working conditions of its labor force. These labor force consisted of the men, women, and children that were employed by the owners of industry. Many unions were established in the early 1800s, but due to the widespread fear of socialism and the repression from the courts, the majority of them eventually failed. Most capitalist, at the time, felt there was no need to share with its employees the profits of their businesses (Murrin et al. 2002:685-702). Management, for the most part, paid little attention to salary and provided few, if any, safety measures and health protection for the people actually doing the work. Employees worked long hours weekly, often

Unions were created with the everyday worker in mind, an opposite to the previous mindset where the employer ruled his employee and the employee had no recourse. Unions helped pave the way for many of the current rights we have in place for American workers today; such as the length of the workday and weekly hours, child labor laws, minimum salary requirements, workers compensation and safe working conditions. With so much advancement in the American workforce because of Unions, it is interesting that there is a steady decline in Union membership in America. There are many factors that contribute to the decline, such as change in workforce, outsourcing jobs, right to work states, economic interests and political

In the United States the history of unions, beginning workers and trade unions played an important role in the part for independence. The unions within the United States progressed rapidly in 1866 with the founding of the National Labor Union (NLU) in the nineteenth century. For certain specific advantages, employers found it in their interests to encourage unionism. Gathering the rights to use it, many employers rushed into contracts with workers, almost deliberately urging their workers into unions. For certain there has always been a need for a vision which includes, but is not limited to organizing of the unorganized. "If the purpose of the union were to improve the educational, moral, and social conditions of the workers," in general

The companies and industries that have tension between the employees and employers benefit from collective bargaining. Although the strong unions can impair market prices and strain the economy, I believe they have the best interest of the employees and ethical intent. Times have changed since the unionization boom in the 19th century. Global competition has caused the unions to compromise on the labor contracts. There have been three primary waves of American unionization. The first wave brought gains to the workers while providing stable production. The second wave responded to the downfall of that system by highlighting employer opposition, union decline, and strategic choice. The third wave or present wave of American industrial

What the union can do to help labor is to increase pay, help fix or get improvements in working conditions, or increase benefits, like vacation time, health benefits, etc. For example, according to Walters & Mishel, “unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise compensation” (2003). So unions play a pivotal role in taking our issues as workers and taking those issues to management to represent us. Some of the advantages of forming a union is job security since termination of an employee has to

In the absence of labor unions, workers may not be as involved in discussions concerning various aspects of their working lives. Although there are several reasons workers decide to join labor unions, the compensation and wage advantages, health and safety advantages and dignity and respect advantages drive workers to organize.

Union benefits the employee by negotiating with their employer as a group to get a higher pays, benefits, better hours, etc. Unionization process is done with employee agreement to agree to use union in representing them in negotiation with employers. The Legal Basis to engage in union activities can be found in the Wagner Act, or National Labor Relations Act, of 1935 (Cascio, 2010). For a company to get unionize, at least signatures from 30 percent of the employees are needed (Lee Smith, 2011).

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,

When we take a look into the organizational environment, two aspects come into play one being the union workplace and the other non-union workplace. Unionized workplace is that where the union negotiates with the employers for an agreement and makes a point that the agreement is followed out. In this agreement,the union talks about its wages, benefits and how their working environment will be. Whereas in a non- unionized workplace, the employer holds the right to make decision for the employees.This paper discusses the differences in the organizational environment of the unionized and non -unionized workplace.

The relationship between unions and organization is a touchy one. Dating back to the start of unionization in the 19th century, the two bodies have held opposing viewpoints. Unionization was formed from the opinion that organizations took advantage of workers and some form of a negotiating agreement was needed. There were documented events of workers working long taxing hours for insignificant pay; no healthcare coverage; dangerous working conditions; and gender and or racial discrimination. Companies believed that unionization caused less productivity which endangered profits. Companies also believed that unions interfere in daily processes, and limits the employer’s say over compensation and benefits. The