Are Unions Unfair

I believe unions are decreasing in popularity. The benefits or incentives offered by unions do not outweigh the costs, dues or fees in this economy. Unions have lost their competitive advantage due to the economy and can longer compete or offer competitive pay like it once had to incentivize new recruits or retain current members. If they are unable to satisfy the

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 the last 23 years, there has been a rise in non-unionized workers but a decline in the unionized workers "(See Appendix)" The biggest reason or the decline in Union membership are the businesses that are spending a great deal of time

     The past of Unions is indisputable; however, the outlook can be altered to form a promising future. The reversal of history can be done through reconstruction and restatement of workers rights. A reestablishment of worker liberties should be considered in order to clarify any confusion in which present and prospective employees are faced with. Unions are notorious for being tyrannical and inconsiderate towards employees and thus union heads should confront this issue head on and give workers a voice (i.e. vote). In order to regain union strength in today’s society I believe Unions must give workers honorable rights and a democratic right to be heard.

Title: Unions have played a significant role in workforce history, have they outlived their purpose.

In an ironic twist of fate, the successes that unions had for workers rights, have contributed to their own demise. However, there are proponent’s who believe that unions are still needed in today. Pamela Prah quoted Robert Korstad, a history professor at Duke University who specializes in labor said, “Workers need unions today as much as they ever have, most workers want full-time jobs with health care, retirement and other benefits, but in today’s economy workers can often only find part-time work without benefits… Just for financial reasons alone, there are lots of arguments in support of unions” (713). Therefore, workers need to have a catalyst [unions] that will fight for its member’s rights.

Since the 1980’s trade union membership numbers have declined rapidly ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 130). Once upon a time it was quiet important for employees to be part of a union as it entitled them to have a collective voice, and power to build a pleasurable workplace. There have been many factors that have contributed to

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

If unions are that beneficial to workers, why the increasing decline? Several reasons come into play. One issue being, there has been a rapid growth within particular categories, such as women. There are more women currently in the labor force, who are more prone to working sporadically and half the time compared to others. Secondly, there has been a decline in union’s actively engaging new members, as well as their being a steady increase in the employer’s unwillingness to take part in unionization attempts. Additionally, because society has shifted from unionized corporations with a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy has made it more difficult to unionize. Although, there have been uncontrollable and controllable forces that have led to the decreasing popularity of unions, they have still managed to make up for it in vital areas, such as wages, benefits, working conditions, and others. Whether or not individuals view labor unions as positive or negative organizations, they will always matter.

Labor unions are formed in order to help workers protect his/ her rights as an employee and help the employees stand up for his/ her best interest in regards to his/ her employment with a company. Unions are mostly organized to help the employees and are beneficial to employees in many different ways. “Labor unions affect employees in a variety of different ways, but the most common and beneficial way is by providing members with a collective voice at work” (Zullo, 2011, p. 699). Unions are about the employees working together to get the best pay, benefits, and working conditions possible whether the employees have to just simply ask the management or if the employees have to go on strike before the management will consider the opinions and concerns of the employees. However, once one understands what a union is and how all the members work together to achieve the goal, one can comprehend the benefits and expectations of a unionized workforce and gain knowledge to help fully identify and recognize how unions affect the employees.

Unions have had a tremendous impact between the workers and the management. As stated before Unions given a voice to the workers and protect the worker from an organization. They have developed the standard for many

The unions duty of fair representation as stated in (FLRA, 2016)is the obligation set forth in the second sentence of section 7114(a)(1) of the Statute is commonly referred to as an exclusive representative 's duty of fair representation. The Authority has interpreted this section to require an exclusive representative to represent the interests of all bargaining unit employees: 1) without discrimination; and 2) without regard to whether the employee is a dues paying member of the exclusive representative. The duty of fair representation is grounded in the principle that when a union attains the status of exclusive representative, it must use that power to fairly and equally represent all members of the unit. The union has met its obligation of fair representation when it has represented the employee fairly, in good faith, and without discrimination. In my opinion the union in the case cited did not meet its fair representation obligation due to not representing Green in good faith or without discrimination possibly on the grounds she is a non-dues paying employee. Therefore, her rights under the LMRA have been violated due to unfair labor practices. To reinforce my statement under the NLRB (NLRB, 2016) a union which represents you cannot refuse to process a grievance because you have criticized union officials or because you are not a member of the union. In the case cited Green was under the assumption when meeting with the Union Grievance committee she was participating

I believe the reasons for the push of Unions and Labor Laws were to protect the rights of employees due to the results of when an employee would confront the manager about certains things in the work area. The union and labor laws were able to help and protect them within a company if the employee believes that they deserve more than what they were receiving. In the past, it was not always easy to join a union. This is because it was illegal to even do so, also this was a way to scare possible employees if they were to apply to a job. Some employers would threaten future employees with a “yellow dog contract” that stated that they were unable to form a union. If the employee did form a union the company would be afraid that these employees would start to go against the rules and not listen to the manager. Another reason for why it was hard to form a union before was that some managers would take the employees to court and argue that it was conspiracy to what the employees were doing by unionizing together. In addition to the benefits that the union has it would make it fairly hard for the employer/ manager to gain control on some employees. However, currently it seems to be much easier to join and form unions as people love the benefits behind the unions themselves.They are able to feel the security and have a voice within the company as they continue to grow and be apart of the

I am not sure about the analysis that unionization “is counterproductive to economic efficiency.” I understand the example they gave about the janitor, but I think that it is the responsibility of the company to treat its employees well and negotiate better deals to not overpay their workers. Before we had unions work conditions and the treatment of employees was not good. If workers around the world feel that they are being mistreated or don’t have good working then they should have the option to unionize. I agree that is up to companies to make sure they have a culture where employees feel valued and not wanting to unionize.

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