Benefits : The Changing Nature Of Benefits

Employer-sponsored benefits reflect the culture and business of the organization, and plans should be crafted and selected accordingly. Think about your current (or former) organization's benefit plan. Did it help to improve the quality of your work as well as your personal life? Why or why not? Was it a generous benefits program or were there specific benefits you felt should have been included?

Since the enactment of the Wagner Act, there has been a dramatic change in the way employment is handled between managers and employees. Employees have been given more of a chance to decide what they want at work, and are able to negotiate with their employers. They have the opportunity to discuss wage, hours, over time, etc. Previously, employees had little to no say in decisions that were made regarding their employment and basically had to be “yes men” for the employers. It prevented employers from firing people in unions, as well as people who were sympathetic to unions. Retracting these laws that have been put into place would be an egregious error. They are there in order to protect employees, regardless of whether they are in a

This law is also known as the Wagner Act, named for Senator Robert F. Wagner, the man who championed it. In a nutshell this law protects employees’ rights to form and participate in labor unions. The book, Labor Relations: Striking a Balance identifies the central provisions of the Act. These provisions include the establishment of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which answers representation questions and settles unfair labor practice claims. The act gives workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. It identifies five unfair labor practices and “establishes exclusive representation for unions that have majority support and grants them rights of collective bargaining over wages, hours of employment and other conditions of employment” (Budd, 2010, pp. 119-121). The law also made it illegal for companies to fire employees for forming or joining unions and prohibited company managed unions.

Benefits specialists can reduce the company’s costs associated with turnover, attrition and hiring replacement workers. They are important to the organization because they have the skills and expertise necessary to negotiate group benefit packages for employees, within the organization's budget and consistent with economic conditions. They also are familiar with employee benefits most likely to attract and retain workers. This can reduce the company’s costs associated with turnover, attrition and hiring replacement workers.

In labor as in all things there is strength in numbers it is this strength that American labor unions provide. Labor unions provide a collective voice for those who had not previously been heard. As the professor in the “Frustrated Labor Historian” Dr. Horace P. Karastan is left with the dilemma what are the three most important events in American labor union history it would be difficult to choose with so many important moments. There are however several events that stand out as being turning points in giving employees unquestionable protections. The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 allowing employees the right to organize. Further the Wagner Act protecting employees from reprisal from employers for organizing spurring the growth of unionization. The Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 building on the Wagner Act as well as the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 which granted protections from the unions. It is these Acts that have changed the landscape of American labor union history and leave us with the unions that we have today.

NLRA was considered to be the law that affected the relationship among the federal government and private enterprise; this measure considerably increased the government’s powers to arbitrate in labor relations. Prior to this law, employers had the emancipation to chastise, spy on, question for no reason and fire union members. Work stoppages commenced in the mid 1930’s (Gould, 1986), which included striking by factory and industrial occupational workers. By the time the strikes came to a halt, America had a more conservative Congress. This Congress led to balance the power between employers and unions. While the Wagner Act addressed only unfair labor practices by employers, it was added to the enactment of

Work place benefits that are offered are higher wages, safe working conditions, and job security. The negotiation of better pay and terms of termination are two of the main goals of labor unions for their members. The personal benefits received by members are paid vacations and holidays, fair working schedules, advance training, and unemployment for those when facing a strike. Strikes began occurring in the eighteen hundred and although being rare they are still occurring today. Employees receive health care benefits of medical, vision, and dental insurances as well as coverage of prescriptions. When the time comes for retirement unions offer pension, 401K, and continued health care during retirement. Not only are there advantages for the employees, but also for the employers.

Right, to-Work Laws initially showed up in a few states after Congress established the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, otherwise called the Wagner Act, and most are still active today in about twenty-two states today. The rights associated with these laws displayed the differences of the ideology amongst business and representative. They ensure the individual laborer 's opportunity to decline to join or to help bolster a union, including one picked by the employee to represent as their bartering agent. Consequently, from the point of view invigorating the Wagner Act, they were meant to create frictions leading to the disruption of any labor agreements. More particularly, ideal right-to-work laws are pointed against union security

Historically, unions have made major improvements in workers’ conditions and wages. There has been legislation in favor of support to unions and worker needs and there has been legislation to restrict union power. The Wagner Act, commonly referred to as the National Labor Relations Act, and the Taft-Hartley Act are two of the many laws created to balance union power. This paper will look at both Acts, the impacts they have had, and what changes could be made to make them more relevant to today’s society.

There are also benefits for employees as well, such as, avoiding long-term absences which result in the employee having a difficult time returning to the workforce; maintaining a stable income, job skills, and self-esteem. (Management of Occupational Health and Safety, 2011, 327)

Chapter conclusion: Benefits for employees are very important for companies. Benefits for employees include various insurance plans, paid vacation days, paid sick leave, paid days off, etc. Different companies need to establish different benefit plans based on their company conditions. In brief, benefit in one of the bridge between employers and employees.

Employee benefits are a tool used by businesses to attract potential applicants, improve employee satisfaction, reduce turnover and maintain competition. Benefits that most employers offer include, but are not limited to, medical and dental coverage, time away from work, retirement, and additional assistance during life changing events. The majority of employers in the United States offer benefits to their employees and include an annual enrollment yearly to select benefits and make any needed changes.

The legally required employee benefits constitute nearly a quarter of the benefits package that employers provide. These benefits include employer contributions to Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance. Altogether such benefits represent about twenty-one and half percent of payroll costs.

A great opportunity lay in employee recognition. Employee recognition will be nonfinancial benefits offered to employee. This non-financial benefit allows management to proper recognize and foster employee loyalty as well reinforce positive work behavior and encourage for repeat performance in all areas of the job (Henderson, 2006). Another non-financial benefit for employee is training. Training will allow employee gain additional knowledge and expertise and to be up to date with new technology open opportunity to advance in their career. These non-financial benefits allow management to make sure employees are value. Including employee in department meetings and allowing employee to have a say so in decision making demonstrates respect for employee and it allow the

The long list of employee benefits assists Google in keeping employee’s engaged, retained, satisfied, motivated, and productive to be able to reach their individual, departmental, divisional, and company-wide goals. All of the above mentioned benefits makes the employees feel valued and respected; therefore, they are more likely to be retained.