The Pros And Cons Of Union Labor

Organized labor began to rise as the business tycoons and big business owners, "…took advantage of this lawless environment to build fortunes, destroy reputations, exploit both workers and the environment, and gouge consumers" (Shi &Tindall 620). Such acts by the business tycoons prompted many workers to demand higher wages, better working hours, and safer working conditions. As the turn of the 20th Century approached, factories started emerging, and technological innovations since, "The U.S. patents office, which had recorded only 276 inventions during the 1790's, registered almost 250,000 new patents in the 1890's" (Shi &Tindall 622). The inventions led to the advancement of machines in factories as they reduced labor costs, lowered the production costs of certain goods, and essentially creating a widespread mass production of goods. As most individuals began to notice, unfairness among their workplace, they included themselves in certain labor unions including the Knights of Labor (KOL), Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and the American Federation of Labor (AFL). All three groups had different beliefs: the Knights of Labor included all members whether skilled or unskilled in their group; the AFL rejected Capitalism and focused on working conditions—as they were successful in organized labor; and lastly, the IWW strived for strong industrial unions or Unionism.

In this chapter, it is mentioned that the United Auto Workers (UAW) was one of the largest unions in the United States, but it seems like it has been declining in the last couple of years. The traumas experienced by the auto industries in 2008-2009 required the UAW to make major concessions to help Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and GM survive. I think that the UAW hasn’t been successful in its attempts to unionize U.S. workers employed at Toyota, Nissan, and Honda plants because these employees are convinced that the benefits they are receiving are pretty good and that the union wouldn’t do any better. For example, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda plant employees feel like they are earning satisfactory wages, have adequate benefits, have satisfactory

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.

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

Not only are there benefits for employees, but the employers themselves receive many advantages as well. The best benefits that employers receive is employee satisfaction. When being a part of a union needs and wants are met allowing people to become more satisfied with their job, with that satisfaction employees will be more willing to work harder for you. Not only will employees be willing to work harder for you, but you will also have less people leave their jobs or the ability to lose their say and position in the organization. With less turnovers of employees as a

Unions do provide a lot of good services to its members, such as higher wages, better hours, more benefits, and safer working conditions. There is a price to pay for these services, though. Every union requires its members to pay dues, whether they are in the form of a percentage of each paycheck, or a flat rate. The money form dues goes towards lobbying politicians to pass union-friendly legislation, or better labor laws. The money also finances officers in the union organization, who are the ones calling the shots, as far as labor negotiations are concerned.

    Since 1881 labor unions have been a part of the US employment infrastructure; influencing the change of working conditions, pay, hours, and the economy. But the usefulness of these unions is widely debated. Are unions helping drive the US economy or are they holding us back?

After conducting some research on union versus nonunion situations, for myself I would chose to be a union member. It makes a worker more safe and secure. Even though we do not live in early 20th century, when employers literally exploited their employees making them work long hours in horrible conditions for low salaries, employers still tend to abuse their powers, because they are the boss. Therefore, it is always better to have some kind of protection. Unions have this ability. They achieve their goals through collective bargaining, which is defined by AFL-CIO as “the process in which people negotiate contracts with their employers to determine their terms of employment, including pay, benefits, hours, leave,

Everyone’s participation and contribution would make the union more successful. Union’s need people, the more that join the better the benefits, the cost would be less if all employees joined spreading the cost between more people. Members could get much more if there were more members. In order to get more benefits from the union there has to be more members join the union. If all the non-members felt this way there would be no union to negotiate and speak for the members when there are complaints. Non-members and the employer are always against the union at negotiations. They ae admitting the demands formed by the union are not appropriate, and the non-members are not allowed advancements in wages or working environments. The thing to do is join with the members and help make advancement probable. Supporting the union is every member’s responsibility to share equally the cost of the benefits. It is not fair to the members if the non-members receive benefits that the members pay for (SPFPA.org, 2015).

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?

Being a part of a working union comes with a lot of benefits, for example, most workers that belong to a union have a better set wage than those who do not. Also, “Some 93% of unionized workers were entitled to medical benefits compared to 69% of their nonunion peers” (The pros of Joining a Labor Union). Union workers are not easily fired, they have a lot

The rise of unions from the 1930s through the early 1950s was due to the convergence of a number of events, an economic policy that attempted to restrict competition beginning in the 1930s, the belief that labor markets were noncompetitive and that individual workplaces were unfair and union premiums were low. The passage of favorable legislation, in the form of the Wagner Act, was a reflection of the idea that unions could actually improve the functioning of labor markets and serve as a countervailing power to big business. Over the past several decades, union membership has declined because government policy became pro-competitive, it

Being a part of a group or an association that you pay into as a worker should have benefits that can help you continue to improve their lives. The benefit of having someone speak up for you could be better pay, better health benefits, and being better treated in the work place. Collective bargaining, while not being a guarantee, can help gain these benefits. It is the process of negotiations between representatives of workers and management to determine the conditions of employment. The collectively determined agreement may cover compensation, hiring, practices, layoffs, promotions, working conditions and hours, worker discipline, and benefit programs. So since the discovery of

In the U.S. labor relations, a group of employees who desire to bargain collectively rather than individually, are those who typically form a union (Dooley, 1957). This demonstrates to the employer that the majority of its employees support the union and the organizing process begins. First, employees cannot form a union without abiding by certain basic procedural steps and legal standards that are required. Decisions to vote against or for a union are based on factors such as satisfaction with their job, beliefs of the effectiveness of the union, and the culture or social environment in which the employee works. Next, when an employer exerts undue punishment to an employee who the employer suspects as being an illegal alien, this may be poor public policy. From a legal perspective, a recent federal court case, Singh v. Jutla & C.D. & R. Oil, Inc., 214 F. Supp. 2d 1056 (N.D. Cal. 2002) spoke to this issue. In this case, when the plaintiff Singh filed a wage claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the employer fired him and reported him to INS as an illegal alien (Labor Law, 1969). Likewise, the union certification process which was established by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935 was a victory for workers waning union representation upon its initial implementation. Workers could petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a determination made democratically of whether a majority of workers favored unionization (Labor Law, 1969). This effort

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