The Pros And Cons Of Unionized 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.

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 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

Unions in the past, and unions today are more different,but still the same in many ways today.In the past unions were made to achieve to goals for higher wages,benefits,and power. Unions were made as a response to industrialization,unions grew rapidly in the 1930s-1950s.Today unions are still in existance to make sure that the union goals back then are still upheld.

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.

Yes they do. And the following is in support of that claim: “Often described as the ‘heart’ of the act, section 7 of the statute reflects the law's basic purposes. It provides that ‘employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection’ “ (Kohler, 2004). In addition, the labor laws tend to favor employee and union relationships.

Today, many businesses and organizations collaborate with the labor unions whether by choice or not. As generally understood the labor unions are organizations of workers acting jointly to negotiate their wages, working environment, and benefits with there employers. Like many nations globally, in the U.S. the subordinate employees are legally allowed to establish unions and engage in collective bargains with the management. Following the collective bargains there is always the establishment of the labor contract, which is a written agreement that governs the union-management relations (Workplace Fairness Organization, 2017). Though the labor relations are a common thing today and offer many benefits to the members, many people are still reluctant to join their respective labor unions.

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?

Labor Unions began in the United States in the mid-late 1800’s. The first founding labor union was the National Labor Union, started in 1866. This labor union was not set on a particular type of worker and even though it did not succeed in making a difference in workers’ rights, it set an important precedent in our country. Being a part of a labor union has lots of pros and cons, as well as, because of them, the right to work movement was created.

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

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.

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

As a member of GMFC’s planning Committee, my main responsibility involves issues related to potential unionization and labor costs. Below I have compiled a list of my recommendations for keeping GMFC productive and un-unionized. In order to prevent unionization of GMFC, the firm must address the main reasons why employees create unions in the first place; general dissatisfaction with how management treats employees, unfair pay, lack of benefits, substandard working conditions and overall employee perception that the firm is unfair and unresponsive to employee’s needs and requests. Other ways to inhibit unionization is to address the location of the firm and the number of employees.

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

Unions always seeks to compress the differential of wages and salaries, meaning provide a better allocation of funds either in terms of direct compensation or in regards to benefits and other non-cashable perks. Unions try decrease any pay gap between its members and exclude any aspects such as age, gender, seniority and experience to work as a factor to which set a wage or an individual salary, but yet work to create a fair allocation of funds and compensation throughout its members, but why does this matter?