Essay on The Pros and Cons of Unions

During the Progressive Era of the Gilded Age, many laborers were being mistreated by the companies that they worked for. Because of this, workers started forming labor unions or organized association of workers, formed to protect and further their rights and interests. Many of these labor unions failed, while few of them achieved their goals and still exist today. Many factors contributed to the failure of these labor unions. The labor unions were given a bad image, the reason for this was the media, and they did this by publishing articles depicting the unions as violent, communist groups. The government supported big business during this time, since the government had a lot of power; this was a huge setback in the labor unions’ battles.

See, e.g., Marion Crain & Ken Matheny, Beyond Unions, Notwithstanding Labor Law, 4 U.C. IRVINE L. REV. 561, 562–53 (2014). “Unions served as a vehicle for worker voice and political influence . . . .”

The unions of yesterday have left the public feeling fearful of what might happen in the future. Will history repeat itself? Will employees be deceived through the mighty power of Labor Unions? Promoting benefits of unionized labor is one approach to regaining the trust of the public. Benefits include medical aid, heath insurance, worker compensation and overall respect of employees in the workplace. I feel with these measures taken Labor unions will once again reach the productivity that it once had pre-WWII.

To help bring about congressional change, the National Labor Union was created in 1866 “to pressure Congress to make labor law reforms” (Library of Congress). It was composed of “national associations of unions” with “trade-printers, machinists, stone cutters” and others (American Federationist).

Labor Unions: Aging Dinosaur or Sleeping Giant? The Labor Movement and Unionism Background and Brief History Higher wages! Shorter workdays! Better working conditions! These famous words echoed throughout the United States beginning in “1790 with the skilled craftsmen” (Dessler, 1997, p. 544). For the last two-hundred years, workers of all trades have been fighting for their rights and “seeking methods of improving their living standards, working conditions, and job security” (Boone, 1996,p.287). As time went by, these individuals came to the conclusion that if they work together collectively, they would grow stronger to get responses to their demands. This inspired into what we know today as labor unions. “A labor union

Unions in America today have grown smaller and smaller in the past 30 years. There are many reasons for this. The major one is that industries in other countries that are non-union have much cheaper labor costs, and therefore can offer products and materials at a much lower price than our US union-run, high wage cost factories. “During the 1970s and 1980s, a fifth of large unionized companies in the United States went bankrupt, unable to compete against companies with lower wage costs.” (Rachman, 308)

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,

Being part of a union gives members the benefit of negotiating with their employer collectively, as part of a group; giving them more power than if they were to negotiate as individuals (Silverman, n.d.). Overall, unions demand fairness which can lead to the unions influencing and changing ‘managerial decision-making at the workplace level’ for decisions in which employees are affected (Verma 2005). Unions are also beneficial to have present in the workplace because their bargaining of better condition will often benefit non-members as the conditions negotiated with management are implemented across the organization with no regard to membership status. Management is also able to avoid union disagreement by benchmarking conditions to that of an already unionized workplace.

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.

A union is an organization of workers who join together in order to have a voice in improving their jobs and the quality of work within the organization. In many occasions, unions help employees of an organization negotiate pay, benefits, flexible hours and other work conditions that may arise. Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management (Noe, 2003). In this paper, I will be discussing the impact of unions and labor relations within an organization.

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

Though, unions are declining, the role of union have evolved over time. Now, it is more common to view unions’ primary role as collective bargaining, which is the product of the economic decision and making process with unionism of the private sector. A long time ago, Union was seen as the shield that protects American workers against some of the abusive employers. Many public sector employees have unionized. However, the National Labor Relations Act was designed for the private sector. Despite that, union has become a model for most public sector collective bargaining right. Regardless of the success that Unions have with collective bargaining in the private sector, there are still a few who are opposed collective bargaining in the public sector. Of course, there are some differences between the public and private sectors.

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

David Brody argues that the rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships during the post WWII era formalized the relationship between employers and unions. The use of collective bargaining agreements to resolve workplace disputes weakened unions and the power of workers. Other actions, such as using collection bargaining as a form of substitution for direct action and using it instead of the strike for grievance and arbitration procedure served , also has weakened the unions and the power of workers. The rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships changed the dynamic of the workplace, shifting the power from the union side to towards the employers. The perspective could best be argued suing Weber’s theory and