Union Workers Benefits

Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).

Unions grew in size with the manufacturing sector, the industrial age in America. When most of the business owners did not care about the front line worker just about the bottom line. Workers lost fingers, limbs, and even lives. At this point and time the worker needed someone on their side someone who would have their best interest in mind. They organized and created specific unions to protect their jobs, wages, and personal well-being. Historically speaking, “The labor movement in the United States grew out of the need to protect the common interest of workers. For those in the industrial sector, organized labor unions fought for better wages, reasonable hours and safer working conditions. The labor movement led efforts to stop child labor, give health benefits and provide aid to workers who were injured or retired.” (“Labor Movement”) This shows how and why the unions were created and

Unions were created with the everyday worker in mind, an opposite to the previous mindset where the employer ruled his employee and the employee had no recourse. Unions helped pave the way for many of the current rights we have in place for American workers today; such as the length of the workday and weekly hours, child labor laws, minimum salary requirements, workers compensation and safe working conditions. With so much advancement in the American workforce because of Unions, it is interesting that there is a steady decline in Union membership in America. There are many factors that contribute to the decline, such as change in workforce, outsourcing jobs, right to work states, economic interests and political

Union benefits the employee by negotiating with their employer as a group to get a higher pays, benefits, better hours, etc. Unionization process is done with employee agreement to agree to use union in representing them in negotiation with employers. The Legal Basis to engage in union activities can be found in the Wagner Act, or National Labor Relations Act, of 1935 (Cascio, 2010). For a company to get unionize, at least signatures from 30 percent of the employees are needed (Lee Smith, 2011).

Dating back to the eighteenth century—when labor unions originated—many workers were searching for jobs that had not yet been guaranteed, or created. Then in the nighteeth century, labor unions came to be quite notably the Knights of Labor created a social and cultural movement for the workingman. The overarching theme for all the labor unions was that working in inhabitable work environments and being under paid were simply insufferable; however, some argue the effectiveness of labor union attributing it to an economic downturn that would soon come. While on the other hand, many argue unions could help the issue between America’s largest corporations not sharing their wealth amongst those employed. Due to the right to work laws union membership

Today Unions have a feud with outsourcing, the union employees are losing their once thought secure job to outsourcing. This is due to a company 's drive to increase profits, decisions of lower wage and job loss occurs. When a US company 's looks for other options of employment, it usually come down to outsourcing, subcontracting, and privatization, these options that companies take to increase profit. Union job security isn’t always so secure, often-union contracts discuss the effects outsourcing, but not make the decision to layoff an employee in favor of outsourcing. However this contract makes union workers bargain over their jobs, by lowering their wages and if they do not agree with the bargain then the companies are able to layoff employee, and replaces them with outsourcing. Unions are able to fight these companies for an agreement to be made, for instance, if a union as a whole decides to agree with these new terms of lower wages, the company is unable to let the employees go. Instead the unions will agree to terms with their jobs being taken away and sent overseas, unions often lobby to retaliate their termination.

Unions emphasize the need to create and maintain solidarity among members of the working class to effectively assert power in the workplace. They favor greater equality in pay across employees and greater worker control of the work environment. Unions also stress the importance of continual improvements in living standards for their members, best attainable through increases in their pay (Fossum, J, (n.d.), p. 2).

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.

Lastly, unions improve working conditions and rights of the employees. In the past, workers had to go through harsh working conditions such as dangerous workplace and long hours of shift with a low wage. With having the unions around, they were able to improve these problems. When a demand isn’t met, a unionized worker can tell the union their issue’s and the union will handle it by talking with the employers. Most often the rights of the employees aren’t really protected because the employers take advantage of them. “Research has shown convincingly that unions have played a significant role in enforcing these laws and ensuring that workers are protected… Unions make a substantial and measurable difference in the implementation of labor laws.

In 1981, President Reagan began a period of “union busting” where he locked out the air traffic controllers union. After a strike ensued 3,000 workers were terminated by Reagan (Collins, 2015). According to Collins, 2015 this single instance sent a message to future politicians that “taking an anti-union stance was not necessarily a political liability” (p. 2). State and federal governments also became better equipped to act as an ally to the American worker and essentially replace many of the responsibilities that were once dedicated to unions. Overtime pay, number of hours worked, guaranteed days off and employees’ rights and standards are all issues that have been addressed by the state and federal governments (Macaray, 2008). If an employee wanted a guarantee that their place of work would be free from hazards their only option was to join a union and have contracts drafted. Now that guarantee has been replaced with the Occupation Health and Safety Act (OSHA). The act holds every employer within the US to maintain high standards of safety within their establishment (Macaray,

A labor union is an organization intended to represent and protect the collective interests of workers. Additionally, they are used to improve their wages, hours, benefits and working conditions. Numerous companies have their own union. There is a union for everyone from actors and musicians to janitors and plumbers. In fact, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 14.6 million wage and salary workers belong to a labor union. This proves that no matter what profession you’re in, there is a union specifically designed to secure your best interests. Overall, labor unions are extremely necessary and beneficial to our society. Additionally, they have had “a substantial impact on the compensation and work lives of

There are several reasons labor unions was formed in the United States. First, the worker form the union to fight the employer’s practice division of labor and unfair hiring that which employer divided skilled worker into teams, hire them to do part of the job then hire women and children at extreme low wages to do other parts. Second, if worker was injured on the job there was no compensation and the employee was deemed to be fault. Third, the working condition was poor and unsafe. Fourth, the workers receive low pay and long working hour with lack of benefit. Fourth, the workers believe there is strength in number, it will help them fulfill their demands.

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

Unions were started in 1935 allowing employees to seek improvements for their living and working conditions. Malinowski, Minkler, and Stock (2015) stated, “…with the signing into law of the National Labor Relations Act, workers gained the legal right to self-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.” Unions help keep the workforce healthy and Malinowski et al. used a social-ecological framework to illustrate how unions addressed inequalities in the workforce and social determinants of health. There is a positive relationship between self-rated health and union membership, and income is one of the contributing factors. Union workers are receiving improved wages and benefits, and positively affecting nonunion workers as well. The article examines the effects of tobacco control, hypertension, and asthma in

Almost all companies are entitled for union organization, but it is up to the employer to take crucial steps that may prevent this from taking place. Employees join Unions because they don’t feel satisfaction with management, poor working conditions and the company is alleged to mistreat employees. Strategies that help discourage union are: reasonable pay and benefits, open communication with employees, acknowledgement, and fair work and practice policies.