Unions and Collective Bargaining/Discrimination in the Workplace

The increase of the minimum wage would be considered the floor price establish by the government to balance out the minimum wage against the cost of living expense. In theory the statements made would be consistent with the effects of the increase of the minimum wage. Higher wages would potentially cause businesses to reduce the amount of part-time worker due to the incurred cost of wages/operations. Higher wages does not equate to a higher demand of warranted good so the cost of production would increase but not the cost of goods sold nor would there be an increase of revenue for the businesses. Additionally, the individuals being terminated (part-timers) would not have been considered members of the union so the lost would have no negative impact on the union however, the few part-timer that stayed would probably consider joining the union to secure their position in the company. As a minimum being in the union ensures these employees will have someone representing

Organized labor affects the lives of many citizens everyday, often in a roundabout way. Labor Unions affect many different people from blue-collar workers to white-collar workers, stay-at-home moms, students, and retirees. Fewer; however realize the legal role Labor Unions have played and continue to play in the financial system, political affairs, and society in general. In today's society, more of our skilled hourly and unskilled workers belong to some sort of Labor Union and that is a good sign that Unions will not face extinction. As long as there is a need for higher wages, there will be a need for Unions.

Labor Unions have had an effect of American history as well as world-wide history from the time they became popular. Following WWII Americans were predominantly pro-labor, however, as time went on union’s credibility fell short of perfect. Union strikes proved to be bothersome to both the general public and company. Unions were also suppressing to employees through fraud and lack of worker rights (in earlier years, before Acts were passed). Although Union labor had its shortcomings, this type of labor is noted to be the most productive and economically beneficial. With both sides shown, I feel Unions will again thrive in the future with a few key adjustments made.

Minimum wage is the lowest amount of money that an employer can pay an employee under labor law. The cruel irony of the minimum wage is that it harms most the very segments of our society that it is intended to help—the unskilled poor and the inexperienced young. However, the Canadian Labour Congress (2009) noted, “unionized worker earned $4.97 an hour more than a non-union worker in 2012”. That equates to roughly $10,000 more in monetary compensation relative to non-union workers. Although it varies based on sector and occupation, the union difference for workers across the board is undeniable. The unionized workers are able to live off a living wage.

There is a proven history behind the efforts of labor union. Unions fought and succeeded in advancing the concerns of the work force as a whole. It is a testament to the efforts of labor union that even with the steady drop in membership labor unions are still able maintain safe work environment and provide good wages for members. This is impressive given that in the beginning it was the size of membership that gave the labor unions a most effective weapon in the form of a strike. Ultimately what is at stake here are our very livelihoods.

The power that the union has can have a big impact upon whether or not it can affect the wage rates within that particular market. It largely depends upon the financial status of the employer. If the union is powerful enough to get wages to rise then it may not lead to a loss in jobs, because it shows that the employer has money in which to raise the wages of its employers and still make supernormal profits. A very powerful trade union may be able to negotiate this rise with the employer, but it would depend on the type of job, if the workers were skilled and difficult to replace then it is likely that

The first and most important affect has been the decline in manufacturing employment due to the liberalization of trade and globalization. This has had a compounding effect on unions; factories or companies close or move elsewhere and lay off workers, thus diminishing union membership and reducing the collective negotiating power of the unions. Then, the factories and companies that remain in America can use the threat of a shutdown or relocation further reducing a union’s ability to negotiate with their employers. This has combined to cause a fragmentation of labor, undermining union’s ability to collectively bargain for wages and benefits. Deindustrialization has caused the United States to shift to a service economy adding the loss of traditional union occupations. At the same time, Republicans and the capitalist class launched political smear war against unions. They were effectively able to label unions with an anti-American and anti-prosperity stigma that greatly reduced their perception and popularity with the public at large (72-76). This has created a cycle, greatly weakening unions over time, which has lead to the deterioration in the quantity and quality of labor which have come together to diminish the quality of living for American middle and working class families which is most easily seen in rising income inequality as seen in the chart below (Nation 24).

In your post you focus on the idea that unions are not readily available now based on our current economy, however there still is a need or want for such organizations. There definitely has been a decline in unions that can be related to a number of factors, but the need for them probably still does exist. Many large corporations fought viciously to portray unions in a negative light and to highlight their shortcomings. In 2003, I witnessed a four month long strike by union grocery workers in Southern California (Jordan, 2004). With over 70,000 union members representing 900 grocery stores, the impact was significant. Eventually both sides would come to an agreement after consumers lost interest in supporting the strike. In the end, employees won better health care benefits, but lost some wage protections.

Workers would not be able to successfully accomplish the established goals without the help of the union.

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.

In today’s world, employees are less interested in unionization. According to research conducted, the majority percentage of the civilian labor force is under the age of 45. Today workers are better educated and are more prone to the computer, technology, etc. Workers today care about wages, but many care about other issues such as career advancement, quality of life on the job, daycare and having some say in how their jobs are done. These are all reasons as to why the labor movement has been declining.

The result is there are few industries of the economy that are insulated from competition. As a consequence, these industries will not serve as a source of reliable rents for business and labor to negotiate over. Increased competition produces more winners than losers, but it does produce losers. Among the losers are the companies and their employees with cost structures that are above those of competitors and potential entrants. My thought is that unions do indeed raise wages above competitive levels. For a time, some researchers contended that the increase in union wages reflects an increase in productivity, but there has never been any reliable evidence to support this conjecture. The result of the wage premium is to put unionized firms at a competitive cost disadvantage. All else equal, one would expect that the union compensation premium would decline as industries became more competitive. In fact, the reverse occurred, particularly over the 1970s and early 1980s. Although the union wage premium has declined from historically high levels reached in the early 1980s, the premium or percentage wage differential is still above levels existing in earlier decades. In other words, while the American economy is much more competitive than say in the 1950s or 1960s, union wage premiums are higher today. The private-sector

At first we need to know what labor unions are. They are organizations that will be and act like the voice of all their members in their labor market. Their sole purpose is to allow their members to be allowed to bargain collectively with any workplace mischief. The thing is that it is getting harder and harder for employees to even have the opportunity to join these democracy-seeking organizations. “Currently, only about 9 percent of employees in the private sector have joined or are members to a trade union.” (Epstein, 2009) When it comes to this small amount it is because of two things and they are that the employers would threaten all their workers about joining these organizations and with all the new existing laws that are

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

The relationship between unions and organization is a touchy one. Dating back to the start of unionization in the 19th century, the two bodies have held opposing viewpoints. Unionization was formed from the opinion that organizations took advantage of workers and some form of a negotiating agreement was needed. There were documented events of workers working long taxing hours for insignificant pay; no healthcare coverage; dangerous working conditions; and gender and or racial discrimination. Companies believed that unionization caused less productivity which endangered profits. Companies also believed that unions interfere in daily processes, and limits the employer’s say over compensation and benefits. The