Volkswagen Union Case

The history of unions in the US is based on a time line that represents workers struggling to organize unions. In the United States, the history of unions played an important part in the independence process for trade unions and everyday workers. Labor unions have played a tremendous part in molding the workforce as we know it since the passing of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935. However, not long ago, collective bargaining and unions opened the eyes of many Americans by negotiating with management about working conditions and pay wages. Whether they are still perceived as important today is still a major question. As noted in the text, union favorability ratings have declined from 35% to 7% over a thirty-year span. A questionnaire was distributed to a non-random sample (N = 50) to ascertain their attitudes and perceptions on labor unions. Sixty-seven percent of respondents believe that unions should be in every state with 60% of those in a non- Right to Work

The mill workers felt that they simply did not have any other options and feared the punitive steps management would take if they unionized. Indeed, this appeared to be the case. When several employees expressed a tentative interest in the union, management reduced their work days, and, consequently, their pay. The mill’s management used many other scare tactics to try and persuade employees to reject the union.

In any organization, unions act as binding agreements between employees and management. In this case, a group of persons are responsible for conducting negotiations with the management for the purpose of enhancing the welfare of workers. Unions originate from the period of American depression when workers faced various work challenges including low remuneration, and unfavorable working conditions. The purpose of this essay is to explore the pros and cons of unions in America in the current times.

     The past of Unions is indisputable; however, the outlook can be altered to form a promising future. The reversal of history can be done through reconstruction and restatement of workers rights. A reestablishment of worker liberties should be considered in order to clarify any confusion in which present and prospective employees are faced with. Unions are notorious for being tyrannical and inconsiderate towards employees and thus union heads should confront this issue head on and give workers a voice (i.e. vote). In order to regain union strength in today’s society I believe Unions must give workers honorable rights and a democratic right to be heard.

First some disclosure about myself: my mother was a strong union member for General Motors for over 32 years where she held several different offices in the union. My stepfather was a member of the local iron workers union and then a member of the union at Tinker Field Airbase. When I got out of high school I worked at General Motors wishing I could join the union. Within a year of being out of school I hired on the fire department and joined their local union where I was a member for over 22 years. Needless to say I have a long history with labor unions and the benefits they provide. I know unions have done great things for our nation and have been a counterbalance to greedy companies that take advantage of

The fact that many US employers look down on, discourage, and blatantly combat unionization is not a recent occurrence as successful organization thereof can result in decreased profits and inflated personnel costs. Fossum (2012) argues that ‘employers have long resisted attempts to unionize” (p. 215) and implemented various strategies to remain union free and greedily persist in their efforts toward heightened profitability through utilization of unfair labor practices.

The United Automobile Workers (UAW) is a labor union that represents workers in North America. It has the employer’s welfare in mind in the manner of a health insurance plan, improved working conditions, better working hours, and higher wages. The UAW has received a great deal of criticism over the years for being responsible for the “death of the auto industry” in America. With its influential history and the issues members have faced over the course of the years, an analysis can be made of the way the group performs and the media attention that the group has generated. The UAW believes in social justice for its workers and providing quality automobile products to the public while creating success for its members, company investors and clients.

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

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.

Labor unions became very prevalent during the Progressive Era when positions in factories were readily available but also steadily dangerous. Unions were drafted in order to protect the rights of workers regarding safety, wages, and benefits. It wasn’t until about the 1980’s when labor unions started to face a real decline and lack of memberships. In my opinion I believe the lack of manufacturing jobs in the US, newly implemented public policies, and increased lobbying from corporations are the root causes of the decline.

From this perspective, trade union is perceived not necessary and the role of it is creating conflict, and it is seen an unwelcome intrusion into the organization from outside competing with management for the loyalty of employees (Rose, 2004). Trade unions exist either as the result of wickedness or perverseness of individual employees, or because of a failure of management to anticipate and incorporate worker needs and concerns (Bray, Deery, Walsh and Waring, 2005).

Forming a union is the best option for the workforce of American Rental Car. The main reason to form a union deals with workers’ dissatisfaction with their jobs, specifically dissatisfaction with their wages, benefits, and supervision (Bernardin, 2013). We are all unhappy with our jobs and need to stand up for our rights as employees in order for the management to listen to our requests. Unionizing will help all the employees of American Rental Car the opportunity to speak their minds in a way that the management will have to consider and listen too. Also, forming a union will help us approach the management as a united workforce and not just individually, which will help us make more of a stance against the poor working conditions and pay scale. A survey conducted showed that “83.7 percent of employees would vote for a union, 90.4 percent say that they are much happier with their jobs after voting for a union, and 77.8 percent say they are satisfied with their union membership” (Leigh, 1986, p. 67). These statistics just verify that employees are much more satisfied with their employment after voting and forming a union. In the end, we all want to be treated with dignity and respect and by unionizing it will allow us to have that opportunity and more importantly it will allow us to have our voices heard!

History shows that there has been conflict of power within the workforce between union and management. This essay will discuss if management should have the right to determine whether a union should operate within their workplace. It is necessary first to discuss the roles of unions and management in the workplace and discuss both points of view on the power distribution between unions and management in the workplace.

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.