There are several reasons why employees join a union. According to Manasseh (2014), employees join unions to negotiate their pay, pensions, and other terms and condition such as holiday entitlements and paid time off. Also, the union also helps with sustaining equal pay, especially in regards to women in the workforce. Another reason why employees may choose to join a union is to have job security. This is because the workers want protection from unfair decisions by management. For example, in the event that there are layoffs, the union expects that seniority has to be honored as well as situations that involve discipline and discharge, the union is expected to give advice and counseling (Carrell & Heaven, 2013). Health and safety are another reason why workers may want the union …show more content…
One benefit is that the union can help to secure an employee's job, and fight for better wages and benefits. Also, the union can help with fair supervision. In like manner, they can help to provide protection against “biased or unreasonable supervisors” (Carrell & Heavrin, 2013, p. 10). The union also has the ability to bring employees together and network, which can allow them to feel connected to one another, especially if the employees believe that there are strength in numbers. One of the cons that are the result of joining the union is paying union dues. Union dues are a regular payment of money that is by employees or members of the union. These fees are used to fund the various activates that the union participates in (Manasseh, 2014). Another con to joining the union is going on strike. In the event that the employees do not agree to their wages, benefits, workplace rules or contract, the union is allowed to cal a strike. As the result of going on strike, the employees are paid, and it can cause a decrease in sales if customers decide to also boycott the products or
Generally, the claims by the union are more persuasive than the counterclaims that were made by the company. This is because the union had credible arguments relating to the actual difficulties that the people were experiencing. For instance, the Union charged those who targeted the company through inappropriate labor approaches.
Whilst it is evident that there is a decline in union membership, it is important to analyse why this is so and what the unions are doing to combat the downward trend. In attempting to tackle this issue, it is important to state the main objectives of a union that attract employees to join a membership and why the memberships are declining.
“I regard my workpeople just as I regard my machinery...When my machines get old and useless, I reject them and get new, and these people are part of my machinery” (Sands 12). A foreman at a textile mill in Fall River, Massachusetts spoke these words in possibly the worst time during American labor history, the Industrial Revolution. During the Industrial Revolution, large numbers of people in the United States flocked to work in factories where they faced long hours, unsanitary and unsafe conditions and poor wages. Labor unions, or groups of organized workers, formed in the United States to ensure workers the right to a safe workplace and a fair wage in the face of capitalistic factory owners seeking wealth. In exchange, union members owe the responsibility to work diligently and to the best of their abilities or face the failure of their company and the loss of their jobs.
Why fight for justice? Justice has been a pressing issue for American citizens for years. These citizen’s rights include those which should be granted in the workplace. Labor unions have resulted from the mistreatment of employees and the unsafe or unfair working conditions, a very common occurrence during the Industrial Revolution. In an endless struggle for justice, organized labor unions fought, and continue to fight for rights deserved in working environments.
Labor Unions were created to help people improve their wages, work conditions, hours, and security. Unions impacted the world in a lot of ways and for that we have better lives now, for what they did in the past.” Some key freedoms that we take for granted today- the weekend, for example- were won by labor unions efforts, but we have always been lukewarm about the movement” (History of Labor Unions).
After the Civil War, many ideologies developed into the United States of America. Some of these ideologies included the free labor ideology and the producerist ideology. Free labor endorsed the belief that by removing slavery, or any other kind of barrier, everyone had an equal chance to try to get wealth (Farless). The producerist ideology tried to stay to the customary view of society and it stressed the importance of viewing the community instead of an individual (Farless). With these two ideologies, they had an impact on labor. By believing in the producerist ideology, people would be staying with tradition, and that leaves no change for our world. Many laborers wanted change, which led to problems for the laborers.
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.
The disadvantages of union membership are viewed from the employee and employer perspective. Through the employee lens, the disadvantages manifest in the form of fees, loss of autonomy, and less collaborative work environment. As part of the union, you surrender many of your individual rights in exchange for the organized results that can potentially manifest through the collective bargaining process. Therefore, there isn’t any assurance that your individual concern will even be addressed.
Unions are voluntary associations joined by workers. The Combination Act of 1800, which hindered the growth of unions, states that every workman's goal, who are entering into any combination should not be obtaining an advance of wages, or to lessen or alter the hours, or influencing any other to quit his work. Any workman who did so shall be committed to jail (Doc 1). Although the Combination Act of 1800 prevented the growth of unions, Ralph Chaplin believes that a worker should join the union. He states that there can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun, but the unions, which makes it strong (Doc 2). Since there's so many workers working in bad conditions, the labor laws came to action.
Even though the very purpose of a union is to defend the interest of its members, the company could also use the instrument to promote the official point of views of the company’s management. In clear, the union and the management could work in good intelligence to promote the interest of worker and the interest of the company. Generally, the problem between management and union come when they one as another as an adversary and not as a partner. To be more constructive and create a working atmosphere profitable for both parties, union and company’s management need to work side by side to address real problems. Thus, worker must understand that the best job security for them comes primarily from the existence of the company and so their union should not be a mean for jeopardizing the company’s purposes. Similarly, the management must also understand that he will not achieve his annual goals unless the workers are well treated and the condition of work meet the standards set by official rules and regulations. This is a clear psychological contract between the company and it workers. The success of the company depends heavily on the respect of that psychological contract. Personally, I will play the role of a mediator between my boss and the worker who want to unionize and explain. I will clearly explain to my boss the benefit of having a union in the company and also explain to the worker the necessity to help the company increase it performance by working harder. And the union should not be a tool for undermine the efforts of the management to achieve better
Unions have an extensive history of standing up for workers. They have advocated rights of steelworkers, coal miners, clothing factory employees, teachers, health care workers, and many others. The labor movement is based on the idea that organized workers as a group have more power than individuals would have on their own. The key purpose of any union is to negotiate contracts, making sure workers are respected and fairly compensated for their work. “In theory” unions are democratic organizations, resulting in varying inner authority. Workers look for security within a job a...
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.
Tolich, P., & Harcourt, M. (1999). Why do people join unions? A case study of the New Zealand engineering, printing and manufacturing union. New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations, 24(1), 63-73.
From the employees perspective there are many benefits as well as cons which are encompassed in the act of joining a union and maintaining such a relationship. The first of the benefits includes a somewhat increased amount of job security. In the case of a slip up, or an instance in which you may be dismissed or receive discipline, the union you are a party to will have the last say in whether this action is fair to you. This may protect you from unreasonable managers or some types of discrimination (Saez). However many types of discrimination is also covered by anti-discrimination statutes. One of the most commonly given reasons for being part of a union is the appeal of having a common bond between employees (Reader). Unions also promote a healthy, safe and friendly work environment. However this benefit is minor and redundant as much of OSHA covers this as well. Additionally, unions will bargain a contract for its members, which will generally be based upon the way that the union perceives the needs of its members (Saez). The problem with this is that it is extremely difficult for the union’s perception an employee’s individual needs to be accurate due to the union’s tendency to only. Among the items negotiated, wage is one of the most important. However minimal wage incre...
The Collective voice/ institutional face: on the other hand is quite different. Under this, unions have positive effects on productivity, by reducing quit rates, inducing managers to alter methods of production and adopt more efficient policies and thus improving morale among workers.