Unions In Civil Society Essay

Unions in Civic Society

Today Unions make up about one-third of the workforce in the United States which has gradually declined over the years. This decline can be contributed to workers' preference and an employer's effort to persuade. Employers try to break existing unions or prevent their formation by harassing and even firing pro-union workers and by waging vigorous, often illegal anti-union campaigns (Shaw, Barry 402). The workers' preference can be a factor of ignorance when understanding unions in the workforce. Peter Levine said, "Unions are more than economic actors that negotiate with employers' they are also communities of workers, forums for debate, and lobbying organizations. They can thus make them civil society" (426). I do personally believe and agree with Levine that unions

In agency shops, workers do not have to join the union, but they must work under the union agreement and pay union fees. Having one collective-bargaining agreement covering an entire class of employees and requiring all workers to pay union fees regardless of membership, prevents those who still reap the benefits of a union agreement from free-loading. Although workers in agency shops cannot avoid their jurisdiction, they do have the freedom to make the decision to apply for a job with or without a labor union.
In "The Libertarian Critique of Labor Unions", Peter Levine addressed the many issues unions face today; the formation of unions, critiques from libertarians, coercion from employers and the average job-seeker. Labor unions are constantly faced with obstacles, but one thing remains the same. Their formation is to ensure that the lone worker has a voice and all workers are treated fairly. Labor Unions are defiantly a huge contribution to civil society and therefore, should be treated as