Labor Relations Paper

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Recommended: Labor unions in the workplace

A union is an organization of workers who join together in order to have a voice in improving their jobs and the quality of work within the organization. In many occasions, unions help employees of an organization negotiate pay, benefits, flexible hours and other work conditions that may arise. Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management (Noe, 2003). In this paper, I will be discussing the impact of unions and labor relations within an organization.

Labor Unions

Labor unions represent workers interests and the collective bargaining process provides a way to manage the conflict (Noe, 2003). More than ever, union employees have come to see unionizing as a way to achieve an effective voice to improve their jobs and the quality of work they provide to the organization. Also, the members of unions have a sense of political power to voice for workers rights. For example, one of the largest unions for Kaiser Permanente is United Healthcare Workers SEIU Local 399. UHW prides itself on being not only the fastest growing union in the nation, but the largest and most powerful healthcare union west of the Mississippi.

Unions may have its pro's and con's with both the employee and employer. Some individuals believe that it is better not to be a member of a union while others believe that they would not want to work in a union-less environment. If an individual works for a large organization, odds are that it would be in his/her best interest to be a union member. ...

... middle of paper ...

...ice, reducing costly staff turnover, and improving job satisfaction. The Labor Management Partnership is the largest and most complex health care partnership in the United States, with the largest number of unions, operating units, and employees. It is nationwide and covers the greatest diversity of job classifications and skills (www.kp.org).

Conclusion

In conclusion, unions are important because they help employees of an organization negotiate pay, benefits, flexible hours and other work conditions that may arise. Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management (Noe, 2003).

References

www.kp.org

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 1e

Raymond Andrew Noe, John R. Hollenbeck, Barry Gerhert, Patrick M. Wright (2003)

www.laborrelations.com

www.ehresources.com

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