Unions Pros And Cons

Pros and Cons of Unionizing Organized labor has been a part of the American landscape since 1866. Unions provide a vehicle for workers to come together and unite for safer working conditions, healthier work environments, benefits, fair wage equality, security concerning working hours, work assignments, and management actions related to employee dismissal. Allowing the employee’s organized efforts to work toward effective collective bargaining agreement with their employer. Yet, how do unions impact society today? What are the pros and cons of being a union member?

Right to Work laws, are they a good thing or bad? With the prohibition of different types of union security clauses in contracts, Right to Work states don’t make employees forcibly join a union or pay portions of their pay checks toward union dues even if they are not a part of it as part of their employment. Research regarding Right to Work laws show that Right to Work laws are having a positive effect in states that choose to implement them while states choosing against Right to Work laws are having an opposite affect when it comes to employee turnover and employees form of pay to job happiness.

Additionally, there are also cons to labor unions as well. The cons can consist of labor unions being monopolized and can be run by cartels. They can also be exempted from taxes, which other companies believe is wrong because everyone should pay taxes to the government. I believe this is certainly an issue. No one should be exempt from taxes. Taxes are mandatory for everyone no matter what their job is. Competitors will be affected by this action as well because, while they are paying taxes, the company that does not pay taxes does not have to deal with that roadblock. Taxation should definitely not be exempt for union labors. These labor unions can also be costly not only for the employers, but to the employees as well. According to the textbook,

Other ways that Unions have caused their own downfall, would be the disregard of woman and minorities. “Women's presence as union members, for example, falls short of their presence in the labor force as a whole, while gains in leadership have been "quite modest" in relation to gains in membership.” (Clawson & Clawson, 1999). According to Clawson and Clawson, Unions viewed social movements as something unnecessary and something to distant themselves from. Unions did not see the needs of addressing issues raised by civil rights, feminists and environment movements. (Clawson & Clawson, 1999). But in fact, they were more involved in issues which dealt with the law, such as legal rights, government regulation, new social movement and class action

Over the course of the century, labor movement has played a profound role in shaping how the Americans live and work in their daily lives. The influence the unions have has waxed and waned during a long and bloody struggle for power in the workplaces. The labor's movement's status has almost always been curious due to Americans' love-hate attitude toward an organized labor. Today, just like centuries ago, some of the citizens really believed that the unions are crucial to freedom, while other people feel just as strongly that they are at best and at worst at an obstacle to progress. Either way, these unions have grown a lot throughout the years. They have grown from being small and less powerful too. Unions are still pretty important in these

Labor unions have come a long way to finally being recognize and acknowledge by employers. Without a mutual bargain agreement, business owners can easily take advantage of the employees. I do not support everything the unions does, but I honestly think the contract needs to be in place for job security and to protect the employees' rights.

I came across the CNN Money article “What right-to-work laws really mean,” while browsing the Internet for a topic for this research paper. After reading that article it became apparent to me that Indiana’s decision to embrace a right-to-work law was a significant push in the area of worker’s rights in labor unions. I continued looking into the topic and found an article from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy that outlined the pros and cons of the state of

After reading these articles I understand the pros and cons of the role of unions as well as the perspective on last weeks’ recall election in Wisconsin. I think that in any situation there will always be people who see the positives and negatives. Based on the information from these articles I would have to say that I agree with the cons about unions in America. Unions are a way to give workers a stronger voice, but in many situations the workers excessively use their power for the wrong reasons. For example, teachers’ unions have argued that public schools are failing because they are underfunded. The teachers’ solution is to be given more money so they can fix the problem. Taxpayers eventually agree, the money is given, but still nothing

Almost all companies are entitled for union organization, but it is up to the employer to take crucial steps that may prevent this from taking place. Employees join Unions because they don’t feel satisfaction with management, poor working conditions and the company is alleged to mistreat employees. Strategies that help discourage union are: reasonable pay and benefits, open communication with employees, acknowledgement, and fair work and practice policies.

According to our textbook, right-to-work-laws are “laws passed by individual states prohibiting compulsory union membership” and there are “presently 21 right-to-work states” (Rue, Ibrahim, and Byars 382). I do think if they are going to be offered then it should be consistent across all states because it is unfair to those who do not participate and are pressured to join and pay union dues. I think right-to-work laws put the accountability back on the unions. In non-right-to-work states, individuals have to join specific unions, but in right-to-work states, individuals are granted more freedom to choose which to join if they want to pay dues and the flexibility to quit if they are dissatisfied. It forces unions to work with employees and

Thank you for sharing this article Stefanie. Today big corporations do not like the idea of unions because it gives many advantages to employees. Unionized employees can have fixed promotions and benefits, such as health coverage, sick leave, and paid vacation time and many more (Saez, para 2). There are many disadvantages for employers. Union contracts makes very difficult for corporations to make necessary adjustments when they are not making enough revenue, for example laying off or cutting job hours of unionized workers (Saez, para 5). By not having unions, corporations would not have to pay many benefits to employees and its easier for them to lay off or cut jobs hours of employees. Today in many corporations’ CEO’s are making way a lot

When businesses pay workers less, the organization becomes more profitable and thereby more competitive against companies where right-to-work laws have not been enacted. Companies like Boing freely admit that moving operations to right-to-work states save money on employee wages and other benefits. According to Isidore (2017), “The union says South Carolina workers earn about $10 an hour less than union members at Boeing's Washington state plants” (para

Trade unions are one of the major components of the system of modern industrial relations in any nation, each having their own set of objectives or goals to achieve as per their constitution and each having its own strategy to reach those goals. A trade union is an organisation formed by workers to protect their interests and improve their working conditions, among other goals. It is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining and improving working conditions. In developing countries, the right to form a union and the right to collectively bargain protects the workers from various exploitative and abusive conditions at work and puts pressure on employers to share productivity gains with their employees. Historically, union representation and collective bargaining have been the keys to the growth of a stable working population in developed economies, and have made it possible for workers to gain a more equitable share of the wealth that they create; they are also able to improve working conditions and helped workers in gaining job security. Changes in the political, social and educational environments regarding awareness of rights such as the right to organise, the right to bargain, and the right to settle terms and conditions of employment have caused worker unions to spring up to protect and further workers ' interests. Thus, with the establishment of minimum wages, norms for mandatory work hours, provisions for health and safety,

Labor Unions in the United States have been around all the way since the first Industrial Revolution, starting back around 1760, and have been controversial ever since. The purpose of them is to protect the rights of workers and to keep things, such as wages and benefits fair. In my career goal of becoming a Union Sprinkler Fitter, the abolition of labor unions could be one of the most devastating and challenging problems that occurs within my occupation. Many think that this happening is unrealistic, but it actually did very recently. In 2011, Scott Walker the governor of Wisconsin, proposed the “Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill” that took away from, “collective bargaining, compensation, retirement, health insurance, and sick leave of public sector employees” (“2011 Wisconsin Act 10”). All of these areas are what unions protect. This lead to non-stop protests throughout Wisconsin when it was ruled constitutional in 2014 by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Many argue that “Union negotiations can lead to wages and other associated costs being boosted to unreasonably high levels. If the company is not able to sustain the high wages and costs for union workers, then it is left with several options. It can raise prices on the goods or services it provides. It can outsource its labor. It can reduce the number of new hire employees, leaving an insufficient workforce to manage the overall workload” (Weinlick). Is it fair to reduce wages by eliminating unions so businessmen can make more?

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