Workplace At Unionized And Non -unionized Workplace Essay

Unions were a major turning point in Canada’s labor industry since they were meant to put the power of government behind the rights of the workers for them to bargain collectively with their employees on matters like working conditions, wages, and working hours. Trade unions were supposed to protect workers against arbitrary decisions like sudden wage cuts, layoffs and firing. Trade unions were majorly meant to protect the interest of the workers. Employers, however, do not like trade unions. In an economy that has a lot of uncertainty, employers want to have the flexibility of cutting wages, hiring and firing and also adding extra hours to the workers when there is a need. However, there is a decline in labor unions due to the current employment shift. There was a shift in employment from industries that had high unionization rates like the manufacturing and construction industries to occupations with lower unionization rates like retail trade and professional services. Even though most of the things trade unions did like ensuring comfortable working conditions have been enshrined in the law, trade unions are still crucial in ensuring workers are safe in their workplace.

The changes brought up labor unions in the United States over recent history has brought about a movement. This specific movement has shaped the way that employees and workers are treated in the workforce,and how they maintain their quality of life through this employment. Many people think that the labor unions’ influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In many cases this can be considered true, as there have been countless feuds between management teams and labor unions, especially in recent history. In today’s times, on the one hand, some people believe the existence of unions are a necessity in order to ensure and promote employee freedom; while on the other hand some people view labor unions as just another problem in the line of employee success.

     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.

Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).

Labor Unions: Aging Dinosaur or Sleeping Giant? The Labor Movement and Unionism Background and Brief History Higher wages! Shorter workdays! Better working conditions! These famous words echoed throughout the United States beginning in “1790 with the skilled craftsmen” (Dessler, 1997, p. 544). For the last two-hundred years, workers of all trades have been fighting for their rights and “seeking methods of improving their living standards, working conditions, and job security” (Boone, 1996,p.287). As time went by, these individuals came to the conclusion that if they work together collectively, they would grow stronger to get responses to their demands. This inspired into what we know today as labor unions. “A labor union

In the past 50 years the membership in labor unions have decreased, and at a rapid pace. There are many reasons why the membership has decreased, but the focus will be on four main reasons. The first reason being that in today’s

     Unions have become commonplace in the labor arena. They provide employees with a valuable tool that allows them to stand together against their employer to make sure that their rights are upheld in the workplace. This paper will focus on labor unions with regards to how they work in two very different companies, Ford Motor Company and United Airlines. Also, a brief history will be outlined as well as legislation regarding unions.

Organized labor, during the period from 1875-1900, had drastic effects on the lives of factory workers. Labor unions not only sought to improve working conditions; they wanted to have a large impact on society as a whole as well. These unions also altered feelings toward organized labor.

The American labor union has failed in its duty to protect the employees. Currently, most of the public unions agree to the plan that every worthy benefit or wage ought to be balanced by the union’s special consideration like agreeing to a two-tier salary scale, surrendering some hours, raised copays or even deductibles for medical procedures. However, these associations have done little to fight for the workers when they are faced with salary reductions, poor pays, unwarranted cutbacks and when they are denied compensation for retirements or injuries. According to Aronowitz, the US labor movement has continued to deteriorate and lacks the voice it had some times ago. By 1990s, the labor had already decreased in intensity from the higher 35 percent membership in 1953. This is just an indication that workers have no hopes in the then merged AFL-CIO (American Federation Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations) who sought to democratize the labor movement. Their so-mediated organizing model that aimed at expanding the membership was a change of the core role of the previous service model of unionism that focused on petitioning for the members’ requests. Where the distresses may have begun earlier in the 1970s, it was not until the era of Ronald Reagan that the impact was felt. Since then, members of the labor unions have turned to be mere clients. The restructuring of the economy through technological change, and company merges, so millions of workers lose jobs. However, the

Unions have a long and sometimes contentious history in Canada, although they are also the source of many of the labour laws and standards that we have come to accept as normal. However, since the 1980s, an increasing trend towards favouring neoliberal policies has erased many of the social welfare and employment standards gains by unions, with particularly harsh effects on more vulnerable populations including women, immigrants, younger workers, and Aboriginal peoples. A striking example of these shifts is seen in the restaurant sector in B.C., where recent controversies with Canada’s temporary foreign worker program has at least brought some discussions of worker’s rights to the headlines in regional and national newspapers. Unfortunately, despite this new attention the current political climate continues to be hostile to workers’ groups and to workers’ rights.

Since the 1980’s trade union membership numbers have declined rapidly ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 130). Once upon a time it was quiet important for employees to be part of a union as it entitled them to have a collective voice, and power to build a pleasurable workplace. There have been many factors that have contributed to

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,

Cultures created by unions and their impact on organizational culture, can be sensitive due to a number of factors including labor-management relations. Conflict and differences in the characteristics of the people, job and work context can also add to the sensitivity of union cultures along with the fact that union members are usually the only employee subgroup that gets assessed dues to belong. The issues facing many levels of government around the nation are not the traditional private sector dispute between labor and management. It is a question of important public policy on whether governments can afford agreements for government employees' salaries and

“The trade union movement represents the organized economic power of the workers... It is in reality the most potent and the most direct social insurance the workers can establish.” Samuel Gompers. A trade union is an organization of workers who have come together to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, improving safety standards, achieving higher pay and many benefits. Unions are a great benefit for workers and communities as being in a union delivers better pay alongside benefits and a right to fair treatment becomes enforced. Displayed by the Canadian Labour Congress’s UNION ADVANTAGE report, it shows that, on average, unionized workers across Canada earned $5.28/hour more than non-union workers. Women with

Labor Unions have become an important factor in our industries. For many years, labor unions have served as the main voice of the workers to their employers. The continuous effort of labor unions in helping the laborers ensure their rights in their jobs, acquire all the benefits they need and to eliminate the injustice experienced by workers in their workplace is still an ongoing process. In order to understand labor unions in general, knowing the roots of it is the best way to start. In this paper, the progress of the labor unions throughout history, the issues faced the developments it achieved, laws passed and the problem faced by today’s unions will be tackled.