The Pros of Labor Unions
The right to self-organization is the right of every employee in the workforce, free of any troubles from the employer to form, join or assist in the formation of any legitimate worker's organization or union of his or her own choice. The reason for granting this right is based on the essential unfairness in the bargaining situation between an employer and the employees. As the problem of employment bargaining increases, there is no doubt that the employer has the advantage over the employee (Holcombe & Gwartney, 2010). Therefore, employees depend on union services to help support and represent them in situations dealing with unfair treatment, requests for higher wages, unsafe working conditions, arbitrary hiring & …show more content…
Labor unions have the power to push and press employers for higher wages, but their enthusiasm may be misplaced in certain situations. Fighting for the working class is one thing; however pushing an employer for an unrealistic pay increase is another (Radcliffe, 2008). Some organizations simply do not have the money to spend on salary increases, but pressure from labor unions can force them into submission, and the pressure a labor union places on an employer does not only affect the company. By forcing an organization to provide pay raises, the cost of productivity goes up, and the difference comes directly out of the consumers’ pockets. This is often referred to as the “trickle down” effect. If Company A must pay its employees unrealistic wages because of pressure from a labor union, Company A must also raise the cost of Product B to balance things out, causing the cost of the salary bump to “trickle down” to consumers (Holcombe & Gwartney, 2010). Furthermore, unions make the country less competitive since non-unionized companies in India, China, Taiwan, etc. can pay workers far less and therefore charge less and assign more workers per unit of product. Unions have a major influence over organizations, and they can become very greedy. Therefore, this greediness can lead to a lack of trust between an employee and the employer and also result in a strike action. Consider, for example, the strike action with the Verizon Communications. After debating for ten months to reach a fair contract, almost 40,000 Verizon workers represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) and Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) went on strike April 13, 2016. The two unions are together representing service works, installers, repairmen, and other technicians to try and improve the employees’ pension benefits and prevent Verizon from outsourcing jobs to contractors
The right to self-organization is the right of every employee in the workforce, free of any troubles from the employer to form, join or assist in the formation of any legitimate worker's organization or union of his or her own choice. The reason for granting this right is based on the essential unfairness in the bargaining situation between an employer and the employees. As the problem of employment bargaining increases, there is no doubt that the employer has the advantage over the employee (Holcombe & Gwartney, 2010). Therefore, employees depend on union services to help support and represent them in situations dealing with unfair treatment, requests for higher wages, unsafe working conditions, arbitrary hiring & …show more content…
Labor unions have the power to push and press employers for higher wages, but their enthusiasm may be misplaced in certain situations. Fighting for the working class is one thing; however pushing an employer for an unrealistic pay increase is another (Radcliffe, 2008). Some organizations simply do not have the money to spend on salary increases, but pressure from labor unions can force them into submission, and the pressure a labor union places on an employer does not only affect the company. By forcing an organization to provide pay raises, the cost of productivity goes up, and the difference comes directly out of the consumers’ pockets. This is often referred to as the “trickle down” effect. If Company A must pay its employees unrealistic wages because of pressure from a labor union, Company A must also raise the cost of Product B to balance things out, causing the cost of the salary bump to “trickle down” to consumers (Holcombe & Gwartney, 2010). Furthermore, unions make the country less competitive since non-unionized companies in India, China, Taiwan, etc. can pay workers far less and therefore charge less and assign more workers per unit of product. Unions have a major influence over organizations, and they can become very greedy. Therefore, this greediness can lead to a lack of trust between an employee and the employer and also result in a strike action. Consider, for example, the strike action with the Verizon Communications. After debating for ten months to reach a fair contract, almost 40,000 Verizon workers represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) and Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) went on strike April 13, 2016. The two unions are together representing service works, installers, repairmen, and other technicians to try and improve the employees’ pension benefits and prevent Verizon from outsourcing jobs to contractors