Preview

Communization: Lack Of Unionization In The Workforce

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
836 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Communization: Lack Of Unionization In The Workforce
Labor Exploitation/Unionization

In discussions of labor exploitation, one controversial issue has been the lack of unionization in the workforce. Schlosser would argue that corporations will go to any lengths to prevent their workers from unionizing, in order to isolate and therefore disempower them. However, many corporations would insist that higher concentrations of unionized employees would slow down the rate of production and result in higher cost for consumers. My own view is that a union is a positive thing employees should have, based on my research and experience with the fact that my father worked as president of I.U.P.P.E local 2 union. I watched how he negotiated hardcore to protect employees, worked long hours to help those
…show more content…
While working my dad went to college and then on to law school. He end up running the security firm legal department. One thing that was a problem was the fact that most of the guards were assigned to work for companies and they were not treated fairly because they were not officially an employee of the company they did security at. My dad was instrumental in working with the different security guard firms to come together and unite them to form one large union. The union grew to over 10,000+ members and once he was voted to president he devoted most of his career in negotiating on behalf of the rights of the armed, unarmed and private security guards. They ranged from working in the smallest of stores, to major corporate contracts to the ones riding in the brinks trucks. The opposition mostly came from the larger corporations that hired the security firms to place the guards within their companies. They did everything in their power not to pay any extra wages because they felt guards did not deserve it. The corporations usually signed an extensive contract with the security firms so they felt they were honoring that contract. My father position was yes you should honor the contract for however many years it states, but things change so if the guards become unionized that benefits everyone involved. The guards are placed in the companies to protect the workers and should be paid accordingly. Why shouldn’t the guards be held to a higher regard for doing so? What started to happen was that the guards were getting more and more complaints for any little things and something’s were just ridiculous. The firms started getting more and more request for replacements. Once a guard was taken off a sight it was harder to find a new assignment fast. So guards just end up looking for a job in a whole new field. Another tactic that the different companies used were to try

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Employer may feel useless during the establishment of union but there are things that they can do to minimize a union from forming within their organization.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is a long ongoing battle that is being waged between unions and business since the rise of large corporations. Unions were created to fight higher official corruption and to protect workers from unfavorable conditions and unfair treatment by top-level officials, companies take extreme measures to prevent the creation of unions within their organizations. There are positive and negative effects for both nonunion and unionized companies. Preventing workers from unionizing is a difficult task for organizations especially as they expand into the global arena. More is demanded from employees usually with little added benefits (thus the reason for unionization). A notable successful company is Trader Joe’s, who’s business strategy and cultural…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Bama Inc.

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages

    * Employers can offer their opinions about union policies, alert employees of facts about unions that they may or may not be aware of and discuss effects that unionization may have on the business. However, employers may not use these to imply a negative consequence for employees if they choose to support the union. An employer also has the right to explain why unionization is unnecessary. The general rule is that an employer can be a dispenser of information, but not a collector. An employer may predict the negative effects that unionizing could have on the organization, as long as it is based on facts outside of the employer’s control.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Legitimacy of Unions” was mentioned in a newspaper by John Swinton’s and a magazine by Scribner’s Monthly. Scribner’s Monthly was produced based on railroad workers reflects on the union strikes. Swinton’s newspaper article revealed different visions of labor unions as being organizations that provided protection for workers that were in an extreme case of abuse. The legitimacy of Unions described strikes and trade unions.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unions are very beneficial because they speak volume and it assists employees with getting their voice heard compared to if it is only one individual. An employee that is not in the union can be let go at any time, but a unionized employee has a contract that will provided a grievance and arbitration procedure in the event of an adverse employer action. Unions also able to bargaining with employers for higher wages, benefit packages, and vacation time. It also increases job stability and recognizes seniority rights for the employees.…

    • 282 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some of the ways a union can help the workplace are unions raising wages, reducing wage inequality, setting a pay standard, fringe benefits such as paid leave, better health benefits and better pension plans but it is not just for just union workers, it is for all workers. But, even if they get these benefits, it is not just because they are trying to reduce or minimize the challenges that they will encounter when it comes to being a union, there is much more to that. As Campa says in his article, “there is no going back to a Golden Age of stable jobs in huge mass production sites making union organizing easier than it is today. Unions now have to respond to workers’ concerns in a more fluid economic environment.” I would say that the previous statement is one of Campa’s main arguments in the article. He understands that things are never going to go back to the way things used to be, and that is perfectly fine, but now we have to do something about it. He does not try to hide the truth from the reader. He states that he understands that it is going to be a long, hard work in progress. But, with the right people doing the right work, it’s still…

    • 1738 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Unions and organizations have had a disagreeable relationship from the very beginning; which dates back to the mid 1800s when unionization started. The reason being, they both had very different beliefs and perspectives on laborers, working conditions and benefits. In this paper, we will briefly discuss the start of unionization, the roles that both management and unions play in an organization and some strategies that can help management and unions create a better working relationship with one another.…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Are Unions Unfair

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I was raised in a union family but grew up to be a company man. I can see both sides and their opinions. I believe we need unions to keep the companies who are not union from treating their employees unfairly, regarding wages, days off, etc. There are good unions that are so effective and there are weak unions who give unions a bad name. Some companies will always treat their employees well and be fair but for those who don't, there has to be someone watching out for their rights. If those companies know that if their employees are treated unfairly, there is an organizer willing to step in and help, the company generally will step up to the plate and do the right thing. My father and uncles worked for the plumbers, electrical, and teachers…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Labor unions in U.S are legally recognized as representatives for labors of industries in U.S. The trends private-sector labor unionism in U.S has steady fallen since 1920s and continues to 2010. Unions allege that employer-incited opposition has contributed to this decline in membership. Especially, the private-sector labor unions accounted for the majority of the declination from 18.5 percent to 9 percent among the entire industry. (Slaughter, 2007, Fig.1) Globalization seems contributed to the ongoing decline of U.S union coverage. The decline of private sector has been relentless in manufacturing while the integration of U.S companies into the world market has been rising. The questions about whether the private-sector labor union trend falling good or not good for U.S have attracted a lot considerable attention because there has wide relationship between private-sector labor unionization and U.S government and labor law; it impacts a lot on industrial and economics, as well as policymaking and business like on productivity, and employment rate.( Kaufman) Private sector labor union should be good in U.S because labor unions increase the productivity of industry, the effective adoption of high performance work practices, and given higher hourly wage.…

    • 2725 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    I come from a long line of union members. My grandfather was a union member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), my mother was a union member of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) and one day I may be a union member as well. The Union and the labor movement has always had some influence in my life since the very day I left the womb. The Union allowed my mother the time off to take care of me and make sure I was healthy and stable before leaving to go back to work. The union allowed my mother to work an 8 hour day with no forced overtime. They made sure every employer compensated for overtime. Employers could not overwork somebody with paying them their money. The only relationship I have with the union is…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Labor Laws and Unions

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Hostess employees’ unionization process through BCTGM involves legal practice, union advantage awareness, campaign organization, election,…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and the Railway Labor Act of 1951 basically paved the way for union corruption. Those acts in part, gave unions the right to exclusive representation in all 50 states. That means that once a union could certify that they had a simple majority of support for organizing as a unit, it then would speak for ALL covered workers, whether those workers voted for the union or not. Workers, who became disenfranchised with the union, did not have the right to form another union or invite in a different organization. They were stuck with what they had. As well, the government gave unions the absolute right to exact dues from workers, whether they wanted to pay them or not. Money, power and influence were squarely with the unions and made union treasuries easy pickings for union leaders and…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unionization is basically when employees are combined, so they can fight to raise wages, and it becomes difficult to fire somebody. Most companies try to avoid this, as it takes the power from the boss and gives it to the workers. Examples of this can mainly be found in school districts, where unionization increases as the number of years the employees have worked increases. Having unionization in high-tech facilities would limit new ideas, because, if a worker ran out of new or good ideas, the company couldn’t simply fire…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Labor Unions in America

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    After researching the history and analyzing the current state of labor unions, my personal opinion is that the current role of unions in the United States should not be increased. Labor unions are costly and can lead to higher product prices and less competitive situations for some companies. This affects the consumer and can eventually hurt the economy. Less people will demand products and can lead to company closures and employee lay-offs. This cycle is bad for business and for the American consumer as well. It becomes very difficult for some businesses to produce a profit when they have to pay higher wages, taxes, insurance and overhead costs. The labor unions also handcuff the company to hire and retain non-productive workers that normally would not be retained without the help of the unions. According to Spear (2013), “While members traditionally enjoy higher wages, that cost must be accounted for somewhere. Whether passed along to the customer as higher prices on goods or services, made up for by hiring fewer workers or limiting the wages of non-union employees, the increased cost of union workers has an effect on a company’s economics” (Labor Costs). I think it’s important for businesses to operate in a manner where they can control who they hire and retain. They can incorporate policies and regulations that dictate fair treatment of employees, offering competitive wages, receiving fair and equitable benefits and having a safe workplace. Unions can often benefit themselves just as much as the employee. They can gain political prestige, posturing and membership, rather than sincerely considering the well-being of the employee. Unions once played a pivotal part in ensuring reasonable worker conditions and pay, but today, there is much more incentive for businesses to take care of their employees and avoid government and society scrutiny as to avoid the high price…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The power of unionization in many sectors was very beneficial to the middle class, and the decline of unions has hurt the middle class. The collective bargaining power of unions was able to secure higher wages and greater benefits for workers. Unions made originally lower class workers into middle class workers, and were largely responsible for the growth of the middle class. With decreasing unionization, the collective bargaining power of workers has decreased, and it is harder to prevent and change problems like wage stagnation (Perez). Without unions, it is harder for the middle class worker to stay in the middle class, and he/she can end up falling out of the middle class workforce and being replaced by a cheaper, temporary…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics