By the end of the Second World War, nearly one in every three Americans belonged to a union. However, this changed significantly with time, and by the year 2012 organized labor unions could only claim the loyalty of about one in every nine working Americans (Warner, 2013). What is evident is that unions have declined in scope and importance over the past 20 to 30 years. This decline in worker unionization could be linked in part to the increasing business-friendly government policies, massive structural shifts in the economy, changing demographics and lifestyle, the advent of the knowledgeable and service worker, and regrettably, the inability of most unions to prove their value and relevance to workers (Warner, 2013). However, there are still powerful unions in other countries. In this light, the current paper will address the role of unions in the workplace today, the value and challenges that unions can bring to organizations, and the challenges in creating a conducive relationship between unions and management in foreign countries.
The Role of Unions in the Workplace Today
Even though membership in workplace unions has declined significantly, unions continue to serve the same purpose for which they were founded originally. Workers who are able to join unions experience a significant increase in wages and other employment benefits. They are also more likely to enforce their rights at the place of work. In this light, pay advocacy is a key role of unions in the workplace today. As Galbraith (2017) elucidates, labor unions advocate for fair standards of remuneration for unionized employees. As a result, an employee who belongs to a union can earn nearly 20 percent more as compared to a nonunion worker. Besides, unions help in promoting equality pay through advocating for pay increases for workers at low-and-middle income levels as opposed to the high-income earners.
In addition, unions advocate for nonwage benefits and compensation for their members (Galbraith, 2017). Functional unions encourage employers to provide health insurance to their employees so as to protect the members of unions from financial losses caused by hospitalization and medical bills. Other nonwage benefits at the heart of union advocacy include paid leave for workers and pensions. The promotion of safe working conditions is another role of unions in the workplace today. Be it nurses, teachers, or engineers, all employees would prefer to work in an environment that does not endanger their physical and mental health. Therefore, unions encourage employers to provide safety equipment to protect workers against accidents and injuries (Galbraith, 2017). Labor unions also promote the limitation of swing shifts and overtime, which in turn prevents employee accidents that are attributable to fatigue.
The Value and Challenges that Unionization can bring to the Workplace
Even though unions are often considered to solely benefit employees, they also bring value to the workplace. The principal value that unions bring to the workplace ranges from consistency in operations to overall employee satisfaction and reduced turnover (Woodruff, 2018). The collective bargaining activities of labor unions result in wage increases and the standardization of wages, working hours, and other benefits such as vacation requests. While the process of collective bargaining might take a longer time, it ultimately saves an organization enormous amount of time that would otherwise be spent on negotiating wages and working conditions with individual workers. What is evident is that unions do foster consistency in the operations of organizations. In addition, reduction in turnover is another benefit of worker unionization. Employees who belong to unions often enjoy higher wages and other attractive benefits. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the worker to remain with one organization. This accounts for reduced turnover, ensuring that a company benefit from the experience and skills of the workers, and concurrently saves on the costs of hiring and training (Woodruff, 2018). Most important is the employee satisfaction and well-being that come with unionization. Employees who are motivated are more productive and this leads to better organizational performance.
Conversely, unions present a number of challenges to the organization. If a company is to remain competitive, then the employer needs a great deal of flexibility in hiring and firing, cutting wages, and adding or trimming work hours (Woodruff, 2018). However, this is not possible for unionized workers. Besides, the rules of unions base employee promotions and salary increments on seniority rather than performance. Such an environment hinders employee creativity and individuality, as the workers have no incentive to perform better. Since contracts signed by unions specify the exact wages and salary increments for each position, the employer has no leeway of rewarding outstanding employee performance. The rationale is that unions make it difficult for organizations to terminate or discipline an employee, and hence it becomes challenging to boost organizational performance.
Challenges in Creating a Conducive Relationship between Unions and Management in Foreign Countries
Human resources might experience a number of challenges with regard to creating a conducive relationship between unions and management in foreign countries as opposed to the domestic country. Most of this challenges emanate from the fact that countries differ along various perspectives, including culture, economic performance, and business regulations. In this light, culture is a key aspect that would affect the relationship between unions and management. As Aharoni (2015) points out, culture influences the thinking patterns of groups, and this becomes crystallized in international business. Therefore, labor unions would attempt to ensure the foreign company adheres to the local culture, which might contravene the views of the management. Such cultural differences might relate to the dressing code, working hours, working days, and the management structure (Aharoni, 2015). Besides, legal aspects of foreign countries might hinder the creation of a conducive relationship between management and unions. For instance, in countries such as Switzerland where the minimum wage exceeds that in the United States, it would be difficult for local unions to agree with an investor from the United States.
References
Aharoni, Y. (2015). The foreign investment decision process. In International Business Strategy (pp. 24-34). London, UK: Routledge.
Galbraith, J. (2017). American capitalism: The concept of countervailing power. New York: Routledge.
Warner, K. (2013). The decline of unionization in the United States: Some lessons from Canada. Labor Studies Journal, 38, 110–138.
Woodruff, J. (2018). Advantages & Disadvantages of Unions for Employers. Retrieved from https://bizfluent.com/info-12140728-advantages-disadvantages-unions-employers.html
