Before Industrial Age emerged as one of the most significant period in history, humans learned to cope with an antiquated system characterized by monarchies, empires, and tribal leaderships. It was almost impossible for an ordinary human being to change his destiny unless he is a part of the noble class or unless he is willing to wrest control of authority by violent means. In the modern age democracy became an alternative form of government wherein the majority rules. This type of government can be seen in organized labor unions. An organization that helps protect the rights and privileges of workers so that a particular way of life can be sustained without reverting back to the chaos and dictatorships of ancient times. It is therefore important to know what is the future of labor unions in the United States.
The importance of labor unions can be seen in the way it is supposed to function. It is an offshoot of a modern understanding of democracy. It is no longer acceptable to allow one person to control a group of men and women. This is especially true in a democratic nation such as the United States. Every four years there is an election to ensure that a despot will not arise and revert the social and political landscape into something reminiscent of ancient history where kingdom fight against kingdoms and rulers oppress their people in the belief that they are secured in their position and no matter what they will do there is nothing that the majority can do to change the situation.
All of that had been thrown into the trash bin of history and in a democratic way of life, the ability of the people to take part in governance is not only limited to exercising their right of suffrage, ordinary men and women also have the capacity to help shape their working environment by becoming a part of organized labor unions. In this regard there are three questions that must be answered in this study and these are listed as follows:
- Why is there a Need to Organize into Labor Unions?
- What Are the Problems Faced by Employees in Relation to Labor Unions?
- What will be the Impact of the Free Choice Act?
The answer to these questions will help determine the future of labor unions in the United States. With regards to the first question the proponent of this study will point out the benefits that will be acquired by members of labor unions as opposed to the solitary worker unable to acquire leverage and therefore has no power to negotiate with employers. The second question deals with the problems faced by employees as they seek to improve the quality of their lives and enhance job satisfaction. The third question is in relation to a specific solution a proposed law that would increase the capability of ordinary workers to organize themselves into labor unions.
Why is there a Need to Organize into Labor Unions?
Labor unions became an important component of the American landscape when workers in factory floors began to organize in response to the fact that as a group they can increase their leverage when negotiating with their employers. It did not take long before factory workers in the 19th century began to realize that on their own they are powerless against the unified strength of businessmen who can easily remove their privileges as it was relatively easy to replace them with new hires. There is also the issue of wages, the number of hours that is required to labor in the workplace as well as the type of work that is required for a single worker.
All of these issues need to be discussed with management and it is not practical that each worker should make a beeline towards the factory manager’s office and express their complaints as well as their aspirations. It is much better to organize, choose a leader among them and then the spokesperson will be able to articulate their wishes and their demands. Aside from the practicality of choosing a leader to deal with corporate leaders, labor unions also find strength in numbers. The action of a single worker may be considered insignificant but if half the work force will refuse to work the firm or the factory will readily feel the impact of a strike.
It is a part of human nature to form social groups and therefore it should be expected that workers should seek out this type of organization. Labor organizations can even develop into a national organization by becoming a part of a wider network. In this way their leverage can be enhanced and members will be able to multiply their strength finding similar problems and therefore increasing the urgency that these problem need to be solved. Furthermore they will be able to create an organization having so much influence that even the government will be forced to listen to what they have to say. After all this is a democratic country and come election time workers can be expected to vote for those who they believe can help them improve their quality of life.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is one of the most influential labor unions in the United States and this group attests to the significance of unions when it comes to the following issues:
- Negotiated Wages – It is important that employees can negotiate for wages that are commensurate to the skills. Yet the sad fact is that there are many who are getting less than what they deserve.
- Job Training Benefits – There is a need to continually upgrade the skills and knowledge of the worker and labor unions make sure that this will happen.
- Guaranteed Overtime Pay – Workers will not be exploited especially during peak season when a factory or firm requires extended working hours to finish a project or hit a production quota.
- Safety Protections – Labor unions will make sure that workers are protected and that management should spend the for the necessary equipment and safety gear that will create a safe working environment.
- Defined Work Schedules – A defined work schedule will allow employees to enjoy life outside the workplace. Over fatigue and burnout can be prevented if there is a system like this in place.
- Paid Vacations and Holidays – Aside from having defined work schedules there is also a need to have paid vacations and holidays. There is no need to elaborate why it can help the worker sustain a busy schedule.
- Grievance Procedures – By creating grievance procedures the company will eliminate unnecessary politicking in the workplace. The grievances will immediately reach the ears of those who need to hear it and thus the problem can be resolved in the shortest possible time.
- Health Plan – A health plan can help the employee save for his or her retirement because each time the worker gets sick he or she does not have to use their savings to pay for medical expenses.
- Pension Benefits – Everyone must work towards retirement. Workers will work inspired knowing that at the end of their career there is a substantial reward waiting for them.
The aforementioned benefits are available to members of IBEW. Their members can expect the benefits outlined above because the IBEW is one of the respected and influential labor organizations in the United States. This means that not all employee organizations can expect to achieve the same level of success (Price, 2005). A good example is the labor violations at Wal-Mart (Greenhouse, 2009). By discussing these benefits one can have an idea of the future of labor unions in America. The IBEW has paved the way for others to follow but first there is a need to create a legal environment that will allow labor unions to flourish in the United States of America.
What Are the Problems Faced by Employees in Relation to Labor Unions?
When the workers organize themselves into labor unions they are simply trying to increase their capability to negotiate with those who have the power to change their working conditions and those who have the authority to give them added benefits commensurate to their skills and length of service to the company. On the other hand employers are well aware of the fact that every concession and every upgrade directly related to the working environment will reduce their income as expenses are being plowed back into the system. It is therefore not surprising to find employers and businessmen to resist the changes imposed on them by labor unions.
In an ideal world labor unions can express their desires and aspirations and the employers out of benevolence and long-term strategic thinking will readily comply to their request. But in the real world nothing can be further from the truth. Although employers expect workers to organize themselves into unions, they are also well aware of a few strategies to frustrate the rapid development of labor unions in their midst. One way is to harass employees and to threaten to fire them if they will go ahead with their plans to force corporate leaders to accept their demands. Thus, even if workers have the right to form labor unions many are discouraged to do so thinking that it is better to have a not so great job as compared to having none at all.
What will be the Impact of the Free Choice Act?
In light of the current global financial crisis as well as the negative impact of business outsourcing to American laborers employers have the advantage when it comes to forcing employees to think of the company first before they think of their shrinking paychecks. There are instances when it is noble and moral for an employee to sacrifice for the common good but there are also times when employers are simply being unreasonable and use issues surrounding the financial crisis and globalization to threaten workers into submission.
There is also a legal loophole that corporate leaders can exploit when it comes to doing business in America. This country is a believer in free enterprise, meaning that the government should have a limited role in the economy. The best way to understand this dynamic is to study communist countries like North Korea as well as other nations that are being ruled by despots and one can see the how government tried to control their economy. Since America does not operate this way, businessmen can assert their rights when it comes to having absolute autonomy in running their respective businesses. On the other hand the current financial crisis is the eye-opener when it comes to the negative effects of unregulated markets.
Therefore, the wisdom of free market economics must be allowed to reign supreme in the U.S. but there is also a need to inject some form of regulation in order to temper the greed of others. It is common knowledge that businessmen have only one goal and it is to make money. Without any form of a feedback or mechanism that will inform businessmen that they have crossed the line in terms of amassing great wealth they will continue to find ways to increase their profit margins to the detriment of their workers. There is a need for a law that will allow businessmen to continually thrive in a free market economy but at the same time mindful of the status of the workers.
In response to this need Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Peter King (R-N.Y.) introduced a legislation called The Employee Free Choice Act (AFL-CIO, 2009). The said legislative proposal will remove the barriers to union representation and collective bargaining (AFL-CIO, 2009). In the past companies hide under the protection of current labor laws that allow them to intimidate, harass, coerce, and fire their employees in their attempt to stop representation and collective bargaining. According to the authors of the said legislative proposal, even if workers succeed in forming unions they fail to get a first contract (AFL-CIO, 2009). In other words companies have the prerogative to ignore them.
The Free Choice Act empowers American workers not only because it removes barriers to form unions and guarantees a new contract, the said legislative proposal also ensures that companies will have to pay if they will break the law. In the past penalties are so light that businessmen merely consider them as cost of doing business (AFL-CIO, 2009). This time they will feel the sting of the penalties and would think many times over before indiscriminately firing an employee.
Conclusion
Without a doubt it is much better for an employee to join labor unions. There are many benefits. The benefits easily outweigh the cost of joining one. There is only one problem. Companies are well aware of the cost of acquiescing to the demands of unions and so they would do everything that they can to lessen the bargaining power of labor groups and in many cases the idea of labor unions continue to remain an idea as management will do everything in its power to weaken its resolve and to block its success. In current labor laws companies can easily get away with labor code violations and they can therefore selectively fire employees they suspect to be leading workers into forming labor unions.
The Free Choice Act a bipartisan legislative proposal is manna from heaven for many American laborers. For the first time they have the chance to have the law on their side. If lawmakers will agree that this proposal is the right thing to do then the future of labor unions in the United States of America will drastically change for the better. In the early phase of the discussion it was pointed out that labor unions can help employees receive negotiated wages, enjoy defined working schedules and paid vacation as well as be assured of continuous skills and knowledge upgrade. But it seems that this is only available for established unions and far out of reach for those who are new to union representation and collective bargaining. Everything will change if The Freedom of Choice Act will be made into law.
References
AFL-CIO (2009). “The Employee Free Choice Act.” Web.
Beauchamp, Tom. (2008). “The Principle of Beneficence in Applied Ethics.” Web.
Greenhouse, Steven. (2004). “In-House Audit Says Wal-Mart Violated Labor Laws.” New York Times. Web.
Goodstein, J. & A. Wicks. (2006). Corporate and Stakeholder Responsibility: A Two-Way Conversation. University of Virginia: Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. Web.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. “International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.” Web.
Price, Alan. (2005). “Wal-Mart Fined for Child Labor Violations.” Web.