Case Study: Collective Bargaining at West University

Firstly, it will seem that the management and the labor union of any organization have a stake in the success or failure of that organization. The success of the organization has to be the priority or the number one goal of any member or members of the organization. As such, the entire organization has to work as a team in order to succeed, thrive and survive. In the real world, that is not what is happening. As a matter of fact, the labor unions and the management of some organizations see each other as adversaries.

Labor unions  formed for a good reason to help workers fight back together. There were many reasons why Labor Unions protested. If it wasn’t for the Union everyone would still be earning a low salary and have bad working conditions. We now are earning more money, working fewer hours and have better working conditions because of the Labor

Labor unions were established as a way for workers’ needs and grievances to be heard by management. According to Fossum (2012), “forming a union creates a collective voice to influence change at work” (p. 7). The collective voice of workers in a union holds much more power than any single employee’s voice. It can loudly draw attention to mistreatment or abuse of workers. The organized collective voice of workers demands to be treated in a fair way by its management in terms of wages, hours, benefits, and working conditions.

The companies and industries that have tension between the employees and employers benefit from collective bargaining. Although the strong unions can impair market prices and strain the economy, I believe they have the best interest of the employees and ethical intent. Times have changed since the unionization boom in the 19th century. Global competition has caused the unions to compromise on the labor contracts. There have been three primary waves of American unionization. The first wave brought gains to the workers while providing stable production. The second wave responded to the downfall of that system by highlighting employer opposition, union decline, and strategic choice. The third wave or present wave of American industrial

Unions grew in size with the manufacturing sector, the industrial age in America. When most of the business owners did not care about the front line worker just about the bottom line. Workers lost fingers, limbs, and even lives. At this point and time the worker needed someone on their side someone who would have their best interest in mind. They organized and created specific unions to protect their jobs, wages, and personal well-being. Historically speaking, “The labor movement in the United States grew out of the need to protect the common interest of workers. For those in the industrial sector, organized labor unions fought for better wages, reasonable hours and safer working conditions. The labor movement led efforts to stop child labor, give health benefits and provide aid to workers who were injured or retired.” (“Labor Movement”) This shows how and why the unions were created and

It is easy to see why companies do not want their workers to join unions. If workers join a labor union, the company will be split in half: the union vs the employer. Companies may be forced to change the way they run the things such as how much they pay their employees, how many benefits they have to provide, the safety requirements for the

Unions were created with the everyday worker in mind, an opposite to the previous mindset where the employer ruled his employee and the employee had no recourse. Unions helped pave the way for many of the current rights we have in place for American workers today; such as the length of the workday and weekly hours, child labor laws, minimum salary requirements, workers compensation and safe working conditions. With so much advancement in the American workforce because of Unions, it is interesting that there is a steady decline in Union membership in America. There are many factors that contribute to the decline, such as change in workforce, outsourcing jobs, right to work states, economic interests and political

What the union can do to help labor is to increase pay, help fix or get improvements in working conditions, or increase benefits, like vacation time, health benefits, etc. For example, according to Walters & Mishel, “unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise compensation” (2003). So unions play a pivotal role in taking our issues as workers and taking those issues to management to represent us. Some of the advantages of forming a union is job security since termination of an employee has to

Union benefits the employee by negotiating with their employer as a group to get a higher pays, benefits, better hours, etc. Unionization process is done with employee agreement to agree to use union in representing them in negotiation with employers. The Legal Basis to engage in union activities can be found in the Wagner Act, or National Labor Relations Act, of 1935 (Cascio, 2010). For a company to get unionize, at least signatures from 30 percent of the employees are needed (Lee Smith, 2011).

     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.

Labor unions are an organized association of employees who come together who would all like to better the relationship with their employer. They have power to impact things such as wages, job training and other work related issues. So why would employees want to start and organize a union? Well, one reason employees would want to start a union it’s usually because employees are dissatisfied with something in their job and they would like to fix it. The ‘things’ they would like to fix could range from something as basic as wages and to job security (Hunter 1).

A major topic that comes up with unions is getting better wages for the employees. This is one of the main reasons that unions came to be. Workers of all fields were tired of being paid unfairly by big companies. They realized that they needed a way to organize themselves to fight for better pay. Unions helped aid in this fight. According to History.com, “ The formation of the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers) in Philadelphia in 1794 marks the beginning of sustained trade union organization among American workers.” This was the first time workers tried to organize themselves to get more money for what they did. A key way that unions used workers to make businesses meet their demands was organized strikes. With these organized strikes, the big companies had to comply with some of the demands to raise the employee 's wage, or it would cost them more money in the long run. Strikes are a very powerful tool that unions have used often in the past. Unions orchestrated the strikes in the past pretty well, and the majority of strikes accomplished the goal they were trying to complete. Unions have always fought with companies to give the workers the pay they deserve.

In the absence of labor unions, workers may not be as involved in discussions concerning various aspects of their working lives. Although there are several reasons workers decide to join labor unions, the compensation and wage advantages, health and safety advantages and dignity and respect advantages drive workers to organize.

The document outlines the pros and cons of labor unions in America. The analysis takes into consideration how unions have improved the working environments for workers, and may continue to do so. The paper considers the power of unions for net social benefit, including the role they play in lobbying lawmakers, using collective bargaining to advocate for employees, and the prevention of abuse and discrimination. The cons of labor unions are also addressed. These drawbacks to labor unions include but are not limited to: decline in competitive advantage for American companies, corruption, potential decrease in productivity, possible reduction in employee motivation, and increased inefficiencies.

The relationship between unions and organization is a touchy one. Dating back to the start of unionization in the 19th century, the two bodies have held opposing viewpoints. Unionization was formed from the opinion that organizations took advantage of workers and some form of a negotiating agreement was needed. There were documented events of workers working long taxing hours for insignificant pay; no healthcare coverage; dangerous working conditions; and gender and or racial discrimination. Companies believed that unionization caused less productivity which endangered profits. Companies also believed that unions interfere in daily processes, and limits the employer’s say over compensation and benefits. The