Running Head: LABOR UNIONS

LABOR UNIONS 11

Labor Unions: Impact on Stakeholders

Introduction

In the 21st century, labor unions have become integral in the workplace environment. This not only applies to employees working in the public sector, but also in privately owned organizations (Jacobs, 2013). Although there are various beneficial implications associated with labor unions, it is evident that there are also many challenges associated with the said unions. One of the main dimensions that can be used in analyzing the reasons as to why labor unions are not necessarily good involves the society.

There are numerous ways through which the labor unions have negative implications on society - including making a contribution to the increase in the price of products and services for consumers as well as occurrence of strikes that can sometimes derail service delivery and even result in destruction of life and property. Another dimension that is important in terms of evaluating the good and bad of labor unions involves employers. The reasons as to why employers are better off with labor unions is because they provide a platform of open and effective communication with employees while also improving the extent to which an organization is compliant with the relevant labor rules and regulations. Employers also benefit from labor unions because employees morale is improved significantly resulting in improved outcomes in the workplace, i.e. in as far as productivity is concerned. These issues have been examined extensively within the context of this research.

Question 1: Labor unions are generally not good for employees

Labor unions are not generally good for employees. There are various reasons as to why labor unions are not generally good for employees. One of the most notable factors of evaluation is the issue of membership fees. In order for an employee to be considered as a member of any labor union, they are required to pay a certain amount for membership fees. In most cases, there are instances during which the membership fees for labor unions are required every month while in other situations, such payment is required every year (Hogler, 2020). This type of financial obligation is not ideal for an employee because it implies that an individual must part with a certain amount of money so that they can be recognized as members of labor unions. There is need to at all times be considerate...

This is an aspect that is indicative of the reasons as to why the membership fees is an aspect that clearly demonstrates that labor unions are not generally good for employees. As a matter of fact, during periods of downturn in economic activity, labour unions could further eat into the little that employees are left with.

Apart from the fact that employees are required to pay membership fee, another reason as to why labor unions are not generally good for them is that these organizations might not necessarily reflect or stand for the specific values of an individual. There are many instances during which some employees might not necessarily be in agreement with the mission or values of different labor unions. This implies that being a member of such unions is in direct contradiction to the personal values of some employees. When making decisions on whether to become a member of any labor union, it is always important for an employee to be considerate of this implication in order to ensure that they are adequately cognizant of what they are getting into. For instance, in some scenarios, the cultural, political as well as social perspectives of individual employees could clash with...

…a stake in the unfolding events. It is important to note that in the absence of labor unions, such scenarios and occurrences would not be witnessed. To a large extent, such disruption of public order is inconsistent with the well-being and overall stability of society not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world.

Conclusion

In line with the insights from popular pinion and research, it is evident that labor unions are not good for employees. They not only compromise the extent to which high standards of individuality can be achieved at the workplace but also serve as a detriment to the potential of an individual employee especially when it comes to attaining the highest level of professional excellence in their respective specialty or line of specialization. The fact that there are cost implications of being a member of one or more labor unions is also an aspect that is indicative of the reasons as to why such entities are not generally good for employees. Membership has to be renewed frequently, resulting in an additional cost burden on individual employee.

One of the main reasons as to why labor unions are generally good for employers is that they improve workplace productivity while also ensuring that employers can effectively identify with the challenges and problems being experienced by members of the workforce. Society suffers in many ways because of labor unions. Downsides to society include an increase in the prices of some products and services as companies try to generate more revenues in order to increase the salaries and wages of employees after extensive agitation from union leaders. It is also evident that labor unions help in improving the image of an organization because they strengthen the extent to which a positive track record of employers is enhanced in…