Trade Union Membership

Introduction
Gerry is employed, part-time, for the last 6 months, by a takeaway eatery. Owing to poor work conditions, he decides upon becoming a trade union member. His boss finds him sharing trade union related information with another worker, causing him to lose his job. The reason provided is: his work’s demand has decreased. Gerry’s case is quite strong, since he lost employment owing to his superior discovering his associations with a trade union and not because demand for his work had actually decreased.
1. Is the resistance of employers to unionization a new phenomenon or simply a return to the historic relationship that has existed between unions and managements in the United States?
America’s labor and business history can be traced back to Philadelphian Cordwainers, and teems with cases of organizational opposition to unionization. The elemental differences between trade unionists’ and capitalists’ objectives, values, beliefs and ideas is what renders such opposition unavoidable and adjustment following unionization challenging (Fossum, 2014).
Organizations have historically relied on various approaches for preventing or destabilizing unionization. Workers have been policed with the aid of security forces, organizers have forcefully been barred entry, and internal sympathizers or union activists have been ferreted out between the latter half of the nineteenth century up to the Second World War. These practices were especially widely employed by auto and steel manufacturing units. Organizational opposition was at its highest and most effective in sectors with basically unskilled employees, or where employers controlled job entry, or in case the organization was the biggest in any particular area. Foremen and supervisors were accorded considerable power in directing, disciplining and controlling workers. Workers’ job retention ability was largely reliant on pleasing superiors. Such a ‘drive system’ was influential within the production sector for the major part of the initial one-third of the last century (Fossum, 2014).
Between the latter half of the 1940s and mid-to-late 70s, unions and large organizations in the United States faced a time where the former were basically granted a permanent position within the tripartite employment system of employers, the government and unions as reflected by employment-related public policy (Fossum, 2014). Statutes and rules preferred the collective bargaining approach to conflict resolution. Productivity grew steadily and wage rises were funded with no appreciable inflationary pressure up to the late 60s-70s era (Fossum, 2014).
2. Would you expect a stronger anti-union response from an employer in manufacturing or an employer in a service industry?
I would personally expect a stronger anti-union reaction from production sector employers for various reasons. First is the increased market power within production, according unions increased leverage when it comes to exacting demands from organizations. Additionally, service sector jobs are usually short-term and hence, as employees frequently change jobs, unionization is a low priority aspect. With higher labor cost within the service sector, unions do not enjoy as much power as they do in the production sector. Thus, in simple terms, a much stronger opposition to unionization will be evident in the production sector owing to manufacturing unions’ greater leverage and power when compared with service sector employees. Also, owing to technological advancements and re-engineering attempts, service firms are more open to automation. Despite production firms’ automation efforts, its scope is limited by distinctive sectoral characteristics (Deshmukh, 2014).
Automation has decreased unions’ bargaining power in the service sector. Lastly, securer positions within the service sector may leave no motivation to form unions (Deshmukh, 2014)
Conclusion
Organizations and their workforces naturally have conflicting interests. Trade unions take care of employee interests, leading to disputes with organizations who consider them to be foes. Traditionally, dissatisfied employees join unions; however, do they still become union members despite being satisfied with the organization? For many decades, trade unions have witnessed a decline. Though a transforming political climate may promote increased union membership, unions must continue to fulfill their members’ needs. Workers enjoy the power of certifying or decertifying unions. Figures for 2007-2009 revealed that 12.3 percent of employees in the US were union members when compared with the 1983 figure of 20.1 percent (PSH, 2010). Unions serve at members’ desire.



Bibliography
Deshmukh, S. G. (2014). Research Gate. Retrieved from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
Fossum, J. A. (2014). Labor Relations: Development, Structure, Process, 12/e. Business and Economics.
PSH. (2010, December 09). Research: Employees' relationship with employers, unions. Retrieved from Harrisburg.psu.edu: https://harrisburg.psu.edu/news/research-relationships-between-employees-employers-unions