Unions Are Necessary and Toward

¶ … unions are necessary and toward this end the focus will be on unions up until the 21st century. Toward this end this work will conduct a review of literature in this area of study. The findings in this work include the finding that unions are vital and necessary to protect the rights and equitable pay of individuals in today's work and labor forces.

ARE UNIONS NECESSARY?

The objective of this work is to examine whether or not unions are necessary and toward this end the focus will be on unions up until the 21st century. . Toward this end this work will conduct a review of literature in this area of study. Labor unions have historically served positive and very valuable services to the labor force in the way of eliminating gender discrimination as well as unfair labor practices. However, there are those who question the necessity of labor unions in today's contemporary workplace.

Literature Review

The work of Gallin (nd) entitled: "Trade Unions and NGOs: A Necessary Partnership for Social Development examines precisely what it is that "distinguishes the trade unions and NGOs from other actors in civil society (for example mainstream churches, religious sects, educational institutions, professional associations)." The argument stated by Gallin is that the difference is in the fact that each have "specific agendas for the improvement of society. " (Gallin, nd) the Unions can make legitimate claims that they are serving society's best interests and as well NGO can "...acting on a desire to advance and improve the human condition" make the same claim. The consequence is that "...cooperation between unions and NGOs is possible and necessary in a shared perspective of building a society in which the satisfaction of basic human needs is the overriding priority."

The work of Jeff Grabelsky (2004) entitled: "Building and Construction Trades Unions: Are They Built to Win?" writes that it is evident that labor possesses "declining power in the economic and political arenas..." And "despite the tenacious efforts of talented leaders over the past ten years, the labor movement has still failed to turn the proverbial corner." (p.35) the belief of many labor leaders is that there will have to be change of a dramatic nature to revitalize the fortunes of labor. (Grabelsky, 2004, paraphrased) it was reported on March 1, 2010 by the Public Agenda Organization that a Pew Research study revealed that the majority of individuals asked about the necessity of unions stated that they are necessary to protect the working person. The following chart shows the responses of those participating in the survey.

Figure 1

Source: Public Agenda Organization (2010)

When those participating in the survey were asked whether they believed that labor unions in the United States will become stronger in the future than they are presently or if they believed that labor unions will become weaker in the future than they are presently the answers given are shown in the following chart labeled Figure 2.

Figure 2

Source: Public Agenda Organization (2010)

Labor unions perform valuable services for their members and according to the Economic Policy Institute in an August 2003 report the following are stated to be gained by workers who belong to unions: (1) Unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise compensation, including both wages and benefits, by about 28%; (2) Unions reduce wage inequality because they raise wages more for low- and middle-wage workers than for higher-wage workers, more for blue-collar than for white-collar workers, and more for workers who do not have a college degree; (3) Strong unions set a pay standard that nonunion employers follow. For example, a high school graduate whose workplace is not unionized but whose industry is 25% unionized is paid 5% more than similar workers in less unionized industries; (4) the impact of unions on total nonunion wages is almost as large as the impact on total union wages; (5) the most sweeping advantage for unionized workers is in fringe benefits. Unionized workers are more likely than their nonunionized counterparts to receive paid leave, are approximately 18% to 28% more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, and are 23% to 54% more likely to be in employer-provided pension plans; (6) Unionized workers receive more generous health benefits than nonunionized workers. They also pay 18% lower health care deductibles and a smaller share of the costs for family coverage. In retirement, unionized workers are 24% more likely to be covered by health insurance paid for by their employer; (7) Unionized workers receive better pension plans. Not only are they more likely to have a guaranteed benefit in retirement, their employers contribute 28% more toward pensions; and (8) Unionized workers receive 26% more vacation time and 14% more total paid leave (vacations and holidays). (Lawrence & Walters: The Economic Policy Institute, 2003, p.1)

Lawrence and Walters (2003) report that unionized workers are "3.2% more likely to have paid leave, a relatively small impact, explained by the fact that nearly all workers (86%) already receive this benefit." (p.1) However unions are shown to have a greater effect on whether the worker receives pensions and health insurance benefits and it is stated that unions workers "22.5% and 18.3% [are] more likely to receive, respectively, employer-provided pension and health benefits. The following table lists the union impact on paid leave, pension and health benefits as cited by Lawrence and Walters (2003).

Figure 3

Source: Lawrence & Walters: The Economic Policy Institute

The work of Carmen J. Sirolli examines whether unions are necessary in the work entitled: "Bargaining Units vs. Management: Are Police Unions Necessary?" And states that there has been a historical struggle in the relationships existing between "management and line personnel of police organizations" in the United States. Sirolli reports that numerous bargaining units were formed beginning in the early 1960s and 1970s and that the reasons for unionization was such as "unfair labor practices, poor pay and benefits, lack of communication and trust from those who supervised..." (nd) Sirolli goes on to state that in a world that is prefect "both police managers and police union leaders want to work together to make their community a safer place to live. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Police managers and police union leaders regularly work side by side as law enforcement officers but they do not communicate regularly on labor-management issues that arise each day." (nd) Collective bargaining is stated to be "a form of participation" in that "both parties participate in deciding what proportion of the 'cake' is to be shared by the parties entitled to do so. It is a form of participation also because it involves an allocation of rule-making power between employers and unions in areas which, in earlier times, were regarded as management prerogatives, e.g. transfers, promotions, discipline, modernization, and production norms." (Sirolli, nd)

Sirolli reports a survey which involved 43 surveys being sent out to various Florida agencies involved in the Senior Leadership Program at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Tallahassee, Florida, the State of Florida Fraternal Order of Police, and the Ocala Police Department in Marion County, Florida. Of the 43 surveys, 31 or (72%) of the surveys were returned. Sirolli states that findings include the following: (1) Twenty-five (81%) participants indicated bargaining units are necessary in police work; (2) Thirty-one (100%) participants indicated morale can be a direct result of labor-management problems; and (3) Thirty (97%) participants indicated better pay cannot solve most agencies problems. (Sirolli, nd) in addition the survey revealed that "some agencies could resolve their differences with bargaining and non-bargaining units with expectations of revitalizing working conditions in their agencies." (Sirolli, nd)

Finally, Sirolli states that the survey results were "impressive, with so many answering the questions in support for bargaining units within their agencies. A minority of those surveyed thought unions, or bargaining units, were a group of disgruntled employees looking to cause confusion within the ranks. Those in support of bargaining units felt it was more like "checks and balances" that helped with job security and better benefits, provided an outlet for grievances on critical concerns, ensured equality regarding terms and conditions, allowed them to have a clear voice and, most of all, kept management honest while assuring that the community received the best services possible." (Sirolli, nd)