Workers Union Be Removed? Workers' Unions Basically

¶ … Workers Union Be Removed? Workers' unions basically emanated from the hard, bitter, and normally aggressive fights between labor and capital. Most of these aggressive and violent struggles focused on the division of the product of labor into profits and wages. Many workers formed and were united into unions because they were left seemingly helpless when capitalists dealt directly with individual laborers. However, the formation of workers' unions didn't help in stopping the exploitation of workers by capitalists.

As the struggles for the division of the product of labor into profits and wages has continued to date, the workers' unions have primarily enabled workers to resist in groups. One of the major questions that have been raised in the recent past is whether or not these workers' unions should be removed and their importance in today's working environment and workforce.

Brief History of Workers' unions: As previously mentioned, workers' unions were formed as a reaction to the aggressive battles regarding the division of the product of work into profits and wages for laborers. In addition to this, the formation of these unions was stimulated by the capitalists' exploitations of workers ("What's Wrong with the Labor Unions?" n.d.). During the immediate period after their formation, capitalists who owned means of production like mines, factories, mills, and railroads tried to destroy these unions.

The capitalists also attempted to lower wages and get more production from laborers due to competition and profit motives from their rivals. On the contrary, workers who belonged to these unions resisted and attempted to force increases in wages as they were driven by ordinary ambitions and absolute necessity. The resultant battles over the product of labor were not mere struggles between individual workers and their employers. They were struggles between the different classes in the capital-labor relationship i.e. The working class and the capitalist class.

Removal of Workers' unions: The relevance and importance of workers' unions has remained to be a fundamental question, particularly in the recent past. The question has led to the concern on whether workers' unions should be removed or maintained in today's working environment.

The most appropriate answer to this question is that workers' unions should not be removed because of several reasons including Impact on Workers' Compensation: One of the major reasons for the maintenance of workers' unions in the modern working environment is the considerable impact on the compensation and work live of both the unionized and non-unionized laborers. According to Mishel & Walters (2003), workers' unions increase their wages by approximately 20% and increase compensation in both wages and benefits by an estimated 28%.

These unions have also been successful in lessening wage inequality because they increase more wages for low- and middle-wage laborers as compared to those of higher-wages workers. Actually, these unions have played an integral role in the increase of wages for blue-collar jobs than the white-collar jobs as well as for laborers without college degrees. Workers' unions have also had a significant impact on the compensation and wages of non-unionized laborers.

Actually, it's been reported that the impact of these unions on the total wages for non-union employees is nearly as much as it is on the total wages of union employees. This is largely because strong workers unions have been able to establish a pay standard that non-union employers follow. For instance non-unionized high school graduates in industries that are 25% unionized receive an extra 5% pay as compared to similar workers whose industries are less unionized.

Therefore workers' unions should not be removed because of their impact in the compensation and total wages of both the unionized and non-unionized employees. Impact on Workers' Benefits: The benefits provided to employees have been positively impacted by workers' unions since they give employees a stronger voice that enables them to receive a fair share of the economic development that they participate in creating. According to Madland & Walter (2009), workers' unions have enabled many middle-class American workers to obtain additional benefits like health care and pensions.

The unions have paved the way for union employers to provide more benefits to employees for their contributions to the organizations and businesses. The benefits that employees in unionized industries receive are not only financial benefits but other aspects of the total well-being. Some of these additional benefits that employees in unionized industries receive include generous health benefits than workers in non-unionized industries.

The generous health benefits are provided to these workers through various ways including the fact that they pay 18% lower health care deductibles and a minimal portion of the costs for family health care coverage. Actually the fringe benefits of health care coverage to these workers are evident from the fact that these employees are 24% more likely to have health insurance paid by their employers during retirement. Secondly, the unionized workers are also more likely to receive paid leave during their employment period than their non-unionized counterparts.

According to the findings of research, these workers receive 14% more total paid leave and 26% more vacation time than the non-unionized employees. Third, due to the impact of workers' unions, employees in various fields have been able to receive improved pension plans. This is largely because their employers contribute approximately 28% more towards pension in addition to guaranteed benefits in retirement.

Workers' unions should not be removed because without them many companies and employers wouldn't be providing their employee with enough pay, compensation, and benefits because it would decrease their profits despite of their profit margins. Impact on Legislated Labor Protections: Workers' unions should not be removed because they play a critical role in securing labor protections as stipulated in various legislations. These unions have also played a significant role in securing labor rights like safety and health, medical leave, and family leave.

The unions have accomplished labor protections and rights for workers because they act as intermediary institutions that offer necessary complements.