HR Management, Labor Unions, and Government Roles in Worker Protection

Introduction

In the United States, the role of human resources management is to serve workers' interests. However, external agents such as labor unions and governments have also served as representatives of workers by advocating on their behalf. While the government intervenes in workers' interests by passing laws and regulations, labor unions fight for workers' interests through collective bargaining.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the roles of HR management, labor unions, and the government in protecting the interests of workers in the United States.

Roles of HR Management, Unions, and Government in Enhancing Worker Safety and Rights

A labor union is defined as a group of people who collectively organize themselves, using their collective strength to voice their opinions in the workplace. The actions of labor unions have assisted in influencing wages, benefits, hours, job training, health, and other work-related issues. U.S. law allows workers of all ages to join a union, because union support helps workers enjoy greater fairness in the workplace. Many of the protections and benefits that workers enjoy today originated in the organized labor movement, including social security payments, minimum wage, and overtime pay. Unions have addressed workers' rights by preventing employers from exploiting their workers. Without unions, employers could have required workers to perform overtime without additional compensation.

Walters and Mishel (2003) argue that unions have a great impact on the compensation and lives of both unionized and non-unionized workers. For example, unions have assisted in raising workers' compensation by 28%. Moreover, unions have helped reduce wage inequality by fighting for wage increases for low- and middle-income earners more than for high-income earners. One of the most significant benefits unions provide is their push to increase fringe benefits. Approximately 28% of unionized workers enjoy employer-sponsored health insurance, and up to 54% of unionized workers are covered by an employer health plan. Additionally, 26% of unionized workers enjoy paid vacation. Unions also play a critical role in enhancing workers' rights, including medical and family leave and health and safety rights, and assist in enforcing those rights.

Apart from union activities, the U.S. government has also intervened to improve workers' health and safety conditions. The federal government passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 (Department of Labor, 2014) to enhance labor rights. The law requires all employers to provide a safe workplace for their workers. Under the OSH Act, employers are responsible for protecting workers from job hazards. The federal government also prohibits certain work conditions that represent high risks for workers, and OSHA empowers state agencies to implement and enforce certain provisions of the law.

The federal government also promulgated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (Department of Labor, 2015) to ensure that American workers are entitled to a minimum wage. Since 2009, the law has mandated all public and private employers to pay workers at least $7.25 per hour. The FLSA also requires all employers to pay overtime to workers who work more than the standard required hours. Additionally, the law protects minors by limiting the number of hours that children aged 16 may work and prohibiting children under 18 from performing certain high-risk jobs.

The federal government also passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 to promote workers' health through the provision of health insurance. To qualify, a worker must work at least 30 hours per week. In 1935, President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act (SSA) into law, providing disabled and retired Americans with financial support. Currently, over 59 million people are entitled to SSA benefits, with retired individuals or those with disabilities receiving an average of $1,294 per month.

Human resources professionals also play a critical role in enhancing employee health and safety. The role of HR within an organization includes ensuring that the workplace environment meets OSHA standards and establishing effective protocols to maintain a healthy and safe working environment. It is also the responsibility of HR professionals to prevent work-related injuries by encouraging employees to report unsafe practices. HR personnel are responsible for implementing training programs, recruiting employees, and conducting performance appraisals. HR professionals also assist in reducing losses from absenteeism and workplace injuries, and they coordinate first aid training and provide first aid resources for employees.

Furthermore, as Lapiņa, Maurāne, and Starineca (2013, p. 584) note, "HR plays a critical role in knowledge creation, retention, sharing, and innovation inside organizations. The influence of knowledge management on HRM means that owners of organizations attempt to facilitate the implementation of HR practices by applying information technology and knowledge management in their organizations."

Evaluating the Unique Roles of HRM and Unions, and Areas of Overlap

The roles of labor unions and HR departments differ in important ways. The goal of HR is to ensure that an organization achieves higher productivity at lower costs through employee training and performance management. Unions, by contrast, exist to safeguard workers' interests. The HR department performs both operative and managerial functions. Operative functions include hiring employees and implementing training programs, as well as maintaining a smooth relationship with the labor union. Managerial functions involve planning, organizing, controlling, and directing employees to achieve organizational effectiveness.

However, the roles of unions and HR departments overlap in that both work toward the interests of workers. Both human resources departments and unions assist in improving the working environment, often through interest-based bargaining (Lapiņa, Maurāne, & Starineca, 2013).

Conclusion

This study evaluates the roles of HRM, labor unions, and the federal government in enhancing workers' interests. While unions advocate for workers' interests through collective bargaining, the federal government enacts a range of laws to improve workers' welfare and enhance their health and safety. Human resources professionals complement these efforts internally by ensuring safe working environments and implementing practices that support employee well-being. Together, these three institutional actors form a layered system of worker protection in the United States.

References

Department of Labor. (2014). Workers' rights. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA 3021-09R).

Department of Labor. (2015). Summary of the major laws of the Department of Labor. USA.

Lapiņa, I., Maurāne, G., & Starineca, O. (2013). Human resource management models: Aspects of knowledge management and corporate social responsibility. Procedia — Social and Behavioral Sciences, 110(24), 577–586.

Walters, M., & Mishel, L. (2003). How unions help all workers. Economic Policy Institute.