Some of the pros of labor unions for employees include the minimum wage that is set. This is usually higher than employees working for non-union entities. Resulting in workers being paid more after a long period of time. This comes with a union due to which workers then pay, but it is worth it for the quality of the work environment (Parolin & VanHeuvelen, 2022). It is widely known that unions also advocate for job security and job site safety. I personally got to work with union workers during my internship. I noticed that the level of safety practices going on at the sites was a lot. Workers often expressed that the safety focus was a good thing and respected most of the practices. This aligned with everything we learned from our learning materials. In the lectures, it is explained that unions are important to keep a standard of how workers should be treated. Not only does this protect the workers, but it also creates a healthy culture within the industry. Union has a long history and took a lot of movements with the government to get to the state it is in now. Bills like the Norris-LaGuardia Act and the National Labor Relations Act (Week 10 Lecture 1). If I were to join a trade, I would aim for it to be under a union. It makes sense to have an entity fighting for your rights and advocating for a good working environment. Whether that is by practicing on-site safety, or having a minimum compensation that is good.
References:
Parolin, Z., & VanHeuvelen, T. (2022). The Cumulative Advantage of a Unionized Career for Lifetime Earnings. ILR Review, 76, 434–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/00197939221129261\
Cieri Mike (2026). Weekly Learning materials.