Labor Unions: Why People Join & What I Learned From Experience

Option 1: Labor Unions

       After learning more about labor unions this week, I found myself comparing the course material with my own experience working at UPS as part of the Teamsters union. The lectures explain that employees typically unionize when they feel they don’t have a voice, want protection from unfair labor practices, or want better pay and working conditions. That was exactly what I saw in real life. Being a union member gave me benefits that non-union workers didn’t have, including competitive pay, predictable raises, job security, and someone who always had your back when disagreements with management came up. If a supervisor told you to do something unsafe or outside the rules, the union was there to step in, which lines up with the course description of how grievance procedures protect employees from retaliation or unfair treatment.

       One thing I didn’t like at first was paying union dues, but once I realized how much support, representation, and compensation fairness came with it, the cost felt minor. In my current construction project, our workers aren’t union, but because it’s Davis-Bacon work, they still get wages higher than regular state rates. That showed me that the push for fair pay doesn’t only come from unions, but sometimes laws or project requirements step in, but typically the unions are the ones who consistently fight for those standards.

       After comparing research, lectures, and my own experience, my key takeaway is that unions can be extremely valuable when workers feel vulnerable or lack bargaining power. If I had a choice to join a union again, I would Absolutely do so. Even in a non-union job, I would still support a unionization effort if employees weren’t being treated fairly, wages weren’t competitive, or management ignored safety and worker concerns. In those situations, having collective strength matters way more than ever.