According to HR Exchange Network, there are many pros and cons associated with unions. For employees, a pro for participating in a union is that there are certain protections provided—employees can only be fired with a just cause, they can’t be fired for any reason like non-union workers can be (except for discrimination of course). A drawback for employees in unions is that it is hard to be promoted due to the focus of seniority with unions. For employers, a pro of unions is that high quality work is typically done, but the con is the costs are much higher than non-union. On a society point of view, a pro is the unions promote community and teamwork, a con, it can form clicks and lack of inclusion of people with different backgrounds.
Compared to this weeks material, it aligns pretty similarly. The cons in the course material mainly focus on the business point of view. Unions can limit managers due to policies unions have set in place (working schedules). My key takeaways are that unions ultimately defend workers in cases of being underpaid and wrongfully terminated. And I personally would join a union if I was in the field of being a field laborer for a company due to the benefits and training opportunities.
Stevenson, Mason. “Pros and Cons of Labor Unions.” HR Exchange Network, 6 Apr. 2022, https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/hr-compensation-benefits/articles/pros-and-cons-of-labor-unions.
