Pros of Labor Unions
Labor unions have a long history of greatly improving workers’ lives and workplaces. Workers in unions usually have higher wages, more benefits, better working conditions, and job security (Maryville University 2021). In the past workers had to work in unsafe and unreasonable conditions; but with workers going on strikes and then forming unions, it greatly improved workplace conditions for many people. Employers had to provide better working conditions and wages in order to keep their workforce. These worker strikes spurred government officials to pass laws to further protect workers in all industries, such as the implementation of OSHA (Weil 2003).
Cons of Labor Unions
A con of labor unions that I have personally noticed where I work (a union only general contractor) is slow advancement. Many of our laborers, operators, and masons all have gone through lengthy apprenticeships before they were able to journey out. In a non-unionized workplace, there may be more opportunities to advance quicker, rather than being bound to union rules. There is less autonomy, and there may be stricter rules when a worker is a member of a union.
Contrast with learning materials?
This week’s material seemed to closely align with what I was able to learn from my internet search. Pros and cons of unions are consistent across different sources, including lectures. The formation of unions allowed many different acts and laws to be passed to protect workers further (Swift 2022).
Key Takeaways & Final Thoughts
Unions are overall a good practice, and generally protect workers from unreasonable working conditions. They have the benefit of usually paying higher wages and can provide more job security than non-unionized workplaces. However, unions can restrict autonomy and many require dues to be paid to them (Maryville University 2021).
Overall, this research has not changed my mind on unions. I believe that they are extremely useful and should be more common than they are in the US. I would recommend joining unions for the majority, as I believe that the benefits far outweigh the cons.
References
Maryville University. 2021. What Are the Pros and Cons of Labor Unions?. https://online.maryville.edu/blog/pros-and-cons-of-unions/
Weil, David. 2003. Enforcing OSHA: The Role of Labor Unions. https://www.fissuredworkplace.net/assets/Weil.Enforcing-OSHA-Role-of-Unions.IR.1991.pdf
Swift, Michele. 2022. Outline – Labor Relations. https://canvas.oregonstate.edu/courses/1867421/files/92553303?wrap=1