Unions are a way for employees of a company to express their needs and wants through a formal organization. This organization is able to bargain with the company about wants such as hours worked, the employee pay, and in what conditions they are working.
The Pros of Unions are, that they making safer places of work, make employees more productive, and increase the wages overall. One of the main functions of unions overtime has been to advocate for employees to give them safe working conditions in all types of organizations, this is done through collective bargaining agreements. They can boost productivity by making employees feel that they are needed in the workplace and that their job matters, this changes the way the employee feels in their value with their career. Lastly, a high driver of Unions is better wages for each employee and can leave lasting impacts for all.
The Cons of these Unions on the other side are, the cost to be apart of it, possible changes within the organization for which employees work for, and a rise in strikes. Depending on the type of Union you are apart of, membership dues can be costly and funding can be questionable. Another problem that could occur, is stricter rules to each person that must abide by the union. Finally, strikes are a big factor play into unions, and these can happen often which will stop workflow in some areas.
Taking all of this into account, I would still be apart of a union even with big cons that could happen. My biggest takeaways that make me want to join a union are advocating for safer workplaces and higher wages. I believe that these are crucial to a good work environment and should be the key to why unions function.
Citations:
Klawans, J. (2024, October 2). The pros and cons of labor unions. Theweek; The Week. https://theweek.com/business/labor-unions-pros-cons
Union Plus. (2018). What is a Union? Unionplus.org. https://www.unionplus.org/page/what-union