Option 1: Labor Unions
I chose to look into the pros and cons of labor unions. I hear a lot of mixed opinions on labor unions and while I don’t know someone I can immediately talk to about their experiences with unions, every conversation I’ve had with someone in a union always painted it in a great light while if they were not in a union they typically talked down on unions. Those in unions stated they got higher standard pay, more benefits, and more job security and protection. While those not in unions said they are too controlling, didn’t allow for fast advancement and benefitted seniority rather than merit and skill, and limits autonomy and individuality in favor of coming to a group consensus. This coincides with a lot of the information I received from my online research and this weeks learning material. Overall the key takeaways I’ve gotten from my research and this weeks learning materials it seems that whether someone would prefer to be in a union or not depends on what they are looking for in their career. If they value higher job security, generally a higher standard wage rate, and benefits then maybe going a union would be better for them. If someone believes more in meritocracy where employees are based on their actual job skill rather than their seniority or if they don’t like how some unions may have a closed culture and make it hard for minority workers to feel comfortable in union shops then being non-union could be for them. Personally I’m not really swayed by being union or non-union and I think it would depend more on what sort of trade/industry I was in and what company I worked for, but if I had to make a blind decision the safer option to me seems to be going the union route.
Understanding the Pros and Cons of Labor Unions
The Pros and Cons of Unions – SmartAsset
