After an internet search regarding the pros and cons of labor unions, I found that there are both pros and cons for the employee and the employer. For the employee pros include; higher wages, better benefits, better working conditions, professional and personal development, grievance process, and representation. Cons for the employee include; union dudes, union rules, seniority impacting time off and career advancement, and potential strikes impacting wages. For the employer the pros are the grievance process, the professional and personal development enhance skill sets of employees, and they making it easier to forecast operations costs due to contracts. . The cons for the employer are the potential for tension between management and union members, that is difficult to promote good employees and fire bad employees, and operations cost can be higher due to better wages and benefits offered to represented employees. (Kourtis, 2025) Regardless of the pro’s and con’s it is important to consider that unions support a system of checks and balances for organizations (Kristof, 2019) so if nothing else, they serve that important purpose.
I have experience with unions as I currently work for an organization that requires its employees to be part of a union. In fact, part of the onboarding process involves several union actives. For me working with union representation has its positives and negatives; however, I would say they lean more in the direction of positive then negatives.
Despite playing $1200 a year in union dues the job security, personal and professional development, as well as wages and befits outweigh the cost of my union dues. I do not always agree with the union but overall, it has been a positive experience. It is reassuring to have representation that that advocates for employee rights, benefits, and competitive pay. Where I tend to get frustrated is with the seniority rules and how difficult it is to be promote a good employee or dismiss a poor employee.
With all of that said, if one can learn to maximize the opportunities available then the union fees aren’t so bad and the union is a fantastic resource. For me, being part of this union has been life changing. Not only does the union offer tuition reimbursement, they offer wage replacement which essentially allows me to go home and study and get paid to do it. Without the union, I could not have gone back to school or finished my agree. I certainly could not have taking 18 credit hours this term. Between the wage replacement opportunities and tuition reimbursement, the cost of my degree at OSU has been manageable. Because of the professional development opportunities with the union, I will be graduating this summer and it will open opportunities for career advancement!
As I look to move into administrative position, I will move away from my union position which makes me a bit nervous as there is a level of job protection being part of the union. As a non-unionize employee, I will not have the same benefits, tuition reimbursement options, nor job protection as I do now! For me personally, I would probably consider joining a union in the future or working at a job with a union, but I would research the opportunities available and cost to me before committing.
Kourtis, F. (2025, March 17). Understanding the pros and cons of Labor Unions. Laborsoft. https://www.laborsoft.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-labor-unions
Kristof, N. (2019). Nicholas Kristof – The New York Times. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/column/nicholas-kristof