LABOR UNION IN UNITED STATES

Labor union in United States challenges in the next 5-10 years

Labor union in United States challenges in the next 5-10 years

Introduction

Despite their decline in power and membership over the past 30 years, US labor unions maintain major authority in the lives of millions of Americans. This influence is often felt in a radical sense in many working environments. In 28 states, workers can lose their jobs if they do not become a union member. While only one in eight Americans belongs to a union, unions represent both unionized and non-unionized employees in negotiations even in corporations with voluntary membership. Unions are legally the employee's sole representatives, representing a firm's union and non-union members alike. The only method a worker has for influencing critical decisions like strike votes, contract ratification, or negotiation strategies is to join the union and work to influence it as a member. Thus workers are obliged to join in order to be represented in the union's negotiations of their wages and workplace conditions. For many American workers, union membership remains either mandatory or their only practical choice.

In some cases, unions' mishandlings of workplace affairs have hurt non-union workers. For example, the Public Employment Relations Commission recently ruled that the largest Washington state employees' union failed to tell nonunion workers they had a right to vote on contracts that made union dues mandatory. The union negotiated the debated contracts in September 2004. They include provisions for pay raises and health benefit costs, and they were the first contracts to require all the workers they covered to pay some kind of fee to the union. In exchange for the mandatory fees, state negotiators demanded the union allow nonunion workers to vote on the contract, an atypical option. The union, however, has admitted their failure to inform nonunion workers of their voting rights; a mistake that impaired the workers' ability to declare decisions in a matter that affected them.(Fink, 1977)

While the state commission stopped short of ordering the new vote on current union contracts that many state workers asked for, the event sent a strong message about the state of unions. "There's nothing more serious the union can do than commit an unfair labor practice," said Sidney Strong, a Seattle attorney representing workers in the case. Cases such this highlight the problems that can result when unions have authority over non-unionized workers. Unfortunately, deciding to join a union does not ensure that the leadership to whom they pay their dues will further the workers' interests.(Fink, 1977)

Reason 1: The Challenge of Separate Agenda of Union Leaders

Even after workers join a union, be it mandatory or voluntary, the workers are then under leadership that may not operate with their best interests in mind. Even though members elect union leaders, leaders often pursue agendas disconnected or divergent from concerns of their members.(Morris, 1983)

These separate agendas are exemplified by the political spending of unions. Many unions are heavily involved in political activism, spending their members' mandatory dues to elect candidates ...