I’m doing research, and my brain isn’t functioning properly enough to translate academic legalese/federalese right now. Can any of you explain really simply how unions are formed, how they operate, and why they’re important? I have a vague understanding that they protect workers, but how?
In: Economics
I had this question a few years ago as well and the best explanation that I git for unions in todays market is that they serve best as a kind of a watch dog organization for workers to hold companies accountable and promote workers benifits.
Edit: I am not sure why you are researching them, but I have the feeling I just answered a class Essay question for you 🙄
Formation of a Union-
Unions are formed when someone proposes to group of people who perform the same task *ie* *Nurses*, *Teachers*, *Electricians* the idea of engaging in Collective Bargaining
Those workers will then vote on whether or not to become a Union, the Company is legally allowed to persuade these works not to form a Union- however they can’t not disallow it or actively ban them from forming one.
Should the Union be formed they will Elect a Representative or Union Steward who will act on behalf of all the workers and submit a proposal that outlines the groups expectations from the employer- a certain amount of time off, working conditions changes, working hours, etc
Those terms become the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which legally bind the employees and employer until it expires.
At times these agreements will require that other labor used at a Company is also Union- for example- I am in Hospital Management at some of our Union Hospitals we have to use Union Construction companies when building expansions or doing repairs, but this is not always the case.
Important Notes: Managers and Supervisors can’t be part of the Union, most Unions have Dues, Unions can vary greatly in their structure, everyone in the respective group is represented by the Union once it is formed even if they didn’t vote for it.
Why they have value –
Unions allow a single worker to leverage the Collective power of all their associates when mistreated, preventing their Employer abusing individual members of staff. They also have the structure and means to establish legally binding agreements around working conditions. Since Companies generally want to avoid Unions at all costs, the changes they propose are often incorporated into normal business practice to prevent the establishment of Union (after all if the Company makes lots of positive changes there is no longer a need for the Union)
Some unions also have: apprenticeship programs which allow individuals to get hands-on experiences while being paid for their work, a “bench” which means even when unemployed the individuals in the Union still get a modest salary paid for by the Collective Union dues.
Examples now Universal benefits enjoyed by all workers that were originally driven by Union Bargaining Agreements:
8-Hour Work Days
Paid Time Off
Certain Insurance Benefits
Minimum Wages
Working Condition Standards
Numerous Safety Standards
PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) – provided by the employer
Modern Day Unions:
There is a reasonable argument to be made that some Unions have out lived their usefulness.
The key function is **collective bargaining**.
One for all, and all for one.
The workers join together so that they can function as a unit and improve their working conditions/pay.
If one guy asks for a raise or safety improvements, he’ll just get fired. If everyone at the mine comes in together and asks for the exact same thing, they can’t fire them all and they have to sit down and negotiate with them.
Their power comes from Collectively withholding labor if they aren’t taken seriously. If management doesn’t want to sit down and negotiate, or they don’t negotiate in good faith, workers just walks out (strike).
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