Posted: July 14th, 2022

What role can unions play in helping the U.S. maintain

What role can unions play in helping the U.S. maintain or regain its competitive position in the world?
Unions in the United States have, for many years, been the most influential institutions through which employees pursue and bargain for better working conditions. The first and strongest labor movement dates back to the mid-20th century. The movement brought together many nonunionized workers and helped them achieve benefits, including access to family leave, expansion to healthcare, work-free weekends, minimum wage rates, among others. Many years later, unions in America are nothing close to what they used to be. Since the 1980s, there has been a gradual decline of unions, which has lowered workers’ ability to fight for fair working conditions.
Currently, only 12% of American workers are members of a union, with only 6.5% from the private sector. Yet unions still play a very fundamental role in today’s labor market and the economy in general. Unions also give people a voice in democracy by bringing workers to join and work together. In fact, one of the primary reasons for the current recession is directly linked to the lack of enough bargaining power needed by American workers to drive the economy. The steep decline in unions and membership explains why wages have been constant in the last 40 years.
Strong unions benefit both union and nonunion members by improving wages, benefits, and working conditions. Unions helped pave the way for millions of Americans in the middle class and advocated for benefits, including better wages, pensions, and paid healthcare. This is evident to date because union workers have higher incomes than their nonunion counterparts. Organized labor promotes working conditions that are beneficial to all workers. When employees work in a union, they gain a higher bargaining power to negotiate for higher and improved working conditions.
Unions are also good for the economy and democracy. Fairness on the job and wage increases the purchasing power, which promotes motivated employees. A satisfied worker is also more likely to be more productive at work than an unsatisfied worker. Furthermore, unions are one way to practice democracy. They give workers a voice at the workplace and also in politics. In fact, unions have played a significant role in the passage and enactment of major legislation in the last century.
The essence of unions is to give employees a voice and help them get a fair share of the economy. And the need to make changes sets in as the economy worsens through the current recession. If the proposed Employee Free Choice Act is passed, it will restore the rights, boost wages and employment benefits of American workers, thereby strengthening the economy. The bill also seeks to restore the democracy of unions by giving workers a voice to air their opinions and enhance the work conditions of Millions of Americans.
Ibsen, C.L. and Tapia, M., 2017. Trade union revitalisation: Where are we now? Where to next?. Journal of Industrial Relations, 59(2), pp.170-191.
Szymanski, C. and Antolak-Szymanski, K., 2020. The Role of Unions in American Labor Mediation. Lavoro e diritto, 34(1), pp.117-145.
Wunnava, P.V., 2016. The Changing Role of Unions: New Forms of Representation: New Forms of Representation. Routledge.

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