Are Unions Still Valid?
In the US, unions today are at their
smallest level since they started. The question is, are unions still relevant?
They were absolutely needed in the early part of the 20th Century.
For example, steelworkers worked 12 hour shifts seven days a week. Safety was
not a consideration. Unions were needed to create a better work environment and
allow workers to have a life and not slave away at a job.
Today, the largest unions are
government workers and public school teacher’s. These are taxpayer-funded jobs.
A union is concerned about what is best for the union not the
organization. Also, union rules were implemented that make it
very difficult to remove low performing individuals. How is this best for the
taxpayer?
The sole reason that government
workers were allowed to unionize was to support Pres. Roosevelt in the 1930s.
It had nothing to do with protecting government workers. There is no legitimate
argument to support the union of government employees.
The union would be hard pressed to
explain how this benefits the taxpayer. I will make a distinction between government
workers and teachers. From a pay standpoint, teachers are paid commensurate with
their responsibility. I do have an issue with the teachers’ union protection of
bad teachers. As with government workers, it is very difficult remove a
teacher.
I know business would chip away at worker
benefits if the union did not exist. Wages for workers would decrease and
benefits with the erode. Businesses want and need to make a profit to survive.
Public companies have shareholders who want to see the share price improve in
order to justify the investment in the company. However, employees are just as
important as shareholders. There is a balance between cost to support employees
and profits to pay shareholders. Unions also have to understand that the demands
for pay and benefits have to support the company’s growth and not be a factor
in its decline. There is a partnership that has to exist, but each has
competing objectives. The relationship does not need to be adversarial if both
are open and honest.
I do not support unions for government
workers. The premise for their need was flawed. I support teachers unions if
they would allow removal of nonperforming members. Non-taxpayer-funded unions
have a role but also have to support the company’s growth.
Unions had a great role in improving the lives
of workers. How they move forward and become relevant in today’s business
climate will determine if they survive.
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