17 Jan 2018 Are Unions Still Valid?

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 20^th 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.