Pros and Cons of Working in Right-To-Work and the Forced Unionism States from an Employee Point of View - Research Paper Example

The Pros and Cons of working in right-to-work and forced unionism s from an employee point of view The debate over the adoption of right-to-work, over unionization laws has been a hot topic in the past. Right-to-work laws restrict the authority of unions, including that, which allows them to force workers into membership or to pay fees as a precondition for employment. The advantages of an RTW system include that it guarantees the right to choose, it allows workers to decide the deductions made to their wages and the competitiveness of an employee is rewarded. The disadvantages of an RTW system include that a less competitive worker will get low wages, workplace injury rates are high and wealth creation is likely to be restrained. The advantages of unionization include that employees enjoy more benefits, employment is more secure and senior workers are usually secure. The disadvantages of unionization include that the fees burden workers, the worker sacrifices their autonomy and merit is disfavored due to the regard for seniority. From the discussion, the advantages and the disadvantages of the two systems show that RTW favors organizations, but unionization is friendlier to the affairs of workers. Introduction The question as to whether states should adopt right-to-work or unionization laws has remained a hotly debated issue. Right-to-work laws stop unions from subjecting workers to some security clauses, compelling them to join unions or pay fees as a condition for employment. Through this paper, the question of, whether employees should be subjected to right-to-work laws or unionization laws – depending on their advantages and disadvantages – will be answered. The advantages of the Right-to-work The advantages of the Right-to-work system include that the right to work inclusion is a fundamental right, which is expressly guaranteed and expressly provided for, in the US constitution. This implies that the right-to-work system allows the worker, the right to their choice to associate or not to associate with a workers’ union, in the case that they find benefits from it or not. Further, without affiliations to any workers’ union, the system allows employees to choose whether other reductions, apart from those of taxes should reduce their earnings (Moore 460). For that reason, the system offers the advantages of giving workers the opportunity to make a choice of what they would like to do with their salaries, without being compelled to join any unions or their salaries being slashed (Honthaner 200). The second advantage of the right-to-work is that it allows workers to avoid the business aspect of unions, noting that unions are businesses offering their services to workers, in exchange for the fees charged (Stevans 595). For these reasons, the right-to-work system allows the worker – the opportunity to chose – when to buy the services of a union; where workers find that the union is offering them value – then they can associate themselves with the particular union. For example, a union can help an employee, during the case that it is handling their negotiations with an employer (Honthaner 200). However, in the case that they identify that the particular union is spending their money on policies or politics that the worker does not agree with, they get the opportunity to free themselves from the union. The third advantage of the RTW system is that it leads to more competitive wages and bidding, where thousands of dollars in wages are not lost. In a similar way, the fourth advantage of working under the RTW system is that, it has historically been characterized by substantially higher personal wage growth, when its employees are compared to those working under non-RTW systems (Moore 460). The fifth advantage of the RTW system is that it is the system, which seems more likely to last in the long term, noting that union membership as a ratio of the total number of workers has been declining. The decline in union membership indicates that the services of unions are becoming less relevant or are no longer needed by more workers (Stevans 596). The disadvantages of Right-to-work laws The disadvantages of working under an RTW system include that, it is likely that the employee will be offered lower wages. This is evident from the statistics showing that the average worker operating in a system with RTW laws earns USD 5,538 less than those working in states without RTW laws, over a year of work (Schaubach 1). The second disadvantage of working in an RTW state is that injury rates are higher, when compared to those taking place among the workers operating in non RTW states (Honthaner 200). The bureau of labor gave statistics showing that workplace death is higher by 52.9 percent at RTW states (American Rights At work 1). This implies that the workers are likely to bear more risks of injury and death when working in an RTW state. The third disadvantage of working in an RTW state is that, in the challenge for wealth accumulation, non-RTW state workers may be more advantaged, mainly because there is a higher level of wage harmonization (Moore 460). This is particularly applicable to the professions where workers are flocked, or for workers that are not highly competitive in their career. This situation is evidenced by the statistics showing that poverty levels and health insurance ownership levels are higher among the residents of non-RTW states. The advantages of working under Union laws The first advantage is that the employee gains access to more benefits. For example, statistics show that 93 percent of the workers operating under the unionized system had access to medical benefits, while those working under RTW states had only 69 percent representation. According to the report offered by the National Compensation Survey published by the US bureau of Labor Statistics, 93 percent of unionized workers enjoyed retirement benefits, while only 64 percent of the workers under the RTW system had these benefits (American Rights At work 1). The second advantage of working under a unionized state system include that employees enjoy more employment security, when compared to those working under the RTW system. This is evident from the fact that employees under the RTW system are ordinarily hired at will, and are also fired for any reason; while those working under unionized conditions are ordinarily fired for justifiable reasons (Raymo et al. 249). Additionally, workers under the unionized system are more likely to challenge an employer during the case that they are being fired, by adopting a grievance system or arbitration. Under the unionized workers system, the rules of collective bargaining agreements are more likely to secure senior workers, when compared to those working under the RTW system. For example, during the case of layoffs, the seniority of workers is taken into account, in that the workers that have been working for an employer for a long time are dismissed last. This means that the dismissal of employees starts with the workers that were hired more recently. In the case where there are open job opportunities, more senior workers under the unionized system are more guaranteed to get a promotion, when compared to those working under the RTW system (Raymo et al. 250). The disadvantages of unionized employment The disadvantages of working under a unionized system include that initiation fees and union dues can burden the employee, and reduce their wages. Statistics show that the dues of unionized employment can be in the range of USD 200 to hundreds of dollars for a year, which can be a huge burden for some workers (Raymo et al. 249). Further, many workers complain that the amounts paid – which are supposed to cater for union businesses and providing the salaries of officials – are misused, especially with relation to its allocation between the local and the national union. The second disadvantage of working under a unionized system include that the worker sacrifices their individuality for the preferences of the group. For example, the worker may disagree with a decision of the union, but due to its binding nature, they will be obligated to go by its decisions. The third disadvantage of working in a unionized system is that workers are less likely to suffer a lack of trust with their supervisors and employers. According to a survey conducted by Gallup and healthways organization, it was reported that supervisors and employers are less likely to treat the employee like a partner in work, unlike their RTW counterparts (Raymo et al. 251). Among workers operating in a unionized system, the advantages of seniority can become detrimental to newer workers, mainly because their talent and productiveness is not taken into account when they are being dismissed. This is particularly the case, when a company is downsizing, due to the fact that the merits of employees are less likely to count, when they would offer more security to the employee as well as the employer (Raymo et al. 253). Conclusion From the weighing of the advantages and the disadvantages of right-to-work and unionization laws, including that workers have higher bargaining power under unionization, and that employee autonomy is maintained under the RTW system, the states that want better positioning for economic success should adopt RTW laws. On the other hand – despite the adverse effects of unionization – it offers more advantages to workers; therefore choice of the two systems will either favor organizations or workers, but unionization is more favorable for workers. Works Cited American Rights At work. False Claims, False Promises: Why “Right to Work” Is Wrong for Everyone (N.D). Web. 07 Feb. 2014. Honthaner, Eve. The Complete Film Production Handbook. Fourth Edition. Waltham, MA: Focal Press, 2010. Moore, William. “The Determinants and Effects of Right-to-Work Laws: A Review of the Recent Literature.” Journal of Labour Economics, Summer (1998): 460. Raymo, James, Warren, John, Sweeney, Megan, Hauser, Robert, and Ho, Jeong-Hwa. “Precarious Employment, Bad Jobs, Labor Unions, and Early Retirement”. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci, 66B.2 (2011): 249–259. Schaubach, Jennifer. "Right to Work" Laws: Get the Facts. AFL-CIO Minnesota, 2014. Web. 07 Feb. 2014. Stevans, Lonnie. “The Effect of Endogenous Right-to-Work Laws on Business and Economic Conditions in the United States: A Multivariate Approach.” Review of Law and Economics (2009): 595-614. Read More