Union in American Industry - Term Paper Example

Union in American Industry Abstract Industrial unionism is a terminology that is used to refer to the organism method in which workers in an industry are organized into one union without considering their personal skills or trade. This paper is going to give the difference between the unionized and the non-unionized industries in America. The paper is also going to give the difference between the labor union and non-union labor. In addition, the paper will also describe demography of unionization and the statistics about these unions. Moreover, there would be some intensive analysis of the union's average wages and effort towards its members. In addition, the paper is also going to address on some of the issues encountered in these associations and their respective solutions. Finally, in conclusion, the paper is going to give the best labor suited for the stated solutions. Unionization in American Industry Introduction In the United States, we have both the unionized and the non-unionized industries. Just to differentiate them, we have a look at the unionized industries. These industries have some labor organizations for their workers. The methods that are used to come up with these organizations do not consider either workers skill or trade; thus giving every member within an industry or all industries equal advantages to bargain in their situations. To discuss these, the paper is going to talk about the unionization of the American industries. Unionization in American Industry In the American unionized industries, the term labor union refers to a representative organization of workers within the many industries in United States. These organizations must be legally recognized by both the industries and the State. The main purpose of these groups is to bargain for the workers collective wages, benefits, and their general working conditions. On the other hand, non-union labor is the term in the industrialization that refers to a state in which there is no labor union. Here all workers are under the Labor Standard Division. This Division administers and provides all Labor Standards Acts including the laws and the regulations applied by all the employers. The acts created by the Labor Standard Acts provide protections to every individual worker and require every employer to create conducive employment conditions that must meet the minimum legislative standard for employees (Barajas, 2012). In the United State, labor unions started to operate with two large organizations umbrella. These include the AFL-CIO that was created in the year 1955, and the Change to Win Freedom, which was established in the year 2005 after splitting from the AFL-CIO. The two different organizations advocate legislations and policies for all workers. This union of labor has demographically been changing from time to time. For example, there was a reduction in the number of members from 17.7 million in the year 1983, to 14.5 million in the year 2013. This was because of the upcoming of some prominent private sectors employees (Barajas, 2012). The acceptation of these individual leading unions to join with some public sectors took place during the 21st century. Due to their joining, the average wage pay of the unionized members raised up to 10-30% more than that of non-union members. Despite the rise in the total wage of the workers, it was smaller than the original individual wage rate of every peak member in the year of 1950. Although the American unions activities remain a political factor in the industries, these unions achieve all this through coalition with like-minded organizational and the mobilization of their members in the activities involving workers. Some of these problems include the following; workers health care, workers trade policy, immigrant rights, living wages of the workers among many others (Richards, 2008). Like the union, it can be said that other involved personnel have been trying to ensure the rights of the workers are protected from cruel employer’s behaviors. The United State union has been trying its best to protect its members. The following are some of the efforts that the unions have been exercising towards their members. To start with, the unions have been fighting to ensure that every member works in a free environment. They have to ensure that all workers are under a secure environment. Workers privacy and respect is also necessary to be observed by the employees (Dray, 2011). Apart from that, the unions also ensure that all of their unionized members receive an equal wage depending on the workload. The unions have to fight for their member’s allowances during official duties. Required efforts are also in place to ensure that their members are paid at the right time. In addition to that, the unions offer support to their members by giving them loans from their own account and by being guarantor to their member who has need to acquire loans from other financial institutions (Factor, 2012). These unions also assist their members by offering some employment opportunities. They also ensure that their members who have been working for long time gets promotion in their industries. To add on to that, these United Unions also guarantee the rights of their workers are observed by making sure that they are not overworked. They also make sure that their members are also given time for holidays to relax with their family members. Finally, union members are free from harassment by their employers through working overtime unless under their agreement (Dray, 2011). As much as these unions tried to protect the rights of their workers, the labor industry also faces some challenges in their operations. Some of the most important issues they encounter included meeting the forces from the states and the cities to reduce the obligation pension that are owned by unionized workers after their retirement. In addition, the unions have some financial challenges. In return, they find it too hard to progress with their operations putting in mind that some of the members are tough headed to understand (Richards, 2008). Moreover, some of the members are rude and end up breaking the industry rules and regulations. Because of this, the union members encounter divisions among themselves, which hinder the progresses of the unions. Moreover, the unions also face challenges of the industries, the States and Cities neglect to some of their proposals. With all this and more other challenges that these unions face, they had to find some solutions to them. Some of these solutions included the following ones (Dray, 2011). To cater for the rude members, the unions have come up with some rules and regulations that every member has to adhere to, failure to which the member has to lose his or her membership in the union. Likewise, the union seeks the government support in terms of finance and protection from harassment from private sectors. These unions have an agreement with the States and cities on the way forward on the workers’ pensions (Richards, 2008). The public unions are found to be the best unions that could suit all the solutions mentioned above. The most reasons behind this choice are that these unions have a direct connection to the government hence making it convenient for them to find government assistance. They are also able to use government resource to run their operations. Finally, the government easily approves their opinions (Factor, 2012). Conclusion To conclude, the unionization of workers was found to be of more importance to the members. Those workers that are not members of any union should try their best and join one. It is also true that the united unions tried their best to protect their members. It is also a fact that though the unions face some challenges, they are still active in their operations. Finally, the government should give support to both of these public and private unions. References Barajas, F. P. (2012). Curious Unions: Mexican American Workers and Resistance in Oxnard, California, 1898-1961. California: U of Nebraska Press. Dray, P. (2011). There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America. New York: Anchor Books. Factor, M. (2012). Shadowbosses: Government Unions Control America and Rob Taxpayers Blind. New York: Center Street. Richards, L. (2008). Union-free America: Workers and Antiunion Culture. Champaign: University of Illinois Press. Read More