Benefits of Union Membership - Term Paper Example

Why Unions are still necessary? Introduction Unions are necessary because they serve to unite the employees as one and bring their message in front of the organizations and industrial settings that they are working under. In this day and age, the discussion on unions is all the more significant because these unions serve the purpose of providing a number of benefits for the workers within the domains of different organizations, business enterprises, companies and conglomerates. Their message gets heard in a proper way and their role is given the significance that they believe should be such right from the very beginning.

It is pertinent to note that unions have been the cornerstone of attaining quite a few results within the aegis of employer-employee relationships in an organization and they provide the ‘other’ perspective apart from the company’s very own. This is essential because the organizations are bringing in new changes every now and so often, and there is a dire need to rationalize these requirements on the part of the employees and workers. These unions serve the purpose of bringing together the employees and in providing them a platform from where they can work together to achieve their goals and objectives.

However the negatives that comes along with these unions is another tangent which will be touched upon as well in this discussion. Background of Unions Unions provide emancipation to the workers as they feel that they are not unduly under the supervision of the employers. They start to believe that they have their own right within the context of the organization that they work for. Unions usually provide them the cushion to exert their influence and have their say within the employers’ dealing with the employees and workers on a regular basis.

The unions have largely been criticized as employers believe that these unions bring in more trouble for the organization than any benefits. The debates seem to hot up each time the word ‘union’ is used within the organizational contexts (Wiatrowski 1994). These debates have centered on the phenomenon of cultivating growth and development within the ranks of the workers so that their lives could improve and their working conditions enhance with the changing times. These unions have existed for a long time now as the gap between the management and the workers has increased (Edwards 2010).

There have been serious rifts between these quarters and hence the reason that these unions have cropped up, for good or for bad. Therefore one can figure out that these unions have created a sense of upheaval within the minds of the employees and workers, as they have realized that if they unite and create a union for their own selves, they would not be taken for granted any further within the realms of their organization. The research basis has been instrumental as a number of organizational studies have proven that these companies have feared the existence of such unions over a period of time and usually these companies detest having any unions within their folds in the first place.

Arguments in Support of Having Unions There are a number of positives which come linked with the formation of these unions. These have meant that the unions take care of the employees and workers by safeguarding their rights and understanding where they as a collective unit are straying from the set course of action. These are significant pointers, and should be understood as such. There is reason enough to believe such a premise because it is based on sound logic and reasoning. The arguments in favor of these unions come up because the need has been established by the employees and workers themselves (Dibble 1999).

They have long understood that if they raise their voice as one within the organizational settings, they would be heard better and their message would be loud, clear and very apparent. There are serious ramifications however which suggest that unions can spoil the image of those workers who get involved within them, and who are not satisfied with their respective work undertakings. These unions have taken care of the employees because this is what they are good for. They have been instrumental at changing perspectives in the minds of the employers who are more concerned about the company doing well rather than taking care of their most significant and potent tools – their employees and workers.

There is solid evidence at hand which suggests that the organizations have long taken their own employees for granted and these unions have provided the much needed cushion in the wake of the rising tensions. Objections and Counterarguments The counterarguments in the wake of these union discussions center on the fact that there have been a number of criticisms which have come out loud. What this has meant that these unions have created a number of rifts between the organizational entities, which have essentially included the stakeholders, the employees, and indeed the management concerns, who are eventually the decision-makers.

There have been some critics who suggest that unions bring in bad blood between all concerned and hence it is a positive thing to keep away from the very same. There is solid evidence on ground which states that these unions are destructive and hurt the cause of the organization when it comes to associating with the employees and workers themselves (Sisson & Stovey 2000). The counterarguments in the wake of these unions and their formation seem imminent because every aspect has a pro and a con attached to it.

What is important is to rationalize the good with the bad, and then find a common ground between the two. Response to Objections As far as the unions are concerned, nearly all of them believe in detailing the finer aspects of the employees as far as their respective work ideologies are concerned. If the employees feel that they are hard done by and are not receiving their due at the hands of the organization that they work for, they would most definitely indulge in forming up new unions which will take care of their needs.

The objections do not seem justified because these take a look at the unions which are based on hearsay. The work that these unions do is immensely important because the employees feel safe when their roles are safeguarded and when they are given the legal cover under a body which takes cares of them in a quick way. Therefore these objections and counterarguments are nothing but mere fabrication of the ideological basis that these unions bring up in a constructive yet caring way as far as the employees and workers are related within any organization.

Conclusion In the end, it would be correct to state here that the organizations of today must work hand in hand with these unions to have collective growth basis and developmental patterns, which are essentially very fundamental for its own basis. The employees would feel empowered and thus the growth and development basis would be boosted in essence. The unions are seen as negative but the consequences of forming them up are in a positive way for the sake of the organizations, if seen from a corrective mindset (Willman 2004).

The ramifications for forming up these unions is also something that must be seen from an optimistic sense as negativities are only but natural under such aegis of union formation and union control. Also the employees must understand their commitment to the sake of the employers and indeed the organization and use the unions for their benefit, but only limited to their professional basis and not personal ones. Works Cited Dibble, Suzanne. Keeping Your Valuable Employees: Retention Strategies for Your Organization's Most Important Resource.

John Wiley & Sons, 1999 Edwards, Chris. Public Sector Unions and the Rising Costs of Employee Compensation. The Cato Journal, Vol. 30, 2010 Sisson, K & Stovey, J. The Realities of Human Resource Management: Managing the Employment Relationship. Open University Press, 2000 Wiatrowski, William J. Employee Benefits for Union and Nonunion Workers. Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 117, 1994 Willman, Paul. Union Organization and Activity. Routledge, 2004