Unionized organization - Essay Example

United s Postal Service has grown since inception in 1775 and has bravely faced changes in technology that could have seen it easily phased out (USPS). The US postal service could face severe legal consequences for lacking a union through taking part in punitive measures against employees and their work. This could see the postal service in a legal tussle with employees and even loss of funds in reimbursing the employees should they win the cases. Concerning the laws violated universal human rights and a part of the federal laws could be violated against workers in terms of working conditions and sexual harassment.

The benefits of the union because of having a union are that the organization does not have to face unnecessary threats from the employees in cases of termination of services. This is because of the presence of a written agreement between the organization and the union declaring and clearly stating the terms of service. As a result, in cases of violation of the terms of service by the employee, the postal organization has every right to terminate the individual without fear of rebuttal by the union.

In addition, the postal corporation stands to gain by setting the standards of work that the employees have to follow failure to which the employee can be terminated without threats and repercussions for the organization. The union also sets a clear guideline for the postal corporation on what is expected of it under any situation relating to its employees starting from the medical benefits to the leave that employees are entitled. With this is in mind the post corporation has improved planning strategies in that nothing catches it off guard.

This is as see in cases of covering retirement benefits and disciplinary issues. The post office also gains substantially by having disciplinary issues handled by the workers’ union in that their agreement stipulates disciplinary measures. In such cases, the organization is free from liability as it only follows the terms of the agreement by applying corrective measures and not punitive; punitive measures are left for severe cases (APWU 107). The union bargains in a number of ways to ensure that the needs of the members are met at all times, which include dialogue and other drastic means.

One such means is through strikes, which is a right of every worker should the organization fail to meet the terms that are agreed on in the union contract (APWU).However, this means is a drastic one and only applies in cases where contract negotiations do end in an agreement. Another mean is that of appealing to the corporation management to meet the workers needs; however, should these fail, the union asks independent arbitrators to settle disputes. Bargaining by the union ensures that the needs of the workers are met concerning job security, where the union has bargained for job security for life after six years of employment.

Bargains also affect the organization due to the demands and benefits required by the union such as health and leave benefits. These may influence negatively or positively through overspending and poor standards respectively. In order to become unionized, interested members of staff working for the American post office are required to fill in a form. The form is filled by the interested member together with the local union officer, and a required amount is deducted from the member’s check.

This is in order to keep the union running and the dues vary from one place to the next based on the national and local unions’ requirements. ReferencesAmerican Postal Worker Union (APWU). (n.d). Q & A. Retrieved from http://www.apwu.org/about/questions_answers.htmUnited States Postal Service (USPS). (n.d). Postal History. Web. 17 Feb. 2013. http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/welcome.htmAPWU. (n.d). Collective Bargaining Agreement BetweenAmericanPostal WorkersUnion, AFL-CIOAnd U.S. Postal Service November 21, 2010May 20, 2015.

(Retrieved from http://www.apwu.org/dept/ind-rel/sc/APWU%20Contract%202010-2015.pdf