Assignment Instructions (Instructions must be followed)
Need to respond to the student’s forum posting (not as a teacher) but provide comments (what you like and agree on in regards to their posting) and also provide additional insight and ask questions either throughout the response or at the end that would help in initiating feedback. Please note the sources must be current sources and Wikipedia and anonymous sources do not count as a source. One of the sources that must be utilized is from the textbook for this course Dias, L.P. (2012). Human resource management. Flatworld Knowledge. **Please note that since this is a response back to a student title page is not required, just need to have the response along with references used**
Posting of Student Responding To:
This week we cover labor unions. Our book defines a labor union as “workers banding together to meet common goals, such as better pay, benefits, or promotion rules” (Dias, 2012, pg. 272). Labor unions commonly can be referred to as a liaison between an organizations workforce and leadership.
While labor unions were very prevalent in history; however, today’s workforce holds little value to union membership. The history of labor unions began with the Industrial Revolution. This is because the lack of employee’s skills brought overpowering employers who demanded unfit working conditions (i.e. – long work days, no minimum wage, etc.). Finally, the employees became ill with the treatment and the beginning of labor unions was formed. Today’s workplace has more government intervention to mitigate employee mistreatment. A few examples of government intervention would be overtime after a set amount of hours, minimum wage, and child labor laws. These laws, while not all inclusive of what labor unions can cover, generally please employees thus reducing the need for labor unions. ‘Another factor is globalization – both U.S. manufacturers (and now service providers, too) moving … to low-wage nations and workers from low-wage nations moving into the U.S. economy” (Fischer, 2010, para. 3).
Labor unions are generally designed to be fair for all parties, but are they? Sure, unions offer assistance to employees on issues such as scheduling, hours, pay, etc. One downside to unions is union fees that are paid for by the members. This would prove unfair if the employee felt as if the union did not accurately represent him/her. Also, the union is a one for all group, meaning if the union goes on strike, so does Joe Blow who might not even have any grievances. Employers can expect at least some unfairness despite government intervention to avoid such cases. Unions limit organizational management effectiveness due to legalities brought by unions. “For example, if an employee is constantly late to work, the union contract will specify how to discipline in this situation, resulting in little management freedom to handle this situation on a case-by-case basis” (Dias, 2012, pg 279). The loss of effectiveness (in addition to the higher wages that accompany unions) would drive up costs, thus being unfair for taxpayers.
HRM functions have nearly depleted the need for unions. These functions include competitive compensation plans, selective recruiting to find the right fit for the right job, and even annual bonus plans. Labor unions began as a shield for employees from unfair employers. Many of the issues that were solved by past unions have been mitigated by either government intervention or effective human resource management.
References:
Dias, L. (2012). Working with Labor Unions. In L. Dias, Human Resource Management (p. 272 & 279). Flat World Knowledge.
Fischer, C. “Why Has Union Membership Declined?” Economist’s View, September
11, 2010, accessed June 10, 2015, (para. 3) http://economistsview.typepad.com/
economistsview/2010/09/why-has-union-membership-declined.html.
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