Disadvantages of Labor Unions Essay

Ever since their initial establishment, there has been much dispute whether fight junctions are a positive or veto social economic force in the United States. There are many wrongs that savvy pairings pose on the individual, the organisation, and society as a whole. This paper discusses the shun effect of having comminute movement Unions in the United States. The fraternitys slip by weapons, shoots, can be self-disastrous. The reason being is that employers of striking workers attain the intelligent right to continue to operate their business with permanent replacement employees who fill non be discharged once the carry ends. In this case, employees on strike are not eligible to return since their previous jobs have been occupied.They would wherefore have to wait until there is make uptually an employment vacancy, if any. bang employees also will destroy peoples every day routines and habits. On December 20, 2005, The Transport Workers Union Local 100 in New Yor k City went on strike. New York City Transit ascendance personal had observed the strike. The 2005 strike, which took place during the busiest shopping week of the year, had significantly abnormal the local economy since many people had then chosen to turn away shopping in New York. These shoppers chose to shop online, or postpone shopping. The strike was ended on Tuesday, December 27, 2005. The number of strikes and their effectiveness has decreased staggeringly. The pastime figure from hunters report, taken from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides us with the evidenceWalter Williams, professor of economic science at George Mason University, emphasizes the above in his article Where Union Power Lies. He gives an example of the failed air-traffic controllers strike during the Reagan politics. The labor fraternity in this case was barely not able to celebrate the Federal Aviation Administration from employing new workers. Unfortunately, in such instances, magnetic norths whitethorn tend to violence as a means of eliminating competition. Williams illustrates this during several incidents. corroborate in 1987, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers struck an Anchorage Alaska unafraid plant. Non-striking workers were routinely attacked and had their tires slashed. One employee had to move after aggregate members threatened to go against and murder his wife.In his report Freedom from Union Violence released by Cato Institute, David Kendrick, program director at the National Institute for Labor dealing Research, affirms that there have been 8,799 incidents of violence reported since 1975, with only 258 convictions. Obviously this basic disadvantage of union representation impacts not only the individual, but the organization through acts of vandalism and society by victimizing innocent people. Another disadvantage of union representation is discussed by Hunter as loss of individualisation. When a union is an exclusive employe e representative in a workplace, the employees then live on actuate of a collective bargaining unit where the mass rules.This majority may not be concerned with the individual demand or demands of each employee. Individual agreements between employees and management are not allowed because each employee has to deal with the union. After all, members of a union become part of a collective bargaining unit in which the majority rules, disregarding of any affiliates best interests. Union leaders a good deal operate based on their self-interest, which basically means expanding union social status dis disregardless of the members benefits they do so to gain more than power and even enjoy whatsoever of the extra money. Hunter states Loss of individuality is of rosiness concern for many employees, as well as the loss of the probability to negotiate for themselves an individual arrangement. Student assistants at Yale asked to be hear as individuals and not part of a union as they didnt see union representation as beneficial. Hockfield commented individual voices are more effective than that of a union. Many faculty members voiced concerns about the implications of unionization, inquire questions about strikes, union dues, and the loss of individuality. Loss of individuality is inevitable when labor unions represent a majority.Another disadvantage of union representation that Hunter discusses is cost to employees. Collective bargaining units require all employees to support the union financially as a condition of their employment. Federal law provides that employees may, regardless of the language in the agreement, opt not to formally join the union however, they may still be required to repair certain dues and origin fees. Every union member is required to financially support the union by paying dues, and can face penalties that amount to his/her discharge for weakness to do so.That is, the union can demand the discharge of any employee who fails to pay required dues and fees, unless a right-to-work law has been enacted in the state where the business operates. The be of union membership differ but the average Michigan union employee pays hundreds of dollars in dues a year. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, In 2007, 30 states and the zone of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 12.1 percent, while 20 states had higher rates. That means that the average cost to union members is above 12.1%.This union representation can be quite costly to employees and in some cases defeats the purpose of fringe benefits. Other disadvantages of labor unions that Hunter argued is Penalties by labor unions employee can be fined or disciplined for involving in activities that violate union code. Such activities include, but are not limited to crossing strike picket lines, surpassing set production quotas, and seeking representation by other unions. Unfortunately for union workers, these fines are enforced by th e law. This is not the case however for nonunion employees who are exempt from all the tell restrictions.Although Robert Hunter raises excellent points, disadvantages of union representation exceed the individual to adversely affect the society and the economy. With regards to society, Terry Moe, underlines in his article EDUCATION fetching on the Unions that the teachers union have interests that are often in bout with the public interest. Moe raises the concern that the union does not permit the forcing out or even the evaluation of bad teachers, which apparently is not good for the kids and schools. As for the economy and organizations, Thomas Sowell touches on this issue by explaining that union contracts have helped put American automakers at a disadvantage compared to its Nipponese competitors, resulting in General Motors going from selling about half the cars in the country to selling about one quarter today. The UAW simply did not exhibit flexibility at a time when div ersify was needed most. The consequences were terrible to the economy and organizations like The Auto industry legion(predicate) plants closing, hundreds of thousands of employees being laid off, the move of plants to states that have no union control, and the moving of plants overseas.From all of the above, it is easy to conclude that labor unions are a negative social economic force in the United States. Unions simply forgot their important purpose of existence which is to be fair to all parties workers, companies, and the society. Instead, unions have become like businesses interested in maximizing membership count regardless of consequences. That is why the unionized share of the total U.S. labor force has declined tremendously since the 1970s till our present day. According to Richard Vedder, distinguished professor of economics at Ohio University, replied in an interview with The Austrian Economics Newsletter by Americans now realize that we dont need labor unions The roun d-the-clock decline in union membership over the past years serves only to solidify Vedders statement. Also, according to Hunter, the labor movement will have to add nearly 700,000 members per year just to maintain its contemporary levels of employee representation.