Future and Relevance of Unions Research Paper

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Union Trends Such as Consolidation of Unions Through Mergers, or the Development of a Competing Labor Federation

The topic of unions in the United States is truly a significant one, given the fact that trends and defining characteristics which impact unions have been so mercurial of late. "Union membership in the United States has declined significantly in recent decades. The number of union members peaked in 1979 at an estimated 21.0 million. In 2003, an estimated 15.8 million workers were union members" (Mayer, 2004). In the 1950s when unions were considered more novel in the United States, around one-third of all workers were members of a union of some sort. Now the numbers are hardly the same (Mayer, 2004). In 2003, around ten percent of all employed workers could be considered as members of some sort of union (Mayer, 2004).

Other research findings echo that the current trends and sweeps that unions are undergoing deserve closer scrutiny as well. It's generally clear that employers and firms at large hold no small amount of opposition to unions and the goals that unions generally hold in protecting the worker from exploitation, intensive working hours and hazards on the job. Even so, it's important to look at the impact that unions have on firms: "Event-study estimates show an average union effect on the equity value of the firm equivalent to $40,500 per unionized worker, an effect that takes 15 to 18 months after unionization to fully materialize, and one that could not be detected by a short-run event study. At the same time, point estimates from a regression discontinuity design -- comparing the stock market impact of close union election wins to close losses -- are considerably smaller and close to zero" (Lee & Mas, 2012). Ultimately, researchers have located a negative rapport between the cumulative abnormal returns and the vote share in encouragement of the union, thus permitting a reconciliation among what appears to be findings that contradict (Lee & Mas, 2012). Given these findings and the distinctions which have emerged in the last decade, it becomes all too important to take a truly close look at how unions operate, their levels of effectiveness, their impact on workers and firms alike, along with their impact on local and greater economies, and the stock exchange.

Definition

According to investopedia.com, a labor union can be defined as "An organization intended to represent the collective interests of workers in negotiations with employers over wages, hours and working conditions. Labor unions are often industry-specific and tend to be more common in manufacturing, mining, construction, transportation and the public sector" (2014). Within this definition, the website has acknowledged the union membership has declined for the most part in the United States and that there are a variety of reasons for this, some stemming the recent economic crisis to the lack of jobs in America period, and the greater willingness of the individual to accept lower wages and non-union work. One common misconception that people have about unions is that the security clauses force workers to join and pay full dues as a means of seeking employment, but the reality is that it is vehemently against the law to force workers to join. Some of the most famous unions in America are the Screen Actors Guild, the Teamsters, and the American Postal Workers Union, along with the unions for steel workers and autoworkers.

3. Relevance

The relevance of current union issues cannot be underestimated. However, the decline of labor unions was something that most Americans found largely unimpressive and unremarkable, and this is understandable as the bulk of Americans aren't in unions: "It's a vicious cycle: as unions decline, fewer people see their fates as bound up with unions, which just accelerates the decline" (Liu, 2013). However, the fate of unions is important and striking. Americans still remain in the consequences and grip of the Great Recession which has put a greater focus on the need for organized labor and protected labor. However, it's misinformed to think that unions are dying simply because American's aren't in them. Unions help the economy thrive in a variety of ways: "Unions restore demand to an economy by raising wages for their members and putting more purchasing power to work, enabling more hiring. On the flip side, when labor is weak and capital unconstrained, corporations hoard, hiring slows, and inequality deepens. Thus we have today both record highs in corporate profits and record lows in wages" (Liu, 2013).

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The reason it's so problematic when people take unions for granted is that they don't realize all the good that unions do. Unions help in lifting wages for members and non-members, by creating an overall higher prevailing wage (Liu, 2013). Unfortunately, when unions are pushed over to a tiny fraction of the minority, the public then begins to see them as unimportant and simply helping to benefit special interest groups and special privileges on the dime of the taxpayer: such a thought process is damaging to the economy (Liu, 2013). One could argue that the economy is in such terribly shape today as a result of the fact that people have attempted to squeeze the power from unions and to disperse their ability to protect workers.

However, it's important to administer blame and responsibility where it is due for the most part. Unions have still managed to play a part in their own decline and destruction. Some of the work rules that they've accomplished through bargaining have meant they are less able to respond to necessary changes in the world. Thus, there is still a prevailing need to reinvent unions and the way that they protect workers. "That's why a few national labor leaders, from Service Employees International Union and elsewhere, have launched a "Labor 3.0? project to reimagine unions" (Liu, 2013). Nevertheless, it's important to keep in mind that organized labor is precisely what keeps an economy healthy and balanced (Liu, 2013). This is crucial to bear in mind as certain conservatives argue for a higher federal minimum wage based on the idea that when firms pay their employees more so they can live the employees will depend on federal programs to a smaller extent: this is vital as one can make the same case for unions, more or less (Liu, 2013). Workers at companies like Walmart which have no union are generally more dependent on government programs like food stamps and Medicaid, and are less financially independent (Liu, 2013). "If we want a better economy, then, we need a better story about how the economy works, in which a union worker is not a cost but a customer. The weakness of labor is everyone's problem -- and its revival everyone's opportunity" (Liu, 2013).

Key Issues/Constituents' Major Concerns

Employees

One of the major reasons that these unions exist is because they make security and growth a possibility. These unions are able to offer individuals and larger entities a certain degree of peace of mind, while allowing certain organizations the ability to expand and collect capital. Many of these unions provide places where workers can be secure with benefits packages, and a living wage that allows them to better support their families and have more livable lives, now and in the future.

Unions function to protect the workers who are members, along with the ones who are not. "Unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise compensation, including both wages and benefits, by about 28%" (Mishel, 2003). Unions are able to better minimize wage inequality for workers who don't have a college degree which is so important, as not everyone should be forced to go to college in order to have a good job. More importantly the ways in which unions protect workers generally revolves around the strong pay standards that are set forth. Workers with just a high school diploma generally earn 5% more than workers who do not (Mishel, 2003). Thus, the influence of unions on the total non-union wages is almost as massive as the impact on the total union wages (Mishel, 2003). Overall, one of the biggest advantages which his offered to workers revolves around the fact that the fringe benefits for the average employee is significant: these workers receive things like paid leave, while being given health insurance, and pension plans (Mishel, 2003).

All of these functions continue to fall within the general umbrella of offering extreme financial safety and advice. Just as financial institutions exist as a means of providing options to the users, so that people have places to put their money where it will be safe and also to provide support and potential for growth and development, unions allow their members to live better and safer lives. Unions are strong backbones of society as they offer up possibilities for expansion and safety. Thus, they are able to enlarge horizons and help entities better.....

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