Essay on Labour Unions

Submitted By Soltanzadeh1
Words: 932
Pages: 4
Open Document
Organizational Environments Differences between a Unionized and Non-unionized Workplace
&
Unions in Canadian Workplace

Sara Soltanzadeh
Fairleigh Dickinson University
842,Cambie street ,Vancouver

Sarah.s@student.fdu.edu

July 16, 2013

A union is an organization of workers joined together for a common purpose, for mutual aid and protection, to engage in concerted activity and collective bargaining, to elevate their conditions of life and labor. It is an organization by which ordinary people come together to accomplish extraordinary things. By joining together, we have more of a say in our working lives. With a union we can negotiate with our employers for better wages and benefits, fair treatment, safe working conditions and a harassment-free workplace. These goals can be achieved because of the strength which comes from our unity- a very old and widely used concept. Groups have the potential to recognize the power that comes from joining together to work toward common goals. [1] Unions are based on the idea that a group is stronger than an individual. We join unions to further our common goals. Through unions we achieve a strong voice, one that cannot be easily dismissed by management.
Multifaceted challenges can arise when in a unionized environment. The biggest is being flexibility. Most union workers like to work for a stipulated time period and they take in-between breaks during the day, irrespective of the workload. This makes it difficult for managers to influx new ideas of working, as all changes must be in compliance to the union. This kind of an environment might adversely affect mutual exchange of work areas, in cases where seasonal changes are required. Secondly communication can pose a problem in some cases. It has been seen in many occasions that individual opinions are not taken into consideration and not all the members of the union are included in meetings and discussions. In other cases people have been seen to misuse the liberty and norms that the Union has to offer, mostly pertaining to sick leaves .Many workers misuse these “leaves”.
Moreover to all the above problems a nice workfriendly environment can be created mostly by following these cardinal points: 1. It is quite obvious that the laws in a unionized work are complicated, Therefore It' is mandatory that all workers acclimatize themselves with the union laws and A thorough understanding of the contract is a must. This will in turn help all the workers to understand the true nature of al discussions and help them in questionnaire sessions. 2. It is highly recommended that all the workers always comply to the union’s demands and act as a partner .Going against a particular union won’t solve any particular issue. Mutual understanding is a prime requisite so that communications can be smooth and ideas can flow. 3. It is a fact that in most cases managers only communicate with union representatives when there is a hiatus. Thus a trustworthy relationship fails to be built. The higher authority should take initiative to interact with all the people in order to build a certain level of understanding. 4. Lastly, it should be kept in mind that the union fulfills a vital role for employees. Managers should avoid a pessimistic thought that union representatives are always wrong and they always cause problems. All the positive changes made by the union must be respected and appreciated and these ideas should always be taken into consideration in cases where negotiations are to be made.

Research conducted by the Canadian Labor Congress, Leger and Nanos clearly shows that Canadians views on unions are not reflected in Canada’s tax and labor laws. No other country still allows union leaders to operate like they do in Canada. Canadian union leaders have a number of powers and
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Labour Unions

The Challenges Facing Labour Unions Today Essay

ladies and gentleman. Today I am going to talk about some of the challenges facing labor unions today and how we can rise to meet them. Government policies may vary from province to province but we are fortunate enough to have some of the strongest labor legislation out there. The economic recession has been hard on everyone and unions are no exception, with the lay-offs or closures of plants and businesses, the union faces the challenge of ensuring we stay strong and effective. In the workplace there…

Words 1639 - Pages 7

Do You Agree That If a Trade Union Persuades Employers to Increase Wage Rates in a Labour Market Employment Must Inevitably Fall in That Labour Market? Justify Your Answer. Essay

Trade unions can be very powerful organisations, however their power does not inevitably lead to increases in wage rates, but not always. The power that the union has can have a big impact upon whether or not it can affect the wage rates within that particular market. It largely depends upon the financial status of the employer. If the union is powerful enough to get wages to rise then it may not lead to a loss in jobs, because it shows that the employer has money in which to raise the wages of…

Words 976 - Pages 4

International Employment Standards

international companies and organisations looking for, which is also a major premise in the globalising world. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), it proposes and provides a code of conduct for the labour standards such as protect the childcare, guarantee safe condition, workers’ right and non-discrimination employment to be minimum labour standards for international organisations, governments and Multinational Corporation. There are certain difficulties to achieve the international…

Words 1375 - Pages 6

History Of Unionism In Canada

Unionizing A union is a number of persons joined or associated together for some common purpose. Almost every conceivable occupation, from an accountant to a zoo keeper, is represented by some union, somewhere in Canada. Also, every industry from construction to wholesale trade is unionized in some degree. Union leaders often say that the union is nothing more,not less than its members. Unionism has a huge history in Canada, and unions are formed for various reasons. There are major laws…

Words 1779 - Pages 8

Essay on June 2010 FS583 OCR Economics Exam Essa

Analyse, using examples, how trade unions may be responsible for labour market failure Guidance from the question: This is an analysis question worth 15 marks. This means there are three levels of marking (L1/2/3). This requires a clear analysis of trade union manipulation of the free play of the market to get full marks. We also know there is a diagram that can be used to develop this response. Apply it and analyse it to jump to L3. Trade unions aim to protect members and their jobs…

Words 5675 - Pages 23

Socialist Roots Essay

To what extent has Labour abandoned its socialist roots? Discuss. Socialism is a political theory or system in which the means of production and distribution are controlled by the people and operated according to equity and fairness rather than market principles. Ever since Tony Blair has become leader of the Labour party in 1994 some critics have accused Blair and other Labour modernisers of abandoning socialist principles upon which the party was founded. Reasons why Blair, amongst others, received…

Words 570 - Pages 3

Essay about Hr Management

Looking at labour from the past, to the present, in terms of wages, organized labour, and independent labour, we can predict to a certainty where we were and where are heading. As wage controls were relaxed in the late 1970s, more daunting problems appeared on the horizon. A shift toward more conservative economic attitudes begun around the time of the implementation of wage controls was now in full swing. Conservative commentators attacked the size of government and expenditures. Every aspect of…

Words 908 - Pages 4

Discuss the rationale behind the WS and Essay

perfect markets, but become price setters. In product markets the firms are price setters considering the elasticity of demand which is partly dependant on competition. In the labour market, workers are the wage setters. Through collective bargaining Trade Unions set wage rates, considering the elasticity for demand for labour and the level of local unemployment. “A worker who is employed in an area of high unemployment earns less than an identical individual who works in a region with low joblessness”…

Words 3108 - Pages 13

Essay on HR in companies

but a series of broad ones. Porter (1990) however introduced his well-known national competitive diamond model that incorporates four factors. One of those factors is factor condition, which is concerned with labour skills and human capital. As Porter considers the creation of a skilled labour a driver of growth in national economy. Koen (2005) introduced gospel's' (1992) three pillars of HRM, which are Work relations, Employment, and Industrial relations. By investigating the Japanese, German,…

Words 1047 - Pages 5

Labour Relation Essay examples

Case Scenario Written by Charles Purchase, Seneca College Phil Stone has been a union organizer for 15 years. He recently targeted a firm in the garment industry. Up to this point he has had informal discussions with a few of the company’s four hundred employees so that he can get a better feel for the chances of succeeding in the organizing drive. Phil is aware that he does not face a ‘slam dunk’ in this situation and his prediction is that the certification vote could be very close. He is…

Words 3814 - Pages 16