Pros And Cons Of Unionization

To any employee, unionizing or not unionizing is an issue that requires careful consideration but seen to be automatic in many cases. There are workers who cannot work in an organization where they do not belong to a union while others would not want any association with unions. On the other hand, no employer is ever enthusiastic to engage unions in employee relations because they end up causing bitter relations between the employer and employees. However, it must be understood that unions are of great importance where there are issues with worker’s rights, their benefits and workplace safety. The main role of a union remains to ensure that the employees are treated fairly and equitably in the organization that they provide services (Bouchard, J. 2015).
On the other hand, it is important for every employer to understand that in order to succeed, the services of both unionized and the non unionized employees are required. On the other hand, it is also prudent to handle union issues with caution in recognizing the role of unions to the employee and how as the human resource director can avoid any wrangles with the union. One negative aspect of unions to the employer is that changes in employment are difficult to implement and can have drastic repercussions to the organization. It is also noteworthy that not all unions present unreasonable demands to
employers but despite this, it is important to be careful when engaging unionized employees. When negatively approached, the union can stifle an organization’s growth through unnecessary legal battles and stand offs which affect the organizations productivity. In addition, the union can hinder organizational growth through protection of unproductive workers where the organization does not have productivity guidelines.
As Chakravorty and Hales (2015) states, it is important as an organization to treat all workers fairly and equitably in order to avoid union issues. Additionally, the employer can engage the union when hiring in order to have well laid employment structures which ensure that the employer understands there are no hidden loopholes to blames the employer. When engaged in this stage, the union is able to ‘tame’ its members as well as enable the employer have an upper hand in the negotiations. When engaging the workers, the organization is supposed to have an open communication channel which ensures that no employee is treated favorably than others. In line with this, employees are bound to compare their terms with the terms of their colleagues which can result in conflicts where there are disparities. To add to this, where there are reward systems for good performance or high productivity, it should be clear to every employee that it is in line with personal effort and clearly stipulated in their engagement contracts. On discipline, every employee should also have a clear understanding that any form of misconduct attracts discipline but this should be in line with the organization policies. When solving employment related issues, the human resource director should formulate policies to avoid prolonged legal procedures but have internal mechanisms.
To the employer, it is important to have an understanding on the pros and cons of being in a union.
The first issue regards the personal and career growth where unionized workers stand poor chances of attracting high salaries because the union has standards in a bid to equalize its members. It follows that unionized employees may end up getting lower salaries than their non unionized counterparts in other similar organization or industry. Where the employer carefully handles its employees with decorum, the employees can opt out of unions but opt for peer or local mechanisms in solving their welfare (Henchoz,
2015)..
According to Siers (2000), In order to have good union management relations or having workers opting to have local mechanisms rather than unions, it is important for the organization to have an environment which is conducive for the workers. The work environment should offer personal and career growth as well as be seen to positively take in the plight of the workers. In all this, communication stands out as the main solution because it starts from the initial stage of engagement where the employee is made to understand the job requirements as well as the benefits that come with the position. Through communication, employees get motivated and understand their roles better. Communication also enables the workers enlighten the employer on their needs and aspirations and this can rule out the option of unions in the organization.