Union Role in Workplace

Unions play an important role in benefits for workers. Corporations do not treat their employees as people unless they are forced to by the Union. If not for the Union all employees would be paid minimum wage. Reasons for increased pay are to prevent the formation of Unions. An example of prevention techniques is portrayed by the well known company Wal-Mart. It portrays an equal workplace that includes promotion opportunity and a companywide stock ownership program. “Unions counter that Wal-mart uses aggressive and even unfair labor practices to prevent unionization.” When threats of a union formation arise the company arranges mandatory meetings where management explains the consequences and emphasis on negativities of unionization. This supports the fact that unions prove more powerful to accomplish changes that directly affect the workforce because it promotes the interests of its members by means of collective action, goals set by more than one person.
Benefits that should be attributed to the Union include the 40 hour workweek, vacation, overtime pay, pensions, OSHA (Occupational safety and Health Act), and employer paid insurance to name a few. These benefits are used to attract, retain, motivate, and reward employees beyond just wage and salary payments. Collective bargaining allows workers to negotiate with management over these benefits that would otherwise prove to benefit the employer as opposed to the employee. This process involves a contract to govern what each party can and cannot do. A Union allows a power relationship between the company and the workforce that allows equality to reign in the