What Are Unions Necessary?

During the Great Depression, U.S. Congress passed the Wagner Act which guaranteed workers the right to unionize. Throughout that time to present day, there has been a lot of controversy over whether or not unions are necessary. A union is an organization of workers that protects wages, hours and working conditions for all. Many individuals believe that unions are essential for workers and that unions are vital for U.S. democracy. Many citizens think otherwise, those people believe unions are unnecessary. While the issue of unions may seem simple, each side presents a compelling argument.
Firstly, many individuals believe unions are vital for U.S. democracy and are needed for all. One of the main arguments for unions is that unions protect
the working people. For instance, “Unions are "the anti-theft device for working people" (Rachleff). This quote shows that the unions safeguard the working people’s rights. The working people need to be protected. Workers feel more comfortable knowing that they are protected by unions. Moreover, when the workers are comfortable, they work harder. Additionally, those union members will earn higher compensation due to their hard work. Provided that, those workers deserve those rights to be protected. Also, unions are indispensable for U.S. democracy. For example, “America needs to remember who public-sector workers are. Public-sector workers are not on the dole: they are the worker bees of this democracy, of the agencies which provide crucial services (roads, parks, schools, law enforcement, etc.)” (Rachleff). This quote proves that many necessities are provided by public sectors. Knowing this, a fair amount of the public sector is unionized, about 36 percent. If those people were not unionized, there is a chance that we would not have those services provided. Those services are absolutely necessary. On the contrary, many individuals believe that unions are not necessary.
When workers are unionized they do not help the local governments, “public sector unions contribute to government bloat and to outsize compensation packages. As a result, they have created government inefficiency and bankrupted many local governments” (DiSalvo). The unions may help out the state and national government, but many local governments are affected a great deal by the unions. Many local governments are put out of businesses because they do not make enough money to afford the union fees. The local government does not have a high enough budget to afford the unions. They end up getting priced out by the state or national government, who have the high enough budget. Hence, forcing the local governments to go bankrupt. Continually, many high ranking positions in unions may not be doing their jobs correctly, but are still payed very well and will most likely not lose their jobs. In particular, “government managers generally get paid the same—and have the same likelihood of keeping their jobs—regardless of whether their operations are run efficiently” (DiSalvo). This quote shows that a government or business can be corrupt, but will most likely not get rid of the people who are corrupt because of the unions. The unions protect the rights of the workers, even the corrupt ones. This is a major problem for the government or business as it is not run as well as it could be. When the workers do not have to worry about losing their jobs, they will work less hard. Without the unions the workers feel more pressure to work harder or else they will lose their job. This creates more efficiency in the
workplace.
Altogether, both sides of the issue show many great arguments. Many citizens think unions need to be required and are crucial for U.S. democracy. In contrast, many people believe that unions are not essential.