Response the following:
POST 1:
What are some reasons management opposes unionization?
Reasons management would oppose unionization is because it can be costly to the organization and they lose the opportunity to work with each employee individually. Often time unions push for higher pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions. All of these thing cost money and if the organization does not give them what they want the employees could go on strike costing the company even more money. When employees unionize the management can no longer deal with one employee individually, they have to go through the union. This could be very straining on the employee and the organization.
Do you agree or disagree with these reasons? Why or why not?
I agree from the organizational perspective that I would not want a union in an organization I ran. The unions can be very costly and could cause the organization to rise prices in order to adjust for the request of the union. It would also be frustrating to not be able to work with employees on an individual level. If the organization has good management the employees should not need an extra blanket of security to uphold their rights.
POST 2:
When there is no union, management has all the power; hence, it can make decisions without consulting others people within the organization (Bohlander & Snell, 2010). When there is a union, workers have a united voice, and they can participate in decision-making especially those that affect their wages, working conditions and benefits them. Managers find it hard to accept to share power and decision making when workers are part of the union. Managers try a lot of things so that they can stop the workers from forming a union. Many of them try to divide, intimidate and even confuse workers so that they cannot form a union. Management can even go to an extent of hiring well-known consultants so that they may divert the attention of workers from improving the job.
I do not agree with the reasons because workers have learned there is need to stay united. Through that, they will not let the managers scare or distract them. They will, therefore, be successful in forming their unions and winning job improvements
POST 3:
Some of the driving forces that led people to sacrifice so much to form unions were that "Many employers ignore the complaints or grievances of their employees, treat workers disrespectfully, allow unsafe working conditions, and pay unfair wages. Employee perception that management favors one employee over another in the application of rules is cited as one of the top reasons for work dissatisfaction leading to unionization (Mitchell & Simpson, 2009)."(Seaquist, G. 2015 sec.1.3). Along with the ideas that by joining a union, peoples jobs would be protected and better wages. That was not always the ways of things. People wanted better for not only themselves but their families as well.
In some cases it was worth it but in the early years it was hard for many and many lost their jobs, homes and lives. The effort was a two fold thing in that the workers made a statement about what they wanted and needed and in some cases it worked. Unions were not all that organized in the start and they did try to help those injured on the job and help retain homes and better hours and wages. Look at today's unions and you will see that they are still working for better working conditions for their members and still costing companies money when they are found in violation.
POST 4:
What were the driving forces that led people to sacrifice so much to form unions? Was it worth it? What benefits were derived? What sacrifices were made?
"Employees can feel especially helpless to change their working conditions or discounted if they bring problems to management's attention. Employees who feel unheard and powerless to change their work environment often find unionizing empowering, because it forces management to listen to concerns and make necessary changes" (Seaquist, 2015).
It's worth the risk because it protects the employees from bad management, harmful working conditions, and low wages. "Employees who are union members are often proud to belong to an organization that has a great deal of power. Employees report feeling positive on a personal level about belonging to a group as well as about the benefits a union can bestow by virtue of its size and organization" (Seaquist, 2015). Sacrifices made were job losses, companies didn't care who they fired and because of the lack of favor workers were in and out of the work rotation randomly. I do think it's still worth it to unionize because the group adds on to the quality of workers who join the union.