Question

what is the impact to the organization for having a union, and how are employees impacted?

Answer 1

A union is a workers organization that consists of its representatives and members who aim to improve their working conditions and wages or salaries. When two or more things, for example, countries or organizations, have been joined together to form one thing, you can refer to them as a union. Unions have a substantial impact on the compensation and work lives of both unionized and non-unionized workers.

A union is a group of people who agree to be treated as an organization with a designated representative to bargain for them with a given employer over the terms of the organization’s members’ employment. The terms include the wages, hours worked, benefits, and work rules.

The unions gain power because we, as a country, by law, allow for their formation, and enforce their rights to bargain and protect their members through the government. The employer loses significant power over its employees when the union arrives. Similarly, the employer loses flexibility and ingenuity when the union becomes an adversary instead of a partner. This may result in lower productivity and profitability towards an organization.

On the other hand, Unions play a pivotal role both in securing legislated labor protections and rights such as safety and health, overtime, and family/medical leave and in enforcing those rights on the job. Because unionized workers are more informed, they are more likely to benefit from social insurance programs such as unemployment insurance and workers compensation. Unions are thus an intermediary institution that provides a necessary complement to legislated benefits and protections.

Thus for an organization, the unions may have an adverse impact on them. since union workers do receive higher wages, this can be a negative impact on the organization. Unionization also impacts the ability of managers to make certain decisions and limits their freedom when working with employees. For example, if an employee is constantly late to work, the union contract will specify how to discipline in this situation, resulting in little management freedom to handle this situation on a case-by-case basis.

Another concern about unionization for management is the ability to promote workers. A union contract may stipulate certain terms (such as seniority) for promotion, which means the manager has less control over the employees he or she can promote.

So the main problems with the union that may affect the organization are as follows;

Unions make it harder to promote and terminate workers.

Unions focus a lot on the seniority of the worker. This often translates into the lack of advancement for new and high performing employees to advance. Similarly, it is difficult to demote those employees who are not performing at high levels.

Going a step further, unions can discount worker education and experience. Because of seniority, the perfect employee may not get the job because they have not been with the company/union a specific amount of time.

Unions can drive up costs.

Though it is a pro that unions can often get higher compensation for their members, it can likewise be stated that hiring unionized workers can be more expensive than hiring non-unionized workers. It also comes with added safeguards and rules and regulations that can lead to hire litigation and negotiation costs should issues be taken to arbitration or put through a grievance process.

collective bargaining agreements

Most labor union contracts -- also called collective bargaining agreements -- contain a step-by-step process for addressing and resolving employee grievances. The effect that a labor union has is that you generally can't resolve employee issues without following the grievance process. For example, if an employee objects to a disciplinary warning he received and has documentation to support his position, the union contract won't let you talk things over with the employee and arrive at a mutually agreed-upon resolution to retract the disciplinary action. Instead, you have to resolve the employee's issue according to the grievance steps outlined in the union contract.

Unions may lead to prepare contract negotiations

Companies that have a labor union contract in place need to be prepared for contract negotiations. The negotiation process involves labor and management presenting one proposal after another and agreeing to concessions until they reach common ground. HR must prepare for contract negotiations far in advance -- often months for complex contracts -- to calculate numerous wage and benefit scenarios to present to the labor union for collective bargaining negotiation sessions.

Unions may lead to management discretion.

The management rights clause essentially says that the company's management has the right to operate the business as it sees fit and make decisions in the best interest of the company. In a labor union environment, the collective bargaining agreement takes away management's discretion in making decisions concerning performance, recognition, and reward for union employees. The effect that a labor union has is that the union contract generally dictates when employees receive raises. Union employees all receive raises at the same time, in the same amount, regardless of whether they are star employees or the lowest-performing workers.

On the other hand, Unions have some positive impact on employees. The employees may get higher wages; more and better benefits; more effective utilization of social insurance programs; and more effective enforcement of legislated labor protections such as safety, health, and overtime regulations. Unions also set pay standards and practices that raise the wages of nonunionized workers in occupations and industries where there is a strong union presence. Collective bargaining fuels innovations in wages, benefits, and work practices that affect both unionized and nonunionized workers.

The major advantages of having a union is as follows;

Unions provide worker protections.

Employers can fire employees for virtually any reason. Of course, there are limitations in place such as discrimination. For union members, it’s different. There must be just cause. And it’s not a simple firing. In most instances, this type of decision must go through arbitration or a grievance procedure.

Speaking of those procedures, unions make it easier for workers to handle disputes and complaints with management and other workers. Members, regardless of status, are able to use the processes to raise grievances. In some unions, members will see the organization subsidize legal fees on disputes related to discrimination and wrongful terminations.

Unions promote higher wages and better benefits.

Through collective bargaining, unions are able to secure higher wages and better benefits. That said, unionized workers are not the only ones to benefit from this. Employers have also raised wages for non-unionized workers in order to compete for talent.

Unions are economic trendsetters.

Before unions, weekends and provisions for workers did not really exist. Even unions do impact trends that benefit all workers. Other examples include the minimum wage, OSHA guidelines, and overtime rules.

Political organizing is easier.

Unions are able to amplify and advance political causes the working class supports. This doesn’t necessarily mean unionized workers always support the political agenda of their union, but generally speaking, unions help keep candidates focused on issues that matter to the worker, unionized or non-unionized.

Thus Union act as an important factor in an organisation which stands for the employees security and improvement but affects the organisations productivity, management, control.