Introduction
There are diverse elements that influence the nature of the job and salary level of an individual. For example, the level of education can have a diverse impact on the nature of work and the earnings of an employee. Moreover, the relationship between workers and their jobs change due to several factors such as economic and policy changes. Accordingly, the factors that impacted employment can also have an impact on what are the type of jobs and the people that are likely to unionize. It is to be noted that people join unions in order to have a say about the nature of their jobs, and to have the freedom to express how they can improve the manner of doing their jobs. Labor unions are among the institutional factors that could have an influence in the employment and earnings of an employee, and it can have an impact on the improvement of the well being of workers.
The history of labor unions started in the 19th century, when the National Labor Union was founded sometime in 1866. In contrast to most unions that are formed today, the NLU was open to any particular type of workers, nevertheless, it did not last long and was not able to establish the rights of workers. The most popular labor union in America’s history is the American Federation of Labor (AFL), which became successful in advocating for the increase in salary of the members, as well as the safety of the workers.
Previously, the advantage offered by union membership motivated many Americans from both the private and public sector to unionize. However, in recent decades, it was noted that union membership has declined among employees in the private sector, although government workers generally remained to be unionized. There was now the current question on whether public unionism can survive in the long run, despite the fact that private sector membership in unions are constantly decreasing. It is to be noted that unionism has impacted the lives of many American workers in the past as the unions served to negotiate with the employers and the management about the employee salaries and benefits, as well as the working conditions of workers. Thus, during the time when most industries were not keen about taking good care of their workers, it was the role of the unions to intervene.
Accordingly, during the time of the Great Depression, the leaders of the American Economic Association, who were among the authorities on the legalities of unionism, suggested that unionism has no way to expand with the crisis brought about by the depression. Nevertheless, in 1955 the two largest US labor unions, merged to form the AFL-CIO, and about 38% of the private sector employees were protected by the collective agreement. This scenario is different in the current period where private sector employees do not see the need to become members of unions. This can be attributed to the fact that most private industries today are people oriented and were serious about considering the grievances of their employees without going to the extent of forming unions. In addition to that, the existence of better modes of communications is among the factors that makes it easier for employees to communicate with management.
On the other hand, government employees during the early formation of unions were not likely to become members of unions. But today, there are more public sector employees who were members of union organizations. It was during the 1970s, when public employees of the state and federal government started to rapidly create a union organization. Today, there are about 37% union members from the public sector, which is a far cry from the 6.9% membership from the private sector. Some of the typical union members are the teachers, policemen and other state and federal government workers. When compared to the usual union members some decades ago, one finds that they are were once composed of blue collar workers such as the steel and construction workers.
Accordingly, the laws that govern the collective bargaining agreement with unions are different between the government and the private sector. While the National Labor Relations Act takes care of the private sector, it is the State laws that oversees the labor and management relations of state employees. The State laws can differ according to each state, so that there are states that encourages union membership, while there are those that discourage union membership.
The union membership can have a positive impact on the well being and protection of employees, both from the public and the private sector. Employees have their own interest, and unions have the expertise to communicate and negotiate with management to immediately address their concerns. Negotiating as a group can have a better impact, rather than individually negotiating with the management. This is because negotiating as a group puts more pressure on the management, which leads them to immediately act on the issue.
