Advantages & Disadvantages of Unions

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Running head: Advantages and disadvantages of Collective Bargaining Advantages and disadvantages of Collective Bargaining Embry Riddle Aeronautical University 14 November 2012 Abstract This paper will briefly examine the origin of unionized labor; the advantages and disadvantages of unions and its impact on the Resource Management function in relation to the collective bargaining process. Introduction The issue of unionization is vitally important to the tradition of American labor. Unions first appeared in the 19th century, during periods of rapid industrialization wherein workers were often subjected to exploitation at the hands of ambitious capitalists who minimized wages and spent as little as possible on improving labor conditions in order to maximize profits. The workers in these cases needed their wages to support their families and prevent homelessness, so they had comparatively little to bargain with next to the materially wealthy capitalists. With the formation of labor unions, though, workers were able to use the very commodity of their own productive labor as a bargaining tool to secure fairer wages and working conditions from the capitalists. To date, however, the unionization of labor remains controversial, as proponents of the “free market” view union interference as detrimental to the economy, and union activists regard unionization as a necessary check to the potential exploitative excesses of unrestrained capitalism. (Housen, 2012) Why Unions? According to Merriam Webster dictionary, labor union is defined as an organization of workers formed for the purpose of advancing its members' interests in respect to wages, benefits, and working conditions. The majority of the population works for someone else. In every type of job, industry and condition you can think of; people work for a company that has rules and regulations which
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