Occupational Safety and Health Administration Logs

With OSHA and all the labor laws out there, are Unions still necessary?

There was a time when Unions existed to fix substandard workplaces and fight for good working standards. But now OSHA exists and there are many many labor laws that exist that the worker can use, do we need unions anymore?

Public Comments

1. Yes if you wish to have living wages.
2. I can still see the benefit (from the workers' viewpoint) of collective bargaining for compensation. But I don't think you need a Union to do that. Just get together every few years and negotiate a new contract, and save your union dues.
3. No, they have outlived their purpose. But good luck trying to get rid of them. Unions are big business and won't go away quietly. Just look at the auto industry. Unions are willing to let big auto companies go broke before they give an inch. They've become parasitic.
4. the unions have outgrown their usefulness, they do more harm to the workers than help these days, just look at the automobile industry....
5. You need a union if you don't know how to bargain a wage for yourself and would rather have raises on how long you've been there vs. what you actually contribute to the company. You don't need a union if you can bargain your own wages, and like your raises based on your earned merit. EDIT: It seems most people don't understand what at-will employment is. Yes, you can be fired for any reason. If there is not a valid reason under the employment laws you will get unemployment consempation. If you are not in an at-will state and your line of work has a union, you MUST 100% join it without any opposition and you must pay union dues. In an at-will state you can join one if you choose, but you don't have to. I believe I can netogiate a better salary for myself than my union counterparts, I can talk to the boss about me and my performance and why I deserve it. There is more individuality and more drive to work hard with at-will employment. The states that have at-will are traditionally states with much better economies, if you don't believe look up any data at any source and you will agree. If workplace conditions are not up to par, I think I can judge that on my own and make my own decision if it needs to be improved- if it does I can speak to my boss myself about it. There doesn't need to be meetings and strikes about it. Unions in my opinion are for whiners who can't control their own employment and speak up for themselves.
6. Yes we still need unions. Without them the workforce would be hired and fired at will. Most people are unaware of the labor laws and have neither the time or inclination to find out about them and what they mean in the work force. Unions are there to also make sure those labor laws are followed and they stay in place. Companies will do what they can get away with, and without strong union support with active members we would be far worse off than we ever imagine.
7. Unions are the ruination of freedom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8. Most of the laws that protect workers in the workplace address individual rights. Because these rights can only be enforced by individuals, and because it is very easy for an employer to fire an individual, most attempts to enforce employee-protective laws come after someone has already been fired. In most cases, even if an employee wins a case like that, they will not be reinstated to their job. So enforcement of individual legal rights tends to end up as a pay-to-play system: that is, instead of fixing problems in the workplace, an employer simply pays money when someone is harmed by these problems (whether the problems are unsafe conditions, illegal discrimination, failure to pay wages, etc.). In contrast, most union contracts require that an employer have "good cause" or "just cause" before it can fire an employee, and labor laws permit groups of union members to complain about and try to fix problems collectively. So instead of one person bringing a lawsuit because they got hurt and couldn't work, with a union you could have a group of workers complaining to the boss and demanding that the unsafe condition get fixed so that no one gets hurt.
9. The AMERICAN WORK-FORCES wages and working conditions have been stagnant and deterioratingng for 20 years-George "W" first term first order of business was to repeel established ergonomic work standards-Labor in this country needs all the help they can get to counter these attacks besides a UNION worker averages income is 20% more than non.NOTE:"He who represents himself represents a FOOL".
10. Neither is needed. And both have their hand in the ruination of not only freedom but the destruction of the economy. Unions drive up wages, which drive up prices and make things that were once affordable for all exceedingly expensive. The irony is that even the high paid union workers suffer as well with unreasonably high prices. There is a common misconception that unions improve working conditions, provide superior bargaining power and thus insure higher standard of living for all workers. They do none of these things in reality. Instead they promote inefficiency, they dilute personal achievement and they have sponsored the creation of a debt based economy by inflating prices for all. OSHA has accomplished much as well. Its regulations have reduced competition by destroying small business while insulating big business and corporations from lawsuit. The worker is a mere pawn under these conditions, presumed unable to make rational decisions for themselves. Unions are a friction that the market place can do without. They have brought the manufacturing industries to a halt in every country they have infected. They have driven our labor force overseas, and are one the biggest causes of the high unemployment rate. Of course, the artificially high wages go hand in hand with artificially low interest rates. Both give the illusion of propping up the middle class while effectively destroying it. Perhaps the real goal of unions.