Globalization impacts all business, foreign and domestic. How does globalization impact a union in the United States? Is the impact positive or negative? What aspects of globalization do you think will have the greatest impact on unions? Why?
Globalization impacts all business, foreign and domestic. How does globalization impact a union in the United States? Is the impact positive or negative? What aspects of globalization do you think will have the greatest impact on unions? Why?
Julie Jessee
One of the main negative impacts that globalization has on unions in the U.S. is the removal of power. Especially in manufacturing where often the product can be produced in a foreign country were labor costs are lower. So union workers in the U.S. want higher wages, the company can’t afford to give higher wages and remain competitive, so they decide to close a stateside department or factory and have the production changed from that U.S. factory to one overseas. So who wins in this type of situation? Certainly not the union members, now they have no job. They continue to have less and less faith in the union’s ability to help them, so why should they bother to pay union dues.
In general, as globalization continues and workers are spread throughout the world, it will become nearly impossible for unions to maintain and acquire new members unless they change their mission. Many foreign countries already have labor laws that are quite lucrative to the employees, so joining a union to fight for laws in the U.S. serves no purpose to them. However, if we flip this thought on its side a bit and looked at how unions could help globalization, things could be different. Suppose the union for a global corporation bargained for fair minimal working conditions for all members, no matter the country, this would possibly have a positive impact on the union itself. People would begin to see that perhaps if they work together they can all benefit.
DeNiesha Littles
Globalization impacts all business, foreign and domestic. How does globalization impact a union in the United States? Is the impact positive or negative?
Globalization has a negative impact on unions within the United States. They make it harder for employees to organize unions due to cultural differences and because workers are spread out through many different countries (Seaquist, G., 2015). It also makes it harder for unions in the United States to strike, because companies have the option to outsource work for cheaper labor cost (Seaquist, G., 2015).
What aspects of globalization do you think will have the greatest impact on unions? Why?
One of the biggest impacts on unions is the outsourcing of work. Because so many countries do not have labor laws, US companies can send production to another country and get their production done for cheap and also less cost for labor. When jobs are outsourced to different countries, it can cause those industries to suffer in the U.S. and have a negative effect on our labor force due to the loss of labor (Seaquist, G., 2015).
Seaquist, G. (2015). Employee and labor relations: A practical guide. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education.
Discussion 1
The decline of union membership in the United States raises questions about whether unions will continue to exist in their present configurations. What do you think are the major problems with unions that are costing them membership? Do you think that unions will survive, or do you think they will have to change? What do you imagine unions will look like in the future? Why?
Kim McGrath
The decline of union membership in the United States raises questions about whether unions will continue to exist in their present configurations. What do you think are the major problems with unions that are costing them membership?
Changes in the world itself such as local domestic businesses gravitating toward global businesses (domestic and transnational corporations) make it difficult to organize workers let alone get them agree to strike when they are spread across countries (Seaquist, 2015). Outsourcing is another issue when it comes to strikes because companies will send work to other countries for cheaper workforce. Collective bargaining is also affected by globalization. It is called transnational collective bargaining and it refers to unions in more than one country negotiating with the same company (Seaquist, 2015). Other aspects that fall under globalization are treaties and global unions. With the world changing, comes changes in social behavior and beliefs. Employer’ have become more resistant toward unions because of the impact on their profit margins (Seaquist, 2015). Economically, unions result in costs for lawyers, paperwork, forms, legal advice higher wages and better benefits.
Do you think that unions will survive, or do you think they will have to change? What do you imagine unions will look like in the future? Why?
I think in order for unions to survive, they will have to change. I believe better relationships can be built between unions and management to decrease employer resistance. Collaboration between unions could be another way to help unions survive as this may increase member interest in contract negations. Perhaps if more companies become part of the non-tradable sector where business could not be outsourced, this may help keep unions afloat as well (Seaquist, 2015). In the future, if unions do not find ways to adapt to the changes of the 21st century, I see unions becoming more of a alternate labor organization rather than a labor union (Seaquist, 2015). Alternative labor organizations approach is essentially the same as a union, with the right to protest and boycott but are non-profit organizations and are without representation and contract. Similarly, ground up organizations are another method of alt-labor except this method organizes workers from the ground up, rather than from the top down as a traditional union would (Seaquist, 2015).
Seaquist, G. (2015). Employee and labor relations: A practical guide. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education
Julie Jessee
I think the major problem with unions as they stand today is that they are outdated. Sure, they once served a very important purpose for protecting the rights of workers, but as more labor laws are added to the books, which serve the purpose of protecting all workers and not just union members, that keep labor safe and fair for everyone, people no longer need the protection of an organized union. As the information and understanding of these laws spread, the incentive to be a part of an organized union will decline and people will no longer see the benefit and would rather not pay union dues.
In my opinion, the overall concept of unions will survive, but they will become smaller and less powerful. I think they will begin to seem more like an employee organization, which allows for benefit incentives but not necessarily protection from bad management. Of course, this will take time and will happen mostly through attrition as older union employees retire and younger generations are hired.
In the future, I see the labor vs management side of unions slowly transitioning into a partnership of sorts. Workers want to work, and management needs to see profit. If wages get to high then profit drops, profit drops and workers are laid off. People need to remember that wages can only go as high as the profit margin can support. Just because you have worked some place for 30 years doesn’t necessarily mean you should make tons of money. Wages should be commensurate with primarily the position duties, experience, and performance. Sure longevity should be rewarded, but not necessarily through more pay.
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