Are Unions Still Relevant in the United States?
The primary goals of trade unions are to protect the employment and the livelihoods of union members. When a union negotiates a wage and benefit package with a large company in a particular industry, that negotiation becomes the standard against which and by which other labor-management negotiations are measured. Strikes and other work actions are sometimes symbolic. For example, when negotiations are bogged down and union workers wish to emphasize their displeasure, the union may organize a work slow down, a sick out, a one day strike or may take other action such as encouraging its members not to work overtime or to follow all work rules to the letter. In American business, strikes by union members are relatively rare and are considered to be a last resort by labor unions.
Unions and labor relations have a significant impact on organizations. For example, the National Labor Relations Act forbids employers from interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of rights relating to organizing, forming, joining or assisting a labor organization for collective bargaining purposes, or engaging in concerted activities, or refraining from any such activity. Similarly, labor According to the National Labor Relations Board website online, organizations may not restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of these rights. Once a union is formed, employers are restricted in the manner in which they address labor relations. For example, an employer may not Transferring, laying off, terminating or assigning employees more difficult work tasks because they engaged in union or protected concerted activity (The National Labor Relations Board and You; Unfair Labor Practices).
According to an essay published online by the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2004, 12.5 percent of wage and salary workers were union members, down from 12.9 perc...