Why Workers Join Unions

There are three general reasons

workers join unions:
1) Perceptions of the work
environment
2) Desires to participate in or
influence employment conditions
3) Employee beliefs about the effects
of unions.
 Determinants of Propensity to Join
Unions
1. Perceptions of work environment
a. Job dissatisfaction
b. Working conditions
c. Inequity perceptions
 Determinants of Propensity to Join Unions (Contd).

2.Perceptions of influence
a. Desired influence
b. Difficulty of influencing conditions
3. Beliefs about unions
a. Image and expectations about
unions
Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• Workers’ dissatisfaction with their wages,
benefits, and supervision are most related to
the tendency to vote for a union. For example
in USA one study of over 87,000 workers in
retail found that attitudes toward supervision,
wages, and benefits measured 3 to 15 months
before a formal union organizing effort were
strong predictors of the subsequent vote for
unionization.
Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• A study within the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) found similar results
before a certification vote to reunionize air
traffic controllers. The union vote varied
across regions of the FAA and correlated
significantly with attitudes toward supervision,
pay, and perceived work stress.
Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• One surprising finding from the research on
why people vote for union is that the work
itself does not seem to be strongly related to
union voting. The best predictors in several
studies are attitudes toward pay and working
conditions, rather than the work itself.
Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• In 1995, even fashion models were organizing
and attempting to build a new labor union to
address their benefits and long hours. Fashion
agencies do not provide models with health
insurance, dental insurance, pensions, life
insurance, or workers’ compensation. In
addition, most models make between $30,000
and $70,000 in a year and have difficulty
affording health insurance.
Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• The Models Guild was founded for models,
although photographers and makeup artists
were also invited to join. The Models Guild has
also been adopted by the 130,000-member
Office and Professional Employees’
International union, which has more money
and power.
 Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• A second general reason for joining unions is a belief that
there are no other options for either gaining more
influence in the workplace or finding employment
elsewhere.
• In general, if employees have mechanisms to voice their
concerns about HRM policy, there is less tendency to
favor unionization. A formal grievance procedure, for
example, which has been used successfully by employees,
would deter union activity because workers perceive that
there are alternatives to unions for correcting problems at
work.
Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• The third critical reason for joining unions is that
employees believe unions can actually improve
conditions and, in particular, can have an impact at
their own workplace.
• Companies attempt to influence employees’ beliefs
in this regard. Campaign tactis by management
include written communications, meetings, threats,
and actions against union supporters. These can
negatively affect workers’ votes for unionization.
 Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• Japanese firms with U.S. operations have been
particularly adept at launching anti-union campaigns
and quite successful in winning certification elections.
• Companies often use consultants who specialize in
refuting the claims of union organizers and presenting
horrendous scenarios if the union should prevail. It is
estimated there are over 1,000 such firms and an
additional 1,500 private consultants in the union
prevention or “busting” business.
Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• Union tactics, although less often examined,
also influence workers’ willingness to join
unions. A recent study found that unions that
conducted a rank-and-file organizing strategy
were more likely to win a certification. Such a
strategy involves reliance on a slow
underground person to person campaign that
involves using the employees to organize the
campaign.
Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• Further, a union with a strong commitment to
organizing also increases the probability that the
union will win the election.
• While many Americans believe unions can
improve things at work, many are generally
hostile to unions.
• They think unions protect ineffective workers,
abuse their power through strikes, are corrupt,
and impede productivity improvement programs.
Why Workers Join Unions (Contd).
• One study found that knowing an employee’s
general opinion about unions in these areas
was a strong predictor of how an employee
would vote for union representation.
 What do unions want?
• We can generalize by saying that unions have two
sets of aims, one for union security and one for
improved wages, hours, working conditions, and
benefits for their members.
• Union Security:
• First and probably foremost, unions seek security for
themselves. They fight hard for the right to represent
a firm’s workers, and to be the exclusive bargaining
agent for all employees in the unit including non-
members.
 Union Security (Contd).
Five types of union security are possible:
1. Closed shop
2. Union shop
3.Agency shop
4. Open shop
5.Maintenance of Membership Arrangement
 Improved Wages, Hours and Benefits

• Once the union ensures its security at the

company, it fights to improve its members’
wages, hours, and working conditions. The
typical labor agreement sometimes also gives
the union a role in other human resource
activities including recruiting , selecting,
compensating, promoting, training and
discharging employees.