It has been more than 100 years since the first unions appeared in the United St

Question

It has been more than 100 years since the first unions appeared in the United States. They still remain a very polarizing concept in our society. Have we outgrown our need for unions? Do unions force businesses to send jobs offshore? Do unions encourage a culture of “slackers”? Or do you think unions help employees gain fair compensation in the workplace? Do they help improve working conditions and safety? Do they help create a middle class that has the disposable income to purchase goods and services and drive our economy?

In short, are you in favor of unions or are they a concept whose time has come and gone? Do you think there are any vocations that should not unionize? If we live in a capitalist system, why should we discourage companies from relocating if they can produce products cheaper?Kindly explain your view.

Explanation / Answer

Every coin has a flip side. Yes Unionization leads to slacking , Yes it compels busineesses to look offshore to remain competitive but they are a way to give workers bargaining power without which they would be paid far less and have to suffer from poor working conditions. As a result they help in creating a middle class that has disposable income to purchase goods and services and drive economy. Also they help in fair distribution of wealth which otherwise would lead to extreme income inequality leading to social evils of all kinds.

Every corporate manager will probably be against unions as it hinders his ease of work. But we have to undersatand that as Business managers we not only have duties and responsibilities towards corporations but also towards society as well. So I do not think that there are any vocations which should not unionize only that in certain services there should not be strike as a right. For example doctors , lawyers etc which otherwise would cause extreme unconvenience to public. And it is not that only workers have unions to protect their rights .Industrialists also unionize only that they call it associations to protect their image and interests. So unions are all pervasive.

There are certain trade offs that a country will have to made if they should not discourage companies from relocating. Fundamentally a company is for profit but a country if for its people and their welfare. At the interest of more profitability mass level unemployment in country cant be allowed to be promoted. Not to mention all forms of social evils associated with poverty and unemployment such as burgalaries , dacoits , social unrests etc. which will weaken the economy even more.

At the same time too stringent a restriction will ultimately lead to wipe out of companies itself . So policy makers need to make a balance between the two approaches

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