Are you looking at all of the labor unions threatening to strike or on strike, and thinking labor unions are bad for the country?  Well, don’t! Unions are the best thing going for workers whether you are a member of a labor union or not. With more than twenty years of human resources experience under my belt, I can tell you from personal experience that nothing gets a company looking at its pay and work environment faster than the buzz of union activity amongst the employees.

Unions keep employers on their toes because no employer wants a union.  And the more unions are in the news, the better…because your employer is watching, too.  It costs an employer a lot less and it’s a lot easier to treat your employees well than to have them unionize.   Unions deter employers from the practices that make employees feel they need a union.  The end result is employers behave better to keep their employees from deciding they need a union.   If you see a company with a union, you can bet your paycheck that it didn’t just get one for no reason…you may have to look back a few years, but there is a reason.

Unions have been in America for a long time. In 2022, more than 14 million workers were members of labor unions…more than ten percent of workers. Unions were created to protect employee rights and stop exploitation…and were bolstered by the 1935 enactment of the National Labor Relations Act.  Union members fight together for better pay and working conditions and as a group can be influential enough to obtain change.  Strikes are difficult for both sides…so it is rare that we see them because far more often than not the differences are worked out before it comes to a strike.  But when we do see them, you can bet it is because the employee-employer conditions have become untenable for the workers.

There was a time when employers could pay their employees far less than what you see now. The working conditions were far worse as well.  And, then there was child labor…we see violations creeping into the conversation in states like Mississippi right now because of a shortage of workers due to legal immigration stalemates.  If one looks at the pay, benefits, and protections of union employees, then you know union employees normally make higher wages (10-30% depending upon location), possess better benefits, work in safer environments, and other bargaining protections for employees. 

And that is why all of us need to celebrate labor unions and pay attention when they are in the news.  Happy Labor Day!