Should employers who are unionize force you to join a union? Why or why not?

Question

I do not believe that employers that are unionized should not force you to join a union. After all, why should you pay Union Dues just to keep your job? Why should you be discriminated against if you are a minority? Why should you have your hard working money go to politicians you do not vote for or approve of?

To learn more about how Unions are NOT GOOD FOR AMERICA, go to http://unionfacts.com

Answer 1

if you do not want to join a union, do not get a job that forces you to be in one.

America has come to the point where fair labor laws have all but negated the need for unionizing.

Answer 2

I use to be a part of a union when I worked for a grocery store and I could not stand the union. I did not like paying union dues so that I could keep my job and I did not like the fact they if you choose not to vote in an election, they would call you until you casted a vote. I do not agree with the saying that Unionized Employees make more money than Non Unionized Employees. The reason I do not agree with this is because if a Unionized and Non Unionized make the same staring pay, the non unionized will have more money in their paycheck because they do not pay dues.

I believe that Unions should be eliminated because there is absolutely no needs for unions anymore and I believe that America would be a better place to live and work with no unions.

Answer 3

Membership in any association should be voluntary. Does it need to be any more complex than that? I guess so.

The argument "you shouldn't take a job that forces you to be in a union" has some problems. The unions and the government should not force a contract on employers and employees. The terms of any employment contract should be worked out between the parties entering into the agreement and NO ONE ELSE. Anything else is unjust.

There's a difference between arguing that unions can be beneficial to workers--hell yeah, they can, making $35 an hour to stand on the side of the freeway with a sign ain't too shabby--and that the benefits necessitate involuntary membership. No, sorry. They don't. Individuals should get to choose and the unions through the coercive arm of the government shouldn't get to decide that.

Incidentally, my father's been threatened with bodily harm a few times by the carpenter's union for hiring company guys rather than union guys. Of course, the only reason he hired company guys was because they did better work.

Answer 4

Why should anyone have to pay to work anywhere? If labor unions were really so great, grand, glorious and wonderful, force would not be needed to get people to join them. After seeing how much "good" the UAW has done for autoworkers, especially at Government Motors, I can't see why anyone would want to be a member. Newell, I have never been in any union and have received pay raises along with everyone else in the company. I am also free to try to negotiate a separate pay plan for myself without being held back by poor performers. Honestly, where, in the COnstitution of the United States, do you find the authority for the federal government to dictate benefits for employees of PRIVATE companies? The family Leave Act exists with absolutely NO CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY! Are you saying the federal government helps unions violate the Constitution? I agree.

Answer 5

First off, a disclaimer: I don't have much experience with Industry Unions (like Teachers, Autoworkers, etc), so I won't speak bad/good/or on behalf of. BUT, I DO have experience with a Craft (aka Skilled Trade) Union (like Ironworkers, Boilermakers, etc).Remember, People, there is a HUGE difference between those two types of Unions.

There are THOUSANDS of blue collar workers who have Health Insurance and Pensions because of their Craft Unions. Many of their trades require working for several contractors during the year. Sorry to say, Industrial builds & refits are not a consistent thing. Each contractor may get one or two bids a year. The Union hands get laid off and can get dispatches out to different contractors on another site. Non-Union companies either have to have work lined up right away, layoff all the hands until the next job, or go under because of their labor costs.

Non-Union contractors hire right off the street; they have the costs of hiring, training, testing, and certifying their workers. Union contractors use the Halls for a basically unlimited supply of trained, tested & certified workers that can be sent out on very short notice ("How quick can you be on a plane to Alaska?" was one phone call we've gotten).

The dues my husband pays are not to keep his job. They are so he can have Health Insurance, Pension, Representation, Full Referral, etc.

I'm sorry some of you may have had a bad Steward in the past, but they're not all like that. My husband is currently dispatched as the Steward and I know Stewards make EXACTLY the same wage as the workers they're representing. It's a thankless & stressful job to be a Steward, especially if your heart is into being good at it.

Answer 6

An employer will never unionize it's employees. At some point the employees chose to unionize.

Say you are I are working at the same employer. I have chosen to enter the union and pay my dues, you have chosen not to. Why should you reap the benefits of what my union dues pay to do? Why should you have the benefit of better working place conditions, better benefits and pay when I am the one paying for it?

A union will not work unless all of the employees are in it together. Not so much of a threat if only a percentage of your employees are threatening to strike is it?

I am not saying all work forces should be unionized but they sure won't work or be fair if it is optional.

Answer 7

Interesting. When I was a tool and die maker, I made good money working in non-union shops. The reason for this was the unions. Prior to the union movement, this country saw rampant use of sweat shop labor, often exploiting women and children in dangerous, low-paying jobs.

Now even non-union workers reap the benefits. The neo-cons have launched an all out attack on unions, we are headed back in that direction. They are bolstered by the success of outsourcing to third world countries that utilize child labor sweat shops.

The real attack on the unions started after the second world war with the HUAC (House Unamerican Activities Committee) hearings. Many of the people targeted were associated either with communism, OR with socialist causes. A good deal of them were Union activists, and many historians consider them to have been the prime target.

Socialism has nothing to do with communist, or fascist dictatorships. It is a belief that unregulated capitalism works only for the benefit of the wealthiest segment of society. Unions are basically socialist organizations dedicated to wrestle for working people compensation for the labor that they provide to the bosses.

It is barter. The owner of a company wants to get the best profit he can. He often barters with his suppliers for the best price. Well, we who work are suppliers of sweat, and talent. Are you saying we do not have the right to negociate. You say that we can do it as individuals. True. I am in the field of skilled professionals who can do that, and does. what about the cashier at wal-mart?

Unfortunatly, the union movement never recovered from the HUAC. The powers behind McCarty, Nixon and the others succeeded in taking the unions out of the hands of socialists, and giving them to organized criminals.

Answer 8

I grew up in Detroit, so in my opinions Unions can piss off. I've worked in a career that also had unions. The companies I worked for didn't have unions, and we made more money and didn't have to support the worthless union steward or the boondoggles of the union reps. There is no such thing as security in a job any more so what useful function they perform I do not know.

Answer 9

First - employers don't unionize - employees do.

Second, if you "do not believe that employers that are unionized should not force you to join a union"

then you "do believe that employees (not employers) that are unionized should force you to join a union".



In either case, unions you REALLY shouldn't be against unions yourself. In your particular case, it is the only chance at getting ahead in life as your apparent lack of a decent education is really not much to write home about.

Even if it was, there would be plenty of spelling mistakes.

Answer 10

Yeah, who would want to make $30 an hour with benefits...dump the bastards.

PS thats what I was making 15 years ago with my unionized employer. Now I can look forward to $10 an hour if I want to reenter the work force...screw that! I work from home making $20/hr and do just fine.