There is a long history of large corporations resisting the fight to unionize their employees. Unions allow an organized group of employees to negotiate and push for higher wages and resist old policies collectively. The 1935 Wagner Actis a labor law that guarantees employees the right to organizes and take action. It was created in the face of worker rights violations and the courts siding against labor unions and their right to strike.
In our modern era, some of largest companies in the United States have been accused of union busting. Some of these companies have appeared in front of congress and the legal system to explain their actions. If illegal, why do these companies think they can get away with it? The tactics used today are not the same as in 1870’s with billy clubs and #batons.
The softer approach now entails conversations, suggestions, overtures, posters in lunchrooms, layoffs, and plant / store closings. It has had a positive effect yet has caused a lot of red flags about the new wave of employees looking to increase wages and improve working conditions.
Let’s not to point fingers and #misjudge every business caught in the crossfire. Today’s companies are not monsters. They are places where we shop, buy phones, and drink coffee. We have grown up with these businesses and have used them our entire lives. They are profit- driven machines with accountability and reasoning as the bottom line. Of course, unions cost these companies money because they drive up the price of labor.
As an employee and working person, I say that companies should pay people fairly and treat them with dignity. #Labor is the most expensive part of every company’s balance sheet. As a consumer, I feel the effects of higher prices. Imagine if other countries were allowed to unionize, or if they had Franklin Delano Roosevelt as President? The reason why goods and products from other countries are less expensive is because they do not have organized labor.
By,
Dane Flanigan