Labor Unions Labor Movement

Labor Unions

Since their inception as trade unions in the late 18th Century, collective labor alliances have grown in numbers, power and influence . Despite the many uncertain times of recession, depression, joblessness and cost-cutting throughout the last century, the labor movement has helped to stabilize the lives and futures of many blue-collar American families. This is especially true in the case of public sector workers. Previous to the unionization of labor in this occupational arena, employee were at the mercy of the government. That is, they had very little bargaining power when it came to their own job positions. However, with the advent of labor unions, this demographic was able to collectively bargain and fight for what they want and deserve. Thus, by ensuring steady incomes, safe working conditions and competitive benefits for members, labor unions have helped this quintessential population of workers to survive. It is clear that this movement has been very beneficial for workers over the last 100 years. Knowing that a very large percentage of the American population was comprised of these blue-collar citizens during the majority of this period, I believe that this movement has been very helpful from a historical perspective. There is little question in my mind that if it had not been for labor unions, many families would not have survived or at least slipped into devastating poverty. Therefore, this movement was undoubtedly effective and valuable in sustaining America's living standards and enriching the lives of union members.

However, while union members certainly profited from the creation of labor unions, it is unclear if society as a whole was always on the winning end of this discussion. While the collective economy surely benefited a great deal during the initial decades of labor unionization since there was such a large population of public sector workers and blue-collar laborers, it is unclear that the advancement of labor unions has been entirely favorable to America's society. While members of labor unions continue to reap great rewards as a result of union membership, society has begun to suffer at the hands of labor strikes, political bargaining and increased domestic prices. A perfect example of the disadvantage that has been created can be found in the side-by-side comparison of two similar projects. The first of these projects is The Empire State Building in New York City. This massive structure was constructed using mostly non-union laborers. The construction began in 1929 and was completed in 1931 . Workers knew that they had to work hard, rapidly and efficiently in order to be awarded future considerations and job assignments. Conversely, a more modern case study would be the similarly massive structure that is currently under construction in New York City: the new World Trade Center. Unlike the Empire State Building which was built using mostly non-unionized labor, the new World Trade Center building is being built using only unionized labor. And even though these contemporary laborers have state of the art machinery and materials, recent estimates have concluded that the process will take approximately 18 times as long (36 years) as the construction of The Empire State Building . This reality highlights the way in which society has come to suffer at the hands of labor unions in the modern world. I certainly appreciate the helping hand this movement gave to struggling citizens during the first half of the 20th Century, but these costly institutions seem to do more harm than good from a contemporary societal perspective. Many jobs have already been outsourced to other geographic locations and joblessness continues to rise. I think it is time for another approach. While labor unions are good for their members, they are not so great for society. We need to create a system that is beneficial to both.