Why avoid unions?
Here are the facts about the impact of unions on employees in the 21st century. But don’t just take our word for it. Ask employees and executives of small, medium and large, for profit and non-profit businesses, what their personal experiences with organized labor have been in the past five years. What you will hear is unions (that historically focused on benefitting employees) are now causing:
Increased labor costs: Unions negotiate (under threat of work stoppages) for higher wages and benefits. Fair enough. However, in the process they drive up payrolls that are often not sustainable, especially in smaller businesses with limited resources like non-profits. Unsupportable wage and related costs negatively impact growth, market share, funding and public image - particularly in industries with thin profit margins. As a result employees can lose their jobs.
Rigidity in operations: Union agreements also include specific rules and regulations that govern various aspects of the workplace. These rules limit the flexibility needed to adapt to changing market conditions, or to implement new operational changes efficiently. Having to “seek permission” to improve processes is irrational when competing with those who can adjust quickly or those who have grant compliance obligations. And there is little to no interest by unions in modifying a labor agreement once negotiated. Employees can’t compete as well as a result.
Strains in associate relations: The presence of a union can disrupt relationships among employees. Negotiations and public labor disputes lead to internal conflicts such as member v. non-member politics, work stoppage debates and a general distrust that is counterproductive to operations. This negatively affects productivity, customer satisfaction, advocacy and overall business performance.
A lack of individual performance-based incentives: Unions promote equality among workers and insist on basing promotions, pay raises and other benefits on seniority rather than individual performance. This discourages high-performing employees and hinders merit-based reward systems that drive productivity, innovation, pay and benefits.
Measurable decreases in associate satisfaction: Unions require a collective voice, and shy away from individual and personal responsibility. The interests of both the local and national union supersede those of the associate. When employees are dissed by a union for political reasons it can lead to deteriorating morale, lower productivity and higher turnover.
Confused messaging: Unions do not facilitate communication channels between employees and their execs. Rather, they create self-serving and self-promoting workplace discussions using newsletters, social media, mandatory meetings and closed websites. Regular union postings foster an uncooperative work environment.
It's important to recognize that today labor organizations are struggling corporate businesses, with dwindling revenue. Unions are more dependent on employee dues than ever before - dues that often are legally required whether or not associates care to be members.
Unions sell collective protection, not personal responsibility. They rarely, if ever, have the same range interests as the employees they seek out for new membership funds. Unfortunately for everyone, unions run sophisticated campaigns that are designed to be divisive, not cooperative. Balanced facts and a 360° education are not their goals.
However, they are ours.