Why do we need unions?
There is one primary reason we need unions in this country and that reason is to protect workers from unfair and arbitrary actions by employers. In this country, the law of the land is called employment-at-will.
The basic concept of employment-at-will is that the employer-employee relationship is a completely consensual relationship that may be terminated by either party with no notice or justification. Under employment-at-will an employer may terminate an employee for any reason or no reason.
There are three primary exceptions to the at-will doctrine. They are public policy, implied contract and covenant of good faith and fair dealing (Muhl, 2001). Examples of public policy violations by employers would be if an employee were fired for refusing to commit an act that was a violation of the law or violation of various discrimination policies established by the federal government. Examples of implied contract violations would be actions that are contrary to what is stated in an employee handbook distributed by the employer. Examples of the third exception is more difficult to provide. Primarily because the terms good faith and fair dealing are somewhat arbitrary.
There are two primary problems with the three exceptions. First is that they are not federal law or policy (the exception being federal anti-discrimination laws) they are state policies. As of the year 2000, 43 states recognized the public policy exception, 38 states recognized the implied contract exception while only 11 states recognized the covenant of good faith and fair dealings exception (Muhl, 2001). The second problem is that to enforce any of the exceptions would require a court action and how many employees that had just been terminated could afford to hire an attorney to pursue these actions?
Where do unions come in with all of this? Employees represented by unions are working under a contract, signed by the employer that normally states what actions are subject to discipline, what disciplinary actions are permitted and procedures for handling perceived contract violations on the part of the employer. In addition, the financial burden for settling disputes is born by the union. This financial burden can be quite substantial if a case goes to court or arbitration. In many cases the issues are resolved through the grievance procedure at very little cost to the union or the employer. In essence, unionization brings about a more equitable balance of power for the employee. Under employee-at-will the employee has very little power since they don’t generally have the resources to take actions to enforce their rights.
Reference
Muhl, C. J. (2001). The employment-at-will doctrine: three major exceptions. Monthly Labor Review, 124(1), 3.