Since the Industrial Revolution, labor unions have fought on behalf of employees to secure improvement within the workplace. While most unions were formed within the manufacturing industry in companies such as steel mills, mines, and textile factories, in the 21st-century, unions have spread across numerous industries. In her 25+ year career, Naomi Soldon, attorney and co-founder of the law office of Soldon McCoy, has developed a reputation within the legal community for her dedication to her clients and her in-depth knowledge regarding different unions and employment laws. While there have been a great many changes to employment law since the industrial revolution, the workplace issues that unions work to change today remain relatively the same. According to attorney Naomi Soldon, the following are the most common workplace issues unions want addressed by employers today.
Working Conditions
Throughout the industrial revolution, the American job market was rife with dangerous working conditions, including cramped work areas with poor ventilation, poor safety procedures, and exposure to toxic metals, dust, and solvents. By the early 1900s, the number of annual deaths in factories had reached 35,000 a year with 500,000 annual injuries. Thanks to the unions’ considerable leverage, today, employees working in dangerous circumstances can fight for better working conditions. Typically, people will associate poor working conditions with things like hazardous machinery or toxic exposure; however, an unsafe work environment can include any condition that increases the risk of injury. For example, hazardous working conditions can consist of any situation where employees are subjected to conditions that cause them to over-exert themselves.
Although the changes to workplace safety are for the betterment of workers, they also greatly benefit employers. Employers and businesses improve their reputation within the workforce by agreeing to safety measures and can avoid future lawsuits, fines, and increased regulatory oversight. According to a report published by the Guardian, union workplaces have a 50 percent lower injury rate the non-union workplaces.
Wages
Fair wages are one of the most common issues labor unions want to be addressed by employers and companies. When the first unions were formed in the mid 19th century, one of the many reasons for their creation during this time was to correct the growing imbalance between inflation and worker wages. As unions will often represent part of a business’s labor force, they are able to use their collective bargaining ability to negotiate for higher wages for all workers. Unions can use their leverage through strikes, walkouts, or collective bargaining for labor agreement changes. The issue of worker compensation has continued until today and can be seen in surveys through various industries. In one such 2017 survey, workers from different industries were asked if they were satisfied with their wages and of the thousands of employees surveyed, only 30 percent of US workers said they were completely satisfied with their compensation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, labor unions are often able to negotiate for an additional $5.02 more in wages for workers compared to non-union workplaces in the same industry. This wage advantage is often referred to as union wage premiums and helps union workers and non-union workers by requiring non-union employers to meet certain minimums within an industry to attract, engage, and retain experienced employees.
The positive impact of unions on union members and the subsequent “spillover” effect on non-union workers means that unions are crucial in raising wages for all working people and reducing the severe wage inequality present in the United States. Various studies have shown that de-unionization accounts for a large share of the growth in wage inequality between the median workers’ wages and workers at the high end of the wage distribution.
Hours and Overtime
Today, the United States is currently the most overworked country in the world. According to the Center for American PROGRESS, in the 1960s, only twenty percent of mothers worked, while today, 70 percent of American children live in households where both adults are employed. Since 1950, the average productivity per American worker has increased by 400% so it should only take 25% or 11 hours per week to afford the same standard of living as workers in 1950. More than 130 countries around the globe have laws dictating the maximum length of the workweek; however, the United States is one of the few countries that does not. As a result, American labor has been taken advantage of in various industries, meaning workers must fight for fair hours. Labor unions will often lobby for their members to work certain shifts and for a specific number of hours per week. A union may also limit the number of overtime hours workers are required to complete for an employer or fight for higher overtime pay than is mandated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Benefits
Unions have been an indispensable resource for workers in obtaining quality health insurance. According to a recent survey, more than nine in ten union workers (or 94%) who are covered by a union contract have access to company-sponsored health benefits, while only 68% of non-union workers have access to employer-sponsored health benefits. Additionally, surveys have found that union employers pay more to their employee’s health care benefits than non-union employers. In total, union employers pay 86% of workers’ health care premiums, while non-union employers pay only 79% of their workers’ health care premiums.
Another issue unions fight for is greater access to paid sick days. Currently, the United States is one of the countries that offers the lowest amount of paid sick days in the world, one of only three countries in the world that does not provide paid sick leave for workers missing five days of work due to the flu, and the only country that does not provide paid sick leave for workers undergoing 50-day cancer treatment. Union workers have greater access to paid sick days than the average American, with 91% of union workers having access to paid sick days compared to just 73% of non-union workers. Additionally, 97% of union workers have paid sick days within state and local government, compared to 86% of non-union government workers.
