The Silent War - Essay Example

THE SILENT WAR Introduction The freedom of workers to join in unions and reason together is a fundamental principle in the human rights since the labor laws guarantee it. When workers try to exercise these rights, they unfortunately run into outright warfare, intimidation and employer threats (Doellgast, 13). These employer tactics are created to suppress workers’ freedom to come up with unions but workers are always on toes to fight for their rights. This is successively discussed below in form of concept of unions and democracy in the place of work, concept of democracy society and concept of inequality and democracy. It is always clear that unions and collective action allow employees to achieve steady increase in their fields of compensation, working conditions and their economic standards. Consequently, unions also play a greater role in facilitating the levels of democracy, inclusion and participation is the general society. This result is experienced both within the place of work and widely in social and democratic activities. Therefore, these unions exert this positive influence directly through their own internal processes and functions but also indirectly through their impact on the level of inclusion, participation, and protection to the society fully (Silverman). Internal evidence proves that societies with stronger unions and collective bargaining system will always demonstrate greater levels of equality and inclusion and stronger democratic participation. Below is a brief review of the various dimensions of unions’ positive influence on the effective and quality democracy. The concept of unions and democracy in the place of work The employees always have two major basic mechanisms for expressing that they are not satisfied with their situation in the place of work. The first concept involves the classic market mechanism of exit and entry, in this case, the individuals practice their freedom of choice to either accept a situation or reject it (Silverman). This can relate with the fact that if a consumer is not satisfied by a product or service he or she can change their respective providers, and this applies to workers who are not satisfied with the kind of job they do to reject the job and move to an offer that is more desirable. In the labor market, exit is synonymous with quitting and entry with new companies hire. Great organizations such as public agencies, governments, and large corporations can facilitate the exit entry idea by providing the possibility of transferring from one department to another instead of leaving the firm or organization completely. The second mechanism is known as voice in principles of management. In this case, voice refers to the participation in the democratic process through union elections, voting, negotiations, and effective discussions (Doellgast, 23). Participating in these activities successfully tends to reduce the gap between the actual and desired situations. In both the private and public job markets, it is clear that the voice entails appropriately discussing with an employer about situations one feels that should be changed or upgraded rather than quitting the job. Currently, the market economy especially for large enterprises trade unions are a unique and effective operation for democratic voice. With this, the voice will jointly be manifested rather than an individual one. The collective voice is more effective for representing the concerns of employees due to the following reasons; many work place issues affect the entire workforce and not as an individual: such as wage levels, promotions process and pensions and others. It is always more effective to address these concerns of large organizations through collective voice rather than individual voice. This is because the procedural inconvenience of raising the concern is weighted against the benefits that several workers will enjoy from a successful resolution (Doellgast, 27). Individuals may fear to stand firm and speak for their own due to the penalty of losing your job. In this context, a collective voice allows concerns to be raised without fear of being sacked. In addition, collective representation strengthens the ability of all employees who are members to raise their issues confidently since they are protected by the labor laws. When the collective voice is enabled, unions will alter the social relations within the place of work. The core of the employment relationship in the current industrial sector either private or public firms, it includes workers who are selling their qualifications to work for payment from an employer with the employer maintaining the work process and time factor. The employer will always strive to utilize the employees’ skills and maximize the profitability and efficiency of the operation (Drum). The employee will always be concerned with time and ability allocation and this depicts that it necessary for the interaction of both the employee and the employer. In non-union work places, this interaction will hardly go beyond enabling only a limited ability by workers to respond to their employers’ directives. If solutions for these particular directives are not a success then the employee is forced to adhere to the directives or quit the job. The outcomes from these situations are not effective if the goal of the firm is to ensure a respectful and productive workforce life. By contrast, work places that are based on unions offer more powers to employees to enhance the managerial authority by protection and voice through labor relations jurisprudence. In the case of a working place, that practices grievance and arbitration system, disputes over proper management decision- making to be handled in an open and appropriate manner. This results in a situation whereby workers’ inputs and rights are likely to be resolved and enforced. Great economists have also proved that ability to enforce labor agreements creates the possibility for improved labor contracts and higher economic efficiency. Unions offer management through collective bargaining a critical opportunity to learn about the concerns of employees and effectively improving their operations. Workings of the democratic structures and activities associates with unionization and collective bargaining constitute an important dimension of democracy in the place of work. The concept of unions and democracy in a society For several years, labor movements in various countries have been common in the fight for democratic freedoms and practices in the society as well as in the work place. Labor rights are seen quite correctly as a key component of human rights and trade unions have been the most determined and consistent defenders of these very important freedoms. Recently a report by the international labor organization stated that greater rates of unionization claimed to be associated with a stronger range of social rights beyond the place of work. Some of the dimensions of the broader social and democratic impact associated with great unions include stronger income security programs, progressive taxation and stronger labor laws. It is always ideal that in all countries unions are campaigning for social and economic policies that protect the working population in their geographic allocations. The fight for eight-hour-work-day, better employment, and labor standards, health, safety laws, benefits for injured workers and public pensions are some of the factors that unions ensure that are adequately provided. These achievements have been common achievements thus the unions serve as an important democratic voice for the working population (Drum). Without that firm voice from the unions, that forward progress in basic social and labor standards would hardly be achievable. Unions can directly enhance the level of participation of their own members in broader democratic life for various reasons. Unions help in the education of the employees on sensitive issues that are both economic and social. Unions encourage participation by their members in broader community life such as political campaigns and elections. Participation in collective bargaining and other union activities gives working people a greater sense of confidence considering their ability to express their ideas effectively. It is therefore clear that the international and comparative evidence shows that democratic participation is significantly higher for union-members than non-union members are. The concept of inequality and democracy This concept is facilitated by the suppression of the work unions thus undermining democracy. The gap translates into inequality of economic opportunity, inadequate housing, and high levels of crime, lower economic growth, and reduced productivity. If this trend continues, human suffering will increase and waste of human capital that could contribute to economic growth. Income inequality greatly reduces the level of political interest (Yates, 53). Unions play an important democratic role by moderating the trend toward growing in inequality that is common in many countries hence it provides the average working people with the economic and institutional power to participate in democratic life. Conclusion Unions and collective actions have an influence on the society by providing a unique opportunity for democratic participation. Unions lift the level of engagement and participation of their member in all sectors of life. Unions provide a consistent collective voice for working people both in the place of work and generally in the society. Union’s helps to shape-up the government laws and policies for the working population to enjoy appropriate protection, security, and they also ensure that those laws are enforced as required. Generally, it is evident internationally that unions are positively associated with inclusion, participation, and equality.in this point of view, in countries where the government policies restrict union membership and collective action will have a broad negative influence (Yates, 50). Therefore, these unions exert this positive influence directly through their own internal processes and functions but also indirectly through their impact on the level of inclusion, participation, and protection to the society fully. Internal evidence proves that societies with stronger unions and collective bargaining system will always demonstrate greater levels of equality and inclusion and stronger democratic participation. Below is a brief review of the various dimensions of unions’ positive influence on the effective and quality democracy. Works citedTop of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Doellgast, Virginia Lee (2012) Disintegrating democracy at work labor unions and the future of good jobs in the service economy ILR Press Drum, Kevin. "Why Screwing Unions Screws the Entire Middle Class | Mother Jones." Web. 10 Mar. 2015. . Silverman, Jacob. "How Labor Unions Work - Business & Money - HowStuffWorks." Web. 10 Mar. 2015. . Yates, Michael, (2009) why unions matter Monthly Review press Read More