Unit 7 Assess
What Do Unions Want?
We can generalize by saying that unions have two sets of aims, for union security and for improved wages, hours, working conditions, and benefits for their members.
Union Security
First and probably foremost, unions seek security for themselves. They fight hard for the right to represent a firm’s workers, and to be the exclusive bargaining agent for all employees in the unit. (As such, they negotiate contracts for all employees, including those not members of the union.) Five types of union security are possible:
Closed shop .17 The company can hire only current union members. Congress outlawed closed shops in interstate commerce, but they still exist in some states for particular industries (such as printing). They account for fewer than 5% of union contracts.
Union shop . The company can hire nonunion people, but they must join the union after a prescribed period and pay dues. (If not, they can be fired.) These account for about 73% of union contracts.
Agency shop . Employees who do not belong to the union still must pay the union an amount equal to union dues (on the assumption that the union’s efforts benefit all the workers).
Preferential shop . Union members get preference in hiring, but the employer can still hire nonunion members.
Maintenance of membership arrangement. Employees do not have to belong to the union. However, union members employed by the firm must maintain membership in the union for the contract period. These account for about 4% of union agreements.
closed shop
A form of union security in which the company can hire only union members. This was outlawed in 1947 but still exists in some industries (such as printing).
union shop
A form of union security in which the company can hire nonunion people, but they must join the union after a prescribed period of time and pay dues. (If they do not, they can be fired.)
agency shop
A form of union security in which employees who do not belong to the union must still pay union dues on the assumption that union efforts benefit all workers.
preferential shop
Union members get preference in hiring, but the employer can still hire nonunion members.
Not all states give unions the right to require union membership as a condition of employment. Right to work is a term used to describe “state statutory or constitutional provisions banning the requirement of union membership as a condition of employment.”18 Right-to-work laws don’t outlaw unions. They do outlaw (within those states) any form of union security. There are 23 right-to-work states.19 Right to work adversely affects union membership levels.20
right to work
A term used to describe state statutory or constitutional provisions banning the requirement of union membership as a condition of employment.
