The cost of union membership

A workers who buys union membership by paying the initiation fee and monthly dues gains certain benefits but also incurs certain costs. Among these cost or drawbacks of union membership are the following .

Strike costs, one cost of union membership is the loss of wages during a strike. The threat of a strike gives a union its ability to raise wages and benefits, but this extra bargaining power is not without cost, for sometimes the strike must actually be used. A recent study a strike occurred on average, in 13 percent of major (1,000 workers or more) union contract negotiations. The loss in wages during a strike may be offset by strike benefits from the union, although not all unions pay them and those that do, usually pay only 20 to 30 percent of regular earnings. There is also a possibility that the worker may never get the job back at all if the employer can successfully hire nonunion workers and break the strike. Finally, strikes lead to psychic costs for workers due to the conflict and ill feelings that strikes engender between union members and nonstriking workers and management personnel.

Loss of job, a second possible cost of union membership is the loss of the job due to layoffs or the closing of the plant. When a union wins higher wages, greater benefits, or restrictive work rules, the general result is to increase the employers cost of labor per hour. An increase in labor cost leads to decline in employment as the company is forced to the point where the revenue of the company are less than its costs of production, the employer will close the plant and all union members will lose their jobs

Fear of management retribution a third cost of union membership to the worker is possible management retribution. This retribution may take several forms; the employer may fire the worker, reassign him to a less desirable job or give a smaller wage increase.Employees recognize however that the protection of the law is not ironclad. It is often difficult for worker to prove he or she was fired for union activities rather than a legitimate cause such as insubordination or being late to work. Court proceedings are also quite time consuming and expensive and in general the employer has the greater staying power in such matters

Loss of individualism and flexibility at work a fourth possible cost of union membership for a worker is a loos of individualism and flexibility in doing the job. In a unionized company personnel policies are generally more rigid, allowing workers less discretion in choosing work schedules or job assignments. Workers also have less room for personnel initiative in how the job is done. Another consideration is that lines of communication between workers and management in a unionized company are not open and informal as in nonunion company, cutting off the access of the worker to the employer. Finally individual union members may feel they have no influence on the decision making process in the union.

Loss of social status a fifth possible cost of union membership is loss in social status. Many white collar workers for example associate labor unions with lower status factory workers. A second consideration is that many workers regard joining a union as a tacit admission that they can’t get ahead on their own, an admission many of us find very difficult to make. You as member of TWU Local 100 do you embrace those costs? now think about Samuelsen shenanigans that goes on at the union hall do you approve? Do you believe Samuelsen is capable of moving you to the middle class?