Process by which a union forms
This article is about the formation of trade unions. For the article about trade unions, see
trade union
.
Unionization
is the creation and growth of modern
trade unions
. Trade unions were often seen as a
left-wing
,
socialist
concept,
whose popularity has increased during the 19th century when a rise in
industrial capitalism
saw a decrease in motives for up-keeping
workers' rights
.
Workers usually create unions when they face a certain struggle within their industry. They tend to organize themselves by sector of employment and may join a
general union
to represent employees in all sectors. Different unions may vary in how much emphasis is placed on participation, union leadership, aims, and techniques, depending on the impact of their action.
On average,
blue-collar workers
tend to be more unionized than
white-collar workers
.
Motives for unionization
[
edit
]
Modern trade unions form due to many different reasons, mainly due to changes in a country's economy or decreasing demand for labour in a specific industry.
Workers usually form unions when they feel that the fact that they do not have a say in the workplace threatens their
job security
, which in turn affects their economical position.
Bureaucratization
[
edit
]
Members are more likely to unionize when they collectively have problems with their workplace, however this leaves out
workers who do not have much of a high standing
in the environment.
Different workers may have different goals, which may include either promotions or a higher pay. Unions attracted disadvantaged workers to enable
collective bargaining
power between them with employers to negotiate better wages, benefits, and employment terms.
There have been some studies suggesting workers join unions due to
social pressures
, however there have also been studies that suggest the opposite. As such, the likelihood of social pressures effecting workers joining a union likely varies from environment to environment.
Opposition
[
edit
]
Company management usually disprove of unions due to collective action by workers cutting into a company's profit shares.
Although, in the United States, it is illegal for an employer to interfere with workers' right to unionize,
workers may sometimes feel agitated about joining a union if disapproval is expected from employers, as there may be an underlying belief that an employee's social standing with an employer may be tarnished.
Employers who take part in actively combating the process of unionization or the efforts of the union are engaging in
union busting
.
Forms of organization
[
edit
]
Union membership tend to be organized by either their industry, ultimate goal, or employer.
Craft unionism
[
edit
]
In
craft unionism
, workers are organized by their job or profession. Unions that belong to this group tend to focus on improving the conditions of a particular industry,
for example when the
Writers Guild of America
striked on behalf of its
writers
.
Industrial unionism
[
edit
]
In
industrial unionism
, workers are organized together regardless of their job or profession, where a higher membership count gives a union more influence across many different industries.
Solidarity unionism
[
edit
]
In
solidarity unionism
, workers who wish to directly attempt to take action without any form of
mediation
are organized together.
Types of unionization models
[
edit
]
Different unionization models are used to guide a union's efforts to reach its goals.
Servicing model
[
edit
]
The
service model
is where union organizers use legal and other types of resources that are not affiliated with the employer or workforce.
Organizing model
[
edit
]
The
organizing model
is a model developed in the United States that re thinks union organizers as being teachers and mentors that encourage and instruct union members in carrying out their own activism. This is in contrast to the Service Model of Organizing, where the union is charged with settling disputes and solving problems. The goal with the organizing model is to encourage union members to be more active and engaged in their union.
Effects of unionization
[
edit
]
In relation to gender
[
edit
]
According to a study conducted in 1992, conventional unionization organization strategies were most applicable towards men working in the
manufacturing sector
, forcing those who were not affiliated with such to initiate contact with a union. Women were more likely than men to desire a form of unionization, however they were recorded as least likely to join a union.
In relation to productivity
[
edit
]
Early industrial relations researchers believed unionization might safeguard employment by fighting technological and mechanical advances. Recent researchers developed dynamic union-firm bargaining approaches. Monopoly unions can boost salaries and appropriate quasi-rents from employers' capital, but others predict that firms would decrease capital investment to prevent appropriation, lowering productivity.
Unionization has been demonstrated to be associated with greater employee retention, even when unionized employees experience greater amounts of dissatisfaction in the workplace.
This is associated with the fact that employees experiencing dissatisfaction will be able to voice their concerns more effectively through the use of the union.
Rate of unionization by country
[
edit
]
The rate of unionization in a country is measured through both the amount of workers represented by a union as well as the share of workers represented by unions in a country. This is due to that although more workers may be joining unions, industries represented by unions are increasing at a faster rate.
Canada
[
edit
]
The rate of members represented by unions in Canada has fallen significantly in the past four decades, dropping from 37.6% in 1981 to slightly less than 29% by 2014.
The union movement in Canada has become increasingly concentrated in the public sector. Most workers in Canada have the right to unionize their workplace, but certain categories of workers are ineligible to unionize, such as independent contractors.
India
[
edit
]
The
Indian National Trade Union Congress
was formed in 1947 after Indian independence in the same year, and is the oldest trade union federation in India.
Unions are known to have political connections, and are sometimes used to project
political influence
on both workers and political parties.
Russia and the Soviet Union
[
edit
]
Soviet trade unions, administered by the
All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions
, date back to the
Russian Revolution
of 1905, fifteen years before the establishment of the Soviet Union. Their relationships with industrial management, the
Communist Party
, and the
Soviet government
were complex due to a requirement in labour.
The
Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR)
is Russia's largest post-Soviet national trade union center, with 28-31.5 million members and is widely recognized as the successor to the Soviet era system.
United States
[
edit
]
The earliest recorded workers' strike through a newly-formed solidarity union was recorded in 1768 when
New York
journeymen tailors
protested against a wage reduction. Local craft unions formed and demanded shorter
workdays
and job-conscious orientation. Trade unionism emerged in the 19th century, primarily involving
skilled workers
.
[
citation needed
]
Although the annual rate of unionization in the United States is increasing, it has one of the lowest unionization rates in the
developed world
. The effects of unionization are not heavily researched, drastically reducing the known effects of unionization and therefore reducing the amount of workers that know about unionization.
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Abraham, Steven E.; Friedman, Barry A.; Thomas, Randall K. (2008). "The Relationship Among Union Membership, Facets of Satisfaction and Intent to Leave: Further Evidence on the Voice Face of Unions".
Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal
.
20
(1): 1?11.
doi
:
10.1007/s10672-007-9061-z
.
ISSN
0892-7545
.
- Ji, Lei (2016). "Unionization, Market Structure, and Economic Growth".
Southern Economic Journal
.
82
(3): 935?951.
doi
:
10.1002/soej.12111
.
- Pelz, William A (2016).
The Rise of the Working Classes: Trade Unions and Socialism, 1871?1914
. Pluto Press.
- Cooper, Rae; Patmore, Greg (2002). "Trade Union Organising and Labour History".
Labour History
.
83
.
- Crain, Marion (1994). "Gender and Union Organizing".
Industrial and Labor Relations Review
.
47
(2): 227?248.
doi
:
10.1177/001979399404700205
.
S2CID
154435971
.
- Carter, Bob; Cooper, Rae (2002). "The Organizing Model and the Management of Change: A Comparative Study of Unions in Australia and Britain".
Relations Industrielles / Industrial Relations
.
57
(4).
- Ramaswamy, E. A. (1969). "Trade Unions and Politics".
Sociological Bulletin
.
18
(2): 137?147.
doi
:
10.1177/0038022919690203
.
S2CID
157688880
.
- Ansari, Sarah (10 August 2017).
"How the Partition of India happened ? and why its effects are still felt today"
.
The Conversation
. Retrieved
23 July
2023
.
- Bernstein, Irving (1959). "Trade Union Characteristics, Membership, and Influence".
Monthly Labor Review
.
82
(5).
- Fones-Wolf, Kenneth (1982). "Revivalism and Craft Unionism in the Progressive Era: The Syracuse and Auburn Labor Forward Movements of 1913".
New York History
.
63
(4).
- Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (23 November 2022).
"Unionization in Canada, 1981 to 2022"
.
www150.statcan.gc.ca
. Retrieved
23 July
2023
.
- Brutus, Stephane; Baronian, Nora (2020).
"Unionization process"
.
Unionization Process ? Human Resources Management
.
- "Labor Movement"
.
HISTORY
. 31 March 2020
. Retrieved
23 July
2023
.
- Boal, William M. (2017).
"The Effect of Unionization on Productivity: Evidence from a Long Panel of Coal Mines"
.
ILR Review
.
70
(5): 1254?1282.
doi
:
10.1177/0019793916682222
.
ISSN
0019-7939
.
JSTOR
26944710
.
S2CID
157590597
.
- Hewes, Amy (1923).
"Trade Union Development in Soviet Russia"
.
The American Economic Review
.
13
(4): 618?637.
ISSN
0002-8282
.
JSTOR
1803875
.
- Obrazkova, Marina (1 May 2015).
"How trade unions fare in Russia"
.
Russia Beyond
. Retrieved
23 July
2023
.
- Department of Labor, U.S. (2023).
"WORK Center - Unions 101"
.
DOL
. Retrieved
24 July
2023
.
- Cluff, Rick (18 April 2016).
"Jennifer Newman: The psychological reasons why people join unions"
. Retrieved
24 July
2023
.
- Miles, Amy (16 September 2020).
"What Are Unions and Why Are They Important?"
.
Heddels
. Retrieved
24 July
2023
.
- Lowe, Graham S. (1981).
"Causes of Unionization in Canadian Banks"
.
Relations Industrielles / Industrial Relations
.
36
(4): 865?893.
doi
:
10.7202/029208ar
.
ISSN
0034-379X
.
JSTOR
23071852
.
- Blum, Albert A.; Ponak, Allen (1974).
"White Collar Unions in Denmark"
.
Relations Industrielles / Industrial Relations
.
29
(1): 65?82.
doi
:
10.7202/028478ar
.
ISSN
0034-379X
.
JSTOR
23070316
.
- Brady, David; Baker, Regina S.; Finnigan, Ryan (2013).
"When Unionization Disappears: State-Level Unionization and Working Poverty in the United States"
.
American Sociological Review
.
78
(5): 872?896.
doi
:
10.1177/0003122413501859
.
ISSN
0003-1224
.
JSTOR
43187509
.
S2CID
154354236
.
- Zhang, Sharon (19 January 2023).
"Share of Workers in Unions Hit Low in 2022, But Number of Unionized Workers Grew"
.
Truthout
. Retrieved
24 July
2023
.
- "Unionization increased by 200,000 in 2022: Tens of millions more wanted to join a union, but couldn't"
.
Economic Policy Institute
. Retrieved
24 July
2023
.
See also
[
edit
]
Organized labor
|
---|
|
Formation
| |
---|
Industrial
relations
| Shops and hiring
| |
---|
Actions
|
|
---|
Bargaining
| |
---|
Compensation
| |
---|
|
---|
Reactions
| |
---|
Other topics
| |
---|