Benefits and Disadvantages of Joining a Union

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1 Trade unions can be both beneficial and disadvantageous to employees, and in this case, it would be necessary for the employees to weigh the pros and cons before joining the union.
Pros of joining a union:
* Industries with unionized employees have higher wages and salaries than industries with nonunionized employees.
* Unions eliminate inequality. There exist a disadvantage in the employer-employee relationship dynamic with employers having the upper hand, but unions ensure equality in employment terms.
* Where grievances exist between employees and their employers, collective bargaining is powerful and achievable under unions, unlike independent bargaining because unions can represent employees at employment tribunals.
* Unions ensure that employers cannot easily dispense off their employees. Therefore, unions provide job security for employees, increasing morale and productivity.
Cons of joining a union:
* Unions can increase the rate of unemployment. Even though unions ensure that workers get handsome pay, it discourages firms from employing more people, therefore, creating unemployment.
* Trade unions do not advocate for the rights of employees who are non-members, therefore, leaving them at the mercy of bad employment contracts.
* Encourage unproductivity. Unions tend to go on strikes that can last up to months, creating lost productivity of employees who might end up without work.
* Unions create wage inflation. When a union increases its bargaining power, it can procure better wages above the inflation rate.
2 A job action/strike is considered illegal when employees are not under a union or where they are union members but have failed to adhere to the labor codes required for them to gain the rights to strike.
Examples of illegal job action include:
* An in-facility job action. This type of job action involves employees who take over the facilities and property of their employer and obstruct customers and other people from entering.
* Intermittent job actions. These are job actions where the employees of a company consistently go on brief job actions to pressure their employers into better employment terms while still receiving their wages/salaries.
* A go-slow strike where the employees go to work but refuse to do their work as they had previously been.
* When violence and mass picketing is involved
The following steps, if followed, would make a job action or strike legal:
* Employees should ensure that they are members of a union before they go on a strike.
* Employees and their unions should ensure that the terms of their legal agreement with the employer have expired.
* The union and the employers must engage in a collective bargaining process.
* If an agreement is not reached, the majority of the employees must vote in favor of a strike.
* A notice of the strike must be given to all parties involved at least three days before the strike commences.
* If the government intervenes and appoints a mediating officer, two days must have elapsed after the appointment.
Picketing is lawfully allowed when a legal strike/job action is in progress. The picketing should be related to a trade dispute, and the members participating in the picketing should be part of that dispute. The picketing should be carried out at or around the work premise and should be done peacefully without obstructing or coaxing others who are not involved in the dispute. Where members are not using profane language, carrying weapons, or cause malicious or reckless damage, then the picketing process will be considered lawful.
In the article, the union is going on strike after they failed to reach a collective agreement with TransLink-affiliated company, Coast Mountain Bus. The union was allowed to strike because their strike was an economic one with the purpose of better wages, working conditions, and employee benefits, the conduct of the strike was also good, and the timing of the strike was after the lapse of their previous terms of the agreement.
The union's main reason for forming a new collective agreement was to ask for better working conditions, employee benefits, and wages. Employees were asking for competitive wages relative to other regions, the company to schedule longer breaks for drivers to use washrooms and the removal of overtime by employing additional employees.
3 The first challenge that modern British Columbia unions face is political interference. When political ideologies oppose each other, they weaken the influence and bargaining power of trade unions. These differences mean that the reach and membership numbers for unions will be fragmented, and hence the membership will decline.
Secondly, a changing demographic means that the expectations of employees are bound to change. Currently, the workforce is characterized by employees who frequently change jobs, careers, or even retire early. This trend means that unions do not have a consistent membership base. Rapid advancements in technology also present a challenge for unions in British Columbia.
Technology automates many processes in service delivery and production, which were previously done by human labor. Human labor is being faced out by technology which means the membership size of unions is also declining.
Lastly, remote working has made it expensive and difficult for unions to adequately meet the needs of their members, forcing them to incur more expenses to adapt to these changes to remain relevant rapidly.
Once a political party is elected, it exerts its power and dominance by legislating laws and pushing mandates that drive trade unions to become extensions of that party, therefore, representing the party's interests at the expense of that of its members. Strong political parties create obstacles that affect the efficiency, influence, and even the existence of trade unions.
4 Collective agreements need to have a grievance procedure because it acts as compliance which ensures that both parties adhere to the terms of the agreement. The grievance procedure can be used in a court of law to interpret the terms of the collective agreement and serves to resolve disputes that might arise during the term of the agreement. It acts as a guide while administrating the stipulated contractual rules in the collective agreements. A grievance procedure also ensures that employees can take part in and influence the decision-making made by the management in their company.
There are typically six stages of a grievance procedure which include:
* Informal/verbal complaint. In this case, the employer and the employee have a verbal discussion of the complaint to resolve. The employee should, however, keep a written document of the discussion.
* If the issue is not resolved, the grievant can file a formal complain...