The Labor Union's Role In The Workplace

Traditionally, a labor union’s role has been to protect employee wages, benefits and working conditions. This fact remains true today, however, unions must acknowledge the dynamics effects of global trends, changing customer expectations and budgetary constraints are having on the environment in which unions operate. Regardless of the foundation of the union or services offered, these variables have altered the roles and responsibilities of proactive unions to include collaborating with management to improve or reinvent service delivery models to ensure quality service delivery. The union not only has a role; they have a responsibility to help improve the quality of service as their participation ensures the long-term health of their organization which ultimately leads to employment security for members.
The days of traditional business management strategies of giving orders to workers and unions depending on support and decisions from management no longer satisfy the needs of organizations or …show more content…
These plans will become the focus of efforts and common goals for all members of the organization. Focusing on strategies shifts attention to solving problems and improving service delivery resulting in greater efficiency within the organization. Workers will feel valued and actively participate towards improving production or services. The shift in behavior patterns will also provide further value because less time is spent dealing with employee issues, resulting in more time to focus on improving production and services. Focusing on issues and goals rather than on people leads to more useful improvements for the organization. “It is much easier to solve problems than it is to fix people” (Beach & Kaboolian, n.d., p. 37). The empowerment of workers will provide them a sense of value, resulting in greater productivity than what management could achieve