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Unions: To be or Not To be?
UNIONS: TO BE OR NOT TO BE? 2
Abstract
Are Unions still needed in the 21 Century? This paper will touch on two articles, one explaining
why Union are no longer needed. Another, on Uber drivers and their fight to become form a
Union of their own. The intent of this paper is not to answer this questions in under two pages,
but to expose the Unions for what they have become. Also to explain why in some cases they are
still needed
UNIONS: TO BE OR NOT TO BE? 3
Unions: To be or Not To be?
According to James Sherk, a Research Fellow for Labor and Economics Center for Data
Analysis, Unions are losing members and their place in the Twenty-First Century. Their corrupt
ways, and outdated practices have lost traction with many employees. However as Uber, the
transportation app that has begun to rival the taxis, begins to gain expand and grows its
employees or contracts feel the need to band together. The questions that is need to be asked
however is, Are Unions still needed in this day and age?
The purpose of Unions
In the 1930’s, Manufacturing employees need to voice to help negotiate on their behalf to
better working conditions, job stability, and equal and fair pay. The Unions did just that with a
concept called collective bargaining. According to Sherk, “the premise of collective barging is
that by representing all employees a union can negotiate a better collective contract than each
worker could get through individual negotiations”[ CITATION She08 \l 1033 ]. Unions became a
necessity during this time. The drawback that becoming apart of the union had for most of the
workers came when they wanted to get promoted or excel in their occupations. “The Unions
negotiate collectively, the same contract covers every worker. Regardless of his or her
productivity or effort”[ CITATION She08 \l 1033 ].
The Downfall on the Union: Are they helping or hurting?
Higher Wages were a benefit of the Unions efforts, but with that came higher prices for the end
users of the products. After the North American Free Trade Agreement, business no longer were
able to maintain the high wages that the Unions bargained for which help lead to their decline.
Sherk talks about how General motors almost went bankrupt in his article, “General Motors,
which use to pay its janitors and security workers $75 dollars an hour. When Toyota and Honda
