People aren’t stupid, and people that don’t have much, have zero interest in ever working against their own good interests. Yet, in recent times, again and again, union representation votes, when it even gets that far to get a vote, have seen the employer, typically winning such a vote, time and time again. It would be one thing if those so voting against unionization, were actually in jobs that paid a living wage, with good health benefits, employment guarantees, and ample room for advancement and growth, but that is seldom the case. Indeed, many “blue collar” jobs without unionization, do not pay all that well, and offer little flexibility for the employee, who are typically treated pretty much as that of little value by their employer.
Unfairly, the most common play used by employers to stymie unionization, is playing upon the “fear factor,” of which they typically threaten that with union representation so being approved, that therefore in consideration that they will subsequently be responsible for additional wages to be paid, that they will therefore have to reduce employment considerably, or hours, or both, and often followed this by the threat that they will likely be forced to subsequently move their facility overseas, or to some other more accommodating locality. Not too surprisingly, this type of tactic so used by employers often works, because it plays upon the fear that employees have, that the very little that they get from their gainful employment, is in danger of being snatched away, so in homage to “a bird in hand is worth two in the bush,” they thereby vote against such unionization.
The bottom line, based upon the continual steep decline of unionization in private enterprise, is that the tables will not soon turn for employees of such. Therefore, the only way for collective bargaining to again have any sort of relevancy, is for the federal government to step in, and to establish a minimum wage floor, for all employees, with virtually no exceptions made to that rule, of which, that wage should be on or around $15/hour. This then, at a minimum, would provide not only a meaningful wage concession in favor of employees, but after a period of time of this being in effect, would put the sword to the lie, that these employers are all going to have to reduce employment, or hours, or to move their facility, elsewhere. This then, perhaps would serve as the necessary impetus for those so employed, to re-consider the value of collective bargaining, to then take what they currently have as a wage floor, and to go after something of more substance without being so scared of the “bogeyman”.
In an era in which corporations are making plenty of profit, that profit is accruing at an ever-higher percentage to those that are not its common laborers; which we see by virtue of the greater and greater inequality between those that have as compared to those that have not, which is not beneficial for societies, and leads to the uneasiness and uncivil behavior which is becoming more commonplace, by the day. Collective bargaining is the best vehicle to bring some sort of semblance of sharing to the table of prosperity and employment, and in absence of the success of such, then the federal government needs to do its necessary part to help the powerless and exploited to get their fair share.