is an organization with the legal authority to represent workers, negotiate the terms and conditions of employment with the employer, and administer the collective agreement.
Unions do not just happen—caused by management action or inaction that workers perceive as unfair
Collective Agreement
Contract negotiated between the union and employer outlining terms and conditions of employment
COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
Addresses a variety of issues (e.g., wages and benefits, hours of work, working conditions, grievance procedures)
Places restrictions on management’s rights in managing the workplace
Causes of Unions
Union Push Explanation
Union Pull Explanation
Union Push Explanation
Some employees are pushed or forced into joining a union because of employer treatment of the workforce, peer pressure by coworkers to join a union, or collective agreement provisions requiring employees to join if they want the job in question
Union Pull Explanation
Employees are pulled into the union because of the benefits of union representation (such as higherwages, greaterbenefits, jobsecurity, and grievancerepresentation)
Reasons for Joining a Union
Job dissatisfaction
Individual attitudes toward unions
Perceived union instrumentality
Reasons for NOT Joining
Belief that unionmembership may harmchances for promotion
Viewed as having another “boss”
Extra costs (dues)
Employer policies and treatment are fair
Among current union members, 71% would prefer to be unionized and 46% of formerly unionized workers would prefer to be unionized
Only 19% of non-union employees reported being interested in being unionized
