Book Theme: The Importance of Labor Unions

If you’ve been following the news recently you may have noticed how more and more labor unions have been going on strike. And that isn’t only in the US, it has been happening all over the world. From the Writers and Actors strikes in Hollywood to multiple Nurses strikes across the country to the largest labor strike in recorded human history in India (2020) and so many more, the common workers are only beginning to rediscover the amount of power they can flex in the workplace through their labor unions. The importance of such unions plays a pivotal part in my upcoming sci-fi novel which reimagines a form of government that incorporates the engagement of labor unions in the policy making process for the public which consists largely of the workers from those unions.

The history of labor unions is a long, rich, and complex one. But for the purposes of this article I want to focus on the power of labor strikes as the ultimate power play at the disposal of the working public. For the record, a solid definition of a strike would be help before going forward.  A strike is a unified stoppage in work by the union members for the purpose giving their negotiators leverage in labor disputes with management. Labor strikes are effective for a few main reasons. 

The first reason is that strikes highlight how vital labor is to the daily functioning of companies and industries affected by the laborers' absence. Labor often accounts for the majority of a business’s success. Unfortunately, over time the efforts and value of labor is taken for granted as businesses look to increase profits often at the expense of their workers. This could come in the form of pay freezes, excessively strict conduct codes, unreasonable deadlines, layoffs, etc. When such elements become solidified in the culture of a company it is easy for workers to lose sight of how important they are the viability of the company, both as individuals and as a collective. When such conditions become deemed “unsustainable” by the general consensus of workers the effectiveness of a union-backed labor strike serves to remind workers of their importance to the company as well as enable their demands for significantly improved working conditions to be taken more seriously by management. A labor strike is most successful when it can bring attention to how drastic the consequences are for a company or industry when labor’s absence becomes prolonged. 

The second reason is that a union-backed strike can help refine the demands that labor is seeking to see to fruition as well as implement an effective strategy that increases the likelihood of those demands being met. Oftentimes, over a large group of workers there are numerous demands that range from trivial to crucial. Through an organized process of elimination, a union can boil down workers’ demands to only the essential ones. The value in doing this would be to strengthen the justification for going on strike if such demands aren’t met by management. This is important, particularly when it comes to winning over public support. And that support can be used by a well-organized union to put external pressure on management to make more acceptable concessions during negotiations. Such tactics are traditional tools that have been used by unions producing high success rates.

The third reason why labor union strikes are effective is that they have the potential to help affect public policy that is beneficial to society as a whole. One good example of this are child labor laws in the United States. Although labor unions were not the only entities that helped push the horrors of child labor to the forefront they were critical in that effort. As far back as the 1870s, unions advocated for laws governing child labor. However, the basis for many of these arguments dealt more so with how child labor undercuts the wages of their adult counterparts. It was with the influence of labor reformists of the time that unions refined their messaging over time to also incorporate their moral arguments against allowing child labor in addition to the economic arguments. It was not until the early 20th century that legislation was enacted, first at the state level and then eventually at the federal level.

In conclusion, these are only a few of the many reasons to acknowledge the importance of labor unions. They ultimately are beneficial to common people around the world, not only as members of the workforce but also as members of society. In an ever-changing world the struggle to maintain the balance between the workers’ rights and the capitalists’ goals will always require the presence of solid labor unions.