The first labor union was established in 1828 by Working Man’s Party with the objective of assisting workers in solving problems related to work such as poor pay, unconducive working environment as well as long working hours (Barrows). Human resource managers are involved in the collective bargaining right from the negotiation stage until after signing the contract. It is the role of the human resource manager to ensure that the contract is implemented as negotiated. To ensure that the wages set are sustainable the manager meets with the chief executive officer and chief financial officer to get information on the allocated budget for wages.

Labor unions have impacted the work environment both negatively and positively. The unions have led to an increase in wages, but on the other hand, employees are denied incentives. The unions have assisted employees in getting favorable pension plans. This is beneficial to employees, but it is a disadvantage to the employer as cost per employee increases (Cascio). The organizations with employees who belong to labor unions cannot retrench even during economic difficulties. The labor unions have facilitated a conducive working environment by ensuring that they work in safe conditions and reasonable hours.

Labor unions help in dealing with discrimination from the race, gender or social class. An employee may feel discriminated if for example during promotion only people of a particular gender or race are promoted (Barrows). In some organization, you may find that those in the senior positions are a white male or vice versa. You can seek the union’s intervention if you are a member and feel discriminated.

The post by “John” is excellent as it has covered significant areas related to labor unions. It is true that labor unions have impacted both the employees and the organization. For employees it is an advantage to be a member because the employer is required to retain you even during economic times. It is evident from “John’s” post that employers suffer in terms of profit because whether the organization is making sustainable profits or not it has to retain employees and pay them as stipulated in the contract.

Works Cited

Barrows, Thomas S. What do unions do? A twenty-year perspective. Routledge, 2017.

Cascio, Wayne F. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill, 2015.