Before the introduction of unions, employees seemed to be at risk in the workplace. However, the unions, which were initially designed to help workers, have become a burden to employers, citizens, and those not in unions. Unions are now guided by greed and selfishness ( Young and Zuleta, 2018) . The common good for all is no longer the motto of labor unions. Instead of benefiting the ordinary employee, the unions now seek to prey on the same people they should be protecting. Labor unions promote unemployment and exploitation of their members and employers by shipping jobs overseas, increase taxation and union membership for employees, and supporting underproductive employees.
Unemployment
Unionization creates higher wages at the expense of more jobs. Unions only favor those with secure jobs. Milton Friedman (2015) argued that if some industries have employee unions, they raise wages while the non-unionized ones keep their wages low, resulting in inequality. Raising wages above the equilibrium rate results in unemployment. Organizations are afraid of employing more people because they cannot afford to pay them all. Those in stable jobs continue to get rich while fresh graduates and those in the entry level have to work under short term contracts without the hope of permanent employment. It is only retirement or death that makes it absolutely necessary to recruit new employees. Currently, in the US, companies are hiring new staff on a contract basis, which prevents them from joining unions. Doing this ensures that they can lay them off when the need is without the organization being sued.
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Shipping of Jobs Overseas
Workers from almost all industries are in unions: coal mining, steel, education, etc. so raising wages isn't a problem. However, they have formed a monopoly in the job market by hindering non-union companies from hiring the most competent employees. Employees prefer to work in companies that permit employees to join unions since their wages are higher. Employees thus seek employment elsewhere since the non-union firms pay less, while unionized organizations recruit a limited number of employees as a way of keeping operating costs low. Unions have an advantage of monopoly when bargaining on behalf of their members, which leaves employees not in unions out ( Hirsch, 2017) . Unions force human labor into other countries where wages are better regardless of whether the employee is in a trade union or not. They prefer to work elsewhere where unions do not have monopolies since their demands are not overshadowed by those presented to the government by unions. Immigration is a major cause of the shortage of professionals in the US.
Increased Taxes for Citizens
Unions want the best for their members, but they need to remember that the employers are also in business. The unions’ members want increased pay, allowances, and conducive working conditions, but that lies within the power of the organization. Taking an example of teachers in Philadelphia, they demanded an increment to their salaries without considering that there was a budget deficit for the year 2013/2014 (Masterfano, 2013). Unions push employers too much and incite employees to go on strike without considering some reasons that could be making pay rise hard to implement. The teachers in Philadelphia are currently not paying for health insurance. The government pays for it. Fulfilling the extra demands means increasing the taxes by the local government, which a burden to the taxpayer. Those protected by unions continue to get rich at the expense of low-income earners.
Retaining of Unproductive Employees
Employees who are members of unions are often "untouchable." The employer is scared of laying off members of unions due to the high bargaining power of unions ( Kim and Margalit, 2017) , which could mean if they are sued, they lose the court case. Long such a case costs employers more than the total salaries the employee would receive before retirement. Employers have to tolerate unproductive employees until the process of contract dismissal is complete, no matter how long it takes. Besides draining the company, it also prevents the organization from hiring new staff that could fill in the gap, demand for less, and be more productive. Bureaucracy may slow down the process of laying off staff before their term indicated in the contract is up, but the employer must put up with it.
Increased Operating Costs for Companies
Companies have been forced to decrease their range of products due to increased operating costs. Employees who are in unions are protected against “extra work” ( Kim and Margalit, 2017) . Employees who are in unions have turned the protection they receive from unions into laziness. It should be an agreement between the employer and employees, depending on the compensation they receive. For instance, GM and Chrysler had such a situation where they had to stop manufacturing expensive cars to stay in business. Labor unions were a block to full utilization of the company's labor by inciting employees against "too much work," yet the company was compensating for the hours of work. In a case where a firm has to lay off workers to cut on the operating costs, the most recently hired will be the first to get fired.
Conclusion
Worker unions were designed to protect workers from exploitation, stop child labor, and ensure working conditions were conducive. Labor unions have had several positive impacts such introduction of paid maternal leaves, holidays, and health insurance paid by the employer. However, over time, unions have become avenues for greed and employer and employee exploitation. Employees, through the collective bargaining power of unions, subject employers to conditions that lower theory profit margins. Employers are in business, so employees should keep their demands within their capability. The burden of taxes is also increasing, which is felt by citizens. The power bestowed upon unions should, therefore, be reduced to protect citizens and employers from exploitation.
References
Friedman, M. (2015). Unemployment versus inflation? An evaluation of the Phillips curve. Issues in Monetary Policy: The Relationship between Money and the Financial Markets , 159-170.
Hirsch, B. T. (2017). What do unions do for economic performance?. What do unions do? (pp. 193-237). Routledge.
Kim, S. E., & Margalit, Y. (2017). Informed Preferences? The Impact of Unions on Workers' Policy Views. American Journal of Political Science , 61 (3), 728-743.
Kim, S. E., & Margalit, Y. (2017). Unions don’t just channel the political preferences of their workers; they influence them as well. USApp–American Politics and Policy Blog .
Masterfano M. (2013) Unions: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly. The HuffPost. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/unions-the-good-the-bad-t_b_3880878?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAI9rKsm3QAcjLniTELMe8DtuEGoFQlS0GajBtNWyGSoi6sWpWIRt4zFvw_MtcaW2cVDWmLfW5tGtQAuXifUyC5sq8BjPuXa_bE360fNWyv_ru_a52pvlT8tpVlxSnpWDXmxGW1fKAVxI0Mp3uYqDYIqmMadH_3EvyvkSkiX4sbIt
Young, A. T., & Zuleta, H. (2018). Do unions increase labor shares? Evidence from US industry-level data. Eastern Economic Journal , 44 (4), 558-575.
