• Raise the wages of the employees they represent;

• Increase the fringe benefits of those same employees, usually by a greater extent than they increase wages;

• Reduce income inequality within the represented firm, by reducing differentials between low-paid and high-paid employees, men and women, various racial/ethnic groups, younger and older employees, and so forth;

• Increase pay of nonunion workers in occupations and industries with substantial union presence as nonunion employers move closer to union standards;

• Reduce income inequality in the wider society by reducing inequality not only within and between represented firms, but also across entire industries as nonunion employers increase compensation to discourage unionization, all of which strengthens the middle class

•  Reduce employee turnover by lessening the number of quits (voluntary separations).

• Thus, increase the retention of skilled employees, enhancing human capital and productivity in both the firm and the economy as a whole.

• Because they suffer less turnover, unionized employers have greater incentives for employee training and for high-skill, high-commitment human resource policies, rather than low-skill, high-turnover or other “low road” approaches to human resources. 

  • • Reduced turnover avoids costs to employers but also lessens society’s costs associated with unemployment, such as Food Stamps, uncompensated care, and other social programs.

• Union-represented employees have been found to be more productive, on average. 

  • • This is probably both due to the fact they have more work experience and due to greater employer investments in them and in physical capital The nature of the labor-management relationship is crucial in this regard: good union-management relationships are ones that foster high workforce productivity, but workplaces characterized by labor strife and worker resentment – whether union or non-union – do not.

• Union employees typically cannot be disciplined or discharged without a reason, termed “just cause.” 

  • • This assurance of fair treatment is one reason union employees have greater “voice” than non-union employees and typically are more willing to make suggestions or speak up to improve business operations. The most important reason to improve the ability of employees to organize into unions is that such membership is a fundamental right in democratic societies, related to freedom of association and the right of all human beings to band together to improve their lives.  Unions are democracy at work!

(words of wisdom by Dennis Albers, Instructor, Eastern Gateway Community College)