Answering Questions About Unions Versus Human Resources (Essay Sample)

Unions versus Human Resources
Name
Institution
Unions versus Human Resources
1. Explain how Unions, Human Resources Management Personnel, and Government Interventions (such as laws and regulations) serve to address worker rights and worker safety.
We are in a critical age in history, where organizations are continually faced with numerous pressures ranging from increased globalization, tougher competition, rapid technological changes, as well as organizational changes. Without a doubt, such pressures can lead to undue expectations from workers. Accordingly, the evolving role of human resources management has bred approaches that respond to internal and external pressures by enabling administrative efficiency and employee contribution. At the same time, human resources management has transitioned from an era that focused on production and competitiveness to the current standard of engaging employees to achieve organizational effectiveness. The rights of workers have also remained vital among government entities, and realized through the formation of laws and regulations. Fundamentally, the government has promoted worker’s rights and safety through facilitating the framework of labor unions (Beer, 1984). Ultimately, the primary purpose of labor unions is to address mandates that affect the rights and safety of workers.
According to Lichtenstein (2013), in the beginning of the 20th century, labor unions played a major role in ending child labor and sweatshop conditions in the United States. Since then, unions have continued to uplift the working standards of Americans in various ways. Profoundly, unions facilitate job safety protections especially as economic conditions have led to less secure incomes due to downsizing and outside contracting. Unionization has led to the creation of wrongful termination laws that highlight claims for improper dismissal. Through collective bargaining, unions have enabled public and private workers to enjoy salaries at competitive rates while working in safe environments. Unions made holiday pay a reality and allowed the regulation of work hours to a 40-hour workweek. Efforts of the union have also led Equal Pay Acts (1963 and 2011), whistle Blower Protection Laws, Sick Leave, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and Sexual Harassment Laws.
Human resource personnel utilize employee engagement to ensure protection of workers’ rights. Employee engagement focuses on the relationship between the employee and the employer. It cultivates a culture of communication and employee participation, thereby ensuring that the needs and grievances of workers are known. With employee engagement, employee morale and productivity are increased, thereby facilitating compensation based on performance. In employee engagement, the human resource personnel protects the future of employees by creating training development programs that secure the careers of workers where changes in the organizations are likely to occur. Human resource personnel also protect worker’s rights by disengaging from discrimination but rather being equal opportunity employers (Beer, 1984). In the design of company policies and regulations, human resources personnel support worker’s rights by formulating principles that are in line with the international and federal labor laws.
Government interventions that serve to address worker rights and safety range from pay requirements to leave benefits. American workers receive minimum wage for their work through the stipulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The law further ensures that non-exempt workers receive compensation for overtime worker (Lichtenstein, 2013). In addition, FLSA protects minors, for instance by limiting the number of hours children under 16 years can work in non-agricultural positions. Through the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the federal government has created numerous specific safety provisions to minimize hazards in the workplace. The Affordable Care Act is another government initiative that promotes the rights of workers to access health insurance. Moreover, the government provides a safety net for retired workers and those living with disabilities through the Social Security Act. Legal protections are put in place to avoid discrimination of workers using the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Age Discrimination Act (1967) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) (Lichtenstein, 2013). Since the beginning of the 20th century, the department of labor has enforced around 180 worker protection laws that continue to benefit millions of Americans.
2. Evaluate whether unions and HRM have unique roles for different groups (i.e., the organization, management, and the workers) or if there are areas of overlap.
Unions and human resource managers have unique roles to different groups. Unions have a responsibility to organizations that are focused on employee safety to ensure that the management complies with the necessary regulations and does not endanger the workers. Human resource managers have a similar role to such bodies by ensuring that the company’s policies highlight the regulations. When it comes to the roles of human resource managers and the unions towards the management, conflicting roles can be perceived.
Human resource managers are set on ensuring that the management has a workforce that is highly productive and is of low cost. On the other hand, the union works at ensuring that the management employs a diverse workforce despite the costs incurred at securing talent. For instance, employing a person with a disability can be highly costly to an organization due to the assistive technologies required to be installed. Another conflicting role between the human resource and the union is towards workers. The union’s goal is to ensure equal pay to workers while HRM aims at performance based pay (Lichtenstein, 2013). With proper coordination and communication, the union and HRM can work as teams to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship. 3. Assess the following statement, “Workers in the modern workplaces of America are w...