Seriously, I’ve heard so many people cheer on union but when I search up what it is I don’t understand it in the slightest bit.
Please, explain like I’m five.
In: 7
Say you have an employer who doesn’t give you pay and perks you think you are worth.
“I would like a raise,” you aks the boss. “Also, the factory is quite unsafe, I feel very at risk. If you do not fix this issue I think I will quit.”
“No, I don’t think I will,” replies the boss, “Also, I don’t want you spreading these ideas to my other employees. You are fired for asking about this.” They will never actually say that to you, but some may shamelessly do this to you under some dumb excuse.
With a union, what you effectively have are a band of employees who elect a representative to negotiate with the boss on everyones’ behalf. That person goes to the boss and says, “Hello, we would like these things addressed, or else we will all stop working.” (This is what a strike is, btw.)
This puts the boss in a bind. Firing and replacing one person to shut them up is trivial. Firing the whole company at once and hiring for all positions simultaneosly and then re-training everyone hired is not. It could bring down the whole company. They’re forced to negotiate with the workers to stay in business.
That’s the thick nutshell of what a union is ideally supposed to do. It’s a way to consolidate enough of a threat to the company to force their hand when they mistreat you. Not doing so is simply trusting them to keep your best interest in mind, which every single one of them will promise they will do, but many do the opposite.
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