Happy Workers, Happy Company

“My employees were happy, until the union came up with all these issues and made them unhappy.”

I would be a rich man if I got paid a dime every time a manager said something like that to me. 

Employers often see the union as a third party in the employer/employee relationship with its own agenda, but that is simply not the case. The union is the voice of the employees, and there is no profit for the union in creating issues that aren’t there. The reality is that employees often won’t go to their employer about workplace issues—they come to the union first, even when they should first try to address the issue with their supervisors.

While some employers think unions are out to cause problems, on the flip side, some employees think that the union should be able to fix all problems. That’s why some groups of employees switch unions every few years in an effort to solve all their workplace woes. They usually find that they end up in the same place, or even worse off. Workers need to realize that at the end of the day, the union is them. Strong working relationships between members lead to a strong union and a strong company.  

Employers have to realize that if their employees are not ok, then they and their company are not ok. In any relationship, both sides’ needs must be met. The job of a union is to make sure workers’ needs are met, but we also have to keep the needs of the company in mind. After all, a poorly-functioning company is of little value to workers since they will likely lose their jobs if the company goes under. 

Unions, workers, and employers must work together to find win-win solutions. The alternative is lose-lose. There are few situations in life where you can get everything you want. There has to be balance and that is what the union is there to help create, so that the long term interests of both workers and employers are realized. In this way, positive, productive workplaces are created and maintained.