I used to be a part of a union. It was awkward, but, aside from the confrontation between the union representatives and the manager, things were relatively fine. Personally, I've always had qualms with the unions, but my employment under the unions slightly altered my opinion. Whereas I used to view unions as merely sucking time and money away from businesses and corporations at the expense of the taxpayer, I now viewed them from the perspective of an employee under the union. I had an employer who pushed me to my limits, but I had a union that ensured that I wouldn't be able to give it my all. For example, I often worked the closing shift at my store. I needed to empty the trash, sweep the store, and generally prepare for the store to open in the morning. That said, there was the mandatory ten-minute break after two hours of work, not only cutting into the precious time needed to close the store but also disrupting the flow of my work. If the store wasn't ready by closing time, there was no way to make up for the losses. In this way, I now fully understood what the phrase "right to work" meant: not just a simple catchphrase, but a summation of why modern-day unions fundamentally don't work.
That said, I began to better understand the purpose of unions, having experienced a union firsthand. Granted, I wouldn't shed a tear for them were they wiped off the face of the earth, but I recognize that they are organizations to be reformed, rather than removed. Ergo, here are a few reforms that I propose to change unions for the better:
1. Become more localized and less centralized. I want a union representative that knows the team, that is friends with the manager, that can say exactly what the situation is in an individual store, find the solution as quickly and efficiently as possible, and solve it. That simply can't be done from a headquarter, and it's the reason why corporations employ managers and assistant managers. It would intimidate any employee for a stranger to call their name and ask them to sign a union form before bickering with the manager and calling in union reinforcements (true story). That's not an organization that I want for myself.
2. Rely on volunteer work. I understand that there would have to be a few paid positions to keep the whole nationwide structure together, just as in any large organization, from corporations to governments to charities. However, one of the biggest problems of unions is the endless lobbying, the plagues that are corruption and bureaucracy. Heck, some of the unions are even larger and more powerful than some of the corporations they detest. Volunteer work turns an organization hellbent on obtaining power into an organization hellbent on achieving their goals, while similarly refuting the argument that union workers are simply out there to get out of work and reap benefits.
2a. Raise their own money. The corporations have to do it, so why can't the unions? If they claim to be so hardworking and dedicated to helping their fellow man, then this should be a slight road bump. For me, this is the worst crime of unions: ignorance. Unions have ironically decided to become more anti-employer than pro-employee, yet they rarely put themselves in the shoes of the employer. The union elite need to learn the hard work and sacrifice that come into moneymaking before they can boast that businesses can follow union lines while still keeping an ample profit.
3. Make membership optional. I think of union membership as job insurance- with perks. In the instance that your boss is a jerk or that the company goes through tough times, the union is there to make sure that workers get their just dues. That said, I have not encountered any person in leadership, public or private, who would fire someone at the drop of a dime. I hope that I never do see such a person. I'm sure that there are several thousand workers interested in joining unions, if not several million. Personally, I would rather skip paying union dues and refuse to conform to the union's political goals while risking the one-percent chance that I would be fired on any given day (one percent is frighteningly large, actually... it's probably more like 0.1 percent).
Now yes, I do realize that these reforms would cripple the union structure as we know it. Unions need to have their government funding, and they will stop at nothing to make sure that they have power and control. Quite honestly, unions are rapidly becoming worse than the most stereotypical corporations. Heck, at least corporations supply services to their customers, while unions do little to help their clients. Perhaps it is time for unions to refresh themselves.
