Employee and Labor Relations
There are many reasons employees decide to seek union representation. The top three reasons are
Employees feel they are a victim of favoritism, non-competitive pay and benefits, and lack of
concern for employee safety. Let’s explore these a bit.
Favoritism- the practice of giving unfair preferential treatment to one person or group at the
expense of another. This is the number one reason employees seek unions. When employers are
inconsistent with disciplinary actions some employees get a break and others are subject to
penalty, which they feel they do not deserve. For example, if you have a single mother who is
frequently late or calling off due to sick children or sitter issues and they continue to only receive
warnings, then you have a single man with no children who is also late and calls out constantly.
If you give the single man a write up and not the single woman because you understand her
situation, that is still looked at as favoritism. Outlining policy and procedures at hire and
ensuring that leadership is trained on these policies will help prevent this.
Non-competitive pay and benefits- the number two reason. Employees discuss their wages with
fellow co workers and friends. When it’s discovered a lower wage is paid it opens the door for
unions to convince employees that joining a union is the answer to higher wages. Employers who
provide fair and competitive wages and benefits are less susceptible to this argument. Employers
who participate in wage-benefit surveys can make sure they are competitive in the industry and
your location. Lack of concern for employee safety- The number three reason. Employees want
to work in safe working conditions and OSHA is there to support this ask as well. If safety
training, proper equipment and clear instructions and guidelines are not given to employees, it
puts them at risk for harm or even death. OSHA does give violation citations to companies when
this is discovered but not having these guidelines in place, makes the union look more appealing
to employees.
Safety issues should be addressed early on.
To help avoid employees seeking union representation employers should, avoid favoritism, make
sure employees feel safe and valued at work. Provide required training and equipment, identify
and address issues that have potential to escalate early on. Lastly do your research and pay a fair
market salary across the board. In a nutshell, embracing a pro-employee management style will
prevent issues on the backend.
References
Labor Letter. (2009, November). Reasons Employees Give for Joining a Union. Fisher &
Phillips.
Fisher Phillips Reasons Employees Give For Joining A Union | Fisher Phillips
