Unionization is a popular topic being debated in the United States as well as other economically competitive countries. Ever since the world has focused on the “global economy”, the U.S., its corporations and companies, have been forced to weaken unions in order for their operations to stay economically feasible. While many in the US scrutinize mandatory unionization and push for right-to-work legislation, other countries such as Iraq are fighting to create unions to help their economy and civilian life. In Iraq, given the recent government change and US occupation, there has been a hostile reaction to the new unions that have formed to satisfy the needs of workers. Other companies that are located in mandated union states are spending money and effort to find loopholes around union restrictions. The three scholarly articles read reflect both positive and negative views on unions while offering an explanation as to their functions and powers.
In the essay “Between Soldiers and Bombs: Iraq’s Fledgling Labor Movement” from Multinational Monitor (2005), David Bacon discusses the efforts of Iraqi workers to form unions to fight against US occupation and unfair economic laws. During Saddam Hussein’s reign, he issued legislation banning unions and any form of collective bargaining. Even though the US is now occupying Iraq for supposed “liberation,” Saddam’s legislation has not been dismantled. Quite the opposite, new laws have been issued that also limit the rights of workers in Iraq. The two major developing union organizations in Iraq are the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) and the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions of Iraq (FWCUI). Although the IFTU and FWCUI disagree on some political issues, they both are fighting for fair wages for workers. Unfortunately, not only do they face government opposition, but union heads within these organizations are being targeted by extremists left over from Hussein’s secret police. There have been 3 murders of such individuals as well as kidnappings. While the some unions have been successful in raising wages- most from $35 per month to $100 per month- the developing of unions in Iraq still has a long way to go.
Marvin Kosters analyzes the history of unions in his essay “Unions and the Economy,” from The World and I (2004), stating that the power of unions to negotiate worker wages is directly dependant on the strength of competition within the labor market. Unionization in America is steadily decreasing. Due to global competition, American unions are likely to continue to decrease because it will be impossible for companies to continue to increase wages and still be competitive in the global market. The public perception of unions has been very beneficial to the growth of unions until recently. In the public’s eyes, unions were made to help employees earn reasonable wages, which today, although not necessarily in the near future, is not a big issue because of state and federal mandated minimum wages. In addition, in the 60’s and 70’s unions were partially blamed for the large amount of inflation of the U.S. dollar. Even with the public’s swaying perception, no legal work was passed in order to voice the general public’s opinion in the national government. Because of the current changing economy, unions are sure to see further change and grow in influence.
In her essay “Local Rx: Developing Return-to-Work Programs in Unionized Companies” from Risk Management (2009) Rebecca Shafer describes the difficulties employers have to create Return-to-Work Programs with the Unions trying to keep the worker on leave by all means. Unions fight for injured workers’ worker compensation and getting the employers to cover medical expenses. Employers are trying to offer return-to-work programs to get the employee back to work in a timely fashion in order to cut expenses and keep up productivity. Employers face restrictions from the collective bargaining agreement, making it difficult to make arrangements to transfer employees around if needed. Employers also have to be careful that they are bargaining in “good faith” so they do not face any violations. However, the employers argue that they should not even have to bargain this agreement with the Unions because it is their right to manage their business, thus allowing them to implement the program on their own. Unless employers realize the steps they need to take to eliminate loopholes and manage issues of past-practices, the careful song-and-dance of bargaining return-to-work programs with unions will continue.
As unions have grown and developed in the past in America, they are presently doing so around the world. However, American unions are facing some external pressure to change their policies in order to accommodate the changing global market. Labor unions world-wide are battling opposition from the government. Be it Saddam’s outdated laws in Iraq or the United States’ economic recession requiring greater global competition, labor unions are faced with many challenges. Union organizations have a difficult fight ahead of them to maintain fair wages while also battling legislation that outlaws their very existence.
