Professor Moglen's comments about unions the other day got me thinking that I have a natural aversion to praise for unions. In particular I have a deep-seated aversion to the notion of seniority for seniority's sake rather than performance-based pay. There are numerous benefits to unions, perhaps most importantly a stronger negotiating position when discussing pay and benefits for employees. But on the flip side, it also seems to create hierarchies based on seniority that prevent younger/newer members from rising through the ranks based on "merit". I can understand and sympathize with the job security concerns that were the basis of Moglen's comments, but am I missing some other valuable benefits to the seniority system? In high school I spent 3 years working at a supermarket where the members were unionized. I liked the marginally better pay than the minimum wage that other stores paid, but I also remember a lot of jaded, unproductive older employees. Unions are human organizations too and are just as vulnerable to the selfish manipulation of those at the top as other organizations are.

This is not to say that I am opposed to unions, I just found it odd that even though I have shifted far far left of my originally super conservative upbringing I was still caught off guard by the rhapsody for unions. Are there any built-in corrections for older members who take advantage of their seniority? Don't most of the complaints about teachers' unions revolve around this issue?

-- MichaelDignan - 11 Mar 2009

Maybe the distinction to be made here is between two different values.

Do we prefer a flawed system that, at its worst, leaves most of the workforce at the whims of the "market" and creates a culture of fear? Or would we prefer a flawed system that, at its worst, provides for job security while potentially fostering complacency and lower productivity?

Michael,

Unions do have some measures in place to address problems like those, however, I think that the persistence of seniority in union contracts speaks to benefits it has over a “merit-based” system.

Collective bargaining itself provides a solution to the issue of abuse of seniority rights. If members don’t like seniority, they can vote it out of their contract. Ideally, a union functions like a democracy and provides benefits through representation that other political and legal entities cannot fully secure. Union members voice their concerns to their representatives, who in turn negotiate on their behalf during periodic contract negotiations. During the periods between contract negotiations, grievance procedures are in place to address concerns that arise. If provisions unions negotiate federal laws, there might be protection for employees.

Seniority gives workers a degree of due process in lay offs and promotions. Discrimination, cost cutting by hiring cheaper replacements, and favoritism often masquerade as merit. Just last night a friend who is an associate at very prominent law firm who gave me an example of some of the shady dealings companies use in employment matters. She recently made models that ran simulations that advised the client on how to manipulate classifications such that layoffs appeared to meet disparate impact requirements. The reason she’s doing this work instead of the client’s HR department is because it’s protected by attorney client privilage, so there won’t be proof of their manipulation when employees sue. I’ve also witnessed shady dealings as an advocate with the Unemployment Action Center and even in my own boyfriend’s recent lay off.

All that said, in the case of teachers and other employees that provide a public service there are very strong arguments for instituting policies that favor effective employees. Unions are moving toward modifying seniority provisions to balance the objectives of due process and high performance. Also, even though union workers might be unhappy with aspects of their jobs, they are less likely to quit than non-unionized workers. Academic literature provides a variety of explanations, such as the use of voice mechanisms over exit ones, and also job satisfaction theory that values some outcomes of collective bargaining more than others.

This post is getting pretty long winded, but I studied Industrial and Labor Relations in undergrad and I find these topics are really interesting.

-- JamilaMcCoy - 11 Mar 2009