Trade Union Revitalization in Europe and North America Essay

Trade Union Revitalization in Europe and North America - Essay Example This study looks into a trade union as a labor union. It is formed by workers of a given organization who come up together to set common goals and objectives which are mostly concerned with how to improve their welfare in their respective organizations. Trade unions have their own leadership structures that govern their day to day operations in ensuring that they do achieve their set goals and objectives. One of the key roles of the leadership of these trade unions is to negotiate with the respective employers to favor the interests of the members of that particular trade union. Mostly they bargain about how the employer is expected to improve the working conditions of its employees and also labor contracts. These labor contracts may include the procedures to be followed in recruitment of new staff members and dismissal of any existing employee, terms of wages and so on. Trade unions originated from Europe before spreading to other countries all over the world. In the past, they were not in existence but due to the fact that employers were taking advantage of their unskilled employees by underpaying them and misusing them in their work places trade unions were formed. They became very popular with the employees of various organizations worldwide due to the various benefits derived from them. Trade unions have the power to take any relevant industrial action such as strike if their negotiated demands are not adhered to by the respective authorities. Even though trade unions originated from Europe, the effects of neo-liberal turn has greatly affected the functioning and power of trade unions in the developed countries and especially in Europe and north America in the yester years. High labor mobility is another core factor that has affected the functioning of trade unions in Europe and North America. There has been a variety of strategies developed by the trade unions in these respective countries to try and address the major factors affecting the functioning and powers. These strategies are aimed at ensuring that these trade unions remain for the interest of its workers. Most discussions have been held by various trade unions in Europe and North America to discuss the most viable strategies to solve the problem of increasing labor mobility that has become a threat to the trade unions. One of these strategies that is mostly applicable in North America and Europe is trade union organizing. This strategy was developed in the United States of America before it spread to other countries in America. This strategy mostly stressed the true, fair and known strategies to be applied in the respective organizations when conducting the recruitment and selection of new staff members and also the strategies to be followed when empowering the existing employees in that organization (Milkma & Kim 2004) Despite the benefits associated with the trade union organizing, there has been serious debate in the North America and Europe as to whether this strategy i s the best to bring about revitalization in the trade unions found in organizations located in Europe and North America. In our essay we shall bring out the argument and conclude whether there is trade union revitalization in Europe and North America by assessing the major discussion in progress which aims to compare the organizing strategy with neo liberal regime. Unlike other earlier studies that discussed revitalization of trade unions, this essay focuses on the inter relationship that exists between the strategies chosen by the leaders of these trade unions in their given organizations and the opportunities that may