Overworked, Underpaid, Unionize

Over the past two years companies have cut jobs, slashed pays, and reduced benefits for employees.  As a result, employees have been overworked, stressed-out, and demoralized with the firings of their fellow coworkers.  They are treated by the apathy of companies as if they are a beaten horse. The companies try to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of their workers to the breaking point. As a consequence, workers are feeling burnt and are becoming less productive.  Companies should try to treat their workers with some respect, gratitude, and some time off to their workers in that they will be productive, efficient, and proud of their work. However, not many businesses treat their workers well. A lot of workers want to work to support their families and themselves. It is not like that every person is a slacker or slowpoke in doing their job, yet some companies try to take advantage of these for non-union employees by giving them little pay and little benefits. 

Workers are then left with little recourse other than to join a union of workers to protect their workers’ rights in that to a company an employee is an expendable asset ready to use and abuse. However, when a company faces a union, they have to deal with a workforce that could bring damage to their company in money and in reputational terms. Even though employees might be scared to lose their jobs in joining a union, it is a real benefit for them to join. They will have other fellow employees to back them up when it comes to the company trying to take an advantage of the workers. Furthermore, the employee will feel empowered in that he or she can do damage to the company over their abuses on their employees. For instance, when the workers for the hotels in San Francisco a few years back had a strike and protested their employers for not giving them a living wage in the most expensive city in California.  The hotels paid a big price in that it cost them money when they didn’t have workers to clean the rooms and assemble the beds.  As a consequence from the resulting hotel workers strike the big hotels relented and finally gave the workers a pay hike so the workers can live reasonably well in the city by the bay.  California workers should unite in order to show the companies that workers are not just some number on a paycheck but rather a living breathing human being.

Vocabulary Words

Apathy

-Noun

absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.

lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.

Assemble

-Verb

to come together; gather; meet

to put or fit together; put together the parts of