labor union formation and activity:

1. Please explain any value-added comments/ insight and questions you have to the discussion below

In the article I found discusses that it is the right of workers to create a trade union so that they can bargain as a group for more rights, this is a fundamental principle of the ETI Base Code. Numerous business deny these rights, by punishing those who start these groups. They punish these workers by reducing their pay, physically abused, mentally abused and sometimes in extreme cases some were murdered. Forming a union is not the only obstacle, after creating these unions making any progress is difficult. The key to maintaining a healthy workplace environment is for suppliers to engage with unions in a mutually benficial exchnage. The benefits of creating a win-win situtation heavily outweighs the negatives.

• Yes unions engage in ethical behavior, they show respect to the moral principles of an organization.
• Most unions are created because of poor workplace conditions whether it is unfair pay, treatment or management.
• If there is no change in the treatment of workers in businesses unions will not cease and the number of them will go up. It is a trend that I see continuing.

2. Please explain any value-added comments/ insight and questions you have to the discussion below

1. Apple finally met with a union that as formed at one of their locations in Maryland to hear demands and work together. However, Apple has been using policies trying to keep their employees for doing things they legally are allowed to do (one of which is discussing wages). Not being allowed to discuss wages was one of the factors in this union forming. Apple disguised this infringement on workers' rights by saying they were trying to "crack down on information leaks within the company." Another point is that Apple has been trying to use tactics to suppress the unions and harass union organizers. Not all the points of the union meeting is made public nor is the investigation into Apple fully public yet. But there have been union organizers stating Apple is trying to give them money to keep them quiet about Apple's wrongdoings. The organizers are stating they will not take the payment and would rather see Apple get into trouble for breaking the National Labor Rights Act.
2. Unions, I believe, are a grey area. Most of the time, they are ethical in that they represent the worker and will fight for the workers when needed. However, they are also willing to just accept a flat fine from the company and let the company continue mistreating its workers. When Apple broke EU data privacy rules, they just paid $400 million and just moved on as if nothing happened. Apple, in this case, is trying to do the same with their worker's rights, it seems. But this time, the union is refusing the one-time flat fee Apple is willing to pay and would rather fight to make changes. Historically, unions form from employee unrest, things like unfair wages, unsafe working conditions, not receiving compensation for something they need to go out of their way to accomplish, poor job security, discrimination, the lack of chances of promotions. All of these play a part in the formation of unions. Companies are getting better at shutting unions down due to the cost of living and how hard it is to get a job/how little people are getting paid. Take America for example, over 60% of Americans are barely surviving paycheck to paycheck. If they lose their job they cannot afford anything, rent, food, bills, etc. this makes them less likely to unionize as some companies have found ways of firing people trying to unionize (like Amazon). This will decrease unionization globally. This could change if people were able to afford to live properly again and not just the bare minimum they need to survive. They would be much more likely to unionize if that happens.
3. Reflection: The number of people living in poverty is bigger than I expected. In our readings they had the numbers from 2018 stating that the total number of Americans living in poverty was 38 million. However, with inflation skyrocketing and wages being so stagnet plus the pandemic in 2020 it made me wonder how bad it is today. As of the end of 2020, it is more than 37 million. However, the poverty line is supposed to be those that cannot afford the basic necessities and struggle. Though how they calculate the cost is a bit confusing and causing me to do more research. Since poverty threatens more people then the government lets on. For example, banks and the government say rent should not be more than 30% of your income. Yet they have the poverty line at $14k a year. If your rent was $500 a month you are already at almost 50% of your income. Add to this the average rent in America is over $1k a month and it makes that poverty line seem too little. When looking at the actual cost of things and low income families struggling to survive that number is closer to 140 million Americans. Of course global inflation is rising so these numbers could change quickly. Knowing these things will help me learn how to better help other people honestly and that is something I want to do.