Unions have helped shape the American way of life. However, there are those who are in favor of unions for their positive effects and vice versa. Both of these categories have valid points. Union members obtain many benefits that without the formation of unions would not be easily accessible. Business owners perceived a more negative outcome from unionization. So who is right, if the unions were to be stopped or the companies sucked them in, there is a way to a happy ending between the two. The labor movement in the 1930s began forming unions to benefit the battered working population of the Great Depression. These unions had given many workers the opportunity they had never had before, namely to finally choose the working conditions in which they would work. These new union members had a multitude of tools with which they could achieve their desired results. Hirsch states, “In workplaces where a majority of employees have voted for representation, a union serves as the workers' exclusive bargaining agent and provides a collective voice in dealings with employers” (Hirsch). One of these tools was collective bargaining, essentially one-on-one between the employer and union member representation to make changes to wage rates and working conditions. It usually ends with an agreement in which the benefactors are the union members. In a case where there was a stalemate over the terms, the union would most likely strike until they prevailed and an agreement was reached. This is essentially one of the strongest tools of trade unions. This would make any company tremble at the thought of losing money due to ceasing production. In other cases they were only able to help themselves but not… middle of paper… this should be taken lightly, but the fact of the matter is that change is needed. Unless our economy continues to slowly sink. Works Cited Barrientos, Stephanie and Sally Smith. “Do workers benefit from ethics?” Third World Quarterly 28.4 (2007): 713-29. Print.Griswold, Daniel. "TRANSIONS, PROTECTIONISM AND US COMPETITIVENESS". CATO Journal 30.1 (2010): 181-96. PrintHirsch, Barry T. "Slow Institutions in a Dynamic World: Can Unions and Industrial Competition Coexist?" Journal of Economic Perspectives 22.1 (2008): 153-76. Print.Meeusen, Wim, Vesna Stavrevska and Glenn Rayp. "Efficiency wages, unemployment benefits and union-company wage bargaining: the question of choosing the external option". Journal of Labor Research 32.1 March (2011): 75-86. Print.Welch, Jack and Suzy Welch. "A week of blows for business." BusinessWeek May 18, 2009: 72. Print.