Trade Unions Should Care About Equality, Ecological Sustainability, Coursework

Trade Unions Should Care About Equality, Ecological Sustainability, and Democracy and Collaborate with Unions in Other Countries - Coursework Example In order to move progressively forward in improving global economic, ecological, and social conditions, a decrease in disuniting nationalism between trade unions is necessary. In capitalist economies, businesses gain profit from exploiting the time of the workers. Because capitalist systems exist in a dynamic balancing act of dividing profit based on time between workers and their employers, wherein business strive to maximize their profit often resulting in poor wages and benefits for the individual, trade unions are a natural response to the pressures of this type of economic system (Yates, 2003, p. 203). Trade unions help to maintain high levels of employment and real income for skilled workers within a nation, though traditionally little international cooperation has existed. In the post-Second World War period economic boom, many trade unions were repressed by political forces. In the United States, these entities attempted to generate employer loyalty during the Cold War, resulting in the creation of labor-leader-statesmen that were unprepared for the struggles the working class would undergo after the economic boom (Yates, 2003, p.230-231). In developing nations, such as India, labor unions remain ineffective often because of the large portions of those unemployed, those marginally employed, and those employed in extremely poor conditions (Yates, 2003, p. 231). Some progress has been made by organizations such as the International Confederation of Free Trade Union in uniting multinational trade unions (Camdessus, 1996). Globalization is a force that cannot be fought, and trade unions must learn to function across national boundaries in the new global economy. Equality within an economy and between different nations is an important issue for trade unions.