Employee associations are formal organizations that workers can join together to advocate for their interests and benefits as employees. While not the same as labor unions, employee associations play an important role in the workplace.
Employee associations have a long history, emerging in the late 19th century in the United States as “company unions.” As labor unionization grew in the 1930s, company unions declined and morphed into modern employee associations.
Today, employee associations serve several key functions:
- Providing group insurance programs like health, life, and automobile insurance
- Operating credit unions
- Managing recreational facilities and vacation resorts
- Running medical centers, stores, or buying clubs
- Organizing athletic and cultural events
In essence, an employee association looks out for the welfare and interests of employees outside of direct compensation. They focus on non-wage benefits and recreational activities.
Membership in an employee association may be automatic upon hiring or voluntary. Automatic membership implies the employer sponsors the association. Voluntary membership means the employer is less involved.
Some key reasons employee associations matter:
- They give workers a collective voice to advocate for their needs.
- They provide valuable services and benefits like insurance.
- They build workplace culture through events and activities.
- They represent employee interests in dealings with management.
While not as powerful as labor unions, employee associations empower workers and provide a structure for employees to band together. They can supplement other efforts to improve workplace conditions and compensation. In many countries, employee associations take on union-like roles in bargaining.
As economic pressures on workers mount, interest in collective organizations like employee associations may grow. They offer employees a way to advocate for themselves and provide mutually beneficial services. Though not a substitute for strong unions, employee associations remain an important presence in many workplaces.