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Unions

2 March, 2015 - 12:11

Workers in a competitive market receive a wage equal to their MRP. If they face monopsony power, they get less. Regardless of the market structure, workers are likely to seek higher wages and better working conditions. One way they can try to improve their economic status is to organize into a labor union, an association of workers that seeks to raise wages and to improve working conditions. Unions represent their members in collective bargaining, a process of negotiation of worker contracts between unions and employers. To strengthen its position, a union may threaten a strike—a refusal by union members to work—unless its demands are met.