One of the most controversial workplace issues over the last century concerns workplace unions and the right to work. This pushed many companies like Volkswagen to adopt policies favoring modern unions and encouraged them to work with employees to unionize their factories by creating a works council (McMorris, 2013). “The Chattanooga plant is the only one of sixty-two Volkswagen plants worldwide that is not unionized” (SC Digest, 2013). Modern unions benefit both the company and its employees by providing better wages and benefits, increased productivity and job stability, and better work hours and schedules. For more than 150 years, employees have fought with their employers over wages, hours, benefits, and benefits. job stability. All businesses want to get the most out of all their workers' money in order to maximize their profit margins. This often leads to poor working conditions and an impact on people's quality of life. Over time, workers began to band together and fight back against the tyrannical influence of corporations, giving rise to unions. However, unions have not always been the solution and there are as many advantages as disadvantages. Today, unions benefit all workers, whether or not they work for a union company, by providing better wages, pensions, and health benefits, most of which are now mandated by U.S. law. Unions are also directly responsible for the forty-hour workweek and federal minimum wage laws. Sometimes unions have bankrupted businesses, while other times businesses have prospered, and over time many unions have evolved and adapted to better practices. An example of union development is the modern works council used by many European unions. A works council model which ...... middle of paper ...... rs by accepting unionization. The free beacon of Washington. Retrieved from http://freebeacon.com/complaint-uaw-vw-coerced-workers-into-accepting-unionization/SCDigest Editorial (November 19, 2013). German workers support unionization of American auto factories. SC Digest. Retrieved from http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/13-11-19-1.php?cid=7601WBIR (April 6, 2013). The union is trying to sell the Chattanooga plant based on a friendlier works council concept. Retrieved from WBIR news.com website: http://archive.wbir.com/rss/article/263621/2/UAW-chums-it-up-with-VWMishel, L. and Walters, M., (2003) . How unions help all workers. Retrieved from the Economic Policy Institute website: http://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_bp143/American Psychological Association, (2003) Occupational stress and employee control. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/research/action/control.aspx