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Chapter 16 Union/Management Relations

Chapter 16 Union/Management Relations. Union : formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective bargaining. Unions: employee and management perspectives. National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 1930’s Employees must vote to be represented by union

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Chapter 16 Union/Management Relations

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  1. Chapter 16 Union/Management Relations Union: formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective bargaining

  2. Unions: employee and management perspectives • National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 1930’s • Employees must vote to be represented by union • HR needs to either work to prevent unionization or work with unions • Why they unionize: • Working conditions • Compensation • Management style • Employee treatment

  3. Unions globally • Codetermination: practice whereby union or worker representatives are given positions on a company’s board, Europe • US: usually focus on “bread and butter” issues: wages, benefits, job security, and working conditions • US: organize by kind of job or employer • US: Collective agreements as “contracts”: collective bargaining contracts usually spell out things for several years.

  4. US Union Decline • Deregulation, foreign competition, more people looking for jobs, perception dealing with unions is expensive • Geographic changes: jobs are in South, Southwest, Rocky Mountains which have employer friendly laws AND low skilled jobs have moved out of US (My favorite clothes from Target are NOT made in the US) • Industrial Changes: Jobs have drifted away from manufacturing, construction, and mining to SERVICE Industries. Not many unions in retail and financial services • Workforce changes: decline in BLUE COLLAR jobs in manufacturing • Getting women to join unions in PINK COLLAR jobs

  5. Public sector unionism • State and local government employees that work in critical areas: police, fire, teachers, sanitation • Union targets for membership growth • AFL CIO • Change to Win (CtW): in 2005 seven unions split to focus on different groups: retail, hospitality, home health care, and other service industries • Professionals: engineers, physicians, nurses, and teachers • Low skilled workers: janitors, building cleaners, home health care • Contingent and part time workers: can now be included in unions

  6. Unions in the US • Craft Union: members do one type of work, often using specialized skills and training • Industrial union: includes many persons working in the same industry or company, regardless of jobs held • Federation: group of autonomous unions – AFL CIO which allows different unions to work together to have more power • Change to Win: 6 million left AFL CIO: Teamsters, Service Employees International Union, and United Food and Commercial Workers • National and International Unions: United Steelworkers, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees • Local Unions: centered around particular employer or region • Business Agents: a fulltime union official who operates the union office and assists union members • Union Steward: employee elected to service as the first line representative of unionized workers

  7. US Labor LawsMap p. 553!: why did Boeing build plant in NC? • The right to organize workers and engage in collective bargaining • Railway Labor Act, 1926, 1936: airline workers added • Norris LaGuardia Act, 1929 • Wagner Act(National Labor Relations Act) 1935: official policy of US government was to encourage collective bargaining. National Labor Relations Board • Taft Hartley Act (Labor Management Act), 1947: passed to limit pre union Wagner Act – forbade unions from refusing to bargain, discriminating against non members, excessive fees. Est. Federal Mediation and conciliation Service to help settle disputes • National Emergency Strike- allows President to declare strike presents national emergency. President can declare 80 day cooling off period: WHAT HAPPENED DURING REAGAN’S TERM?

  8. Right to Work Provision: Taft Hartley allows states to pas laws that restrict compulsory union membership and employees do not have to join as condition of obtaining or continuing employment and employers may have an open shop, where workers do not have to join union. • Closed shop: firm that requires individuals to join a union before they are hired • Union shop: you must join union • Agency shop: employees that refuse to join union still must pay amounts equal to union dues and fees in return for the representation of the union • Maintenance of membership: requires workers to stay members of union for period of contract

  9. Landrum Griffin Act (Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act), 1959: to protect union members democratic rights. Bylaws, financial reports, bill of rights to members, US Secretary of Labor…..stealing pension funds, Jimmy Hoffa • Civil Service Reform and Postal Reorganization Acts, 1978. Est. Federal Labor Relations Authority as 3 member body to oversee and administer union/management relations in the federal government and unfair practices • Postal Reorganization Act of 1970: postal service independent entity and postal workers could not strike and est. dispute resolution • Employee Free Choice Act: not law YET…forget how contracts are negotiated, forget voting on unionization

  10. The Unionization Process • Organizing campaign/Salting: practice in which unions hire and pay people to apply for jobs at certain companies to begin organizing efforts • Authorization cards – card signed by employees to designate a union as their collective bargaining agent • Representation election/ BEFORE and election, Bargaining unit: employees eligible to select a single union to represent and bargain collectively for them. Election: only takes a majority to win • Certification: given by NLRB for private sector and similar body for public sector • Decertification: a union is removed as the representative of a group of employees • Contract negotiation(collective bargaining): process whereby representatives of management and workers negotiate over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment • Employers’ Union Prevention with union busters are HR policies that are good to employees

  11. Collective bargaining issues • Management rights: rights reserved so that the employer can manage, direct, and control its business • Union Security Provisions: contract clauses to help the union obtain and retain members such as “no layoff policy” or “job security guarantee” • Union Dues Issues: “dues check off” clause for automatic dues deductions • Types of required union membership: depending on state’s right to work laws • Collective bargaining as defined by NLRB • Mandatory issues: collective bargaining issues identified specifically by labor laws or court decisions as subject to bargaining • Permissive issues: collective bargaining issues that are not mandatory and that relate to certain jobs • Illegal issues: collective bargaining issues that would require either party to take illegal action

  12. Collective bargaining process • Preparation/Core bargaining issues: wages, benefits, and working hours and conditions • Continuing Negotiations/Good Faith: parties agree to send negotiators who can bargain and make decisions, rather than people who do not have the authority to commit either group to a decision • Settlement and contract agreement/Ratification: process by which union members vote to accept the terms of a negotiated labor agreement • Bargaining impasse—Conciliation: process by which a third party assists union and management negotiators to reach a voluntary settlement. Mediation: process by which a third party helps the negotiators reach a settlement. Arbitration: process that uses a neutral third party to make a decision • Strikes and lockouts—Strike: work stoppage in which union members refuse to work in order to put pressure on an employer. Lockout: shutdown of company operations undertaken by management to prevent union members from working • Types of strikes: Economic strikes: fail to reach agreement during collective bargaining, unfair labor practices: union members leave their jobs for what they believe as unfair business practices. Wildcat strikes: happen in between. Jurisdictional strikes: when one union group walks out to get work assigned to them versus another union. Sympathy strike: done to support another union • Replacement of workers on strike

  13. Union/Management Cooperation • Lockout: shutdown of company operations undertaken by management to prevent union members from working • Unions and employee ownership

  14. Grievance management • Complaint: indication of employee dissatisfaction • Grievance: complaint formally stated in writing • Grievance procedures: formal channels of communication used to resolve grievances • Discusses issue with rep(steward) and supervisor • Steward discusses with HR manager and supervisor’s manager • Committee of union officers discusses issue with appropriate company managers • Rep from national discusses with executives • If it is not settled, goes to arbitration and third party may eventually settle • Weingarten rights: right to union representation if employee being questioned and it may result in discipline • Grievance arbitration: means by which a third party settles disputes arising from different interpretations of a labor contract

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