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Union-Management Labor Relations. Union A formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective action. Why Employees Unionize Dissatisfaction with treatment by their employers. Believe that unions can improve their work situations.
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Union-Management Labor Relations • Union • A formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective action. • Why Employees Unionize • Dissatisfaction with treatment by their employers. • Believe that unions can improve their work situations. • Why Employers Resist Unions • Unions constrain what managers can and cannot do in a number of areas, such as wages/benefits
Nature of Unions • Union Membership Globally • In some countries, unions either do not (or cannot) exist at all or are relatively weak. • Union membership is falling in advanced countries. • High unemployment is creating pressure for change. • Child labor is an issue in some countries. • Co-determination • A practice whereby union or worker representatives are given positions on a company’s board of directors.
Adjusted Union Membership as a Percentage of Workforce for Selected Countries
Nature of Unions • Key emphases in the U.S. • Economic issues • Organization by kind of job and employer • Collective agreements as “contracts” • Competitive relations
Reasons for U.S. Union Membership Decline Workforce Changes Geographic Changes Declining Union Membership Industrial Changes
Union Membership in the U.S. • Public sector unionism • Significant success with government workers • Union targets for membership growth • Retail, hospitality, health care… • Union structure in the U.S. • Craft Union • A union whose members do one type of work, often using specialized skills and training. • Industrial Union • A union that includes many persons working in the same industry or company regardless of jobs held. • Federation • A group of autonomous national and international unions.
Union Membership in the U.S. • AFL-CIO Federation (American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations) • Largest U.S. union, with 10 million workers in 2005 • Change to Win Federation (CTWF) separated 7 unions with about 6 million members from the AFL-CIO • Local Unions • Business agent: full-time union official who operates union office and assists union members • Union steward: employee who is elected to serve as first-line representative of unionized workers
Union Membership as a Percentage of the U.S. Civilian Workforce
Unfair Labor Practices • Wagner Act Prohibits Employer from: • Interfering with the organizing and collective bargaining rights of employees. • Dominating or interfering with any labor organization. • Encouraging or discouraging membership in any union. • Discharging persons for organizing activities or union membership. • Refusing to bargain collectively. • National Labor Relations Board
Taft-Hartley Act (Labor-Management Relations Act) • National Emergency Strikes • Right-to-Work Provision • Right to work laws: • State laws that prohibit contracts requiring employees to join unions as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment. • Open shop – employees cannot be required to join or pay dues to a union • Closed Shop (outlawed) – employees required to join a union before being hired
Right to Work Provision • Union shop • A clause in a collective bargaining agreement that requires new employees to join the union, usually 30 to 60 days after being hired, or be fired. • Agency shop • Requires employees who do not join the union to pay fees for the union’s representation services. • Maintenance-of-membership shop • Requiring workers to remain members of the union for the period of the labor contract.
National Labor Laws • Landrum-Griffin Act (Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act) • Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
Unionization Process • The process of unionizing may begin in one of two primary ways: • A union targeting an industry or a company • Employees requesting union representation • Union prevention by employers • “no-solicitation policy restricting employees/outsiders from soliciting membership on company premises • Hold mandatory employee meetings • Distribute anti-union leaflets/mailing to employees • Using anti-union videos, emails, etc.
Unionization Process • Persuasion by unions: • Personally contacting employee outside work • Mailing materials to employees’ homes • Inviting employees to attend special meetings away from the company • Publicizing advantages of union membership
Organizing Campaign • Authorization Cards • A card signed by an employee to designate a union as his or her collective bargaining agent • Bargaining Unit • Employees eligible to select a single union to represent and bargain collectively for them, with mutual interest in • Wages, hours, working conditions • Traditional industry groupings • Physical location/interaction between employee groups • Supervision by similar levels of management
Organizing Campaign • Supervisors and union ineligibility • Supervisors cannot be included in bargaining units for unionization purposes, except in industries covered by the Railway Labor Act. • Who qualifies as a supervisor is not always clear. • Unfair labor practices • All activities must conform to the requirements established by applicable labor laws. • Election process • Union need receive only a majority of the votes
Organizing Campaign • Certification • The NLRB’s grant of the union’s legal status as the employees’ representative. • Decertification • The process whereby a union is removed as the representative of a group of employees.
Collective Bargaining and Contract Negotiation • Collective Bargaining • The process whereby representatives of management and workers negotiate a labor agreement covering wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. • Union Security Provisions • Contract provisions that aid the union in obtaining and retaining members. • Dues Checkoff Provision • A contract provision for the automatic deduction of union dues from the paychecks of union members.
Collective Bargaining Issues • Mandatory Bargaining Issues • Issues identified specifically by labor laws or court decisions as subject to bargaining. • Permissive Issues • Collective bargaining issues that are not mandatory but relate to certain jobs. • Illegal Issues • Collective bargaining issues that require either party to take an illegal action (e.g., discriminate in hiring).
Collective Bargaining Process • Preparation of initial demands • Continuing negotiations • Settlement and contract agreement
Bargaining Impasse • Bargaining impasse • Conciliation, mediation, arbitration • Conciliation: third party assists union and management negotiators to reach settlement, but makes no proposals for solutions • Mediation: third party helps negotiators reach settlement • Arbitration: neutral third party makes a decision
Strikes and Lockouts • Strike • A 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. • Striker replacements
Types of Strikes • Economic Strikes • Strikes over economic issues (e.g., wages) • Unfair labor practice strikes • Strikes over illegal employer actions (e.g., refusal to bargain) • Wildcat strikes • Strikes not approved by the union • Jurisdictional strikes • Strikes in dispute over the ownership of work • Sympathy strikes • Expressions of support for other unions
Union/Management Cooperation Issues Cooperation and Joint Efforts Employee Involvement (Teams) Union/Management Cooperation Employee Ownership (ESOPs)
Grievance Management • Complaint • Indication of employee dissatisfaction • Grievance • A complaint formally stated in writing • Grievance Procedures • Formal channels used to resolve grievances. • Grievance Arbitration • The means by which a third party settles disputes arising from different interpretations of a labor contract.
