Chapter 19 Labor- Management Relations

1. Chapter 19Labor- Management Relations

2. Chapter Objectives 1. Describe the process behind union elections and collective bargaining. 2. Explain which strikes are legal and which strikes are illegal. 3. List unfair employer practices. 4. Identify unfair employee practices. 5. Define the rights of nonunion employees.

3. Federal Labor Law Four major federal labor law statutes are: Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 National Labor Relations Act Labor-Management Relations Act Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

4. Norris-LaGuardia Act • Extended legal protection to peaceful strikes, picketing, and boycotts. • Restricted the power of the courts to issue injunctions against unions engaged in peaceful strikes.

5. Case 19.1 Burlington Santa Fe Railway Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 174 • Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company operates a hub in Seattle, Washington. After canceling their subcontract with Eagle Systems, the railway company transferred the work to Parsec, Inc. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 174 represented the fifty-three Eagle employees who lost their jobs and the employees of other subcontractors. Burlington refused to persuade Parsec to hire former Eagle employees. Local 174 also threatened to picket if Burlington did not agree to hire only subcontractors represented by Local 174. Burlington filed suit alleging violations of federal labor laws and sought an injunction. The court granted the injunction, which was dismissed. • Generally, how would the relationship between labor and management be affected if unions did not have the right to picket?

6. National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner Act) • Established the rights of employees to engage in collective bargaining and to strike. • Created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to oversee union elections and prevent employers from engaging in unfair labor practices (such as refusing to recognize and negotiate with a certified union or interfering in union activities).

7. Case 19.2 NLRB v. Town & Country Electric, Inc. • Town & Country refused to interview job applicants who were union “salts.” The applicants filed a complaint with the NLRB alleging that the company had discriminated against them. The issue turned on whether job applicants paid by a union to organize a company were “employees.” • The NLRB ruled in the applicants’ favor and the company appealed to the appellate court which reversed. The applicants appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. • How would the relationship between labor and management be affected if job applicants did not have rights under the NLRA?

8. Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Act) • Extended to employers protections already enjoyed by employees. • Provided a list of activities prohibited to unions (secondary boycotts, use of coercion or discrimination to influence employees’ decisions to participate or refrain from union activities) and allowed employers to propagandize against unions before any NLRB election. • Prohibited closed shops (which require that all workers belong to a union as a condition of employment), allowed states to pass right-to-work laws, and provided for an eighty-day cooling-off period.

9. Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act) • Regulated internal union business procedures and union elections. • Imposed restrictions on the types of persons who may serve as union officers and outlawed hot-cargo agreements.

10. The National Labor Relations Act (1935) • The pervading purpose of the NLRA was to protect interstate commerce by securing for employees the rights established under Section 7 of the act. • Another purpose of the act was to promote fair and just settlement of disputes by peaceful processes. • Why was the act initially opposed by employers?

11. The Decision to Form a Union • The key starting point for labor relations law is the decision by a company’s employees to form a union, which is usually referred to in the law as their bargaining representative. • If the workers decide that they want the added power of collective union representation, they must follow certain steps to have a union certified.

12. Preliminary Organizing • Before beginning an organizing effort, a union will attempt to assess worker support for unionization by obtaining signed authorization cards from the employees. • It can then ask the employer to recognize the union, or it can submit the cards with a petition to the National Labor Relations Board.

14. Appropriate Bargaining Unit In determining whether workers constitute an appropriate bargaining unit, the NLRB considers whether the skills, tasks, and jobs of the workers are sufficiently similar so they can all be adequately served by a single negotiating position.

15. Moving toward Certification Certification by the NLRB means that the union is the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit and that the employer must recognize the union and bargain in good faith with it over issues affecting all employees who are within the bargaining unit.

16. Union Elections • Labor law provides for an election to determine whether employees choose to be represented by a union and, if so, which union. • If the election is a fair one, and if the proposed union receives majority support, the board certifies the union as the bargaining representative.

17. Union Election Campaign • The NLRB is charged with monitoring union elections. • During an election campaign, an employer may legally limit union activities as long as it can offer legitimate business justifications for those limitations. • In regulating the union’s presence on the business premises, the employer must treat the union in the same way it would treat any other entity having on-site contact with its workers. • The NLRB is particularly sensitive to any threats in an employer’s communications to workers, such as declarations that a union victory will result in the closing of the plant. • The NLRB will also closely monitor sudden policy changes regarding compensation, hours, or working conditions that the employer makes before the election.

18. Management Election Campaign • Management may also campaign among its workers against the union. • The employer may not make threats of reprisals if employees vote to unionize. • If the employer issues threats or engages in other unfair labor practices and then wins the election, the NLRB may invalidate the results.

19. Collective Bargaining • Once a union is elected, its representatives will engage in collective bargaining with the employer. • Each side tries to use its economic power to persuade or pressure the other side to grant concessions.

20. Unions in Great Britain • In Great Britain a union that has been recognized by an employer for collective bargaining purposes has the following rights: • a right to receive information related to collective bargaining issues • a right to time off • the right to appoint a representative to handle safety matters • the right to be consulted before an employer relocates its place of business • Do you think employees have rights that should apply in all countries around the world under all circumstances?

21. Subjects of Bargaining • Topics such as wages, hours of work, and other conditions of employment are discussed during collective bargaining sessions. • Other topics, such as college scholarships for the children of union members, may also be brought up for consideration. • Some demands, such as a demand for featherbedding or for a closed shop, are illegal.

22. Good Faith Bargaining • If the parties reach an impasse, the union may call a strike against the employer to bring additional economic pressure to bear. • This is one way in which the union can offset the superior bargaining power possessed by management.

23. Case 19.3 Stroehmann Bakeries v. NLRB • When the collective bargaining agreement of the shippers at Stroehmann Bakeries expired, the company proposed cutting half the positions. The union asked Stroehmann for extensive financial information which the company refused and then declared an impasse. Ten days later, Stroehmann eliminated the shippers’ jobs. • The NLRB ordered the company to reinstate the shippers and the company appealed. What did the court rule? • Why might a union (or an employee) make “voluminous requests for information” and refuse to bargain if the requests are not met?

24. Strikes • The right to strike is protected by the U.S. Constitution. • During a strike, an employer is no longer obligated to pay union members, and union members are no longer required to show up for work.

25. Illegal Strikes An otherwise lawful strike may become illegal because of the conduct of the strikers. Two types of illegal strikes include: Secondary Boycotts Wildcat Strikes

26. Secondary Boycotts • Strikers are not permitted to engage in a secondary boycott by picketing the suppliers of an employer. • Similarly, striking employees are not permitted to coerce the employer’s customers into agreeing not to do business with it.

27. Wildcat Strikes A wildcat strike occurs when a small group of union members engages in a strike against the employer without the permission of the union.

28. Replacement Workers • An employer may hire permanent replacement employees in the event of an economic strike. • If the strike is called by the union to protest the employer’s unwillingness to engage in good faith negotiations, the employer must rehire the striking workers after the strike is settled, even if it has since replaced them with other workers.

29. Lockouts • Employers may respond to threatened employee strikes by shutting down the plant altogether to prevent employees from working. • Lockouts are used when the employer believes a strike is imminent.

31. Case 19.4 Canteen Corp. v. NLRB • When Canteen Corp. took over a food service, it agreed to negotiate a new contract with the union. Without informing the union, Canteen told employees their wages would be cut. When the employees resigned, Canteen recruited employees from other sources and refused to negotiate with the union on the ground that it no longer represented the employees. • The NLRB ordered Canteen to reinstate the employees and the company appealed. • Why should an employer be forced to honor a collective bargaining agreement between a union and the employer’s predecessor?

32. Rights of Non-Union Employees • The National Labor Relations Act protects concerted action on the part of nonunion employees. • Protected concerted action includes walkouts and other activities regarding wages, hours, workplace safety, or other terms or conditions of employment.

33. Case 19.5 In re Simmons Industries, Inc. • Simmons formed a TQM committee which included managers and employees from a cross-section of plants. When a union failed to organize the employees, it filed a complaint alleging that the TQM committee was a “labor organization” dominated by management in violation of the NLRA. • How might an employer give employees a forum to voice their dissatisfaction with certain conditions without forming an illegal employee committee?

34. For Review 1. What federal statutes govern labor unions and collective bargaining? 2. How does the way in which a union election is conducted protect the rights of employees and employers? 3. What type of strikes are illegal? 4. What activities are prohibited as unfair employer practices? 5. What are the rights of nonunion employees?