The Labor Relations Framework

1. The Labor Relations Framework Competitive Challenges - Legal - Stakeholder needs - High-performance work systems Goals - Employees and unions - Management - Society Union Membership and Relative Bargaining Power Union and Management Interactions - Organizing - Negotiating - Administering Union Structure and Administration Goal Attainment - Employees and unions - Management - Society

2. Goals and Strategies • Society • Labor unions' major benefit to society throughout history has been the balancing of power and the institutionalization of industrial conflict in the least costly way. • The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA, 1935) sought to provide a legal framework conducive to collective bargaining. • Management • Must decide whether to encourage or discourage the unionization of its employees. • Labor Unions • Seek to give workers formal representation in setting the terms and conditions of employment.

3. Union Structure, Administration, and Membership • National and International Unions • Craft unions • Industrial unions • Local Unions • Responsible for the negotiations of a contract as well as the day-to-day administration of the contract, including the grievance procedure. • AFL-CIO • Not a union but rather an association that seeks to advance the shared interest of its member unions at the national level.

4. Union Security Checkoff Provision Right-to- Work Laws Closed Shop Maintenance of Membership Union Shop Agency Shop

5. Union Membership and Bargaining Power • Reasons for the consistent decline of union membership in the U.S. include: • Structural Changes in the Economy • Increased Employer Resistance • Substitution with HRM • Substitution by Government Regulation • Worker Views • Union Actions

6. Legal Framework • The 1935 NLRA enshrined collective bargaining as the preferred mechanism for settling labor-management disputes. • Section 7 of the NLRA: employees have the "right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining."

7. Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) • The NLRA prohibits certain activities by both employers and labor unions: • Employers cannot interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in exercising their Section 7 rights. • Employers cannot dominate or interfere with a union. • Employers may not discriminate against an individual for exercising his or her right to join or assist a union. • Employers may not discriminate against employees for providing testimony relevant to enforcement of the NLRA. • Employers cannot refuse to bargain collectively with a certified union.

8. Unfair Labor Practices - Unions • Originally the NLRA did not list any union unfair labor practices. These were added by the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act. • The 1959 Landrum-Griffin Act further regulated unions’ actions and their internal affairs • i.e. financial disclosure and conduct of elections.

9. Enforcement • The National Labor Relations Board(NLRB) has the primary responsibility for enforcing the NLRA. • The NLRB is a five-member board appointed by the president. Additionally, there are 33 regional offices. • The NLRB has two major functions: • To conduct and certify representation elections. • To prevent unfair labor practices. • ULP charges are filed at and investigated by the regional offices.

10. Why Do Employees Join Unions? • Virtually every decision to join a union focuses on two questions? • Is there a gap between pay, benefits, and other conditions of employment that employees actually receive versus what they believe they should receive? • If such a gap exists, is it sufficiently large enough to motivate employees to remedy the situation?

11. The Process and Legal Framework of Organizing • An election may be held if at least 30 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit sign authorization cards. • A secret ballot election will be held. The union is certified by the NLRB if a simple majority of employees vote for it. • A decertification election may be held if no other election has been held within the year or if no contract is in force. • Certain categories of employees cannot be included in bargaining units.

12. Organizing Campaigns • The NLRB may set aside the results of an election if the employer has created an atmosphere of confusion or fear of reprisals. • Associate union membership is a form of union membership in which the union receives dues in exchange for services but does not provide representation in collective bargaining. • Corporate campaigns seek to bring public, financial, or political pressure on employers during the organizing and negotiating process.

13. The Negotiation Process Distributive Bargaining - win/lose Integrative Bargaining - win/win Intraorganizational Bargaining - conflicting objectives of different factions Attitudinal Structuring - relationship and trust

14. Preparing Managers for Negotiations • Seven steps: • Establish interdepartmental contract objectives. • Review the old contract. • Prepare and analyze data. • Anticipate union demands. • Establish the costs of various possible contract provisions. • Make preparations for a strike. • Determine the strategy and logistics.

15. Negotiation Stages and Tactics • The early stages may include many individuals, as union proposals are presented. • During the middle stages, each side makes decisions regarding priorities, theirs and the other parties'. • In the final stage, momentum may build toward settlement or pressure may build as an impasse becomes more apparent. May involve interaction with negotiators or facilitators.

16. Management’s Willingness to Take a Strike • The following factors help determine whether management is able to take a strike: • Product Demand • Product Perishability • Technology • Availability of Replacement Workers • Multiple Production Sites and Staggered Contracts • Integrated Facilities • Lack of Substitutes for the Product

17. Alternatives to Strikes • Mediation - Has no formal authority to force a solution; acts as a facilitator for the parties. • Fact finder - Investigates and reports on the reasons for the dispute and both sides' positions. • Arbitration - A process through which a neutral party makes a final and binding decision.

18. Grievance Procedure • The negotiation process typically occurs every three years. • Negotiation processes and administration processes are linked. • The effectiveness of grievance procedures may be judged on three criteria: • How well are day-to-day problems resolved? • How well does the process adjust to changing circumstances? • In multi-unit contracts, how well does the process handle local contract issues? • Duty of fair representation

19. Grievance Procedure • Arbitration is a final and binding step. • Criteria arbitrators use to reach decisions include: • Did the employee know the rule and the consequences of violating it? • Was the rule applied in a consistent and predictable way? • Were the facts collected in a fair and systematic way? • Did the employee have the right to question the facts and present a defense? • Does the employee have the right of appeal? • Is there progressive discipline? • Are there mitigating circumstances?

20. New Labor Management Strategies • There are signs of a transformation from an adversarial approach to a less adversarial and more constructive approach to union-management relations. • The transformation includes increasing worker involvement and participation and reorganizing work to increase flexibility. • Union leaders have frequently resisted such change, fearing an erosion of their influence.

21. Labor Relations Outcomes • Strikes • Wages and Benefits • In 2006, private-sector unionized workers received, on average, wages that were 24 percent higher than nonunion counterparts. • Productivity • Some argue that unions increase productivity, while other argue that they decrease productivity. • Studies have concluded that union workers are more productive than nonunion workers although the explanation is unclear. • Profits and Stock Performance • These may suffer under unionization if costs are raised.

22. The International Context • The United States has both the largest number of union members and the lowest unionization rate of any Western European country or Japan. • The growing globalization of markets will continue to put pressure on labor costs and productivity. • The United States differs from Western Europe in the degree of formal worker participation in decision-making.

23. The Public Sector • During the 1960s and 1970s, unionization in the public sector increased dramatically. • As of 2006, 36 percent of government employees were covered by a union contract, and 42 percent of all government employees were covered by a collective bargaining contract. • Strikes are illegal at the federal level and in many states for government workers.