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14-1
The Labor Relations Framework
CompetitiveChallenges- Legal- Stakeholder needs- High-performance work systems
Goals- Employees and unions- Management- Society
Union Membershipand Relative
Bargaining Power
Union Structure andAdministration
Goal Attainment- Employees and unions- Management- Society
Union and ManagementInteractions- Organizing- Negotiating- Administering
14-2
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.
14-3
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.
14-4
Union Security
CheckoffProvision
Right-to-Work Laws
ClosedShop
Maintenanceof Membership
UnionShop
AgencyShop
14-5
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
14-6
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."
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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.
14-8
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.
14-9
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.
14-10
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?
14-11
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.
14-12
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.
14-13
The Negotiation Process
Distributive Bargaining- win/lose
Intraorganizational Bargaining
- conflicting objectives of different factions
Integrative Bargaining- win/win
Attitudinal Structuring- relationship
and trust
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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.
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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.
14-16
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
14-17
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.
14-18
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
14-19
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?
14-20
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.
14-21
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.
14-22
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.
14-23
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.