Chapter
14
Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations
What Do I Need to KNow
1. Define unions and labor relations and their role in organizations.
2. Identify the labor relations goals of management, labor unions, and society.
3. Summarize legal requirements that affect labor relations.
4. Describe the union organizing process.
5. Explain how management and unions negotiate contracts.
6. Summarize the practice of contract administration.
7. Describe more cooperative approaches to labor-management relations.
Role of Unions
Workers may negotiate differences with their employers individually or they may form unions to negotiate on their behalf.
Unions are organizations formed for the purpose of representing their members’ interests and resolving conflicts with employers.
Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management.
It is through systems for hearing complaints and negotiating labor contracts that unions and managers resolve conflicts between employers and employees.
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Role of Labor Relations
Labor relations is a specialized field that emphasizes skills managers and union leaders can use to foster effective labor-management cooperation, minimize costly forms of conflict, such as strikes, and seek win-win solutions to disagreements.
It involves three levels of decisions:
Labor relations strategy
Negotiating contracts
Administering contracts
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National and
International Unions
Most union members belong to a national or international union.
The members of a craft union all have a particular skill or occupation:
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
Industrial unions consist of members who are linked by their work in a particular industry:
United Steelworkers of America
Communication Workers of America
Most national unions are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
The AFL-CIO is not a labor union but an association that seeks to advance the shared interests of its member unions at the national level.
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10 Largest Unions
In the United States
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Local Unions
Most national unions consist of multiple local units.
Membership in the local union depends on the type of union:
Industrial
Craft
The local union elects officers such as president, vice president, and treasurer.
The national union provides help to the local union during bargaining.
Individual members participate in local unions in various ways:
Union steward
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Trends in Union Membership
Union membership peaked in the . in the 1950s and has decreased since then.
It now stands at 14 percent of all employment and 9 percent of private-sector employment.
The decline in membership has been attributed to several factors:
Change in the structure of the economy
Recent job growth among women and youth
Business growth in the South
Management efforts
Competition
Government regulations
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Union Membership Density
Among . Wage and
Salary Workers, 1973-2000
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Unions in Government
Union membership among government workers has remained strong.
Over one-third of government workers are union members and a larger share is covered by collective bargaining.
One reason for this strength is that regulations and laws support the right of workers to organize:
Executive Order 10988
Labor relations with government workers is different in some respects such as the right to strike.
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Impact of Unions on
Company Performance
Negative effects include:
Decrease on productivity resulting from work rules and limitations on workloads
Strikes and work slowdowns
Positive effects include:
Reduced turnover
Removal of incentives for employees to compete
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Goals of Each Group
Goals of management include:
Restraining costs
Improving output
Goals of labor unions include:
Obtaining pay and working conditions that satisfy members
Give members a voice in decisions that affect them
Equal pay for equal work
Two important contract provisions: checkoff provisions and union membership or contributions:
Closed shop
Union shop
Agency shop
Maintenance of membership
Goals of society:
Give employees a voice in how they are treated
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Laws and Regulations
Affecting Labor Relations
The laws pertaining to labor relations affect unions’ size and bargaining power.
The laws set limits on union structure and administration and the ways in which unions and management interact.
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National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
NLRA passed in 1935 and actively supported collective bargaining.
Union membership nearly tripled
The following activities are among those protected under the NLRA:
Union organizing
Joining a union
Strikes
Refraining from activity
Some employees are not covered by the NLRA.
NLRA prohibits certain activities by employers as unfair labor practices.
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Workers Excluded
From the NLRA’S Coverage
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Laws Amending the NLRA
Taft-Hartley Act of 1947
Unions may not restrain employers through such action as:
Mass picketing
Violent acts
Threatening employees
Insisting on illegal provisions
Terminating an existing contract and striking for a new one without proper notification
Right-to work laws
Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959
Regulates unions’ activities
Establishes and protects rights of union members
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States With Right-to-Work Laws
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National Labor
Relations Board
Enforcement of the NLRA resides with the NLRB.
The NLRB is a federal agency that consists of:
Five-member board
General counsel
33 regional offices
The NLRB has two primary functions:
Conduct and certify representation elections:
Determines the appropriate bargaining unit and the eligible employees for participation in organizing activities
Prevent unfair labor practices:
Handling of complaints
Issuance of cease-and-desist orders
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The Process of Organizing
Unions begin their involvement with an organization’s employees by conducting an organizing campaign.
The organizing process begins with an authorization card.
30 percent must sign to continue the process
Union recognition can occur in two ways:
Consent election
Stipulation election
Certain conduct can lead to an election being set aside.
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Authorization Card
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Management Strategies
Sometimes an employer will recognize a union after a majority of employees have signed authorization cards. More often, there is a hotly contested election campaign.
Employers use a variety of methods to oppose unions:
Hiring consultants
Distributing leaflets and letters
Presenting the company’s viewpoints at meetings
Supervisors must be trained in the legal principles of unionization.
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What Supervisors Should and
Should Not Do to Discourage Unions
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Union Strategies
The traditional union organizing strategy includes:
Calls or visits to employees at home
Alternatives to traditional union organizing strategies include:
Offering workers associate union membership
Corporate campaigns
Avoidance of elections in favor of using strikes
Negotiation of employer neutrality
Negotiation of card-check provisions
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Collective Bargaining
In collective bargaining a union negotiates on behalf of its members with management representatives to arrive at a contract defining conditions of employment for the term of the contract and to resolve differences in the way they interpret the contract.
Typical contracts include provisions for:
Pay
Benefits
Work rules
Resolution of grievances
The majority of contract negotiations occur between unions and employers that have experienced the process before.
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Typical Provisions in
Collective Bargaining Contracts
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Bargaining Over New Contracts
The outcome of contract negotiations can have important consequences for labor costs, productivity, and the organization's ability to compete.
Different approaches to bargaining include:
Distributive bargaining
Integrative bargaining
Attitudinal structuring
Intraorganizational bargaining
Negotiations go through various stages such as:
Proposals are presented
Each sides makes a series of decisions
Pressures for an agreement increases
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When Bargaining Breaks Down
The intended outcome of collective bargaining is a contract with terms acceptable to both parties.
When bargaining breaks down:
The union may strike
The parties may bring in outside help
Alternatives to strikes include:
Mediation
Fact finder
Arbitration
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Strikes Involving 1,000 or More Workers
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Contract Administration
Contract administration includes:
Carrying out the terms of the agreement
Resolving conflicts over interpretation or violation of the agreement
Under the labor contract, the process for resolving conflicts is called a grievance procedure.
A grievance procedure can have four steps:
The employee talks to the supervisor
If no satisfaction, the employee may involve the union steward
If the problem remains unsolved and there is no evident contract violation, the union puts the grievance in writing and submits it to a line manager
The union steward meets with management representatives
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Steps in an Employee-Initiated Grievance Procedure
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Labor-Management
Cooperation
Cooperation between labor and management typically includes:
Employee involvement in decisions
Self-managing employee teams
Labor-management problem-solving teams
Broadly defined jobs
Sharing of financial gains and business information
The use of certain teams has given rise to the issue of legality.
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When Teams May Be Illegal
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