Privacy Rights and Unionizing

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Chapter 14: The Dynamics of Labor Relations: 14.1b Union Avoidance Practices Book Title: Managing Human Resources Printed By: Cedric Turner (cedric.l.turner@gmail.com) © 2016 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

14.1b Union Avoidance Practices

Philip Murray, the first president of the United Steel Workers of America and the longest- serving president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (1940–1952), once stated that “employers generally get the kind of labor relations they ask for.” In other words, there are things companies can do from an HRM perspective to decrease the chances that their employees will want to form a union in the first place, thus avoiding the union organizing campaign altogether. Specifically, there are six practices or principles companies can adopt to decrease the chances of employees wanting to unionize.

The first practice has to do with pay. As discussed in Chapter 9, not only do above-market wages and benefits potentially increase performance and decrease turnover, they also decrease the likelihood that employees will want to unionize. For example, very few companies that have above market wage and benefits policies have unions.

The second practice is to promote more employees from within and to do it often. People like to feel that they are progressing and that there is a chance for growth and advancement. Opportunities for career advancement help to bolster hope and a sense of equity in work environments where employees who do a good job are recognized and given chances to better their positions in the organization.

Third, conduct cultural audits. As discussed in Chapter 2, cultural audits provide managers with a picture of what the company needs. It tells management how employees feel about what is going on in the organization and the quality of the working environment. Organizations can then take this information and facilitate developmental programs for employees, focus more on employee needs, and correct problems before they become too large. Attitude surveys also provide a way for employees to feel they are being listened to. Management must take care with these surveys, however. Organizations that do not respond to or act upon this valuable feedback risk developing even more discontent in their workforce, as employees feel that their suggestions are not valued.

The fourth practice is to offer job rotations and training programs. In Chapter 7 we talk about effective ways to manage training programs and job rotation assignments. Specifically, job rotations help reduce burnout, which can lead to people either leaving their jobs or feeling trapped and hopeless. Job rotations also lead to increased employee satisfaction. If variety is the spice of life, then job rotation is the spice of work. This leads to increased commitment to the organization.

These teachers are exercising their legal rights to protest perceived unfair management actions. Perhaps their school system’s administrators could have prevented this demonstration by conducting a cultural audit.

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Fifth, share information with employees about the state of the organization. Companies that practice open book management are more likely to earn the trust and commitment of their employees. When difficult times arise, they may be more willing to take cuts if they can see that everyone is equally suffering. Finally, organizations should make sure they have desirable working conditions. While it is not feasible to make the working environment pleasant in all industries, an organization should make sure its work environment for its employees is equally desirable as other firms in the same industry. This means having appropriate and sufficient lighting, ergonomic work spaces, and a non-hostile environment. The computer software programming company, SAS, has shown that a desirable workplace not only helps to avoid unions, it improves the productivity of the employees and decreases turnover. Some things SAS has done to make the work environment nice are providing a piano player during the lunch hour, hiring two full-time artists to decorate the building and make it a beautiful place to work, and offering a 50000-square-foot, state-of-the-art fitness center with exercise classes free to all employees. With such desirable work conditions, even Philip Murray might have said that SAS does not need a union.

In sum, employers are providing wages, benefits, and services designed to make unionism unattractive to employees. In addition, a participative management style, profit sharing plans, and alternative dispute resolution procedures (see Chapter 13) are offered to counteract the long-established union goals of improved wages and working conditions. It is important to recognize that these strategies react to the conditions cited at the beginning of the chapter as the main reasons why workers unionize. Because these conditions are under the direct control of management, they can be changed to help discourage or prevent unionism.

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Small Business Application

Unions and Small Business—Like Water and Oil

While most small businesses are not unionized and prefer it that way, it is not uncommon for employees to unionize even when they are small in number. This is especially the case as unions are losing ground with large companies. For example, building and electrical contractors will often hire people who are members of a union, such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The need for small business owners to work with unions not only makes the relationship between employee and employer more formal, it also complicates the matter.

So why, then, might employees of small businesses want to unionize? Usually when businesses are small they are much less formal and more personal. This informality presents advantages in being able to adapt to the environment and devote needed resources to building the business. However, as small businesses grow, the benefits of informality decrease and the costs of having informal relationships increase. Some employees may begin to feel singled out—or worse yet, left out. Such situations sow seeds of discontent. Employees may feel that they are not being treated fairly. If this happens to enough employees, then the small business is in threat of becoming unionized. To reduce the threat of unionization among small businesses, employers must consider “how” and “when” to formalize the employer– employee relationship to ensure equity and fairness. One way to formalize your employee–employer relationship is to prepare a personnel policy manual or employee handbook. This can help employees know the basic ground rules, what is and is not acceptable, and what they can expect from the company. This handbook provides a basis for equity and fairness in management decisions that may affect the employees. The handbook can include such things as the company philosophy (an overall view of what is considered important), criteria for being hired and fired, training and growth opportunities that are available to everyone, vacation and sick day policies, and grievance procedures and discipline. Be careful what you say, however. Some states consider an employee handbook a binding contract, and if you veer from the handbook you can potentially be taken to court.

To know when to implement these policies is also important. A firm with only a few employees cannot afford a full-time specialist to deal with employer–employee problems. However, as a small firm grows it should start implementing some of these policies. Below are a few conditions to help understand when you should appoint a human resource manager to deal with these issues:

You have over 100 employees

Labor turnover rate is high or dramatically increasing

You have a difficult time in recruitment and selection of new employees

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Supervisors or key employees need substantial training

Employee morale is low

You operate in a competitive industry for labor

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