Human Resource Management Human Resource Management Assignment

Book Title: eTextbook: Human Resource Management Chapter 15. Union–Management Relations Summary

Summary A union is a formal association of workers that promotes the interests of

its members through collective action.

Workers join unions primarily because of management’s failure to

address organizational and job-related concerns.

In the early 1930s, unions fought difficult battles to overcome powerful

companies and earned the right to organize.

The history of unions in the United States indicates that they primarily

focus on wages, hours, and working conditions.

In the United States, current union membership as a percentage of the

workforce is down dramatically, being less than 10 percent of the overall

workforce.

Unions in general have experienced a decline in membership because of

geographic, industrial, and workforce changes.

In attempts to grow, unions are targeting professionals, low-skilled

workers, and contingent and part-time workers.

Several prominent employers have faced recent union organizing

attempts in their workplaces.

Three laws provide the foundation of labor law and the legal basis for

labor relations today: the Wagner Act, the Taft-Hartley Act, and the

Landrum-Griffin Act.

The Wagner Act was designed to protect unions and workers, the Taft-

Hartley Act restored some powers to management, and the Landrum-

Griffin Act was passed to protect individual union members.

Issues addressed by the different acts include unfair labor practices,

national emergency strikes, and right-to-work provisions.

The composition of the NLRB strongly influences the philosophy adopted

to set guidelines for companies and workers.

The unionization process includes an organizing campaign,

authorization cards, a representation election, certification and

decertification, and contract negotiation through collective bargaining.

Collective bargaining occurs when management negotiates with

representatives of workers over wages, hours, and working conditions.

The issues subject to collective bargaining fall into three categories:

mandatory, permissive, and illegal.

The collective bargaining process includes preparation and initial

demands, negotiations, and settlement and contract agreement.

When an impasse occurs during bargaining, work stoppages through

strikes or lockouts can be used to pressure the other party.

Union–management cooperation has been beneficial in many situations,

although care must be taken to avoid violations of NLRB provisions.

Grievances express workers’ written dissatisfactions or differences in

contract interpretations.

A grievance procedure begins with the first-level supervisor and may

end—if the grievance is not resolved along the way—with arbitration by

a third party.