Week 2 Discussion

Contract Administration, Arbitration, and Employee Discipline

The labor agreement has been �nalized, and the torch, in a sense, is passed on to management. Contract administration is just as important as the negotiation process.

Contract administration, however, involves more labor and management of�cials and their time than do negotiations. It involves interpretation and application of the negotiated labor provisions. In contract negotiations, the union is typically the initiator; the union usually wants changes in the present agreement. In contract administration, management assumes the initiating role. The union makes sure management applies the provisions of the negotiated agreement correctly. In other words, management exercises its administrative initiative to make decisions (Holley et al., 2017, p. 497)

Management ensures the operation runs ef�ciently and is not jeopardizing the day-to-day business activities of the organization. Once the policies are in place, there are still other contractual issues for management to consider as it relates to employment arbitrations and disciplinary actions. The management team is responsible for resolving any claims of discrimination, employee discipline problems, and disputes over the personnel policies and selecting an arbitrator if the issue cannot be resolved.

Scenario:

Paul, an employee who has been working for thirty years, believes he was not selected for a promotion because he is �fty-�ve years of age. For the past �fteen days, he has been late to work, and this affects the assembly line. Finally, the department manager �red him. Paul has now contacted the union for representation. You have also discovered that the department manager violated the collective bargaining agreement by not allowing employees to be compensated for overtime. As the HR director, how will you handle both situations?

Additional Materials

From your course textbook The Labor Relations Process, read the following chapters:

Contract Administration

Labor and Employment Arbitration

Employee Discipline

From the South University Online Library, read the following article:

Streamlining the Employment Arbitration Process: How to Save Time and Money (https://www.thecampuscommon.com/library/ezproxy/ticketdemocs.asp?

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