HRM 4570 ILR Homework 1

· Ensure democratic standards for unions and increase transparency of union financial activities

Public Sector Labor Law

· This act protects most federal sector workers, though supervisors

· Postal employees are covered under the NLRA

· There is no right to strike against the _______________by anybody, anywhere, any time

· Most public sector bargaining laws ________________ strikes for all public sector employees

Chapter 4 Labor Law

Labor Relations Application

Take the Section 7 Quiz

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the Wagner Act) guarantees employees "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 or other mutual aid or protection," as well as the right "to refrain from any or all such activities."

Chapter 4 Labor Law

Examples of Employer Unfair Labor Practices (Read)

Section 8(a)(1): Interference, Restraint, or Coercion That Undermines Section 7

· Circulating and antiunion petition.

· Surveillance of union activities beyond what’s necessary for security of company property.

· Threatening employees with job loss or demotion or physical harm if they support a union.

· Interrogating employees about their union sympathies.

· Preventing employees from talking about a union or wearing union buttons when it doesn’t interfere with their work duties or customers.

· Note: All of the examples provided below for Sections 8(a)(2)-(5) also violate section 8(a)(1).

Section 8(a)(2): Domination of a Labor Organization (Company Union Ban)

· Initiating the formation of a union.

· Creating a nonunion employee representation plan

· Creating a labor-management committee that discusses wages and working conditions with some give-and-take with management, but in which managers retain decision-making power and control the committee’s agenda, structure, and continued existence.

Section 8(a)(3): Discrimination to encourage or discourage union membership

· Firing a union supporter or someone trying to form a union

· Transferring a union supporter to a less desirable job or promoting a union opponent to a better job

· Refusing to hire someone because of past union sympathies or membership

· Closing part of a business for antiunion reasons.

Section 8(a)(4): Discrimination for filling charges or testifying under the NLRA

· Firing a worker who files an unfair labor practices charge

Section 8(a)(5): Refusal to bargain with a certified union

· Refusing to meet with a certified union

· Failing to bargain in good faith – that is without a sincere attempt to reach agreement.

· Never making counterproposals.

· Changing wages, benefits, or other terms of employment without negotiating first.

· Dealing directly with individual employees to circumvent the union.

· Refusing to provide relevant information.

· Refusing to bargain with certified union as the exclusive representative of all bargaining unit employees.

HRM 4570 ILR Lecture Notes

Chapter 5 Labor and Management: Strategies, Structures, and Constraints

Table 5.1 - Traditional Union Strategies and 21st Century Alternatives

National union federations in the United States:

· _________________________–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO)

· _________________________ federation

Table 5.6 - Union Avoidance Tactics

HRM 4570 ILR Lecture Notes

Chapter 6 Union Organizing

________________campaigns

· Organize a workplace and enhance representation of existing employees

________________campaigns

· Increase a union’s membership by organizing dissatisfied workers

True / False Questions: Strategic vs. Opportunistic campaigns

_______________ recognition: Recognition based on authorization cards

· Gathering signed cards from more than _____% of employees, can recognize union as bargaining agent

· A neutral party examines the cards and determines if truly more than _____% of the employees signed cards

· The employer can recognize the union and is then __________to bargain with the union. This is called ___________ recognition

Recognition strike: Strike to compel employer to ___________ their union

Certification election: Used in a nonunion location to ascertain if a___________ of employees want to become unionized

Appropriate bargaining unit:

· Group of __________ and __________ relevant to the certification election

· Employees excluded from coverage under the National Labor Relations Act include _______________, managers, confidential employees, and others.

Individual Voting Decisions

1. _________________________________

2. _________________________________ (Degree to which an individual thinks a union will be instrumental in improving the workplace)

3. _________________________________, and

4. _________________________________

Employer Campaigning Tactics

1. _________________ with employees

2. Employer ________________ on employees and union organizers

3. Union _____________ consultants and lawyers

Union Campaigning Tactics

1. Distributing _________________ and letters through mailings and handballing

2. Developing ___________________ relationships with workers such as house calls and small group meeting

3. Carrying out _______________________ and using workers as __________________ organizers

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