Labor Relations 4

Unions and Management: Key Participants in the Labor Relations Process

Outline

1. Goals and Strategies: Management and Unions (see Exhibit 4.1) 2. Company goals; The Company wants: 3. To survive and remain competitive 4. To grow and prosper ● To achieve a favorable return on its investment 1. To effectively use human resources 2. To attract, retain, and motivate employees 3. To protect management's rights to make decisions and retain flexibility ● To obtain commitment from the union that there will be no strike for the duration of the

agreement 1. Union goals; The Union wants: 2. The Company to survive and remain competitive as well as for the union to survive and

remain secure 3. The Company to grow and prosper as well as the union ● The Company to achieve a favorable return on its investment and return "fair" wages to

employees 1. The Company to effectively use human resources within the rules and policies of the

agreement, and to achieve job security and employment opportunities for members 2. The Company to attract, retain, and motivate employees within the rules and policies of

the agreement 3. To protect union and employee rights that were negotiated and included in the labor

agreement ● To obtain commitment from the company that there will be no lockout for the duration of

the agreement 1. Company strategic planning 2. Determined by its managerial philosophy, ethics, economic condition, force, competition,

time in the life of the company, and management capabilities 3. Union or nonunion ● Company strategies (Exhibit 4.2) 1. Nonunion companies' strategies 2. External forces affecting union-management relations: competition from abroad,

deregulation, and competition from nonunion companies 3. Choice of remaining non-union by using union suppression, union avoidance, and union

substitution strategies without using unfair labor practices (Exhibit 4.3) ● Use of positive human resource management and double breasting 1. Unionized Companies’ Strategies 2. Involvement of union and management 3. Employee representation; grievances ● Rules and policies become company policy 1. Businesslike, codified strategy

2. Accommodation and labor-management cooperation 3. Union contributions to company planning ● Employee empowerment ● Mixed strategy 1. Union strategic planning

1. A mission statement (Exhibit 4.4) 2. Analysis of external environment: demographics, politics, image, industry trends

● Internal analysis: governance, openness, professionalism 1. Organizational objectives: long-term and short-term 2. Strategy development: survival and growth 3. See Exhibits 4.5 and 4.6 for differences in CWA and CTW strategic plans

1. Company Organization for Labor Relations Activities 1. In larger corporations, labor relations is usually highly centralized and policy

decisions are made at corporate level (Exhibit 4.7) 2. In smaller companies decisions are made at plant level ● Organization for labor relations are at the plant level (Exhibit 4.8)

● Union Governance and Structure 1. Power, authority, and legitimacy flow upward (Exhibit 4.9) 2. Union governance comparable to unit of state or federal government

● Wide diversity of multi-level organizational relationships, functions of officers, and degrees of control

1. The local union 1. Branch of national union 2. Main point of contact for the individual employee ● Operates under national union’s constitution 1. Organizational chart Exhibit 4.10

1. Differences between craft and industrial unions 1. Craft union members organized by craft or skill 2. Industrial union members organized on an industry basis

2. Upward trend toward general unions 1. Differing Scope of the Labor Agreement

3. Short labor agreements 4. Several employers

● Local agreements 1. Differing skills

1. Types of skills 2. Training

1. Differing Job Characteristics 3. Short work assignments 4. Union hiring hall. Serves as placement office ● Pre-hire agreements

1. Differing Leadership Roles

1. Business agent; could accumulate power 2. Shop stewards represent business agents ● International union representative; enforces national constitution

1. Government and Operation of the Local Union 1. Participation in Meetings

2. Attendance varies when union is confronted with important business 3. Rises when meeting location is convenient ● Personal invitation 1. Use of electronic information services 2. Union leaders, departmental representatives, union stewards always attend 3. Provide perks for attending meetings ● Meeting attendance required to run for office ● Average two hours. Reports from treasurer, project leaders, and committee chairpersons 1. Business of local generally accomplished

1. Functions of the meeting 2. Union’s most important governmental activity 3. Opportunity for members to communicate with leaders ● Important decisions are made

1. The National or International Union 1. Occupies the "kingpin" position of influence (Exhibit 4.11) 2. The constitution of the union guides its government

2. The constitution restricts the power of the national union, encourage union activity in collective bargaining and political action, and contain provisions to protect individual rights of members

1. The Convention—supreme governing body of unions; final court for union decisions; nomination of officers; reporting; agenda for policy formulation.

1. Use of delegate system; Delegates dependent on number of members 2. Committee work, debates, and voting, similar to Congress

● Subjects covered include internal government matters, collective bargaining problems, and resolutions for or against policies

1. Leadership and democracy—officers and executive board direct affairs of union between conventions and Landrum-Griffin Act provisions promote democracy

2. Profile of labor leaders—most come from working-class families; fathers were hourly employees; they have an average of 14.1 years of education

3. Administration: departments and staff serve interests of members; Presidents paid well; members, stewards, and local officials not compensated

4. Professional staff members—appointed or politically elected, international union representative, staff representative, business agent, or organizer; other group performs more technical duties, includes professionals

1. Unions today use more modern human resource policies and practices 2. In-house training provided ● Unions’ own staff stops from advancing

1. Services to and Control of Locals 1. Negotiation of master labor agreements, support of strike activities, arbitration, advice

and counsel on internal administration 2. National union assists locals in collective bargaining, grievance administration, strike

activities, and internal financials; in addition, it provides counseling and consultation for internal financial administration, such as bookkeeping, dues collection, and purchases.

● National union could replace local leaders with a trustee 1. Dues, Fees, and Distribution of Funds

1. Dues check off system 2. Portion of monthly dues for each member goes to national union ● Dues go to general fund, strike fund, convention fund, union publications, educational

activities, and retirement fund 1. Mergers of National Unions

Mergers occur through amalgamation (two unions joining together), or absorption (larger union absorbing a smaller union)

1. Overlooked behavioral dimensions 2. Members tend to evaluate mergers in practical terms ● Five unions with over 5 million members have dominated merging activity

1. Intermediate organizational units 1. Regional or district offices—located closer to membership so as to better

serve local unions 2. Trade conferences—grouping of unions who have common industry interests

● Conference boards—organized within international unions to prepare for negotiations with a particular company

1. Joint councils—groups of local unions in a specific location that have common goals, problems, etc.

1. Independent unions 1. 41 independent unions at national level and 1,500 at the local level.

2. Employee associations 2. Support new associations which provide a wide range of services to members 3. Services include diploma equivalency classes, English classes, toll-free hotline, courses

on sexual harassment, etc. 1. Managerial and professional organizations

4. Managers, supervisors, and professional employees join organizations for their mutual aid and insurance

5. Use union-like tactics, such as collective action, skill certification, and political activities ● Organizations do not engage in collective bargaining

1. The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) 2. 56 national and international unions, 60,000 local unions, and about 12.7 million

members 3. Administer about 150,000 labor agreements, over 99 percent negotiated without strikes ● Principle of autonomy—each affiliate conducts its own affairs

1. Governing body is the Executive Council, composed of the president, secretary-treasurer, and 55 vice-presidents

2. Executive council meets at least three times a year to handle operational duties 3. President has authority to supervise affairs of the federation and direct its staff

1. Organizational structure (Exhibit 4.12) 1. Convention, the supreme governing body, meets every two years 2. Executive Council—composed of president, executive vice-president,

secretary treasurer, and 55 vice-presidents ● Standing committees on various subjects to assist member unions 1. General Board acts on matters referred to it by Executive Council 2. 51 state federations bodies advance interests at state levels 3. Many local central bodies advance interests at local levels ● Financial activities—financed through member dues ($0.75 per month per capita tax is

used for operational expenses) ● Internet access to 17 million members, retirees, and associate members, as well as

low-cost computers; Union Privilege Benefit Programs (Exhibit 4.13) 1. Associate membership program 2. Partnerships with worker centers 3. Local department councils; Union Cities program 1. Other activities of the AFL-CIO 1. Educational and informational; Website; blogs; courses in union leadership development;

speakers for educational institutions; educational films 2. Working America program ● Lobby and political records publishing; get-out-the-vote campaigns 1. Political activities through COPE (Committee on Political Education)

1. Use of information technology by unions 2. Internal communications between union officers, staff, and members, particularly when

they are geographically dispersed 3. External communications, such as to inform the public about union issues potentially

affecting the public, workers, and unions ● Facilitation of bargaining activities 1. Contract administration, such as communicating grievances and tracking decisions of

arbitrators 2. Union organizing, such as making contact with potential union members and providing a

means for interested employees to communicate with the union 3. Political action, such as informing potential voters about union views and those held by

organized labor’s friends and adversaries ● Importance of technology to modernize unionism ● Concerns over use of Internet and email

● Union corruption and the Landrum-Griffin Act 1. Abuses of power exposed by McClellan hearings of late 1950s 2. Phasing out of court supervision of Teamsters activities in 2015

● Level of corruption in unions is negligible 1. AFL-CIO established Ethical Practices Committee

2. In 1959 Congress passed Landrum-Griffin Act to promote union democracy, leadership accountability, and financial integrity; contains provisions governing union operations and government

3. The 1984 Comprehensive Crime Control Act, backed by AFL-CIO, closed loopholes in laws against labor malfeasance; contains the Labor Racketeering Amendments

● Union security 1. Union security clause

1. Union security provisions 2. Closed shop: employee must first become a union member to obtain a job; made

unlawful by LMRA in 1947 3. Union shop; non-union employee can be hired but must become member within

certain period to remain employed (See exhibit 4.14) 2. Communications Workers v. Beck​ (487 U.S. 735 [1988]), held that a union shop clause

only requires a bargaining unit member to become a financial core union member; full union member is subject to imposition of union conditions

3. Beck rights; annual notification, accounting of funds, implementation procedures ● Bush Executive Order 132301 requires federal contractors to post notices informing

workers of their ​Beck ​rights 1. Obama Executive Order 13496 requiring federal contractors to post a notice informing

employees of their rights under federal labor laws – see Exhibit 4.15 1. Agency Shop; does not require employee to join the union but requires the

employee to pay the union a sum equivalent to union membership dues 2. Contingency union shop; union security provision will automatically convert to a

union shop provision if a state’s right-to-work laws are eliminated 3. Union hiring hall; employers hire employees referred by the union if the union can

supply a sufficient number of qualified applicants 4. Preferential treatment clause; current employees who are union members will be

given preference over nonemployees when a new facility is opened 5. Dues checkoff; makes collection of union dues more convenient for union and

union members 6. Right-to-Work laws: Controversy and Effects

2. Under Section 14 b of the LMRA, a state may initiate legislation prohibiting union membership as a condition of employment (Exhibit 4.16)

3. 25 states have right-to-work (RTW) laws (Exhibit 4.17) ● Republican party influences places emphasis on passing RTW laws 1. National Right to Work Committee 2. Wage disparity in favor of non RTW laws states

1. Arguments for Right to Work Laws 3. Required union membership conflicts with employees’ free choice and the requirement to

join a union and/or pay union is undemocratic 4. Requiring union membership violates the employees’ constitutional rights of free speech

and association if dues are used to support member activities ● Required union membership concedes too much power to union officials 1. Arguments for abolishing Right-to-Work Laws 2. Elimination of “free riders”

3. Union exists by majority vote of the bargaining unit ● Union security clause keeps the employers from weakening employees support for the

union because all employees will be paying dues 1. Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision 2. June 2014, U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an agency fee provision in collective

bargaining violated employees’ free speech under the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution

CHAPTER 5

Why and How Unions Are Organized

Outline

1. Why Unions Are Formed 1. Work and job conditions

2. Alienation Theory: Employees seek collective action to relieve their feelings of alienation caused by division of labor and mechanized manufacturing under capitalist ownership

3. Scarcity Consciousness Theory (Selig Perlman): employees unionize to protect jobs in a job-scarce labor market through work rules, apprenticeship programs, seniority layoff programs, and legislation to protect employees' job rights

● Wheeler Model of Union Formation: A two-stage process that involves (1) worker’s readiness to take some form of aggressive action and (2) that worker coming together with other workers to take some form of collective action

1. Employees' background and needs 1. Previous membership 2. Parental attitudes and family experiences ● Needs for affiliation, status, and belonging 1. Race—positively associated with pro-union attitudes

1. Influences on Employees’ Votes for and against Unions (Exhibit 5.1) 2. Employee confidence that union will improve their personal situations 3. Employee must be convinced of "union instrumentality" Factors include: social

pressure, job satisfaction/dissatisfaction, and attitudes and beliefs about unions

1. Union challenge of organizing the diverse work force 4. Attraction of minorities, contingent, skilled, and part-time employees 5. Part-time employees

1. Organizing professional employees 6. Compatibility of unionism with professionalism 7. Pro: collective bargaining can achieve and maintain professional values

● Con: unionization is a rejection of key professional values

1. Activities of the Union in Organizing Employees 1. Initial interests in unionization—employees dissatisfied with some work-related

situation 2. Employees begin process of unionization 3. Roles of union organizers 4. Changing workforce 5. Training of union organizers; AFL-CIO Organizing Institute (Exhibit 5.2) 6. Union organizers identify problems and show employees how the union can

assist in solving problems (see Exhibit 5.3) 7. Rank and file intensive strategy yields higher win rates (see Exhibit 5.4)

● Activities of the Company in Union Organizing ○ Must convince employees it deserves their support, or at least a second chance ○ Employer enters campaign with three distinct advantages ○ Favorable position during pre-election campaign

● Use and effectiveness of employer tactics and practices: hiring lawyers, rumors, delays 1. Second chance strategy 2. Use of consultants and attorneys ● Surface bargaining 1. Illegal discharge is used by some employers when financial gains of keeping union out

are greater than legal costs of law violation and reinstatement 2. Worker misclassification; employee vs independent contractor 3. Employee rights under the NLRA

1. Unintended Consequences of Anti-Union Behavior 4. Employees’ fear of reprisals 5. Stress effects to employees

1. Methods of Organizing Unions (Exhibit 5.5) 1. Voluntary recognition; Card Check Procedure; neutrality agreement (Exhibit 5.6) 2. NLRB directives (​Gissel​ case)

1. NLRB Secret ballot elections (Exhibit 5.7 and 5.8) 1. Pre–NLRB-Election Union Campaigns 2. Filing a Petition for the Election 3. Election Investigation and Hearing; directed elections 4. Appropriate Bargaining Unit; community of interests 5. Evaluation for appropriate bargaining unit

1. After the election 1. Unions fail to secure first contract 25 to 30 percent of the time 2. Employers refuse or fail to bargain 13 percent of the time

● Increase in unfair labor practice charges 1. Duties of the Exclusive Bargaining Agent and Employer 2. After election loss by union (Exhibit 5.9) 3. Mandatory Secret Ballot Elections vs Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)

1. Secret Ballot Protection Act 2. Employee Free Choice Act

● Card check procedure (Exhibit 5.10)

1. Conduct of the representation election campaign (Exhibit 5.10) 1. Campaign Doctrines and NLRB Policies

1. Conduct doctrine: isolated incidents must be considered in light of entire campaign

2. Analysis of data and conclusions 2. Captive audience–24-hour rule: speeches cannot be presented to employees

during working hours within 24 hours of election 3. Polling or Questioning Employees 4. Distribution of union literature and Solicitation by Employees on Company

Property 1. Banned in work areas at all times 2. May not be disruptive to business (limited to nonworking time and areas), nor

may literature include confidential company data 1. Showing films during Election Campaigns 2. Showing of films does not alone constitute an unfair labor practice 3. Use of E-Mail, Internet, and Social Media 4. NLRB upheld employer policy banning use of company e-mail system to support union

organizing 5. New Union Strategies 6. Instituting cyberspace organization with the Internet 1. Union salts 2. Corporate campaigns ● Strategic Organization Fund (Exhibit 5.11)

1. Decertification Procedures 2. Fair treatment of employees by employers 3. Poor job by unions (especially smaller unions) of providing services to members ● Inability of unions to negotiate an effective first contract after winning bargaining rights 1. Striking employees having skills that can be readily replaced so that when a strike

occurs, the employer hires replacements 2. Good Faith Doubt; Objective evidence (Exhibit 5.12) 3. Raid elections