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Nov2320Unionization.pdf

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Chapter 10 & 11

Prepared by Karen D. Hughes, Harvey J. Krahn,

and Harleen Padda, University of Alberta

Outline

qTechnological, Economic, or Social Determinism? qDownsizing qChapter 11: Union and Industrial Relations

Technology Pros and cons • Create jobs • Improve quality of

life • Eliminated jobs • Destroyed

environment • Kill people

Technological, Economic, or Social Determinism? qTechnological determinism

qPattern and effects of technology are universal and unalterable

q Ignores differences in how new technologies are taken up in work settings and societies

qEconomic determinism q“Market knows best” how to choose/implement new

technologies qBUT people make decisions about implementing new

technologies. qSocial determinism

qNeed “education, wide-ranging discussion, and open decision making about how technologies will be used, by whom, and for whose benefit”

4. Downsizing

Downsizing

q“Typically driven by economic downturns in the private sector and deficit-cutting agendas in the public sector” (p. 319 of text)

qImpact of “off-shoring,” mergers, restructuring q Examples: Oshawa GM plant, Heinz, BlackBerry q Heinz closure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpVJUPKklnE

qEffects for workers? q Morale q Financial q Health

q Example: “survivor syndrome”

qReducing negative effects of downsizing by offering part- time or seasonal work, covering costs of retraining laid-off employees 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpVJUPKklnE

5. New Managerial Paradigms?

New Managerial Paradigms?

q“Participative management” or “neo-Fordist”? qSame production framework and power structure qHyper-Taylorism/neo-Taylorism

q“Management by stress” qExample: Air Canada’s flight attendants

qNew management paradigms as “social technologies” qProductivity and profit as main goals qWorkers rarely involved in decisions about new

technologies 8

Summary of Key Ideas & Concepts qMarx and employment

relationships q Surplus value q Exploitation q Forms of alienation

qLabour process theory qDeskilling/degradation qEdwards and control

q Simple q Technical q Bureaucratic

q“Frontier of control” qDeskilling vs. enskilling qReskilling qTechnological,

economic, social determinism

qDownsizing qNeo-Fordism qHyper-Taylorism qSocial technologies

Chapter 11

Unions and Industrial Relations

Prepared by Karen D. Hughes, Harvey J. Krahn,

and Harleen Padda, University of Alberta

Outline

1. Theoretical Perspectives 2. History of Canadian Labour Movement 3. Union Membership Trends 4. Women and Unions 5. Management Opposition to Unions 6. Organized Labour and Collective Action

1. Theoretical Perspectives

Unions as Democratic Organizations

qConstitutions allow for elected union leaders. qAssumed to be accountable and responsible

qMichels (1959) on union democracy and the iron law of oligarchy qLeaders develop expert knowledge, which gives them

power. qMaintenance of power qTrue of unions in Canada?

Labour Negotiations

qOct 2011 United Steelworkers union q July 2013 – Canadian Auto Workers union q October 2013 United Food and Commercial

Workers qNovember 2013 – Wal-Mart & United Food and

Commercial Workers union – Weyburn Saskatchewan decertify

q Are most contracts between employers & unions settled through work disruptions???

Canadian workers and unions

qMany workers are ambivalent regarding unions q 40% “all in all, unions are a positive force in society” q 61% Canadians feel unions do a good job protecting

member’s jobs q 60% Canadians supported federal government when it

passed legislation to force striking Canada Post and Air Canada employees back to work

qSo…how beneficial are unions??? qFocus of this chapter qVideo – What have unions done for us ???

https://www.ppwc.ca/what-have-unions-done-for-us/

Theoretical Perspectives on Organized Labour q work is a power relationship where conflict is

always a possibility qUnions are frequently involved

qmainstream industrial relations theory qSystem of job regulation- core of worker-manager

relations tilts power towards workers qBut…overplays importance of predictable and

harmonious industrial relations

Conflict and Cooperation

qCollective bargaining: union and employer reach negotiated agreement (collective agreement/ contract) qSpecific time period qWages, benefits qWork hours, schedules qWorking conditions

qThreat of conflict qNegotiations a “zero-sum game”?

Unions as “Managers of Discontent”

qManagers of discontent qWay of channeling worker complaints qCarefully regulated dispute-resolution system qArticulating problems/needs

qMaintenance of capitalism qSeeking reductions in power imbalances

“Business” versus “Social” Unionism

qBusiness unionism: emphasis on material gain qIncreasing work/financial rewards qDominates North American labour movement

qSocial unionism: broader agenda of societal reform qEntering public debates about globalization, human rights,

health care reform

qSocial Movement Unionism qActively collaborate with social justice organizations and

corporations to implement social reforms

Economic Impact of Unions

qUnion wage premium qDeclined, sometimes reversed in recent years

qMore likely to receive non-wage benefits qReduction in overall wage inequality qLarge workplaces in core sector qFreeman and Medoff (1984)

q“Monopoly face”: “power to raise members’ wages at the expense of employers and of nonunionized workers”

q“Collective voice face”: role in democratizing authoritarian workplaces; speaking as one

2. History of Canadian Labour Movement

History of Canadian Labour Movement qThree waves of unionization

qFirst wave: craft unionism qSecond wave: industrial unionism qThird wave: public-sector unions

First Wave: Craft Unions (Pre- 1930s)

qSkilled crafts (e.g., printers, carpenters, bricklayers, shoemakers, tailors)

q1872 Trade Unions Act q“Benevolent” societies,

controlled access to craft q “Aristocrats” of labour—

excluded unskilled q1883—Trades and Labour

Congress (TLC) 23

Industrial Unionism

qKnights of Labour qOne Big Union qWorkers of the

World (“Wobblies”) q1919—Winnipeg

General Strike (1 of 400 strikes that year).

Winnipeg General Strike 1919 https://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=pVKo6xEgjaI&t=196s

Video: On Strike: The Winnipeg General Strike (1919)

q Six-week strike, May–July 1919 q 24,000 workers strike; later, 6,000 more join q Banks, streetcars, mail, telegrams, telephones, food

delivery, water, power supply, police, fire services q Strike demands include

q right to collective bargaining q living wage q eight-hour day

Conclusion