four

438 PART 5 Meeting Other HR Goals

Corporate CamPaigns

Bringing Public, financial, or Political pressure on emPloYers

during union organization and

contract negotiation

i-S5 ExPlain how

management and

unions negotiate c ontra cts.

Collectivc Bargaining

Negotiation between

union rePresentatives

and management

representatives to

arrive at a contract

defining conditions of

emploYment for the

term ofthe contract and to administer that

c ontra ct.

Another altemati'e to traditional organizing is to conduct corPorate

campaigns_bringlng"putl,.,-lrr-,ur-r.iai, or n4r.J pressure on e.rployers during

union organization nr-ri .orrar".t negotiatior-r." th"^Amalgamated Clothi'g ar-id

Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) corporare campaign against textile maker i' P'

Srevens during ,lr" tu,.'iqiO, *u, ot. oithe firrt ,u.."!,ft'l tolporate campaigns and

served as a modei fo, ;h;; ,h", iotto.'.d. The ACT\7U organized a bovcort of J' P'

Stevens products ".rd

rhr"^t"r1ed to withdraw its pension funds from financial institu-

tions where J. p. St"rr.r-r, onl."., ".*a ",

dir".ro.r. The company eventually agreed to

u .or-rtru.t with Acr\x7U'33 ployer neutrality Another winning union organizing sttategy is to negotlate

em

and card-che.k prorrislo-ns i.rJu .or-rriu.r. uid". ^n"utility provision, the employer

pledgesnottoopposeorganizingattemptselsewhereinthecompany.Acard.check provisionis an agreem.rr, Ih", if a cerrain percentage-by law,

at least a rnajority-of

employeessignanu,,'ho'l'"tio"card'theemployerwillrecognizetheirunionrepre' sentation. Art i-purtluf;;il; ug"*y' such as the American

Arbitration Associa'

rion, counrs.h".".d.]EiriJ""* **g"rrs thar this strategy can be very effective for

,14 unions.

DecertifYing a Union The Taft.Hartiey Act expanded union members'

right to be represented by leaders of

rheir own choosing rol-',iud. the right to vote o,,i ut existing union' This action is

.lif"Jar..rrrfying tlhe union. Decertification foilows the same process as a representa-

tion election' Ar1 .l.tiio''t to decertifu a union may not take place when a contract is

t" i#it": decertification elecrions are held, unions often do not

fare well'35 During

the past fsqr years, .,'-'Jt' have lost betu'een 54 and 64 percent of decertification

elections. tn u.ro.n., f1;; ;; ".riorrr, the nurnber of decertification elections has

increased frorn abour ip"r."", "r"11 "l".rior-r, in the 1950s and 1960s to more than

double that rate in recent Years'

Cotleetive Bargaining WhentheNLRBhu,.".tifi"dauttion,rhatunionrepresentsemployeesduringcon- tract negotiations' ln collective bargaining' 1 ""t" 1:g:^t:it:t

on behalf of its

members with rnanagement representatives to arrive at a contract defining conditions

of employrnent for the rerm of th" contracr and to resoive differences in the way they

interpret th" .or.,tru.r. Typi.ul contracts i".r"a" provlsions for pay' benefits' rl'ork

rules, and resolution of r,r,orkers' grievances' Table 14.2 shows typicai provisions nego-

tiated in coliective bargaining contracts'

Collectivebargainingdiffersfromonesituationtoanotherintermsofboryaining stl.ilctriIe-that is, the range of employees

and employets covered by the contfact.

A contract may involve a narrow gtottp oi "*ployt"' in a craft union or a broad

groupinanindustrialunion.Contracls*uy.ou.,oneorseveralfacilitiesofthesame emploi'er,orthebargainingStrUcrUre.mavinvolveseveral.mployers.Manymore inreresrs must be .o.,-riJ"r"E in coliective targaining

for an industrial union with a

bargaining ,,r.,.,r.. ,6JJi;;;.; several "*fioy.r. Ih"., in collective bargaining for

u .Lf, .rnion in a single {acilitY' The majority of .lor-rrru.t negotiations rake

place betlveen unions and employers

that have b..,-, throi,"gJ;h;;;;:;;, b.fore. ln tle typicai siruation, manasement has

come to accept th" .,iio. as an organizutio., lt *.,ri *ork with. The situation can be

I

I

I

! d

a

a

PI

Pa le:

CHAPTER 14 Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations 439

rrporate :rs during hing and aker J. P. aigns and rtt of J. P. tl institu- agreed to

:reutrality employer :ard-check

oriry-of on fepre. Associa-

:ctive for

leaders of action is

presenta- lntract is

i5 Driring

rification tior-rs has rore than

rlng con- alf of its rnditions u'ay they its, rvork )ns nego-

urgcining :Ltlltract. a L,road

rhe san-ie l1\' mtlfe : *'irh a ir:nq tor

Establishment and administralion o{ the agreement

Funclions, righls, and responsibil ities

Wage determination and administration

Job or income security

Plant operations

Paid and unpaid leaye

Bargaining unit and plant supplements

Contract duration and reopening and renegotiation provisions

Union security and the checkoff

Special bargaining committees

Grievance procedures

Arbitration and mediation

Strikes and loekouts

Contract enforcement

Management rights clauses

Plant removal

Subcontracting

Union activities on c0mpany time and premises

Union-mana gement cooperation

Regulation oftechnological change l

Advance notice and consultation

General provisions

Rate structure and wage dlfferentials

Allowances

lncentive systems and production bonus plans

Production standards and time studies

Job classification and job evaluation

lndividual wage adjustments

General wage adjustments during the contract period

Hiring and transfer arrangements

Employment and income guarantees

Reporting and call-in pay

Supplemental unemployment benefit plans

Regulation of overtime, shift work, etc.

Reduction of hours to forestall layoffs l

Layoff procedures; seniority; recall : Worksharing in lieu of layoff

Attrition arra n gements

Promotion practices

Training and retraining

Relocation allowances

Severance pay and layoff benefit plans

Special funds and study committees Work and shop rules

Best periods and other in-planttime allowances Safety and health

Plant committees Hours of work and premium pay practices

Shift operations Hazardous work

Discipline and discharge Vacations and holidays

Sick leave

Funeral and personal leave

Military leave and jury duty : {Continued) i I

Tai:ie i4.2 Typical Provisions in

Collective Bargaining

Contracts

la

it :ii ilti !1i

?.:

€'s :s

irl

€ t,

il: i!; e ,f, I

,s;

:4,

'i !

't:.

liii :! ir' il v

!:. ;!t c ilf

j:' t

:i; 'f' ,*:

$.1

g,

$:

440 PART 5 Meeting Other HR Goals

l-,:ri-i*: i4,il Concluded

Employee benefit plans

Special groups

Health and insurance plans

Pension plans

Profit-sharing, stock purchase, and thrift plans

Bonus plans

Apprentices and learners

Workers with disabilities and older workers

Women

Veterans

Union representatives

Nondiscrimination clauses

;

SOURCE: T. A. Kochan, Collective Bargaining and lndustrial Re/ations (Homewood. lL: Richard D lrwin, 1980), p. 29. Original data from J. W Bloch, "Union Contracts-A New Series of Studies," Monthly Labor Review 87 (October 1 96a). pp. 1 184-85.

very different l,hen a union has jr-rst been certifiecl ar-id is negotiating its first contract. in over one-fourth of negotiations for a first contract, the parties are unable to reach an agreement.l6

Bargaining over New Contracts Clearly, the outcome of contract negotiations can have importairt consequences for labor costs, productirrity, ar-id tl-ie organizatiot-r's abiiitl' to compete. Therefole, unions ar-rd managernent need to prepare careftrlly for collective bargaining. Preparation incildes establishing objectives for tl-ie contract, revierving the oid contract, gathering data (sr:ch as collrl.rensation paid by competitors and the cornpany's ability to survive a strike), preclicting rhe likely tlen-rands to be ir-rade, and establishing the cost of meeting

the demandr.li Thir pfeparatioll can help negotiatols develop a plan for hor.v tcr negoriate. Different situations and goals cail for diffelent approaches to bargaining, ,.r."1-, ,, rhe follorving akernatives p.opor"d by Richard Waltor-r ar-rd Robert McKersie,3s o Distributiuebargaining divides an econotnic "pie" bettr,een two sides-for example,

a wage increase rteatls giving the union a larger share of the pie. . Tnteg'atiue bargaining looks for win-win solutions, 01' olltcomes in r'vhich both sitles

bei-refit. If the organization's labor costs hurt its perfor-rnance, integrative bargaining rnight seek to avoicl layoffs in exchange for r'r'ork rules that irnprove prodr.rctirrity'

. Attitudinal strucngingfocuses on establishing a relationship of frr,rsl. The parties are concerned about ensuring that the other side will keep its part of ar-ry bargain.

. Intl'aorganizational bargaining a.lclresses cot-rflicts u'ithir-r union or lnanagelnent groups or objectives, such as betlveen new elnployees and u,orkers rvith i-righ senior-

ity or betu'een cost control and redr,iction of turnover'

Tl're collective bargairring process rnay involve ar-ry cornbir-ration of these alternatives. Negotiatioirs go through various ,tug"r.19 In the earliest stages, lnany llore peo-

ple are often present than in later stages. Or-r the union side, rhis may gi-,'e all the various internal iirterest groups a chance to participate and voice their goals. Their input helps comrnunicate to {ranagement rvl-rat .,vi11 satisfy union rnembers and inay l-relp the unron achieve grearer solidarity. Ar this stage, union negotiators often pres- enr a 1o11g list of propctsals, partly to satisfy members and partly to introduce enough

lS5ue

pres€

ptop, D

even Horv and r

In negol one-r

ltressr barga agfeet party. costs and p,

Whe The i able tt produt end, tl ciiffere

CHAPTER 14 Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations 441

issues rhar they rvill have flexibi1iry later in the process. Management ma)'or tllav not present proposals of its ou,n. Sornetimes manageltellt plefers to react to the r-tnion's proposals.

During the rniddle stages of the process, each side mLlst make a series of tlecisittns, even thollgh the outcone is uncertain. How important is each issue to the t-rtl-rer side? Hon'likely is it that disagreement on particular issues r.r'ill result in a strikeJ lfhen anc'l to \r'hat extent sholrld one sicle signal its willir-rgness [o cotnprotuisel

In tl-re final stage of r-regotiatrons, pressure for: an agreernent iucreases. PLrblic negoriarions rnay be only part of the process. Negotiators from each sitle may hold one-on-one meetings or sma11-group meetil.rgs rvhere t}-rey escape some 1',r-rblic relations presslrres. A rLentral third party may act as a go-betn'een ot facilitator. In some cases, bargaining breaks dou,n as the trvo sides fincl they cannot reach a mutually acceptable agreencnt. The outcorne depends partly on the relatir.e bargaining pou'er of each party. That LrLr\\:er, in tr-rrn, depends on each party's ability to lr,ithstar-icl a strike, which costs the n,orkers their pa1'during the strike and costs the ernplol'er lost prodr-rction and possil--l.v lost cnstomels.

When Bargaining Breaks Down The intencletl oLrtcorne of coilective bargaining is a contract u'ith terns accelrt- able to both parties. It one trr both sides deterrnine tl-rat negotiatloll alone rvill not produce such an asreerrent, bargaining bleaks dorvn. To bring this impasse lo an end, the union mal strike , or tfie parties rnay bring in otitside help to resolve their tJ ifferences.

Citing the strong potential lor loss ofjobs, union members protest Verizon's selling of its landline business to

Frontier Comntunications

in West Virgiria.

for ons

-ion :ing vea ri.ng 1tO itg'

ls e:

ple,

ides ring ty. , are

rent Lior'-

\/es.

teo- the

heir may )res-

,r-rgh