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Union/ Management Relations

CHAPTER 16

14e

Human Resource

Management

Robert L. Mathis | John H. Jackson | Sean R. Valentine

Learning Objectives

Discuss what a union is and explain why employees join and employers resist unions

Outline the current state of union activity in the United States

Identify several reasons for the decline in union membership

Explain the nature of each of the major U.S. labor laws

Learning Objectives

Describe the stages of the unionization process and the typical collective bargaining process

Define grievance and identify the stages in a grievance procedure

Understand how unions have been involved in the global arena

Nature of Unions

Union: Formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective action

Existence depends upon:

Laws and legal action

Public opinion of their role in influencing business organizations

Nature of Unions

Advantages

Employees can provide feedback to employers about their concerns and suggestions

Disadvantages

Negatively impact the allocation of organizational resources

Balance the unchallenged decision-making power of management

Cause decreases in profitability

Hurt productivity as a result of increased compensation

Lead to increases in job performance and employee earnings

Figure 16.1 - Factors Leading to Employee Unionization

Why Employers Resist Unions

Constrain what managers can and cannot do in a number of areas

Lead to inefficiencies in the workplace that cause waste and poor work performance

Result in higher wages and benefits

Prevention of Unions

Develop good employment practices

Encourage greater employee feedback

Offer better compensation

Build good rapport with workers

Both HR professionals and operating managers must be attentive and responsive to employees

Figure 16.2 - Union Membership as a Percentage of the U.S. Civilian Workforce

Reasons for U.S. Union Membership Long-Term Decline

Deregulation

Foreign competition

Larger number of people looking for jobs

General perception by firms that dealing with unions is expensive

Compared with nonunion alternatives

Reasons for U.S. Union Membership Long-Term Decline

Figure 16.3 - Union Membership by Industry

Public-Sector Unionism

Most highly unionized part of the U.S. workforce

Local government workers have the highest unionization percentage of any group in the U.S. workforce

Union Targets for Membership Growth

Professionals

Health care industry has experienced a growth in the unionization

Primary reason being the growth of managed care

Low-Skilled Workers

Lower-paying, less desirable jobs with immigrant workers in some cases

Many employees in this industry are relatively dissatisfied

Contingent and Part-Time Workers

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) allows temporary workers to be included in attempts to unionize firms

Evolution of U.S. Unions

Shoemakers’ strike

For higher wages

Led to criminal conspiracy

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

United several independent national unions in 1886

Aimed to:

Organize skilled craft workers

Emphasize economic issues and working conditions

Evolution of U.S. Unions

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

Found in 1938

Focused on semiskilled and unskilled workers

AFL-CIO merger

Seven unions split to form Change to Win Federation (CTWF)

Despite the split, it is still the major organization coordinating union efforts in the United States

Union Structure

Types of union

Craft union: Union whose members do one type of work

Using specialized skills and training

Industrial union: Union that includes many persons working in the same industry or company

Regardless of jobs held

Union Structure

AFL-CIO federation

Labor organizations have developed complex organizational structures with multiple levels

Federation: Broadest level which is a group of autonomous unions

Change to win

Seven unions left the AFL-CIO

Union Structure

National and international unions

Not governed by a federation even if they are affiliated with it

Local unions

May be centered around a particular employer organization or a particular geographic location

Business agent: Full-time union official who operates the union office and assists union members

Union steward: Employee elected to serve as the first-line representative of unionized workers

Figure 16.4 - Major National Labor Laws

U.S. Labor Laws

Early labor legislation

Railway Labor Act, 1926

Represented a shift in government regulation of unions

Allows either the unions or the management to use the National Labor Relations Board

Norris-LaGuardia Act, 1932

Guaranteed workers some rights to organize

Restricted the issuance of court injunctions in labor disputes

U.S. Labor Laws

The Wagner Act, 1935

Declared that the official policy of the U.S. government was to encourage collective bargaining

Unfair labor practices

Interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of their right to organize or to bargain collectively

Dominating or interfering with the formation or administration of any labor organization

U.S. Labor Laws

Encouraging or discouraging membership in any labor organization by discriminating with regard to hiring, tenure, or conditions of employment

Discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee because the employee filed charges or gave testimony under the act

Refusing to bargain collectively with representatives of the employees

U.S. Labor Laws

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Conducts unionization elections

Investigates complaints by employers or unions through its fact-finding process

Issues opinions on its findings

Prosecutes violations in court

U.S. Labor Laws

The Taft-Hartley Act, 1947

National emergency strikes

Right-to-work provision

Right-to-work laws: State laws that prohibit requiring employees to join unions as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment

Open shop: Firm in which workers are not required to join or pay dues to a union

Closed shop: Firm that requires individuals to join a union before they can be hired

Figure 16.5 - Right-to-Work States

Types of Shops

Union Shop

Agency Shop

Makes workers who don’t join the union to make payments equal to union dues and fees to get union representation services

Requires that individuals join the union, usually 30 to 60 days after being hired

Maintenance-of-membership Shop

Requires workers to remain members of the union for the period of the labor contract

U.S. Labor Laws

The Landrum-Griffin Act, 1959

Passed to ensure that the federal government protects the democratic rights of the members

Unions are required to:

Establish bylaws

Make financial reports

Provide union members with a bill of rights

U.S. Labor Laws

Civil Service Reform and Postal Reorganization Acts, 1978

Given the authority to:

Oversee and administer union/management relations in the federal government

Investigate unfair practices in union organizing efforts

U.S. Labor Laws

Proposed Employee Free Choice Act

Allows unions to:

Become recognized without an election by secret ballot

Figure 16.6 - Typical Unionization Process

Unionization Process

Unions’ Organizing Efforts

Take many forms

Personally contacting employees outside work

Mailing materials to employees’ homes

Inviting employees to attend special meetings away from the company

Publicizing the advantages of union membership

Unions’ Organizing Efforts

Unions have adopted electronic approaches

Salting: Practice in which unions hire and pay people to apply for jobs at certain companies to begin organizing efforts

Authorization Cards

Union authorization card: Signed by employees to designate a union as their collective bargaining agent

Shows that the employees would like the opportunity to vote on having a union

Representation Election

Bargaining unit: Employees eligible to select a single union to represent and bargain collectively for them

Provisions of the National Labor Relations Act exclude supervisors from:

Voting for unions

Joining unions

Representation Election

Once unionizing efforts begin:

All activities must conform to the requirements established by applicable labor laws

Election process

Union needs to receive only a majority of the votes

Election results can be appealed to the NLRB during suspicion of unfair labor practices

Certification and Decertification

Decertification: Process whereby a union is removed as the representative of a group of employees

Collective bargaining: Process whereby representatives of management and workers negotiate over:

Wages

Hours

Other terms and conditions of employment

Figure 16.7 - Continuum of Collective Bargaining Relations

Collective Bargaining Issues

Bargaining Issues

Management rights

Rights reserved so that the employer can manage, direct, and control its business

Union security provisions

Contract clauses to help the union obtain and retain members

Union dues issues

Dues checkoff clause - Provides for the automatic deduction of union dues from the payroll checks of union members

Types of required union membership

Classification of Bargaining Issues

Mandatory issues: Collective bargaining issues identified specifically by labor laws or court decisions as subject to bargaining

Mandatory subjects for bargaining

Discharge of employees

Grievances

Work schedules

Union security and dues checkoff

Classification of Bargaining Issues

Retirement and pension coverage

Vacations and time off

Rest and lunch break rules

Safety rules

Profit-sharing plans

Required physical exam

Classification of Bargaining Issues

Permissive issues: Collective bargaining issues that are not mandatory and that relate to certain jobs

Illegal issues: Collective bargaining issues that would require either party to take illegal action

Collective Bargaining Process

Preparation and Initial Demands

Employer and industry data are gathered

Wages, benefits, working conditions, management and union rights, productivity, and absenteeism

Core bargaining issues

Primary focus on:

Wages

Benefits

Working conditions

Continuing Negotiations

Each side attempts to determine what the other side values highly

So that the best bargain can be struck

Good-faith negotiations - Parties agree to send negotiators who can bargain and make decisions

Rather than people who do not have the authority to commit either group to a decision

Settlement and Contract Agreement

Ratification: Process by which union members vote to accept the terms of a negotiated labor agreement

Before ratification, the union negotiating team:

Explains the agreement to the union members

Presents it for a vote

Figure 16.9 - Typical Items in a Labor Agreement

Bargaining Impasse

Conciliation: Process by which a third party assists union and management negotiators to reach a voluntary settlement

Mediation: Process by which a third party helps the negotiators reach a settlement

Arbitration: Process that uses a neutral third party to make a decision

Strikes, Lockouts, and Other Tactics

Strikes: Work stoppage in which union members refuse to work in order to put pressure on an employer

Lockout: Shutdown of company operations undertaken by management to prevent union members from working

Types of Strikes

Strikes, Lockouts, and Other Tactics

Replacement of workers on strike

Management sometimes replace workers who strike

Workers’ rights vary depending on the type of strike that occurs

Other union tactics

Unorthodox or aggressive practices to:

Express employee discontent

Advance employee pro-agenda

Union/Management Cooperation

Grievance Management

Complaint: Indication of employee dissatisfaction

Grievance: Complaint formally stated in writing

Figure 16.10 - Typical Division of HR Responsibilities: Grievance Management

Grievance Management

Grievance procedures: Specific communication channels that are used to resolve grievances

Unionized employees have a right to union representation if:

Employee is questioned by management

Discipline may result

Grievance Management

Employee will be reinstated with back pay if:

Weingarten rights are violated

Employee is dismissed

Figure 16.11 - Steps in a Typical Grievance Procedure

Grievance Management

Grievance arbitration: Means by which a third party settles disputes arising from different interpretations of a labor contract

Common concerns

Discipline and discharge

Safety and health

Security

Unions in the Global Arena

Status of global unions is being affected by:

International union membership

Codetermination: Union or worker representatives are given positions on a company’s board of directors

Global labor organizations

International Labour Organization

Union International Network

U.S. and global differences

U.S. and Global Differences in Union- Management Relations

Economic issues vs. other concerns

Organization by kind of job and employer

Collective agreements as contracts

Competitive relations