Anda di halaman 1dari 26

15 Working with

Organized
Labor
Challenges

Why do employees join unions?


What agencies and laws regulate labor
practices?
What is union organizing, collective
bargaining and contract administration?
What is the managerial and HR role in
resolving union grievances?
What is a Union?

Unions An organization that


represents employees interests to
management on such issues as
wages, work hours, and working
conditions
Why do Employees Join Unions?

Job dissatisfaction
Employees lack influence with
management to make needed changes
Role of the Manager in Labor Relations

Labor Relations Specialists


Managers:
day-to-day labor-management relations
Need to understand workplace issues
associated with unions:
Unions start where employees are dissatisfied
If there is a union managers are responsible for
the day-to-day operations of the labor agreement
Need to have a basic understanding of the labor
laws so as to not create a liability
Labor Relations and the Legal Environment

Laws enacted to try and balance:


Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act)
(1935)
Designed to protect employee rights
to form and join unions
Created the National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB):
Administer certification elections
Prevent and remedy unlawful acts (unfair labor
practices)
Identified 5 illegal labor practices
Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act)
(1935)
Five illegal labor practices:
Do not keep employees from forming unions or collective
bargaining
Do not dominate or interfere with the formation or
administration of a union or provide financial support for
union
Do not discriminate against employee to encourage or
discourage union membership
Do not discharge or discriminate against employee who
filed charges (gave testimony) under Act
Do not refuse to bargain collectively with the union that
employees chose
Taft Hartley Act (1947)
Designed to limit some of the power unions
acquired under the Wagner Act
Right-to-work law (most controversial) a state
law that makes it illegal within that state for a
union to include a union shop clause in its
contract (currently 22 states)
Made closed shops illegal (Landrum-Griffin Act
later made an exception for the construction
industry)
Allows for decertification of a union
Created the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service
Taft Hartley Act (1947)

Six unfair union labor practices:


Cannot influence employers choice of representation in
collective bargaining
Causing or attempting to cause an employer to discriminate
against any employee who is not a member of the union
Refusing to bargain with employer in good faith
Asking or requiring its members to boycott products made
by a firm engaged in a labor dispute with another union
Never charge employees excessive or discriminatory union
dues as a condition of membership
Never ask an employer to pay for services that are not
performed
Landrum-Griffin Act (1959)

Designed to protect union members and their


participation in union affairs, allows the government
to regulate union activities:
Each union has a bill of rights to ensure minimum standards of
internal union democracy
Each union must give their constitution to Department of Labor

Each union must report its financial activities and financial


interests of leaders to Department of Labor
Union elections are regulated by government

Union leaders have fiduciary responsibility to use union money


and property for the membership, not for own personal gain
New Proposed Legislation

Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) - Amend the


Wagner Act (NLRA)

Change the currently existing procedure to require the NLRB


to certify the union as the bargaining representative without
directing an election if a majority of employees signed cards

It would take away employers' present ability to decide


whether to use only the card-check process or to hold a
secret-ballot election

The proposed legislation would also establish stricter


penalties for employers who violate provisions of the NLRA
when workers seek to form a union, and set in place new
mediation and arbitration procedures for disputes
Union Membership in the
United States, 1930 - 2000
40

35

30

25

20

15

10

1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Labor Relations Strategy
Labor Relations Policy
Union Acceptance Strategy
Management chooses to view union
and its employees as legitimate
representatives and accepts collective
bargaining as an appropriate
mechanism for establishing workplace
rules.
Union Avoidance Strategy

Management tries to prevent its


employees from joining a union, either by
removing the incentive to unionize or by
using hardball tactics
Union Substitution Strategy
Union Suppression Strategy
3 Phases of Labor Relations

Union organizing:
Union solicitation
Pre-election conduct
Certification election

Collective bargaining
Contract administration
Union Organizing

Union Solicitation:
Union needs at least 30% of employees to
sign authorization cards to show NLRB there
is a significant interest in organizing
Union web sites have organizing information
Some companies have no-solicitation rules
Union Organizing

Pre-election conduct:
Management cannot
Threaten
Intimidate
Promise
Conduct surveillance
Union Organizing

Pre-election conduct:
Management can:
Make speeches as to why union not needed
Employ a consultant
Send personal letters to employees
Show videos and other material portraying union negatively
Summarize and communicate all the good things company has
done for employees
Union Organizing

Certification Election
Supervised by NLRB
If vote is against union, cant hold another
election for 12 months
Good Faith Bargaining Behavior

Both parties meet and confer with each other


at reasonable time and place
Both parties negotiate over wages, hours and
conditions of employment (mandatory topics)
Both parties sign a written contract that
formalizes their agreement
Each party gives the other a 60-day notice of
termination or modification of the labor
agreement before it expires
Bargaining Power

Distributive bargaining
Integrative bargaining
Attempt to understand the other negotiators real needs and
objectives
Create a free flow of information
Emphasize the commonalities, and minimize the differences,
between the parties
Search for solutions that meet both parties goals and
objectives
Develop flexible responses to the other negotiators proposals
Mandatory Bargaining Topics
Impasse in Bargaining

Economic
Strike
Wildcat
Strike
Lockout
Contract Administration
Union Grievance Procedure
Employee with
a Grievance
Immediate Verbal Presentation
Supervisor

Written Grievance
Business
Department Representative,
Manager Grievance
Committee
Labor
National Union
Relations
Representative
Director
and Local Union
Representative
Arbitration

Anda mungkin juga menyukai