7. industrial relations and collective bargaining

8/13/2019 7. Industrial Relations and Collective Bargaining

1/44

Industrial Relations and Collective

Bargaining


2/44

When you finish studying this chapter, you should be able to:

Discussthe nature of the majorfederal labor relations laws.

Describethe process of a union driveand election.

Discussthe main steps in the

collective bargaining process


3/44

Why Do Workers Organize?

Workers belief that it is onlythrough unity that they can get theirfair share of the pie

Often means that low morale, fear ofjob loss, and poor communicationfoster unionization


4/44

What DoUnions Want?

Unionsecurity

Improvedbenefits

Improvedhours

Improvedwages


5/44

Union Security

Closed shop - Company can hire onlyunion members Union shop - Company can hire

nonunion people but they must jointhe union

Agency shop - Employees who donot belong to the union must still pay

union dues


6/44

Union Security

Open shop - up to the workerswhether they join the union

Maintenance of membership

arrangement


7/44

Right to work- used to describestate provisions banning therequirement of union membership

as a condition of employment


8/44

American Federation of Labor andCongress of Industrial Organizations(AFL-CIO)- voluntary federation of

about 100 national and internationallabor unions in the United States

www.aflcio.org/
http://www.aflcio.org/http://www.aflcio.org/


9/44

UNIONS AND THE LAW

Until about 1930, Employers didnthave to engage in collectivebargaining with employees and were

virtually unrestrained in theirbehavior toward unions


10/44

Period of Strong Encouragement:The Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932)

and the National Labor RelationsAct (1935)


11/44

Norris-LaGuardia Act- guaranteedto each employee the right to bargaincollectively free from interference,

restraint, or coercion


12/44

National Labor Relations Act( Wagner Act) - banned certain unfairlabor practices, provided for secret-ballotelections and majority rule for determiningwhether a firms employees were tounionize, and created the National LaborRelations Board (NLRB)for enforcing

these two provisions.


13/44

Unfair Employer Labor Practices

Interfere with, restrain, or coerceemployees in exercising their legallysanctioned right of self-organization

Dominate or interfere with either theformation or the administration of laborunions

Discriminating in any way against employees

for their legal union activities.


14/44

Unfair Employer Labor Practices

Discharge or discriminate againstemployees simply because the latterfile unfair practice charges

Refuse to bargain collectively


15/44

Taft-Hartley(or Labor ManagementRelations) Actamended the Wagner Actlimiting unions by:

prohibiting unfair union labor practices

enumerating the rights of employees asunion members

enumerating the rights of employers allowing the president of the United

States to temporarily bar nationalemergency strikes.


16/44

Unfair Union Labor Practices

Unions were banned from: restraining or coercing employees fromexercising their guaranteed bargainingrights

causing an employer to discriminate in anyway against an employee in order toencourage or discourage his or hermembership in a union

refusing to bargain in good faith with theemployer about wages, hours, and otheremployment conditions


17/44

Taft-Hartley Act

Protected the rights of employees againsttheir unions

Right-to-work laws- outlawed laborcontracts that made union membership acondition for keeping ones job.

Gave employers certain rights - fullfreedom to express their views concerning

union organization.


18/44

Period of Detailed Regulation ofInternal Union Affairs:

The Landrum-Griffin Act (1959)


19/44

Landrum-Griffin Act(officially, theLabor Management Reporting andDisclosure Act) - aim of this act was

to protect union members frompossible wrongdoing on the part oftheir unions


20/44

Landrum-Griffin Act

Provides for certain rights in thenomination of candidates for unionoffice.

Affirms a members right to sue hisor her union

Ensures that no member can be fined

or suspended without due process Laid out rules regarding union

elections


21/44

Initial contact

Authorization cards

Hearing

Campaign

Election

UNION

DRIVE ANDELECTION

Five basicsteps


22/44

Step 1: Initial Contact

Union determines the employeesinterest in organizing, and an

organizing committee is established


23/44

Union saltingrefers to a unionorganizing tactic by which workerswho are in fact employed full-time by

a union as undercover unionorganizers are hired by unwittingemployers


24/44

Step 2: Authorization Cards

For the union to petition the NLRB for theright to hold an election, it must show thata sizable number of employees may be

interested in being organized.

Thirty percent of the eligible employees inan appropriate bargaining unit must sign

before an election can be petitioned


25/44

Step 3: The Hearing

Employer may contest the unionsright, in which case it can insist on ahearing

Consent election Bargaining unit- group of employees

that the union will be authorized to

represent and bargain for collectively


26/44

Step 4: The Campaign

The union and employer appeal toemployees for their votes.


27/44

Rules Regarding Literature and Solicitation

Non-employees can always be barredfrom soliciting employees during theirwork time

Most employers can bar non-employees from the buildingsinteriors and work areas as a right of

private property owners


28/44

Step 5: The Election

Secret ballot. The NLRB provides the ballots as well

as the voting booth and ballot box.

It also counts the votes and certifiesthe results of the election.


29/44

Decertification Elections legally terminate the unions right to

represent them


30/44

What Is Collective Bargaining

Management and labor are required by lawto negotiate wages, hours, and terms andconditions of employment in good faith

Good faith bargaining- both parties

communicate and negotiate proposals are matched with

counterproposals and that both parties

make every reasonable effort to arrive atan agreement


31/44

When Is Bargaining Not in Good Faith?

Surface bargaining Concession.

Proposals anddemands

Bypassing therepresentative

Dilatory tactics Imposing conditions

Unilateral changesin conditions


32/44

Voluntarybargaining items - become apart of negotiations only through the jointagreement of both management and union

Illegal bargaining items

Mandatory bargaining items- includewages, hours, rest periods, layoffs,

transfers, benefits, and severance pay


33/44

Bargaining Stages

First - each side presents itsdemands Second - reduction of demands

Third - subcommittee studies Fourth - parties reach an informalsettlement

Finally - the parties fine-tune andsign a formal agreement


34/44

Impasse- occurs when theparties are unable to movefurther toward settlement


35/44

Third-Party Involvement

Mediation

Arbitration

Fact-finding


36/44

Mediation- neutral thirdparty tries to assist the

principals in reachingagreement.


37/44


38/44

Arbitrator may have the powerto decide and dictatesettlement term

Binding arbitration - bothparties are committed toaccepting the arbitrators

award


39/44

Strikes- withdrawal of labor Economic strikeresults from a failure to

agree on the terms of a contract

Unfair labor practice strikes protest illegalconduct by the employer

Wildcat strikeis an unauthorized strikeoccurring during the term of a contract

Sympathy strikeoccurs when one unionstrikes in support of the strike of another


40/44

Corporate campaign- organized effort bythe union that exerts pressure on thecorporation by pressuring the companysother unions, shareholders, directors,

customers, creditors, and governmentagencies

Union member boycott- removal ofpatronage


41/44

Lockout- refusal by theemployer to provideopportunities to work


42/44

Contract Agreement

Management rights

Union security

Grievanceprocedures

Health and safety

provisions

Disciplinaryprocedures

Compensation rates Hours of work and

overtime Benefits such as

vacation, holidays,insurance, andpension

may contain just general declarations of policy

or a detailed specification of rules andprocedures


43/44

Grievance process - stepsthat the employer and union

have agreed to follow toascertain if some actionviolated the agreement


44/44

Why the Union Decline?

Proportion of blue-collar jobs hasbeen decreasing as service-sectorand white-collar service jobs have

increased

Intense international competition

outdated equipment and factories

7. industrial relations and collective bargaining

Documents