Labor Relations

Overview & basic facts Historical perspective Some statistics

Legal issues Unions and union structure The organizing process Collective bargaining Unions today

Labor Relations:The Historical Perspective (1) Early Phases (1794 -1869)

Beginning of Industrial Revolution; local economies Little pressure for unions, due to scarcity of labor Unions generally of doubtful legality

Labor-Management Conflict (1869-1900) U.S. becoming industrialized; railroad growth creates

regional and national economy Massive immigration to U.S. resulted in abundant

supply of labor Union gain legitimacy, but much violent conflict

Labor Relations:The Historical Perspective (2) Union Growth (1900 -1960)

Political and social climate more accepting of workers’ rights

Unions gain legal protection and membership grows (high in 1953)

Major federal labor legislation passes Union Decline (1960 to present)

Shift in economy from manufacturing to service and information jobs

Entry of women into paid workforce Union membership and importance declines

Samuel Gompers and the AFL

Samuel Gompers: Joined cigar-makers union at age

13 (1863) President of cigar-makers by

1874 Did not believe in organizing

labor politically; focused on basics (wages, hours and working conditions)

AFL founded in 1886

Source: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/nfhtml/nfexww1.html

Department of Labor

Idea had been around since just after the Civil War Various state departments created Federal Bureau of Labor created in 1884 Department of Commerce and Labor created in 1903

Sulzer Act signed (very reluctantly) by President William H. Taft on March 4, 1913

First Secretary of Labor was William B. Wilson (former officer of the United Mine Workers of America)

Child Labor

In 1900, census data indicated 2 million children working in mills, mines, fields, factories, stores, and as street vendors; probably a vast underestimate

Beginnings of a movement to outlaw child labor The first child labor bill, the Keating-Owen Act (1916) banned the interstate sale

of products from any factory, shop, or cannery that employed children under the age of 14, from any mine that employed children under the age of 16, and from any facility that had children under the age of 16 work at night or for more than 8 hours during the day; ruled unconstitutional

A second child labor bill was passed in 1918, taxing child labor; also found unconstitutional

Movement for a Constitutional amendment No meaningful curtailment of child labor until Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)

Source: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=59

Sweated Homework“Mrs. Battaglia, Tessie (age - 12 years), Tony (age - 7 years), 170 Mulberry St. Rear house, 5th floor. Garment workers. Husband crippled by a fall, tends to basement. Mrs. Battaglia works in shop except Saturdays, when the children sew with her at home. Get 2 or 3 cents a pair finishing men's pants. Said they earn $1 to $1.50 on Saturday. Father disabled and can earn very little. New York, 01/25/1908”

Source:http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/arch_results_detail.jsp?&pg=1&si=4&nh=1&st=b

“Welch Mining Co., Welch, W. Va. Boy running "trip rope" at tipple. Overgrown, but looked 13 years old. Works 10 hours a day. Welch, W. Va. , 09/1908”

Coal Mining

Source:http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/arch_results_detail.jsp?&pg=1&si=4&nh=1&st=b

Frances Perkins

Frances Perkins (right) along with Eleanor Roosevelt (left) and Mrs. Percy Pennypacker in New York City, January 1931.

Source: www.ssa.gov

Flint Sit-Down Strike, 1937

Jimmy Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa1913 -1975 ?

James Hoffa and FamilyPresent day

Teamsters During WWII

Sources: http://www.teamster.org/; http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/jimmy_hoffa/1.html

The Red Fox Restaurant, Bloomfield Township, Michigan (last known location of Hoffa)

Union Membership as a Percentage of the Total Workforce

2007: 12.1%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%1953 25.5%1953 25.5%

Union Membership in 2007:Who Belongs?

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

Mal

e

Femal

e

Whi

te

Black

Hispan

ic16

-24

25-3

4

35-4

4

45-5

4

55-6

465

+

Union Membership in 2007:Where Employed?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Government:

Federal = 26.8%

State = 30.4%

Local = 41.8%

Major Labor Laws (1)

Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932) Outlaws “yellow-dog” contracts Closely regulates right of federal courts to issue injunctions

National Labor Relations Act / Wagner Act (1935) Unions’ right to exist Strikes legal Union certification procedures National Labor Relations Board established Unfair labor practices banned

Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)

Major Labor Laws (2)

Taft-Hartley Act / amendments to NLRA (1947) Forbids unfair labor practice by unions (secondary boycotts, closed

shops) Permits states to pass “right-to-work” laws Provides for emergency dispute resolution if national safety threatened

Landrum-Griffin Act (1959) regulation of unions’ internal financial affairs

TEAM Act (passed by Congress in 1996, vetoed by President Clinton) Permits companies to form employee committees without violating

NLRB ban on company unions’ Is this necessary?

Right to Work States

Source: http://www.nrtw.org. Note that this is a partisan source – the map is the only one I can find, though.

Employee Involvement Teams

Electromation case (1992) Found that some employee involvement teams violated NLRB

provisions against company unions These teams dealt with employer on employment issues But, team members selected by employer

How to avoid problems Suggestion programs and work teams ok Teams settling workplace grievances -- don’t attempt to control

these Don’t imply that team members are representing other

employees

The Union Representation Process Certifying a union as the bargaining agent

for a group of employees The steps

The organizing campaignThe electionCertification

Carried out under NLRB supervision

Why Do Employees Join (Or Not Join) Unions?

•Social Pressure•Knows union supporters•Type of people the union attracts

•Union Attitudes•General•Specific

•Job Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction•Pay•Supervision•The work itself•Other issues

Union Instrumentality•Fair treatment•Better pay•Better employee / management relations

•Employee Vote•For union•Against union

What Can Employers Do?

Remember the high-performance work practices??? Eliminate or reduce symbols of status differences (i.e., executive

dining rooms, reserved parking) Promote employment security Promote from within Competitive pay and benefits Management that listens Management training

Keep individual facilities small Locate in non-union settings (such as the South)

The Organizing Campaign

Begins with the union recruiting potential members “Salting” Handbills Meetings Direct contacts

Determine bargaining unit Authorization cards – do not commit an employee to join

union, only that an election be held More than one union may participate in an election (i.e.,

FPA and ALPA at FedEx)

UnfairLabor

Practices

Unfair Labor Practices: EmployersForbidden: Any type of coercion or

discrimination Refusal to bargain in good faith Individual promises or threats (such

as promotion, termination) Group promises or threats (such as

closing facility) Spying on union meetings Speaking to employees within 24

hours of the election Asking employees how they plan to

vote Asking employees to speak to other

employees

Acceptable: Providing information about

wages, hours, working conditions

Pointing out the disadvantages of a union

Forbidding union activities in work areas during work hours

Enforcing policies and rules fairly and consistently

Unfair Labor Practices: Unions (I)

Closed shop Individual cannot be hired unless already a member

of the union Forcing an employer to negotiate if another

union already is certified at the facility Force employers to assign work to one group of

employees “Hot Cargo” agreements

Union members do not handle non-union goods

Unfair Labor Practices: Unions (II)

Secondary boycott Union members refuse to handle goods from a third

party, so that the third party will put pressure on primary employer

The “shop-in” – union members clog up a retail establishment handling a product from a company where there is a labor dispute

Featherbedding Requiring employer to pay for work that is not

performed (often as a result of technological advances)

The Election (1)

Requires 30% of employees to sign authorization cards Employer has option to recognize at 50% Union typically waits for a majority – 60% to 80% before

filing petition Certification requires a majority of those voting by

secret ballot Who is eligible to vote?

People employed on the date of the election The bargaining unit

Bargaining Units

“Community of interests” defined by NLRB Employer / employee interests Commonality of wages, hours, working conditions,

training, skills History of collective bargaining in the company Transfer of employees among facilities Geographical / physical proximity of workplaces Employer’s administrative divisions Degree of separation or distinctiveness of the work

Who is Not Included?

Supervisors and managers Plant guards as part of the plant (potential

for conflict of interest) Confidential employees, family members HR staff

Bargaining Units in Health Care

Established by 1989 NLRB ruling to apply to all acute-care hospitals: RNs Physicians All other professionals Technical employees Skilled maintenance Business office clerical Guards All other non-professional

The Election (2)

Held under NLRB supervision At workplace, during working hours (mail

ballots allowed by NLRB if appropriate) Union certification requires simple majority

(50% + 1) Decertification processes similar to

certification

Union Structure - Overall

Finance Research Adm inistration Education

Organizing Political Action International

Local Unions

VPsVarious Regions

President

Union Structure - Local

VP

Secretary

Treasurer

Sergeant-at-Arm s

Union M em bership

Shop Stew ards

President

Union M em bership

Types of Unions

Craft (traditionally, AFL)Members are organized by craft or skillElectricians, plumbers, etc.

Industrial (traditionally, CIO)Members organized by industryMine workers, rubber workers, automobile

Union Membership:Top Five (2003)

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

NationalEducation

Association

InternationalBrotherhoodof Teamsters

United Foodand

CommercialWorkers

ServiceEmployeesInternational

AFSCME

Collective Bargaining

Types of bargaining Bargaining issues Management rights Strikes

Types of Bargaining

Pattern bargainingAgreement negotiated at one employer is

adopted by others in same industryFound in automobile industry

Multiemployer bargainingMultiple employers bargain with unionTypical of transportation industry

Bargaining Issues

Mandatory issues Wages Benefits Nature of jobs Job security Union security (union shop,

dues checkoff) Safety rules / medical

exams Vacations, time off, breaks

Permitted issues Retiree benefits Product prices Performance bonds Union label No-strike, no-lockout

Illegal issues Featherbedding Hiring preferences Closed shop

Typical Bargaining Issues

Benefits• Funeral pay• Clothing allowance• Jury duty pay• Vacations

Discipline

Grievance Procedure

Conditions of Employment• Employment security• Workload• Union security

Layoff Provisions• Recall after layoffs• Seniority rights during layoffs• Recall proceduresPay Call-out pay Hiring rate Holiday pay Pay progression Shift differential OvertimeTransfersSeniority Provisions

Management Rights

“Employer retains all rights to manage, direct, and control its business in all particulars, except as such rights are expressly and specifically modified by the terms of this agreement or any subsequent agreement”

Typical rights (just a sampling) Schedule work shifts Work standards Discharge for just cause Change or modify production techniques Establish or revise pay grades

What if the Bargaining Doesn’t Succeed? Sides may reach impasse (unable to

agree) Alternatively, union members may not

ratify agreement Then what?

May work without a contractOr may strike

Strikes

Economic Occurs during negotiations

Unfair labor practices Such as refusal to bargain or discharge of employee for labor activities

Wildcat (illegal) Not supported by union; these are violations of the labor agreement

Sit-down (illegal) Sick-out Secondary

Work stoppages to support another union’s strike Boycotts Management responses

Replacement workers The lockout

Days Lost Due to Work Stoppages

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000