1. Chapter 16 Union/Management Relations
Union: formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective bargaining

2. Unions: employee and management perspectives
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 1930’s
Employees must vote to be represented by union
HR needs to either work to prevent unionization or work with unions
Why they unionize:
Working conditions
Compensation
Management style
Employee treatment

3. Unions globally
Codetermination: practice whereby union or worker representatives are given positions on a company’s board, Europe
US: usually focus on “bread and butter” issues: wages, benefits, job security, and working conditions
US: organize by kind of job or employer
US: Collective agreements as “contracts”: collective bargaining contracts usually spell out things for several years.

4. US Union Decline
Deregulation, foreign competition, more people looking for jobs, perception dealing with unions is expensive
Geographic changes: jobs are in South, Southwest, Rocky Mountains which have employer friendly laws AND low skilled jobs have moved out of US (My favorite clothes from Target are NOT made in the US)
Industrial Changes: Jobs have drifted away from manufacturing, construction, and mining to SERVICE Industries. Not many unions in retail and financial services
Workforce changes: decline in BLUE COLLAR jobs in manufacturing
Getting women to join unions in PINK COLLAR jobs

5. Public sector unionism
State and local government employees that work in critical areas: police, fire, teachers, sanitation
Union targets for membership growth
AFL CIO
Change to Win (CtW): in 2005 seven unions split to focus on different groups: retail, hospitality, home health care, and other service industries
Professionals: engineers, physicians, nurses, and teachers
Low skilled workers: janitors, building cleaners, home health care
Contingent and part time workers: can now be included in unions

6. Unions in the US
Craft Union: members do one type of work, often using specialized skills and training
Industrial union: includes many persons working in the same industry or company, regardless of jobs held
Federation: group of autonomous unions – AFL CIO which allows different unions to work together to have more power
Change to Win: 6 million left AFL CIO: Teamsters, Service Employees International Union, and United Food and Commercial Workers
National and International Unions: United Steelworkers, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
Local Unions: centered around particular employer or region
Business Agents: a fulltime union official who operates the union office and assists union members
Union Steward: employee elected to service as the first line representative of unionized workers

7. US Labor Laws Map p. 553!: why did Boeing build plant in NC?
The right to organize workers and engage in collective bargaining
Railway Labor Act, 1926, 1936: airline workers added
Norris LaGuardia Act, 1929
Wagner Act(National Labor Relations Act) 1935: official policy of US government was to encourage collective bargaining. National Labor Relations Board
Taft Hartley Act (Labor Management Act), 1947: passed to limit pre union Wagner Act – forbade unions from refusing to bargain, discriminating against non members, excessive fees. Est. Federal Mediation and conciliation Service to help settle disputes
National Emergency Strike- allows President to declare strike presents national emergency. President can declare 80 day cooling off period: WHAT HAPPENED DURING REAGAN’S TERM?

8. Right to Work Provision: Taft Hartley allows states to pas laws that restrict compulsory union membership and employees do not have to join as condition of obtaining or continuing employment and employers may have an open shop, where workers do not have to join union.
Closed shop: firm that requires individuals to join a union before they are hired
Union shop: you must join union
Agency shop: employees that refuse to join union still must pay amounts equal to union dues and fees in return for the representation of the union
Maintenance of membership: requires workers to stay members of union for period of contract

9. Landrum Griffin Act (Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act), 1959: to protect union members democratic rights. Bylaws, financial reports, bill of rights to members, US Secretary of Labor…..stealing pension funds, Jimmy Hoffa
Civil Service Reform and Postal Reorganization Acts, Est. Federal Labor Relations Authority as 3 member body to oversee and administer union/management relations in the federal government and unfair practices
Postal Reorganization Act of 1970: postal service independent entity and postal workers could not strike and est. dispute resolution
Employee Free Choice Act: not law YET…forget how contracts are negotiated, forget voting on unionization

10. The Unionization Process
Organizing campaign/Salting: practice in which unions hire and pay people to apply for jobs at certain companies to begin organizing efforts
Authorization cards – card signed by employees to designate a union as their collective bargaining agent
Representation election/ BEFORE and election, Bargaining unit: employees eligible to select a single union to represent and bargain collectively for them. Election: only takes a majority to win
Certification: given by NLRB for private sector and similar body for public sector
Decertification: a union is removed as the representative of a group of employees
Contract negotiation(collective bargaining): process whereby representatives of management and workers negotiate over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment
Employers’ Union Prevention with union busters are HR policies that are good to employees

11. Collective 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 such as “no layoff policy” or “job security guarantee”
Union Dues Issues: “dues check off” clause for automatic dues deductions
Types of required union membership: depending on state’s right to work laws
Collective bargaining as defined by NLRB
Mandatory issues: collective bargaining issues identified specifically by labor laws or court decisions as subject to bargaining
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

12. Collective bargaining process
Preparation/Core bargaining issues: wages, benefits, and working hours and conditions
Continuing Negotiations/Good Faith: 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
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 and lockouts—Strike: 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: Economic strikes: fail to reach agreement during collective bargaining, unfair labor practices: union members leave their jobs for what they believe as unfair business practices. Wildcat strikes: happen in between. Jurisdictional strikes: when one union group walks out to get work assigned to them versus another union. Sympathy strike: done to support another union
Replacement of workers on strike

13. Union/Management Cooperation
Lockout: shutdown of company operations undertaken by management to prevent union members from working
Unions and employee ownership

14. Grievance management Complaint: indication of employee dissatisfaction
Grievance: complaint formally stated in writing
Grievance procedures: formal channels of communication used to resolve grievances
Discusses issue with rep(steward) and supervisor
Steward discusses with HR manager and supervisor’s manager
Committee of union officers discusses issue with appropriate company managers
Rep from national discusses with executives
If it is not settled, goes to arbitration and third party may eventually settle
Weingarten rights: right to union representation if employee being questioned and it may result in discipline
Grievance arbitration: means by which a third party settles disputes arising from different interpretations of a labor contract