15-1 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Working with Organized Labor Chapter 15

15-2 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall  Why Do Employees Join Unions  Labor Relations and the Legal Environment  Labor Relations in the U.S.  Labor Relations in the Other Countries  Labor Relations Strategy  Managing The Labor Relations Process  The Impact of Unions on HRM Chapter 15 Overview

15-3 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall  Union —an independent organization  Represents employees’ interests  Deals with issues such as wages, work hours, and working conditions Overview of Unions  Employees join unions when:  Dissatisfied with aspect of their job  Feel they lack influence with mgmt  See unionization as a solution

15-4 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Overview of Unions U.S. Labor Unions:  Legally unprotected until 1935  Employment relationship is private  Employment at will  Employers usually prefer a nonunion workforce  Unions widely supported in 1930s  Not supported as much today

15-5 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall The Manager’s Role in Labor Relations  Labor relations specialist  Negotiate labor contracts  Resolve grievances  Advise top management on labor strategies  Management  Can influence work environment  Responsible for implementation of agreements  Needs basic understanding of labor laws  Often asked to serve on grievance committees

15-6 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Three Important Laws  Wagner Act (1935)  Taft-Hartley Act (1947)  Landrum-Griffin Act (1959) The Legal Environment

15-7 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall  National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)  Independent federal agency  Certifies elections  Investigates unfair labor practice charges The Wagner Act (NLRB Act)  Can issue cease and desist order, if management:  Interferes with union formation or administration  Discriminates against union members  Refuses to bargain with the union

15-8 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Taft-Hartley and Landrum-Griffin Acts  The Landrum-Griffin Act  Protects union members from union leaders  Unions must have bill of rights and constitution  Union elections regulated by government  Taft-Hartley Act  Protects management and workers from union coercion  Prohibits discrimination against non-union  Illegal to refuse to bargain in good faith  Also prohibits union shops, secondary boycotts, excessive dues, and featherbedding

15-9 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall  Accepts capitalist economic structure Labor Relations in the U.S.  Six characteristics  Business unionism o Focus on improving worker well-being o Less so on running the company  Unions structured by type of job o AFL-CIO o Change to Win  Focus on collective bargaining

15-10 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall ‣Labor contracts  Specify terms of employment and work rules Labor Relations in the U.S. ‣Growth of unions in the public sector  At 36%, is five times higher than private sector  But have less bargaining power o Government power is diffuse o Many unions not permitted to strike  By voting have some political power over employer

15-11 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall  Adversarial Nature of Labor-Management Relations  Shrinking Union Membership Labor Relations in the U.S.

15-12 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Labor Relations in Other Countries  U.S.—concerned with economic issues  France—more politically involved  China—low in political and economic involvement  Sweden—high both politically and economically  Germany:  Works Councils—committees with workers and management  Codetermination—workers on board of directors  Japan:  Enterprise Unions—all workers in one organization  System fostered by lifelong employment

15-13 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Labor Relations Strategy  Labor Relations Strategy  Overall plan for dealing with labor unions  Ranges from open conflict to labor- management cooperation

15-14 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Two Basic Strategies ‣ Union Acceptance ‣ Union Avoidance  Union Substitution  Union Suppression Labor Relations Strategy

15-15 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Labor Relations Process  Union Organizing  Union solicitation  Pre-election conduct  Certification election  Employee Free Choice Act

15-16 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Collective Bargaining  Bargaining Behavior  Must negotiate in “good faith”  Each side develop and present proposals  Bargaining Power  Bargaining Types  Distributive  Integrative

15-17 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall  Try to understand others’ needs and objectives  Create a free flow of information  Emphasize commonalities  Minimize differences  Search for solutions that meet all parties’ goals and objectives  Develop flexible responses to other proposals Guidelines for Integrative Bargaining

15-18 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Bargaining Topics  Mandatory  Wages, hours, and employment conditions  Permissive  Both parties must agree  E.g. board service, retiree benefits  Illegal  Featherbedding  Discriminatory practices, etc.

15-19 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Impasses in Bargaining Impasses in Bargaining  Role of Mediator  Economic Strike  Wildcat Strike  Lockout

15-20 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall  Grievance Procedure  Step by step process used to settle disputes  Union steward—advocate for the employee  Arbitration—last step in grievance process Contract Administration  Two Types of Grievances  Contract interpretation  Employee discipline

15-21 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall  Staffing —seniority based The Impact of Unions on HRM  Employee Development  performance appraisals for feedback  Compensation  Higher in union shops  Benefits generally better in union shops  Prefer across the board raises (COLAs)  Employee Relations  Union gives employees a voice

15-22 Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall  Unions—thrive when employees are dissatisfied and lack influence with mgmt  Managers should be aware of labor relations laws  Union-management relationship historically adversarial  Labor relations in other countries often more political  Strategy: acceptance vs. avoidance  Substitution better than suppression  Unions impact almost every area of HRM Summary and Conclusions