Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter 13 Union Representation and Collective Bargaining

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Factors in Recent Loss of Union Power  Global competition  Nonunion domestic competition  Deregulation  The growth of service industries  Corporate downsizing (depleted membership)  Willingness of firms to move operations overseas

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Deregulation of Product Markets  Two key challenges created by the deregulation of product markets  Market entry is easier  Low operating costs translate into competitive advantages  Adaptations necessary for firms to compete:  Ability to shift rapidly  Cut costs  Innovate  Enter new markets  Devise a flexible labor-force strategy

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Six Fundamental Features of the U.S. Industrial Relations System  Exclusive representation – one and only one union in a given job territory  Collective agreements that embody a sharp distinction between negotiation of and interpretation of an agreement  Decentralized collective bargaining  Relatively high union dues and large union staffs  Opposition by both large and small employers to union organization  The role of government

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Unfair Labor Practices Under the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947  By Management:  Interference with, coercion of, or restraint of employees in their right to organize  Domination of, interference with, or illegal assistance of a labor organization  Discrimination in employment because of union activities  Discrimination because an employee has filed charges or given testimony under the act  Refusal to bargain in good faith  “Hot cargo” agreements: refusals to handle another employer’s products because of that employer’s relationship with the union

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Unfair Labor Practices Under the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947  By a Union:  Restraint or coercion of employees not participating in union activities  Any attempt to influence an employer to discriminate against an employee  Refusal to bargain in good faith  Excessive, discriminatory membership fees  Make-work or featherbedding provisions in labor contracts that require employers to pay for services that are not performed  Use of pickets to force an organization to bargain with a union, when the organization already has a lawfully recognized union  “Hot cargo” agreements: refusals to handle, use, sell, transport, or otherwise deal in another employer’s products

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959  It’s an amendment to the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947  It added the secondary boycott as an unfair labor practice:  A union appeals to firms and other unions to stop doing business with an employer who sells or handles a struck product

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Rules for Union Organizing Activity  Well-defined rules govern organizing activities  Employee organizers may solicit fellow employees to sign authorization cards on company premises, but not during working time  Outside organizers may not solicit on premises if a company has an existing policy of prohibiting all forms of solicitation, and if that policy has been enforced consistently  Management representatives may express their views about unions through speeches to employees on company premises. However, they are legally prohibited from interfering with an employee’s freedom of choice concerning union membership

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Management Responses to the Union Campaign  Tactical Advantages:  May use company time and premises to stress the positive aspects of the current situation  May emphasize the costs of unionization and the loss of individual freedom that may result from collective representation  TIPS – management may not threaten, interrogate, promise, or spy

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Themes Emphasized by Unions During Organizing Campaigns  Ability to help employees satisfy their economic and personal needs  Ability to ensure that workers are treated fairly  Ability to improve working conditions

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Strikes  Unfair-Labor-Practice Strikes  Employees given highest degree of protection under the Taft-Hartley Act  Under most circumstances, employees are entitled to reinstatement once the strike ends  Management must exercise great caution  NLRB may become involved  Company liability may be substantial  Economic Strikes  Strikers have limited rights to reinstatement

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Strikes  Unprotected Strikes  Includes all remaining types of work stoppages, both lawful and unlawful  Employees may be discharged by their employers  Sympathy Strikes  The refusal by employees of one bargaining unit to cross a picket line of a different bargaining unit

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Third-Party Involvement  Mediation  A process by which a neutral third party attempts to help the parties in a dispute to reach a settlement of the issues that divide them  Fact Finding  Each party submits whatever information it believes is relevant to a resolution of the dispute; a neutral fact finder then makes a study of the evidence and prepares a report on the facts  Interest Arbitration  A process by which a third party hears the positions of both parties and decides on binding settlement terms

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Grievance Procedures  Grievance Procedures – the keystone of industrial relations because of their ability to resolve disputed issues while work continues without litigation, strikes, or other radical dispute-resolution strategies  Advantages  Ensures that the complaints and problems of workers can be heard, rather than simply allowed to fester  Formal mechanism to ensure due process for all parties