1. Labor Relations
Chapter 12

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Learning Objectives
Explain the role of labor unions and contrast the perspectives of employees and employers on the issue of unionization
Identify the three most important pieces of labor relations legislation enacted in the 20th century
Explain how unions are structured and describe the organizing process
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3. Learning Objectives (cont.)
Describe the collective bargaining process
Explain the procedures for addressing employee grievances and arbitrating disputes
Characterize the ongoing conflict over union organizing efforts
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4. The Role of Labor Unions
Labor Relations
The relationship between organized labor and management (in its role as the representative of company ownership)
Labor Unions
Organizations that represent employees in negotiations with management
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5. Unionization: Employee’s Perspective
Higher compensation
Greater benefits
Influence over hiring, promotions, and layoffs
Working conditions and workplace safety
Formal processes for employee grievances, discipline, and other matters
Solidarity and recognition
Seniority. The length of time someone has worked for his or her current employer
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6. Unionization: Management’s Perspective
Work Rules
A common element of labor contracts that specifies such things as the tasks certain employees are required to do or are forbidden to do
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7. Major Pieces of Labor Relations Legislation
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8. Unionization in Historical Perspective
National Labor Relations Act
Legislation passed in 1935 that established labor relations policies and procedures for most sectors of private industry; commonly known as the Wagner Act
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9. Unionization in Historical Perspective
Labor-Management Relations Act
Legislation passed in 1947 that addressed many concerns raised by business owners and shifted the balance of power again
Commonly known as the Taft -Hartley Act
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10. Unionization in Historical Perspective
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
Legislation passed in 1959 designed to ensure democratic processes and financial accountability within unions
Commonly known as the Landrum-Griffith Act
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11. The Organizing Process
Union Security
Measures that protect a union’s right to represent workers
Union Shop
A unionized workplace in which employees are required to maintain union membership
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12. The Organizing Process
Right-to-Work Laws
State laws that prohibit union and agency shops
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Types of Unions
Craft Unions
Offer membership to workers with a specific craft or skill, such as carpentry, masonry, or electrical work
Industrial Unions
Seek to represent all workers at a given employer or location, regardless of profession or skill level
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Right-to-Work States
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15. How Unions Are Structured
Locals
Local unions that represent employees in a specific geographic area or facility
National Union
A nationwide organization composed of many local unions that represent employees in specific locations
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16. Union Organizing Drives
Authorization Cards
Cards signed by employees to indicate interest in having a union represent them
Certification Eelection
A secret-ballot election overseen by the NLRB to determine whether a union gains the right to represent a group of employees
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17. Union Organizing Drives
Decertification
An employee vote to take away a union’s right to represent them
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18. The Union Organizing Process
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19. The Collective Bargaining Process
A negotiation between union and management negotiators to forge the human resources policies that will apply to all employees covered by a contract
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs)
Contracts that result from collective bargaining
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20. The Collective Bargaining Process
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21. Negotiating an Agreement
Mediation
Use of an impartial third party to help resolve bargaining impasses
Arbitration
A decision process in which an impartial referee listens to both sides and then makes a judgment by accepting one side’s view
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22. When Negotiations Break Down: Labor and Management Options
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Labor Options
Strike
A temporary work stoppage aimed at forcing management to accept union demands
Boycott
A pressure action by union members and sympathizers who refuse to buy or handle the product of a target company
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Labor Options (cont.)
Injunction
A court order that requires one side in a dispute to refrain from or engage in a particular action
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Management’s Options
Strikebreakers
Nonunion workers hired to do the jobs of striking workers
Lockout
A decision by management to prevent union employees from entering the workplace
used to pressure the union to accept a contract proposal
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26. Grievance, Discipline, and Arbitration Procedures
Unfair labor practices
Unlawful acts made by either unions or management
Grievance
A formal complaint against an employer
By employers:
• Threatening employees with termination or cuts in benefits if they vote for a union or
engage in any other activity protected by the Wagner Act or other laws
• Threatening to close a facility if employees vote for union representation
• Interrogating employees about union sympathies or activities in ways that could “interfere
with, restrain, or coerce” employees trying to exercise their legal rights
• Responding to organizing campaigns by offering wage or benefit improvements as a
way to thwart unionization efforts
• Punishing employees for unionization activity by transferring them, giving them more
difficult work assignments, or terminating them
By unions:
• Attempting to scare employees into supporting the union by telling them they will lose
their jobs otherwise
• Refusing to process grievance claims made by employees who have criticized union officials
• Attempting to get an employee fired for not complying with a union shop agreement
when the employee has paid or offered to pay an initiation fee and monthly dues
• Discriminating against employees or giving preferential treatment in union hiring halls
(facilities where members of craft unions receive job assignments) because of race or
union activities
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27. Grievance, Discipline, and Arbitration Procedures
Progressive Discipline
An escalating process of discipline that gives employees several opportunities to correct performance problems before being terminated
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The Future of Labor
Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)
Proposed legislation that would significantly alter the union election provisions of the Wagner Act, making it easier for unions to organize groups of workers
the EFCA has been introduced in Congress several times in recent years but has so far failed to pass
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29. Applying What You’ve Learned
Explain the role of labor unions and contrast the perspectives of employees and employers on the issue of unionization
Identify the three most important pieces of labor relations legislation enacted in the 20th century
Explain how unions are structured and describe the organizing process
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

30. Applying What You’ve Learned (cont.)
Describe the collective bargaining process
Explain the procedures for addressing employee grievances and arbitrating disputes
Characterize the ongoing conflict over union organizing efforts
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31. 31
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