Download presentation
1
Administrative Issues
Chapter 8 Administrative Issues Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
2
Administrative Issues
Contract Negotiations and Administration Job Security and Seniority Employee Training Work Restructuring Safety and Health Accommodating Disabilities Technological Change © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
3
Technological Change and Job Protection
Involves the introduction of labor-saving machinery. Produces changes in material handling and work flow. Is a nonmandatory bargaining issue. Automation Machines and automatic controls displace humans who formerly did the same work. Alters job characteristics and required skills. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
4
Phases of Technological Change
Development Phase Resource Allocation Phase Implementation Phase © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5
Phases of Technological Change
Development Phase Choices are made about the design and configuration of the new technology. Resource Allocation Phase Organizational units’ claims for resources are evaluated. Implementation Phase The new technology is constructed, put in service, and modified if necessary. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
6
How Unions Protect Job Interests from the Effects of Technological Change
Negotiating contract language. Lobbying for or against government regulation and assistance programs. Providing direct services to members to assist them in adjusting to or coping with change. Becoming voluntarily involved in the technology selection process. High Performance Work Organization (HPWO) Saves and creates jobs and is globally competitive © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
7
Positive Effects of Technological Change
Higher productivity that produces greater wealth with less effort The elimination of menial and dangerous jobs Higher wages and better working conditions Shorter hours Increased skill levels that increase pay and result in a higher standard of living © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
8
Negative Effects of Technological Change
Elimination and deskilling of jobs that lowers pay and reduces job security Displaces intellectual skills of human operators Incurs higher capital investment requirements Increased productivity results in market oversupply, causing product prices to decrease Increases the capability for monitoring employee activities and performance © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
9
Job Security and Personnel Changes
Job Assignment Job Content Job Security Work Rules Training Working Hours Wages Seniority © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
10
Plant Closures, Downsizing, and WARN
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) of 1988 Covers employers with 100 or more employees. Requires 60 days’ advance notice of plant closing or major layoff involving one-third of the workforce. Exempts firms in financial collapse and unforeseen operational difficulties. Has no designated agency to enforce the act; employees and unions must sue their employer to recover damages. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
11
Alternatives to Layoffs
Voluntary leave Early retirement Working hours reduction Rotating layoffs Work relocation Work sharing Pay freezes Pay cuts Work rule changes New products Normal attrition Hiring freezes © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
12
Subcontracting, Outsourcing, and Work Transfer
Contracting work to an outside vendor when the employer cannot do all or part of the work or when the vendor can do the work at a lower cost. Outsourcing Contracting work that the employer does not do to an outside vendor to reduce costs. Offshoring Movement of work from a company location within the United States to locations outside of the United States Work Transfer/Relocation Moving work to another facility or location. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
13
Subcontracting and the LMRA
Subcontracting is not a mandatory bargaining issue when: It is motivated solely by economic conditions. It is a common method of business in the industry. It follows previous similar subcontracting practices. It has no adverse impact on current bargaining-unit employees. The union has been given the opportunity to bargain over changes in subcontracting practices. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
14
Subcontracting and Arbitration
Factors in Management’s Right to Subcontract: Presence and clarity of labor contract language concerning management’s subcontracting rights Established past subcontracting practices History of prior subcontracting negotiations The intended duration of the subcontracting decision Employer’s business justification for subcontracting Evidence of union animus in the subcontracting decision © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
15
Work Relocation Employers do not have a duty to bargain over relocated work if: Performance of the relocated work is significantly different from the previous location. Labor costs were not a factor in relocating the work. The union could not have offered significant labor cost concessions to affect the relocation decision. Duty to bargain over the effects of work relocation Transfer rights, severance pay, pension rights © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
16
Work Assignments and Jurisdiction
Jurisdictional Disputes Occur When: Two or more unions representing different bargaining units claim work for their members. Workers claim work that should be rightfully theirs has been assigned outside the bargaining unit. Workers within the bargaining unit disagree among themselves over work assignment. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
17
Exhibit 8.1 Example of a Work Jurisdiction Clause
It is the Intent of the parties to this agreement to protect the work performed by employees in the bargaining unit. The employer recognizes that it is Important and desirable to use Its own equipment and drivers to the greatest extent possible before using subhaulers and/or noncompany trucks. The union recognizes that under certain conditions, such as those dictated by customer demands, equipment requirements, daily dispatch determinations, materials to be handled and similar factors, that subhaulers and/or noncompany trucks are necessary and have been so used throughout the Industry for many years. The employer, in accordance with the above, must however, determine the number, type and location of Its working equipment in conformity with its business requirements. The employer further must be able to determine, in keeping with sound business practices, the extent to which It will replace equipment that Is too costly to operate, obsolete, or damaged. Under these condition the employer agrees the subhaulers and/or noncompany trucks will not be used as a subterfuge to defeat the protection of the bargaining unit work. In keeping with the above, the union recognizes that the employer will use such subhauier and/or noncompany trucks as required by location and classification only after all the available company trucks at such locations and in similar classifications have been initially dispatched. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
18
Jurisdictional Disputes and the NLRB
Factors considered by the NLRB in resolving jurisdictional disputes: Skills and work experience required to perform the work Union certifications already awarded by the NLRB Industry and local practices Prior arbitration decisions The employer’s desires Cost effectiveness and efficiency in assigning the work to a particular unit or craft © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
19
Work Scheduling Flextime Compressed Workweek
Allows an employee to start and finish work at his or her discretion, as long as the specified total number of hours per week or per day are worked and the employee is present at work during a core-hour period. Compressed Workweek Consists of four 10-hour work days with three days off each week or eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day permitting one extra day off every two weeks. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
20
Seniority and Personnel Changes
An employee’s continuous service with the firm. An objective measure that is readily determined. Possessed by all employees covered by the contract. Used to apportion out rights unrelated to job performance: Benefit rights: eligibility for and scheduling of vacation time Job rights: bidding on jobs, layoffs, shift preferences, bumping during layoffs Superseniority Protects certain union officials from layoff to assure continuity in the functioning of the union. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
21
Legal Issues Involving Seniority
Supreme Court Decisions Bona fide (lawful) seniority systems are permitted. Employees can be awarded retroactive seniority as a remedy for past discriminatory practices. The use of seniority in layoffs is permitted where the layoff may or does adversely impact minorities. Reverse discrimination claims are not valid if the affirmative action plan: Is a negotiated settlement between the union and employer. Does not harm majority employees (loss of jobs). Doesn’t exclude majority employees from advancement opportunities. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
22
Types of Employee Training
Formal Programs Apprenticeships New employee orientation Safety and health Basic skills Job-specific skills Workplace practices Informal Training On-the-job Mentoring © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
23
Work Restructuring Work Restructuring Programs
Employee involvement Worker participation Cross-training Multiskilling Self-managed work teams Benefits of Innovative Practices Increased energy, creativity, and dignity for employees Increase profits for employers © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
24
Safety and Health Factors prompting the inclusion of safety and health clauses in labor agreements: The standards and provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 Emergence of new biological, ergonomic, and chemical hazards in the workplace Rising health-care treatment costs Increases in legal claims by injured workers © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
25
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Reasonable Accommodation Requires employers to make adjustments to job for qualified persons with disabilities who can carry out the essential functions of the job. Cannot conflict with other employees’ seniority rights. Does not require the lowering of behavior or performance standards. Persons With Disabilities Defined Having an impairment limiting major life functions. Having a record of impairment. Being regarded as having an impairment. © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
26
Key Terms Technological change Automation
High performance work organization (HPWO) Deskilling Job security Featherbedding Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) Subcontracting Outsourcing Offshoring Jurisdictional disputes Flextime Compressed workweek Seniority Benefit rights Competitive job rights Bumping rights Superseniority Work sharing Work restructuring Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Person with disabilities Reasonable accommodation © 2008 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
