Union Representation and Collective Bargaining

1. Union Representationand Collective Bargaining Wayne F. CascioManaging People in a Global Environment January 11, 2008

6. 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

7. 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

8. Deregulation of Product and Service Markets • Two key challenges created by the deregulation of markets • Market entry is easier • Low operating costs translate into competitive advantages

9. Effects of Deregulation • Adaptations are necessary for firms to compete: • Ability to shift rapidly • Cut costs • Innovate • Enter new markets • Devise a flexible labor-force strategy

10. Six Fundamental Features of 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

11. Six Fundamental Features of the U.S. Industrial Relations System • Relatively high union dues and large union staffs • Opposition by both large and small employers to union organization • The role of government

12. 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

13. Rules for Union-Organizing Activity • 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

14. 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

15. 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

18. Union-Security Clauses • Closed shop • Union shop • Preferential shop • Agency shop • Maintenance of membership • Checkoff

20. 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

21. 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

23. 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

24. Types of Strikes • Economic Strikes • Strikers have limited rights to reinstatement

25. 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

28. Grievance Procedures • Grievance Procedures –keystone of I. R. • 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

29. Grievance Procedures • Used to resolve disputes about: • Interpretation of the bargaining agreement • Potential violations of federal or state law • Violations of past practices or company rules • Violations of management’s responsibility • (e.g., to provide safe and healthy working conditions)

32. The U. S. Union Split • AFL-CIO • 14 million members • Change-to-Win Coalition • 1/3 of AFL-CIO membership and budget • Split from AFL-CIO in 2005 • SEIU, UNITE HERE, UFCW • What does it mean for the future of unions?