MIE 330 Chapter 13

Unions have two set aims:

1) union security and 2) one for improved wages, hours, working conditions, and benefits for their members.

If an impasse happens, a strike may occur. There are four main types of strikes:

1. Economic strike 2. Unfair labor practice strike 3. Wildcat strike 4. Sympathy strike

The contract agreement may include these sections:

1.Management rights 2.Union security and automatic 3.payroll due deduction 4.Grievance procedures 5.Arbitration of grievance 6.Disciplinary procedures 7.Compensation rules 8.Hours of work and overtime 9.Benefits such as vacation, 10.holiday, insurance, and pension 11.Health and safety provisions 12.Employee security seniority provisions 13.Contract expiration date

Agency Shop:

A form of union security in which employees who do not belong to the union must still pay union dues on the assumption that union efforts benefit all workers.

Union Shop:

A form of union security in which the company can hire nonunion people but they must join the union after a prescribed period of time and pay dues.

Closed Shop:

A form of union security in which the company can hire only union members. This was outlawed in 1947 for interstate commerce, but still exists in some industries.

Landrum-Griffin Act

A law aimed at protecting union members from wrongdoing by their union. Bill of rights for union members Right to sue your union Established rules regarding union elections (like using secret ballots)

Unfair Labor Practices Strike

A strike aimed at protesting illegal conduct by the employer

Inside Games

Actions taken by the union to impede of disrupt production. It may include: Slowing the work pace Refusing to work overtime Holding sickouts Refusing to do work without detailed instructions

Step 3: The Hearing

After the authorization cards are collected, one of three things can occur. The employer may choose not to contest union recognition, in which case, no hearing is needed and a consent election is held immediately. The employer may choose not to contest the union's right to an election, in which case, no hearing is needed and the parties can stipulate an election. Or, the employer may contest the union's right and insist on a hearing to determine those issues. The bargaining unit is the group of employees the union will be authorized to represent.

Wildcat Strike

An unauthorized strike during the terms of a contract

To date, unions typically have won 55% of elections. According to some research, elections can be lost:

Asleep at the switch. In this case, executives are usually unaware. Appointing a committee. Committees can slow down promptness and compromise decisions. Concentrating on money and benefits. Top management within companies focus on money and benefits. Delegating too much to divisions. Unionizing one plant tends to lead to unionizing others.

Wagner Act

Banned unfair labor practices by employers. Created the National Labor Relations Board to investigate unfair labor practices. Also provided for secret ballot elections and established "majority rule" for determining if employees want a union.

Supervisors Role

Can give employees facts Can give employees opinions Can give employees factually correct advice Can share personal experience with unions Cannot threaten employees or threaten to close the plant if they unionize Cannot interrogate employees about their position Cannot promise better pay or benefits during this stage Cannot spy on employees or attend union meetings

Unfair Employer Practices

Cannot interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees Cannot bribe, spy on, blacklist, or threaten to move your facility Cannot discriminate against employees for their union activities Cannot fire employees for legal union activities Cannot refuse to bargain in good faith

Union Security Five types of union security are possible:

Closed Shop Union Shop Agency Shop Preferential Shop Maintenance of Membership

Step 4: The Campaign

During the campaign that precedes the election, the union and employer appeal to employees for their votes. The union emphasizes that it will prevent unfairness, set up grievance/seniority systems, and improve unsatisfactory wages. It is important that supervisors must know what they can and can't do to legally hamper organizing activities, lest they commit unfair labor practices. Here's a good list from the textbook: T-Threaten. No making threats I-Interrogate. Not interrogating employees P-Promise. Not making promises to employees about pay increases, etc. S-Spy. Not spying or attending union activity meetings. To avoid legal problems, employers need rules governing distribution of literature and solicitation of workers and train supervisors in how to apply them.

Step 1: Initial Contact

During the initial contact stage, the union determines the employees' interest in the organization and establishes an organizing committee. Both management and unions typically use outside advisors known as labor relations consultants. Unions are also not without creative ways to win elections, one of which is union salting. Union salting is a union organizing tactic by which workers who are employed by a union as undercover union organizers are hired by unwitting employers. Email and the Internet are supercharging union campaigns. Email and Twitter enable unions to send mass announcements to collective bargaining unit members and use email to reach supporters and government officials for their corporate campaigns.

Bargaining typically goes through several stages.

Each side will first present the demands. Second, trade offs may occur in order to gain others (negotiations). Third, are subcommittee studies and fourth are that parties reach an informal settlement. The last step is proofreading, fine-tuning, and then signing the agreement.

Maintenance of membership:

Employees do not have to belong to the union. However, union members employed by the firm must maintain membership in the union for the contract period.

Morris-LaGuardia Act

Gave employees the right to bargain collectively, free from interference or coercion

Step 2: Authorization Cards

In order to petition for a union election, the union must show that at least 30% of employees may be interested in being unionized. Employees indicate this interest by signing authorization cards. This slide shows a sample authorization card. During this stage, both union and management typically use propaganda. However, neither side can threaten, bribe, or coerce employees.

Economic Strike

Occurs when both sides can't come to terms on wages, benefits, and other conditions of employment

Grievances

Once you have a contract in place, both sides need to honor it. If management violates a term, employees can file a grievance. Managers must know the terms of the contract inside and out!

Taft-Hartley Act

Prohibited unfair union labor practices (can't coerce union members, refuse to bargain in good faith) Gave rights to Employers, such as right to express their opinion about unions Allowed the US President to intervene in National Emergency strikes

Right to Work

State provisions banning the requirement of union membership as a condition of employment. North Carolina is a "right to work" state.

Step 5: The Election

The election itself can be held within 30 to 60 days after the NLRB issues its Decision and Direction of Election. The election is by secret ballot. This slide shows an example ballot. Employees also have rights to terminate legally their right for unions to represent them. Decertification campaigns are similar to certification campaigns. The union organizes membership meetings and house-to-house visits, mails literature to homes, and uses phone calls, NLRB appeals, and threats and harassment to win the election.

Unions

Today about 14 million U.S. workers belong to unions—around 11.3% of the total number of men and women working in America. In this chapter, we'll learn about unions and membership. We'll also look at the history of the labor movement and federal laws that regulate labor relations. Finally, we'll look at the steps to collective bargaining, the decrease in union membership, and the future for unions in the workplace.

Preferred Shop:

Union members get preference in hiring, but the employee can still hire nonunion members.

Mediation is labor relations intervention in which

a neutral third party tries to assist the principles in reaching agreement. Opposing parties use three types of third-party interventions to overcome an impasse: mediation, fact-finding, and arbitration.

Good faith bargaining is

a term that means both parties are communicating and negotiating and that proposals are being matched with counterproposals, with both parties making every reasonable effort to arrive at agreements. It does not mean that the either party is compelled to agree to a proposal.

Boycotts may also occur. Boycotts are the

combined refusal of employees and other interested parties to buy or use employer's products.

Arbitration is the most

definitive type of third-party intervention, in which the arbitrator often has the power to determine and dictate the settlement terms.

The union drive and election process has five basic steps:

initial contact, authorization cards, hearing, campaign, and election.

Fact-finding involves a

neutral party who studies the issue in a dispute and makes a public recommendation for a reasonable settlement.

An impasse usually occurs because

one party demands more than the other offers. Sometimes an impasse can be resolved through third-party mediation.

Lockouts may also occur and are

refusal by the employer to provide opportunities for work.

Both union and management send a negotiating team to

the bargaining table and both teams usually go into the bargaining sessions having done their homework. Management will compile pay and benefit data with current industry standards and bring that to the negotiation meetings.

The grievance process is

the process or steps that the employer and union agreed to follow to ascertain whether some action violated the collective bargaining agreement. Whatever the source of grievance, many firms today do give employees some means through which to air and settle their grievances.

Once security is ensured

unions fight to better the lot of their members—to improve their wages, hours, and working conditions. The union agreement may also include union role in the recruiting, selecting, compensation, promoting, training, and discharging employees.

Labor law sets out

voluntary, illegal, and mandatory items that are subject to collective bargaining. The next slide shows such bargaining items.

Sympathy Strike

when one union strikes in support of another union.

Collective bargaining is the process through

which representatives of management and the union meet to negotiate a labor agreement. Furthermore, collective bargaining is the mutual obligation to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and terms of employment conditions, negotiation agreements, and other employment matters.