Final Exam for Labor Relations

High performance work systems

- represent a bundle of internally consistent work practices -Common HPWS features include: 1) teamwork; 2) emphasis on training and skill development; 3) opportunity for involvement through increased discretion.

Mediation

-A voluntary and informal process in which a neutral third party assists the disputing parties in reaching a negotiated settlement -The mediator has no power to impose a settlement on the parties

Benefits of the Grievance Process

-Alternatives to grievances could cost management more -If employees were to lose confidence in the procedures they may turn to more closely and disruptive method to solve their problems -They reduce the likelihood of work stoppages -Some contracts allow workers to strike over health and safety issues sine they may be urgent and potentially life threatening

Interest Arbitration

-Arbitrator is given the authority to determine the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement -Arbitrators are in charge of writing the CBA for the parties -Used in public sector and professional sports

Stakeholder Theory

-Asserts that all stakeholders—employees, customers, suppliers, local communities, and others in addition to shareholders or owners—are sufficiently affected by corporate actions to deserve consideration in corporate decision making -Advocates greater legal changes in corporate governance

Public Sector Bargaining Structures

-Collective bargaining in the public sector is highly decentralized -Almost all bargaining is done a single employer basis -The diverse financial condition that exist i local government make employers and unions hesitant to consolidate bargaining units -Local governments like decision making autonomy but do engage in informal coordination and information sharing There is recent movement toward greater centralization in teacher bargaining; some pressure comes from the courts, given the current reliance on property taxes for funding

Effects of Public Sector Union Bargaining on Budget

-Compared to employment in union and non union cities, unionism raises or at lead does not lower employment -Unions are able to lobby for greater expenditures to pay for raises -Unionization has increased the formalization of personnel practices and reduced management discretion

Advantages of Mediation

-Control of Process -Control of outcome -Confidential -Compliance -Time and Cost -Effect on Relationship -Exploring mutual gains

Essence of Mediating

-Defining the issues and setting the agenda -Uncovering hidden interest -Generating options for settlement -Assessing options for settlement -final bargaining -Achieving (or not) a final statement

Quality of Working Life" (QWL) programs

-Early efforts to create mechanisms for worker involvement -QWL is oriented toward improving organizational performance and the working life of the employees -The QWL programs operate at the lowest level of industrial relations activity, on the shop floor through the involvement of groups of workers

Nonmajority unions

-Have the support of a minority of employees in a workplace -Gain a foothold in new workplaces -Demonstrate to reluctant workers the benefits of unionism -Eventually achieve majority support

Disadvantages of Mediation

-Indefinite closure -Mediator Closure -Confidence in the mediator -Timing of entry -revealing of your hand -Lack of enforceability -Added cost and time

LEVELS OF INVOLVEMENT BETWEEN LABOR AND MANAGEMENT

-Informed -Consulted -Developers -Input in Decision Making -Full Partners in Decisions

Reasons for Comparing US Labor Relations System

-Intellectual reason: promotes broad thinking about underlying problems of balancing efficiency, equity, and voice and allows stronger understanding of the primary issues in labor relations -Public policy reason: provides ideas for reforming the U.S. labor relations system -Practical reason: necessary if you work for an organization that does business abroad or for a union that has strategic alliances with unions in other countries

The Use of Interest Arbitration in the Public Sector

-Interest arbitration determine contract terms -Some form of interest arbitration is available in 22 states -Police and firefighters are groups most covered -A wide variety of forms, including conventional, final offer and combinations of mediation, fact finding and interest arbitration.

Important Factors in Mediation

-Level of Conflict -Timing of Mediator entry -Negotiators ability to resolve their own conflict -The power balance between parties -Previous Negotiations Procedures used -The complexity of the issues negotiated -The parties jointly define mediator tasks and responsibilities

Arbirtation Decision Criteria

-Most agreements require discipline to be for just cause -The arbitrator must first determine if the issue actually occurred, then if it was a violation of the agreement -Arbitrators commonly require progressive discipline and allow severe discipline for repeat offenses

Legal Regulation of the Right to Strike in Public Sector

-No state provides a right to strike equal to the NLRA fro private sector workers. -Some states do provide a limited right to strike -Some states impose harsh penalties for strikers in the public sector (e.g. Taylor Law penalizes strikers on days pay for each strike day which in addition to the days pay the employee loses while on strike)

Virtues of Public Sector

-Others say public employees have an inherent right to participate in the determination of their working conditions -Evidence suggest that unions have modest impact on pay and working conditions -Representation of public employees may enhance worker democracy

Social Movement Unionism

-Rejects the narrow business unionism focus on workplace based collective bargaining -Sees labor unions as representatives of the entire working class -As part of a broader social movement of community, social, and political activist groups -Wins gains for workers largely through social and political channels -Rather than through narrow workplace bargaining

Differences Between Public-Service Sector

-Relative price-inelasticity of public sector labor -Fears of public sector union "capture" of government (electing sympathetic candidates) -Substitution through privatization of public service -Strike leverage can be high at times but public sector employees do not have the right to strike -Public administration worker always have low strike leverage though

Associational Unionism

-Rooted in a contrast with the postwar model of industrial unionism and U.S. labor law Attempts to blend the multiple-interest philosophy and services of professional associations with the power of unions -To create a new organizational form that is more powerful than an association but more decentralized and flexible than a typical U.S. union

Employee Ownership Unionism

-Seeks to represent workers by facilitating employee ownership of companies -Another approach to aligning workers' and employers' interests Focuses on the investment policies of pension funds

Efficiency-Enhancing Unionism

-Sees labor unions as strategic business partners that can help advance productivity, quality, and competitiveness -Supporters view this as a way to serve the company's interests of competitiveness and quality -While providing a richer, positive work environment for employees -Critics see it as selling out and leaving workers without strong protections against management

Strike Leverage of Public employees

-Strike leverage in influenced by their ability and willingness to sustain income losses. The critical factor is the high penalty faced by public sector strikers -Unlike the private sector, government continues to receive income during a strike. Governments also don't face competitors but may face public pressure -Few substitutes are available for the services, thus increasing public employee bargaining power The public willingness to sustain strikes seems to sway with political and economic winds

Effects of Public Sector Union Bargaining on Wages

-Studies show a wage differential (range of 5-15) between unionized and non unionized public employees -Wage effects are not greater than the private sector Unionism leads to more days off, fewer hours per day worked, higher pensions and vacation

Penn Plaza v. Pyett

-The Court of Appeals viewed such an agreement as inconsistent with Alexander v. Gardner Denver The collective bargaining provision in question states that "All such claims [discrimination] shall be subject to the grievance arbitration procedures... as the sole and exclusive remedy for violations. Arbitrators should apply appropriate law in rendering decisions based upon claims of discrimination". -According to the minority a collective bargaining agreement cannot waive individual employee rights to a judicial forum to enforce antidiscrimination statues

Industrial and Ireland

-The Industrial Relations Act of 1990 implemented reforms similar to Britain's -Restrictions on secondary activity and picketing -Requirements for secret ballot strike votes -The Irish included social partnership on top of its voluntaristic labor relations system -A social partnership between labor, business, and government -Results in a series of peak-level agreements on social and economic issues

Marshall's Conditions in the Public Sector

-The labor of public employees cannot be easily replaced in the production process by other workers or machines. - Seeing as the government is the sole provider, the demand for the product public workers provide is price inelastic -There is no clear difference between private and public sector in regards to what happens t the price of substitute factors of production if the demand increases -Public employees are worse off in the fourth condition since labor is a large factor in total cost. (e.g. ration of labor to total costs varies from 60% to 70% for teachers and 90% for firefighters)

Seven Tests for Just Cause

-Was the worker given advance warning of the consequences of his/her conduct -Was the rule, order, or standard reasonably related to employee performance -Was the alleged violation thoroughly investigated before discipline -Was the investigation fair and objective -Did the investigation reveal convincing proof of guilt -Was the employers discipline nondiscriminatory -Was the dispute reasonably related to the workers record and the severity of the conduct

The Expansion of QWL at Xerox

-Xerox and their union committed to expand problem-solving -Study teams of workers and management suggested changes in work organization that required contractual changes, and thus integrated QWL into the collective bargaining process -Unions agreed to subcontracting and management accepted a no-layoff provision -Xerox won the Baldrige award for organizational excellence, and the participatory activities received much of the credit

Quality Circle

-workers in one area of a plant meet for one or two hours per week with their supervisor -Quality Circles allow workers and management to identify improvements in production and service delivery -Many companies initially reported large payoffs from QC activities, with scrap rates dropping and cost savings through new processes

Steps in the Grievance Procedure

1. Employee discuss grievance with supervisor 2. Grievance put into writing and parties discuss the grievance; management puts response in writing 3. If unsuccessful, the grievance is appealed 4. Union decides whether to appeal to arbitration

Mediation Stages (Moore, 1996)

1. Establishing a relationship with the disputing parties 2. Selecting a strategy to guide the meditation 3. Collecting and assessing background information 4. Designing a detailed plan for the mediations 5. Building trust and cooperation with the parties 6. Beginning the formal mediation session

Industrial Relations in Asian Countries

The types of systems found in Asia -A high-level tripartite or corporatist model (Singapore) -A pluralist model with varying combinations of political representation and collective bargaining (Philippines and India) -Government control model (Malaysia and Indonesia) -Systems that are in flux (China and South Korea)

Differences in the Bargaining Process between Public and Private Sector

The more public sector employees are able and willing to sustain a strike, the greater their bargaining power. -They have greater power the less employment drops over the long run in response to an increase in labor costs -To resolve whether public sector union have more power than private sector unions, it is necessary to consider how environmental factors influence bargaining power which requires analysis of Marshall's conditions and the trade-off between wages and employment

Interest Arbritration

Arbritator is given the authority to determine the provisins of the collective bargaining agreement. Used in the public sector and professional sports

Rights Disputes

Are disagreements over whether someone's rights have been violated

State Bargaining Laws on Public Sector Workers

As of 2006 all but nine states allowed collective bargaining by the public sector. States with liberal political histories, high expenditures per capital on government services and above average growth in personal income had the earliest and most comprehensive public bargaining laws.

Facilitative Mediation

Assist the parties to reach a settlement Immediate term The mediator is the manager of the process

Federal Labor Relation Authority

Bargaining in the federal sector is regulated bu the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

The Scope of Bargaining Units in the Public Sector

Bargaining in the public sector tends to follow occupational lines more so than in the private sector. A city governor is more likely to have separate bargaining units for polics, fire fighters, blue collar workers and various professional groups

Dispute Resolution in the Unionized Setting

Can prevent an impasse: -These methods are more significant than a low dispute rate might indicate

Industrial Relations in Japan

Enterprise Unionism The distinguishing feature of Japanese industrial relations is the central role of enterprise unions They represent both white and blue collar employees regardless of occupation and include management staff Only high level managers do not belong New employees automatically become union members and pay dues through a dues check-off system

Legal Regulation of Public Sector Unionism

Federal, state and local government employees are excluded from coverage under the NLRA. Separate regulations cover bargaining in these sectors. Strikes are still prohibited

Evaluative Mediation

Get a settlement Short term contract Mediator must be directive, assertive, judgmental

Taylor Braden Debate

If grievance arbitration is an exercise in problem solving, the arbitrator can be creative in methods and solutions If grievance arbitration is a judicial activity, the arbitrators sole job is to interpret the contract

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Involves the use of private methods to resolve disputes that might otherwise be resolved in public forms. Some dispute resolution methods: -Mediation -Arbitration -Fact Finding -Facilitation

Industrial Relations and France

Labor relations consist of an interesting mixture of: -Militant, often politically oriented unions -Weak collective bargaining -Very low union density -Very high contract coverage by industry-level agreements -Several mechanisms for workplace-level representation

Industrial Relations in Great Britain

Labor relations system in Great Britain illustrates the concept of voluntarism Voluntary - The absence of legal force labor and management use their economic power, not legal rights, to get the other side to do something, especially to bargain a contract Employment Relations Act (1999) - Modified the voluntaristic approach by providing for statutory recognition of a union under specified majority demonstration provisions

Management Structure in the Public Sector

Managerial authority and responsibility is widely shared which makes bargaining more multilateral

Marshall's Four Basic Conditions

Marshall argued that unions are most powerful when demand for labor is inelastic (i.e. when large wage increases do not cause layoffs) Such conditions are: -When labor cannot be easily replaced in the production process by other workers or machines -When demand for the final product is price inelastic -When ratio of labor cost to total cost is small

Mediation in the Public Sector

Mediation is more commonly used in the public sector Almost all state statutes call for mediation as the first phase of impasse resolution for government employees.

Bargaining Rights of Supervisors i Public Sector

Most states do not exclude supervisors. Unlike in the private sector supervisors do not have significant independent authority. Some require separate bargaining units for them.

Multilateral Bargaining

Multilateral bargaining is a process that includes more than two distinct parties. Community interest can also be involved with multilateral bargaining

Taylor Law

New York punishes strikes "two for one" under the Taylor Law, which penalizes strikers one days pay for each strike day, which is in addition to the days pay the employee losses while on strike

The Era of Growth in Public Sector Collective Bargaining

Occurred in the 1960's and early 1970's as a result of the expansion of government budgets, civil disobedience during the civil rights movement, passage of laws favorable to public sector collective bargaining.

End Run

Occurs when union officials try to sidestep the formal management negotiating team and take their proposals to an alternative group (such as school board officials)

Expedited Arbitration

Parties agree to speed the disputes and bypass certain steps and expedite time lines

Interest Disputes

Pertain to conflicts of interest such as: -Higher wages versus lower wages -Seniority based layoff versus merit based layoffs -Broad union input into managerial issues versus strict management rights to conduct business without interference Deals with negotiation a contract Can involve organizing and recognition, secondary and consumer boycotts, political action

Federal Employees

Received the right to unionize by Executive Order 10988 in 1961. In 1970, Congress allowed postal workers to bargain over wages,hours, and working conditions. In 1978, Congress replaced the Executive Orders with a comprehensive law giving bargaining rights to federal employees.

Comparing Types of Arbritration

See Grievance Power Point slide 56

Grievance Process

Specifies a series of steps to resolve a workers compliant that management has not followed the agreement. The process protects workers and renders industrial justice

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

The NLRA requires that the party proposing changes in a contract must notify the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service at least 30 days before the start of a strike

The PATCO Strike

The Professional Association of Air Traffic Controllers struck on 1981, despite a no strike clause. -PATCO sought higher wages and benefits President Reagan fired the strikers and used military controller to keep traffic moving -The Federal Labor Relations Authority decertified PATCO but the new controllers voted in a new union in 1987 -The PATCO strike was a watershed event for labor -The strike hurt the image of labor for nearly two decades and legitimatized hard line bargaining by employer -During the Clinton Administration, the strikers were offered their jobs back and a few returned

Alexander v. Gardner Denver

The Supreme Court stated that arbitration is an appropriate procedure for the resolution of contractual disputes, it is not necessarily an appropriate forum for "final resolution of rights created by Title VII". District Court and the Court of Appeals held that the arbitration decision left Alexander without the right to sue under Title VII. The courts' rationale was based, in part on the traditional deference to arbitration

Industrial Relations in Germany

The distinguishing feature is codetermination Mandated by German law and applies to all enterprises whether or not they are union Two key parts to codetermination: -Employee representation on company boards and work councils -Provides a parallel form of representation to employees that is in addition to the union representation

Transformative Mediation

The goal is to improve relationships. Settlement is secondary. Long term The mediator assists the parties in achieving empowerment and recognition

Fact Finding

A third party is used to study the issues in dispute when an impasse has been reached

Grievance Mediation

Third party functions as both a mediator and arbitrator Empowered to settle the dispute if mediation fails Mediation settlements are quicker and less costly than arbitration cases (in 1985 it was $309 versus $1,300, and 19 days versus 52 days)