Labor Relations

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Labor Relations
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Why do unions exist?

• Poor Management
• Protect workers rights
• Positive impact on employee wages
• Protect Job Security
• Provide Employee voice and instrumentality
• Get fair share of pie
• Checks and balances
• Dont forget past and present management abuses

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Legislative Framework

• Three periods of legislative action and Union
  membership trends
• Strong Encouragement 1930s
• Norris LaGuardia Act (1932) NLRA (1935)
• Modified Encouragement 1940s
• Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
• Detailed Regulation of Internal Union Affairs
  late 1950s
• Landrum-Griffin Act (1959)

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The Triumvirate

• Three of these pieces of legislation pretty much
  shape the characteristics of contemporary labor
  relations
• National Labor Relations Act
• Taft-Hartley Act
• Landrum-Griffin Act
• Essentials is not a big fan of this act

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Strong Encouragement 1930s

• Norris-LaGuardia Act
• Guaranteed rights of Ees to bargain collectively
• Ideas there, but no enforcement provisions
• National Labor Relations Act
• Added teeth to N-L Act
• Banned Unfair Labor Employer Practices
• Must have secret ballot elections that are
  determined by majority rule
• Established NLRB to enforce these additions

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Unfair Employer Labor Practices

• Interfering with, restraining, or coercing
  employees against union membership
• Management cannot interfere with formation or
  administration or labor organization
• Cant bribe employees, move business to avoid
  unionization, or blacklist sympathizers
• No discrimination because of union activity
• Cannot fire for filing unfair practice charges
• Cannot refuse to bargain collectively with
  employees chosen union representation

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Modified Encouragement 1940s

• Taft-Hartley Act (Labor-Management Relations Act)
• Reflected publics less enthusiastic attitudes
  toward unions
• Allows Ers to express their views about unions
  more freely
• Limits Unions by
• Prohibiting unfair union practices
• Enumerating rights of Ees as union members
• Enumerating rights of Ers
• Allowing President of U.S. to temporarily (80
  days total) bar strikes for national interests
  (emergency)

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Unfair Union Practices

• Banned from restraining or coercing Ees from
  exercising their bargaining rights
• Unions cannot cause Ers to discriminate in any
  way against an EE to encourage or discourage
  union membership
• Unions must bargain in good faith

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Exercising the Taft-Hartley Act

• Just exercised in Dockworkers strike
• Last done before that in 1978
• Steps
• President forms board to investigate disputes
• Asks court to force workers back to work for 60,
  then 80 days
• Cooling off period
• Mediators work with two sides in meantime
• After 60 days, NLRB polls workers on employers
  last offer
• If workers reject offer, can strike again
• Invoked 35 times, worked 22, not 10, court
  rejected 3

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Detailed Regulation of Internal Union Affairs
late 1950s

• Landrum-Griffin Act
• Aim was to protect union members from possible
  wrongdoing by their union reps
• Laid out rules for union elections
• Must elect officers once every five years using
  secret ballots

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Union Structure

• Five types of Union Security
• Closed Shop hire only union members outlawed
  in 1947
• Union Shop hire nonunion individuals, but they
  must join the union after probationary period
• Agency Shop Ees not belonging to Union still
  pay dues (Assumption - Unions benefit plight of
  all workers)
• Open Shop Union membership up to employees
• Maintenance of Membership Arrangement Union
  members employed by firm must retain membership

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AFL-CIO

• Governing body to those unions who decide to
  affiliate with the Federation of Labor
• American Federation of Labor
• Congress of Industrial Organizations
• Merged in 1955
• Provide structure and lobbying body
• No-raiding pacts of affiliated unions
• Handles a lot of public relations issues
  located right across the street from the Capitol

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Local Unions

• May or may not be affiliated with AFL-CIO
• Purpose revolves around contract negotiation and
  grievance handling
• Cornerstone of union representation

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Union Drives

• Initial Contact Union determines ee interest
• Authorization Cards need to get 30 of eligible
  Ees in bargaining unit to sign petition for
  election
• The Hearing Er chooses whether or not to
  contest NLRB is contacted by union to request a
  hearing
• The Campaign Union and ER appeal to Ees for
  votes
• The Election Must be held within 30-60 days of
  NLRB decision about vote

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Contact

• Occurs because Unions want to expand, Ees take
  initiative in soliciting Union, or Organization
  seems an easy target for Unionization
• Technology now impacts contact stage Ers need
  to be wary of putting prohibitions on
  Union-related emails
• Ers should focus on avoiding contact rather than
  battling Unions in campaigns
• Union Salting undercover union person obtains
  employment with firm to strum up support

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Authorization Cards

• Must get 30 of Ees in bargaining unit to sign on
• Managers should stay clear of the cards they
  are considered confidential and if managers know
  who sign can open up for unfair ER practice

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Hearing

• Ers can choose to
• Not contest union recognition no hearing needed
  and election goes immediately
• Not contest right to an election no hearing
  needed and parties stipulate election
• Contest go to NLRB
• Evidence is presented (30 of cards), the
  bargaining unit is defined, and the election date
  is to be set

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Campaign

• Must be careful about unfair practices both
  sides
• Yet they are likely going to happen to some
  extent
• Management will try to set record straight on
  what unionization means for Ees
• Union will try to sell benefits of union
  membership

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Election

• Election held, voting is secret, majority rules
• If unfair employer practices occur, a no union
  decision can be reversed
• If fails, cant have another election for 12
  months

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Decertification Elections

• Labor laws grant employees the right to legally
  terminate union representation through an
  election
• About 500 decertification elections held
  annually,about 2500-3000 certification elections
  held

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Collective Bargaining Process

• Certain Bargaining items must be negotiated,
  there are also illegal bargaining items
• Bargaining must be in good faith done between
  negotiating teams
• Parties are not compelled to agree, but must
  communicate and negotiate
• Ers are likely to stress that the bargaining
  process does not compel them to come to terms
  with Union though this is likely not the most
  constructive stance once Unionization is
  inevitable

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Collective Bargaining Process

• Lots of research occurs before parties sit down
  (at least it should) so that reasonable or
  informed positions can be taken
• Teams are selected that are composed of union rep
  (local) and shop stewards (elected)
• Must appoint a spokesperson important role for
  relaying communication

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Bargaining in Bad Faith

• Surface Bargaining going through motions
• Concessions should be willing to make them
• Imposing Conditions imposing conditions
  considered to be onerous is a problem
• Bypassing the representative cannot usurp
  unions representation

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Bargaining Items

• Mandatory
• Time table for agreement
• Wages
• Pay rates
• Vacations
• Pensions
• Severance
• Layoffs
• Drug Testing

• Permissible
• Management rights as to union affairs
• Continuance of past contract
• Scope of bargaining unit

• Illegal
• Closed shop
• Separation of ees based on race
• Discriminatory treatment

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Bargaining Stages

• Each side presents demands
• Reduction of demands
• Parties form joint subcommittees to find
  alternative solutions
• Informal settlement reached
• Formal agreement worked out and signed

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The Dreaded Impasse

• When parties cant move towards
  resolution/agreement Impasse occurs
• Resolved by
• 3rd Party Involvement
• Strikes
• Other Alternatives

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3rd Party Involvement

• Mediation
• Neutral 3rd party tries to help parties come
  closer together, focus on reducing conflict and
  increasing agreement
• Does not have power to force agreement
• Fact-finder
• Studies issues and makes public recommendations
• Arbitration
• Present conflict to arbitrator for binding
  resolution dictate settlement terms

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Strikes

• Number per year has declined from 380 in 1970 to
  29 in 1997
• Economic Strike
• Results from failure to agree to terms in
  negotiation
• UPS, MLB (players and umps), Airlines strikes,
  Maple Heights teachers
• Unfair Labor Practices Strike
• Aimed at protesting illegal conduct by ER
• Wildcat Strike
• Unauthorized strike occurring during a contract
  period
• Sympathy Strike
• Union strikes in support of another unions plight

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Other Alternatives

• Boycott
• Union members do not buy goods or services from
  organization
• Lockout
• ER attempt to break an impasse
• Dockworkers on west coast, MLB

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Unions and Practice

• Unions are political entities
• Therefore, decisions will be politically
  motivated
• Elections at least every 5 years, typically 3
  years
• Negotiating teams are elected and handle
• Bargaining
• Administration of grievances
• Everyday issues

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Unions and Practice

• Honesty is absolute policy
• Integrity in dealings is absolutely important
• After the negotiations, must work together
• UPS wanted to implement a team-based work
  concept, ended up being a huge bone of contention
  because of adversarial relationship with union

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Unions and Practice

• Company issues MUST be handled through union reps
• Failure to do so, or attempts to deal with
  workers directly, can be an unfair employer labor
  practice
• This is one of the hot topics that management
  will try to communicate to workers thinking about
  organizing
• Akron Provost sent emails pre-information session
  about union activity and how it would change the
  management-employee relationship

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Unions and Practice

• Establish a working relationship
• Unions cant actively help management not in
  job description and would not have a purpose if
  they did but they can NOT impede management
  attempts to improve productivity
• Bill Ford lunches with UAW head weekly to
  maintain relations
• Flexible work issues are often tough to deal with
  because of union status

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Labor Case 1 UPS Strike

• Teamsters vs. UPS Management
• Problems brewed for years
• Disjointed union representation was at fault for
  many of those years
• 1991, Union started to make strategic moves to
  set up for the strong stance it took in 1997
• Had to create unity in traditionally non-united
  worker corps (Part vs. Full-Time)

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UPS Strike

• UPS Issues
• Demanded give backs (UAL is doing this now)
• Thought they could take advantage of disjointed
  unions
• Exploit division/rivalry between the PT and FT
  workers
• Team-Concept thus seen as an attempt to undermine
  union reps

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UPS Strike

• Union Built Unity
• Did not spend money on advertising, rather held
  rallies that caught press attention
• Surveyed members to get feedback
• Built groundswell of support and unity with
  collateral materials like t-shirts and hats
• Attacked big issues brought to table, like UPS
  desire to take over pension funds
• Able to create a hometown story because of UPS
  presence in every town in US

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UPS Strike

• UPS and Unions claimed victory
• Workers went back to work
• UPS went on as it was instead of firing all
  workers and becoming a smaller, possibly more
  profitable carrier
• Teamsters used settlement to build membership

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Labor Relations Case 2 Dockworkers

• 1st use of Taft-Hartley since 1978
• Interesting that it was used pre-election
• Bush administration already seen as
  pro-management because of use of Railway Act to
  prohibit strikes in Airlines and Railroads post
  9/11
• Data has been mixed on TH effects
• In this case, movement is being made towards
  agreement on some issues like development of
  technology
• Dockworkers make 106K per year and the
  occupation is pretty closed families pass jobs
  down

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Future of Unions

• Essentials would blame me generation and Reagan
  for decline of membership
• Seems to be fairly constant when you look at
  numbers
• Playing a prominent role in many disputes
• Provides a check and balance for management
• Continuous expansion in white collar jobs