Enhancing Union-Management Relations Chapter Eleven Enhancing Union-Management Relations

Learning Objectives Explain how and why labor unions came into being. Discuss the sources of unions’ negotiating power and trends in union membership. Identify the main focus of several major pieces of labor-management legislation. Enumerate the steps involved in forming a union and show how the National Labor Relations Board is involved in the process. Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives (cont’d) Describe the basic elements in the collective-bargaining process. Identify the major issues covered in a union-management contract. Explain the primary bargaining tools available to unions and management. Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Chapter 11 Outline The Historical Development of Unions Early History Evolution of Contemporary Labor Organizations Organized Labor Today Union Membership Membership Trends Union-Management Partnerships Labor-Management Legislation Norris-LaGuardia Act National Labor Relations Act Fair Labor Standards Act Labor-Management Relations Act Landrum-Griffin Act Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 11 | 4

Chapter 11 Outline (cont’d) The Unionization Process Why Some Employees Join Unions Steps in Forming a Union The Role of the NLRB Collective Bargaining The First Contract Later Contracts Union-Management Contract Issues Employee Pay Working Hours Security Management Rights Grievance Procedures Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 11 | 5

Chapter 11 Outline (cont’d) Union and Management Negotiating Tools Strikes Slowdowns and Boycotts Lockouts and Strikebreakers Mediation and Arbitration Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 11 | 6

Union-Management Relations Labor union An organization of workers acting together to negotiate their wages and working conditions with employers Union-management (labor) relations The dealings between labor union and business management, both in the bargaining process and beyond it Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Historical Development of Unions Early history Craft union Knights of Labor Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Historical Development of Unions (cont’d) Early history (cont’d) American Federation of Labor (AFL) Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Historical Development of Unions (cont’d) Evolution of contemporary labor organizations Industrial union Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) AFL-CIO Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Organized Labor Today Union membership Approx. 15.5% of the nation’s workers belong to unions AFL-CIO Teamsters United Auto Workers (UAW) Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Organized Labor Today (cont’d) Membership trends Union membership has declined steadily since 1980 Heavily unionized industries have been decreasing or not growing as fast as nonunionized industries Firms have moved from unionized areas (Northeast, Great Lakes region) to less unionized areas (Southeast, Southwest) Largest employment growth is in service industries, which are typically not unionized Some companies are moving manufacturing to other (less unionized) countries Management is providing benefits that reduce employees’ need for unionization Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Organized Labor Today (cont’d) Union-management partnerships The adversarial nature of past union-management relations has given way to limited cooperative partnerships between unions and companies Companies gain increased productivity, improved quality, and reduced costs Workers gain increased response to their needs, more decision-making opportunities, less supervision, more responsibility, and increased job security Unions gain credibility, strength, and increased membership Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Labor-Management Legislation Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932) National Labor Relations Act / Wagner Act (1935) Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) Labor-Management Relations Act / Taft-Hartley Act (1947) Landrum-Griffin Act (1959) Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Unionization Process Why some employees join unions As a way to combat alienation and loss of personal identity from dull and repetitive jobs Due to the perception that union membership increases job security As a way of expressing dissatisfaction with one or more elements of the job Due to personal background (family history of union membership) As a requirement to keep a job under provisions of the labor contract between the union and the firm Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Steps in Forming a Union (cont’d) Complicating factors Bargaining unit Jurisdiction Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Steps in Forming a Union (cont’d) The Role of the NLRB Overseeing organizing campaign Conducting the election Certifying the results Monitoring questionable behavior Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Collective Bargaining The process of negotiating a labor contract with management First contract Pre-negotiation preparations by both parties Exchange of initial contract demands by union and company Bargaining over issues until agreement is reached (or strike) Agreement is ratified by a vote of the union membership Agreement is signed and becomes a legally binding agreement (or more negotiation) Later contracts Pre-negotiation preparations are more intense Each side may take a harder line on the issues in negotiations Contract expiration date produces tension Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Union-Management Contract Issues Employee pay Forms of pay Direct compensation Deferred compensation Magnitude of pay Parity with local and national industry pay levels Real wage protection through cost-of-living clauses Financial condition of employer Cost-sharing for benefits Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Union-Management Contract Issues (cont’d) Employee pay (cont’d) Pay determinants Management seeks to tie wages to each employee’s productivity Unions feel this creates unnecessary competition and usually suggest pay according to seniority Management seeks to constrain benefits to only some employees Unions want equal application of benefits Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Union-Management Contract Issues (cont’d) Working hours Overtime Special hourly rates for weekend or holiday work The right of employees to refuse overtime Premium pay for workers on less desirable shifts Starting times Length of meal periods and work breaks Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Union-Management Contract Issues (cont’d) Security For the individual Job security Seniority For the union Membership Closed shop Union shop Agency shop Maintenance shop Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Union-Management Contract Issues (cont’d) Management rights The firm wants to control whom it hires, how work is scheduled, how discipline is handled Unions seek to control these matters Some union executives have been given seats on corporate boards of directors Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Union and Management Negotiating Tools Strikes Picketing Wildcat strike Slowdowns and boycotts Slowdown Boycott Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Union and Management Negotiating Tools (cont’d) Lockouts and strikebreakers Lockout Strikebreaker Mediation and arbitration Mediation Arbitration Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.