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2. Labor Unions and Collective Bargaining
Online
LO1 How are unions organized?
LO2 What are the key laws that govern labor-management relations?
LO3 How are labor contracts negotiated and administered?
LO4 What impact do unions have on their members’ welfare and the economy? What challenges do they face today?
Labor Unions and Collective Bargaining

3. Labor Unions
A labor union is a group of workers who have organized in order to pursue common work- related goals, such as better wages and benefits, safer worker conditions, and greater job security.

4. The Basic Structure of Unions
Craft Union – workers that have the same skill or work in the same profession
Industrial Union – workers who are employed in the same industry regardless of their specific skill or profession
Local Unions (locals) - basic building blocks of a union, allow workers to directly participate in their union by attending meetings and voting on issues.
Industrial Union – workers who are employed in the same industry regardless of their specific skill or profession
National unions provide services to the locals.

5. Employment at Will
Employment as a completely voluntary relationship that can be terminated
Prevalent prior to 1930s
The Depression of the 1930s changed the public’s view of unions

6. Labor Laws in the United States
Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932)
Workers had a legal right to organize
Made it difficult to get injunctions against union activities
National Labor Relations Act
Illegal for employers to discriminate based on union membership
Established the National Labor Relations Board
Established voting procedure for workers to certify union as the bargaining agent
Required employers to recognize the union and bargain in good faith

7. Labor Laws in the United States
Fair Labor Standards Act
Banned many types of child labor
Established the first federal minimum wage
Established a standard 40-hour work week
Required that workers receive overtime pay
Fair Labor Standards Act
Banned many types of child labor
This law was independent of union issues but it was key in establishing federal law regarding labor.

8. Labor Laws in the United States
The labor laws enacted in the 1930s resulted in a surge in union membership.
After WWII, unions began to take advantage of their new-found strength.
In the first six months of 1946, almost 3 million workers went on strike.
The strikes created serious disruptions and created a fear of big labor.

9. Labor Laws in the United States
Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
Declared unfair labor practices by unions illegal
Allowed employers to speak against unions during organizing campaign
Allowed members to decertify their union
Established provisions for emergency strikes
Landrum-Griffin Act (1959)
Guaranteed all workers the right to participate in union meetings
Established secret ballot election of officers
Required filing of financial statements
Prohibited felons from holding union office

10. Right-to-Work Laws Union Shop – employers can hire
workers who don’t belong to the union but
nonunion workers must join the union
within a specific amount of time to keep
their jobs
Closed Shop – workers
must belong to the union
before the employer can
hire them
Taft-Hartley made Closed Shops illegal but allowed each state to enact right to work laws regarding union shops.

11. Right-to-Work States

12. Union Shops vs. Right-to-Work Laws
Twenty-two states have adopted right-to-work laws; declaring union shops illegal.
Should employees be required to join unions?
What are the arguments against a union shop?
Why do critics of right-to-work laws claim they create a “free rider” problem?
How has the presence of right-to-work laws affected the decisions of businesses about where to locate plants?

13. Collective Bargaining: Reaching an Agreement
Collective Bargaining is the process by which representatives of labor and management attempt to negotiate a mutually acceptable labor agreement.
Collective Bargaining is the process by which representatives of labor and management attempt to negotiate a mutually acceptable labor agreement. (Basketball)

14. Subjects of Bargaining: What It’s All About
Under federal law certain subjects are mandatory subjects of bargaining
Wages and Benefits
Hours of Work
Other working conditions
Permissible subjects of bargaining
Subjects that the two sides can legally negotiate if both agree to do so, but which neither side is legally required to negotiate.

15. Approaches to Collective Bargaining
Distributive
Bargaining
is the traditional approach
to collective bargaining.
The two sides negotiate,
but don’t explicitly
cooperate.
Interest Based
Bargaining
Each side identifies
concerns it wants to discuss.
The two sides explore the
issues and work together to
find mutually acceptable
solutions.

16. Dealing with Impasse Boycott – when Strike – workers decide
striking workers and
their supporters
refuse to do business
with the employer
during a labor dispute
Strike – workers decide
when to begin and end
the work stoppage
Lockout - work stoppage
decided upon by the
employer
Picketing – workers walk outside the employer’s
place of business carrying signs

17. Mediation and Arbitration
Mediation – bringing in an outsider who
attempts to help the two sides
reach an agreement
Arbitration - bringing in an outsider with the authority to impose a binding
settlement on both parties

18. Administering a Collective Bargaining Agreement
Workers who believe they
have been treated unfairly
will file a grievance.
The labor contract spells
out the grievance process.

19. Unions and Compensation
Most union workers earn 10% - 20% more than nonunion workers.
In 2009, 92% of Union workers had health insurance, compared to 70% of nonunion workers.
83% of union workers had access to employer-provided life insurance compared to 59% of nonunion workers.
82% of union members had paid personal leave days compared to 63% of nonunion workers.
Source: “Employee Benefits Survey,” Bureau of Labor Statistics website: accessed June 24, 2011.

20. Unions and Job Security
Grievance procedures give workers represented by unions more protection against arbitrary dismissal
During economic downturn, union workers may experience layoffs
Automation and foreign competition have caused union job loss

21. Unions and Productivity
Critics argue that unions’ work rules hurt productivity.
Defenders argue that the decreased employee turnover make workers more productive.
Evidence supports both sides…

22. The Challenge of Declining Union Membership
Declining state budgets have led to massive layoffs of public employees.
Teachers, firefighters, police officers, and state municipal workers
Union membership in the private sector began dropping in the 1980s.
Change in the U.S. economy
Aggressive anti-union strategies
Overall union membership is down from 20.1% in the 1980s to 11.9% in 2010.
Source: “Union Members—2010,” BLS News Release, January 21, 2011, Bureau of Labor Statistics website: accessed June 26, 2011.

23. Looking Back Online How are unions organized?
What are the key laws that govern labor-management relations?
How are labor contracts negotiated and administered?
What impact do unions have on their members’ welfare and the economy? What challenges do they face today?