1. Labor Relations in the Public Sector
Chapter 13
Labor Relations in the Public Sector
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2. Public-Sector Labor Relations
Significance of Public-Sector Labor Relations
Over one-third of federal, state, and local public employees belong to unions.
Union density is four times higher in the public-sector than the private-sector.
Public-sector unions are strongest in the Northeastern states.
The “free rider” problem (at 66% of represented employees) is an important problem.
Growing governmental willingness to resist the concerted actions of public-sector unions.
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3. Exhibit 13.1 Some Unions Representing Public Employees
SOURCE: Directory of U.S. Labor Organizations, 1997 edition, ed. C. D. Gifford (Washington, D.C.: The Bureau of National Affairs, 1997), pp. 47–78; Updated from the Forms LM-2 Reports by U. S. labor unions, which can be found at the home page of the U.S. Department of Labor.
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4. Labor Legislation in the Public Sector
State-Sector Legislation
Union security legislation varies among states:
Collective bargaining rights limited to specific groups
Restricted scope of bargaining issues
Right-to-strike limited to specific employee groups
Mandatory mediation, fact finding, and binding interest arbitration
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5. Alaska Massachusetts New York Connecticut Michigan Ohio
Exhibit 13.2 Public Sector Collective Bargaining Laws Covering Police and Fire, State, Education and Municipal Employees
Alaska Massachusetts New York
Connecticut Michigan Ohio
Delaware Minnesota Oregon
Florida Montana Pennsylvania
Hawaii Nebraska Rhode Island
Illinois New Hampshire Vermont
Iowa New Jersey Wisconsin
Maine New Mexico
SOURCE: Bureau of National Affairs, ‘‘Public-Sector Bargaining—State Comparison Chart,’’ in Collective Bargaining Negotiating and Contracts, May 18, 2000, pp. 8:2901–2952; updated by ‘‘State Labor Laws,’’ BNA Labor Relations Reporter, Washington, D.C., 2007.
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6. Management rights clause Grievance procedure
Exhibit 13.3 Provisions in a Collective Bargaining Agreement between Teachers and Boards of Education
Management rights clause
Grievance procedure
No-strike and no-lockout provision
Zipper clause
Maintenance of standards
Reduction-in-force provision
Wages and benefits provision
Other issues
SOURCE: Fred C. Lunenburg, “Collective Bargaining in the Public Schools: Issues, Tactics, and New Strategies,” Journal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector 29, no. 4 (2000), p. 259.
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7. Federal-Sector Labor Relations Legislation
Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
Applied within the Civil Service merit system
Established the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)
FLRA General Counsel investigates and prosecutes ULPs.
Incorporated the Federal Service Impasse Panel (FSIP), which assists in resolving negotiation impasses.
FSIP may use arbitration to render a final and binding decision to resolve the interest dispute.
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8. Federal-Sector Labor Relations
Determination of Appropriate Bargaining Units
Community of interest
Efficiency of agency operations
Criteria essentially parallel those used by NLRB
Union Recognition
An agency can give exclusive recognition to the union winning a majority in a recognition election
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9. Federal-Sector Labor Relations (cont’d)
Negotiable Subjects in the Federal Sector
Mandatory Subjects
Personnel policies and practices
Working conditions
Permissible Subjects
No requirement to bargain over permissible subjects
Prohibited Subjects
Wages (including retirement and life and health insurance)
Agency management practices
Policy-making: managerial, directional, and operational decisions
Personnel decisions: hire, fire, promote
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10. Union recognition Sick leave Official time Health and safety
Exhibit 13.4 Subjects That Could Be Included in a Master Agreement in the Federal Sector
Union recognition Sick leave
Official time Health and safety
Discipline and counseling Contracting out
Grievance procedure and arbitration Child care services
Dues withholding Call-back, standby, and on-call duty
Employee performance Workers’ compensation
Merit promotion Performance appraisal
Training Hazard and environmental pay
Equal employment opportunity Reduction-in-force
Travel time and pay Position classifications
Annual leave
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11. Federal-Sector Labor Relations (cont’d)
Unfair Labor Practices in the Federal Sector
Similar to those prohibited by executive orders and the LMRA.
Specific ULPs
Failing to cooperate in impasse resolution activities
Encouraging a strike or slowdown
Employees can file a grievance and file a claim with a statutory agency.
Negotiated Agreements
Must include a grievance procedure with binding arbitration as a final step.
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12. Labor–Management Partnerships in the Federal Government
National Partnership Council (NPC)
Established by Executive Order
Mandated union-federal agency partnerships to promote labor–management cooperation and improve the delivery of government services—“good government standard.”
Dissolved by Executive Order
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13. Homeland Security Act of 2002
Homeland Security Act (HSA)
Established Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Transferred several large agencies into the DHS.
Allows President to waive employee and union rights granted under the Civil Service Reform Act.
Created Homeland Security Labor Relations Board
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14. Homeland Security Act of 2002
DHS Functional Lines
Border and Transportation Security
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Counter-Measures
Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection
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15. Homeland Security Act of 2002 (cont’d)
National Security Personnel System (NSPS)
Covers 700,000 employees, 40 percent of the federal government civil service work force.
Created National Security Labor Relations Board.
District Court ruled that portions of NSPS that dealt with labor relations were illegal.
Court of Appeals reversed District Court’s decision.
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16. Postal Reorganization Act of 1970
The Postal Reorganization Act (PRA)
Created the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as an independent entity within the executive branch of the federal government.
Provided statutory authorization for postal unions.
Placed postal workers under the LMRA.
Denied the right to strike to postal employees.
Established a fact-finding and binding interest arbitration procedure to resolve bargaining impasses.
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17. Summary of the Multiples of Labor–Management Models in the Federal Sector
Unionization and Bargaining over Wages Allowed
Unionization and Bargaining over Wages Prohibited
Federal Aviation Administration
Transportation Security Administration
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Defense
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18. Similarities Between Private- and Public-Sector Bargaining
Public-sector practitioners use a modified private-sector approach to bargaining.
Public-sector bargaining statutes follow private-sector statutes
Private-sector unions represent many public employees
Public-sector employees join unions for the same reasons as private-sector employees.
Bargaining is influenced by negotiators’ personalities and use of the bargaining power model to raise management’s cost of disagreeing.
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19. Public-Sector Bargaining Strategies
Blow-the-Whistle
Threatening to expose questionable practices at the agency unless the agency agrees to a settlement.
Withdrawal of Political Support
Threatening to not support campaigns of elected officials with influence over the bargaining process.
Engaging in Job Actions
Using strikes, work slowdowns (work-to-rule), and bureaucratic rules to raise management’s cost of disagreeing.
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20. Differences Between Private- and Public-Sector Bargaining
Market economy does not operate in the public sector.
Available funding can constrain the bargaining process.
Employee rights are limited to maintain discipline and harmony and continuity of service.
Bargaining is decentralized throughout the departments of the public organization.
Bargaining units are more difficult to define: supervisors and managers can be unionized.
The sovereignty doctrine limits management’s authority to bind the government to labor contract terms.
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21. Differences Between Private- and Public-Sector Bargaining (cont’d)
Negotiable issues are limited by the presence of civil service merit systems.
Multilateral bargaining reflects the complexity of public organizations.
Public-sector unions can engage in end-run bargaining by directly appealing to a legislative body.
Grievance administration must include binding arbitration as a final step.
Public employees have no or a limited right to strike.
Public employees are subject to closer scrutiny of their off-duty conduct than private employees.
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22. Interest Dispute Impasse-Resolution Procedures in the Public Sector
Mediation
The use of a third party neutral who has no binding authority to decide a dispute to assist the parties in reaching an agreement.
Fact-Finding
The use of a third party neutral to conduct quasi-judicial hearings to develop an objective assessment of the parties involved and promulgate a nonbinding recommendation for settlement positions.
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23. Exhibit 13.5 States with Legislation for Interest Arbitration Covering Some Public Employees
SOURCE: Committee Report of the Public Employment Disputes Settlement Committee of the National Academy of Arbitrators, May 9, 2007, Joyce M. Najita, Chair.
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24. Interest Dispute Impasse-Resolution Procedures in the Public Sector (cont’d)
Interest Arbitration
The use of a third-party neutral to settle a negotiation impasse by issuing a binding settlement decision after considering the positions of both parties.
Conventional arbitration: the arbitrator decides the final settlement outcome.
Final offer arbitration (FOA): the arbitrator must choose (without compromise) one offer submitted by the parties.
‘‘Night Baseball Arbitration’’: the parties present final offers in sealed envelopes. After the hearing, the arbitrator issues a nonbinding resolution. Final offer closest to resolution is adopted.
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25. Interest Dispute Impasse-Resolution Procedures in the Public Sector (cont’d)
Effects of Arbitration and Fact-Finding on Bargaining Process
Chilling effect—fact-finding or arbitration simply becomes another bargaining strategy.
Narcotic effect—once the parties start using fact-finding or interest arbitration procedures, they may become increasingly reliant on them in subsequent negotiations.
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26. Interest Dispute Impasse-Resolution Procedures in the Public Sector (cont’d)
Referendum
Submission of unresolved issues to a taxpayer referendum in an attempt allow an outsider determine the cost of a negotiated settlement.
Advantages:
Ensures a pragmatic, realistic negotiating environment
Motivates citizens’ interest in public employment
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27. Interest Dispute Impasse-Resolution Procedures in the Public Sector (cont’d)
Challenges and Opportunities for Public-Sector Unions
Privatizing of public services
Extending bargaining rights
Unionizing unrepresented professionals
Moving beyond the traditional adversarial approaches
Seeking new approaches and subjects for bargaining
Recruiting a new cadre of leaders
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28. Prospects for Future Public-Sector Labor Relations
What Will The Future Hold?
An intense emphasis on reducing costs and improving efficiency at all levels of government
Public-sector union membership will increase
Changing operations in governments causing increased rivalry among public-sector unions
No significant change in union tactics and actions
More emphasis on merit-based compensation
More cooperation and collaboration
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29. Key Terms Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)
Federal Service Impasse Panel (FSIP)
Exclusive recognition
Work-to-rule
Sovereignty doctrine
Multilateral bargaining
End-run bargaining
Sunshine laws
Mediation
Fact-finding
Interest arbitration
Chilling effect
Narcotic effect
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