Transcript Union/Management Relations

Union/Management
Relations
MODULE 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjU8psjeHIQ
Jack Welch (Winning)
“When I was at GE it was well known that I was not a fan of unions. I
thought they created conditions that made the company less
competitive, and they drove an unnecessary wedge between
management and employees. I use the word “unnecessary” because in
my experience, unions arise only when a plant or office is being
managed by someone who is abusive, remote or indifferent and whose
actions have taken away the voice and dignity of employees. Without a
doubt, that boss needs to be reformed or removed because the
unionization is as excessive response with negative long term
consequences—really for everyone.”
One of my experiences
A dose of reality
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Violent strike at Tree Top in Palo Alto, CA over compensation
“Scabs” hospitalized
Property Destroyed
UPS Delivery driver broken jaw/nose/reconstructive surgery
Spike Strips
Professional “strike” team hired for $50,000 per day
Union claims video editing, management liars, not true
Unions not even associated agree
Other experiences
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Intimidation
Disruptive behavior
Sabotage
Keying of managers’ cars
Nature of Unions
Union
◦ A formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members
through collective action.
Why Employees Unionize
◦ They are dissatisfied with how they are treated by their employers.
◦ Arbitrary managerial decisions
◦ Noncompetitive Pay
◦ Poor working conditions
◦ They believe that unions can improve their work situations.
Factors Leading to Employee Unionization
Global Labor Union Issues
Union membership is falling in advanced countries.
◦ Change in jobs
◦ Change in worker SES
High unemployment is creating pressure for change.
Child labor is an issue in some countries.
Co-determination
◦ A practice whereby union or worker representatives are given positions on a
company’s board of directors.
The Impact of NAFTA and the corresponding reduction of unionization
Union Logistics
Types of Unions
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Craft union
Trade union
Industrial union
Professional Organization
Positions associated with the Union
◦ Union Stewards
◦ Union Employees
◦ Contract Administrators
Union Participation: Rules and
Exceptions
Closed Shop
◦ Illegal at a Federal Level
◦ Exceptions for Construction Industry
Union Shop
◦ Must join a union after employment
◦ Must pay union dues
Right-to-Work Laws (about ½ states)
Agency Shop
◦ Represented by the union
◦ Choose to join
◦ Must pay dues amount to either union or charity
Union Membership as a Percentage of the Workforce
for Selected Countries
Unions in the U.S.
Union Movement Emphases:
◦ Focused on “bread-and-butter” economic issues—wages, benefits, job
security, and working conditions.
◦ Do unionized employees make more money?
◦ Organized by kind of job and employer.
◦ Seek multi-year collective agreements on economic issues as “contracts.”
◦ Maintain competitive relations
with management.
Union Membership as a Percentage of the U.S. Workforce
<12% in 2014
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2004.
Union Membership by Industry
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2011.
Reasons for Union Decline in
the U.S.
Geographic Changes
Workforce Changes
(white-collar)
(Domestic- no union history, employer friendly
Global- deportation of manufacturing)
Declining
Union
Membership
Industrial Changes
(I.T., financial, services)
The History of American
Unions
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1794
1806
1886
1938
1926
1935
1932
1947
1957
1959
1978
Shoemakers’ strike
Shoemakers’ strike (“criminal conspiracy”)
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Congress of Industrial Organizations CIO
Railway Labor Act (Airlines)
National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)
Norris-LaGuardia Act
Taft-Hartley Act
AFL-CIO merger
Landrum-Griffin Act
Civil Service Reform Act
National Labor Code
Typical Unionization Process
This will be repeated until:
1) Interest significantly wanes
2) Union is certified
Legal Do’s and Don’ts for Managers During the Unionization
Unfair Labor Practices:
Employer
Interfering with the organizing and collective bargaining rights of
employees.
Dominating or interfering with any labor organization.
Encouraging or discouraging membership in a particular union.
Discharging persons for organizing activities or union membership.
Refusing to bargain collectively.
Bargaining Units
 “Community of Interest”
◦ Wages, hours, and working conditions
◦ Traditional industry groupings for bargaining purposes
◦ Physical location and amount of interaction and working relationships
among employee groups
◦ Supervision by similar levels of management
 Supervisors and Bargaining Units
◦ Supervisors are excluded from bargaining units.
 Defined as any individual with the authority to hire, transfer, discharge, discipline, and who
uses independent judgment with employees.
Continuum of Collective Bargaining Relations
Mandatory Bargaining Issues
Issues identified
Discharge of employees
specifically by labor
Grievances
laws or court decisions
as subject to bargaining. Work schedules
Union security and dues checkoff
Retirement and pension coverage
Vacations
Christmas bonuses
Rest- and lunch-break rules
These are often
delegated to committees
for position/stance
issues
Safety Rules
Profit-sharing plans
Required physical exam
Classification of Bargaining Issues
 Permissive Issues
◦ Collective bargaining issues that are not mandatory but relate to certain
jobs.
 Benefits for retired employees
 Product prices (e.g., employee discounts) for employees
 Performance bonds
 Illegal Issues
◦ Collective bargaining issues that would require either party to take an illegal
action (e.g., discriminate in hiring, force people to join union (right-to-work
laws)).
Bargaining Impasse
Conciliation
◦ A process by which a third party attempts to keep union and management
negotiators talking so that they can reach a voluntary settlement.
Mediation
◦ A process by which a third party helps the negotiators reach a settlement.
Arbitration
◦ A process that uses a neutral third party to make a decision.
Typical Items in a Labor Agreement
Strikes and Lockouts
Strike
◦ A work stoppage in which union members refuse to work in order to put
pressure on an employer.
Lockout
◦ Shutdown of company operations undertaken by management to prevent
union members from working.
Striker Replacements
◦ Economic strike- ok
◦ Unfair labor practices strike
◦ Temporarily
◦ Eventual Reinstatement
Types of Strikes
 Economic Strikes
◦ Strikes over economic issues (e.g., wages)
 Unfair labor practice strikes
◦ Strikes over illegal employer actions (e.g., refusal to bargain)
 Wildcat strikes
◦ Strikes not approved by the union
 Sympathy strikes
◦ Expressions of support for other unions
Grievance Management
Complaint
◦ Indication of employee dissatisfaction
Grievance
◦ A complaint formally stated in writing
Grievance Procedures
◦ Formal channels used to resolve grievances.
◦ Union representation (Weingarten) rights
◦ Applies to non-union as well- not yet fully determined
Grievance Arbitration
◦ Means by which a third party settles disputes arising from different
interpretations of a labor contract.
Steps in a Typical Grievance Procedure
Right to Work
Laws
Comparison of Right
to Work States vs.
Non Right to Work
JAMES B. AVEY PHD
MARCH 2009
Right to Work Laws
Some states are passing what are called “right to work laws” where
employees can not be forced to pay union dues.
This has led to a strategic union focus on:
◦ Unionization in states without these laws
◦ Preventing these laws from being passed
◦ The passing of the employee free choice act through congress to enable
unionization more efficiently
FIGURE 16–5
16–32
Right-to-Work States
This data begins to address
the questions
Do right to work states have better financial performance than states
which have not passed right to work laws?
Is there a trend we can examine to see who does better in a recession?
Overall, from a business perspective is it “better” to be a right to work
state?
Data
Data includes:
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48 states (CA and NY removed as the economies of scale skew the data)
Gross State Product
2009 Budget Gap (negative)
Unemployment rate as of January 2009
Comparison of Gross State
Product on average (in millions)
$240,000.00
$230,000.00
$220,000.00
Right to Work
$210,000.00
Not Right to Work
$200,000.00
$190,000.00
$180,000.00
2004 GSP
2005 GSP
2006 GSP
2007 GSP
Average 2009 State
Budget Gap in Millions
Budget Gap 2009
$1,400.00
$1,200.00
$1,000.00
$800.00
Budget Gap 2009
$600.00
$400.00
$200.00
$0.00
Right to Work
Not Right to Work
Unemployment RateNovember 2009
Unemployment Rate
7
6.8
6.6
6.4
6.2
6
Unemployment Rate
5.8
5.6
5.4
5.2
5
Right to Work
Not Right to Work
Conclusion
Overall, Right to Work States emerged as:
◦ Performing better during recession than non right to work states.
◦ Having less of a financial crises as of 2009 than non right to work states.
◦ Having a higher employment rate/lower unemployment rate than non right to work
states.
While this data does not account for individual household income which has
been reported higher in unionized environments, it does show state financial
performance and employment rates seem to be better in states with right to
work laws.
EFCA
Readings:
Types of individual level pay for performance systems
Exceptions to the principle of paying for performance
Upward and 360-degree assessment implications
Types of self-other rating agreements
Jobs and stores affected by Sears
Charles Schwab & Company use of downsizing
Eight practices for making employee downsizing decisions
Sub-practices under analyzing adverse impact
Meal breaks and compensation at work
Exceptions to the general rule of FSLA