Transcript Document 7289988

Chapter 19
Labor- Management Relations
Chapter Objectives
1. Describe the process behind union
elections and collective bargaining.
2. Explain which strikes are legal and
which strikes are illegal.
3. List unfair employer practices.
4. Identify unfair employee practices.
5. Define the rights of nonunion
employees.
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Federal Labor Law
Four major federal labor law
statutes are:
Norris-LaGuardia Act
of 1932
National Labor
Relations Act
Labor-Management
Relations Act
Labor-Management
Reporting and
Disclosure Act
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Norris-LaGuardia Act
Extended legal protection to
peaceful strikes, picketing, and
boycotts.
Restricted the power of the
courts to issue injunctions
against unions engaged in
peaceful strikes.
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Case 19.1 Burlington Santa Fe Railway Co.
v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local
174
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company operates
a hub in Seattle, Washington. After canceling their
subcontract with Eagle Systems, the railway company
transferred the work to Parsec, Inc. The International
Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 174 represented the fiftythree Eagle employees who lost their jobs and the employees
of other subcontractors. Burlington refused to persuade
Parsec to hire former Eagle employees. Local 174 also
threatened to picket if Burlington did not agree to hire only
subcontractors represented by Local 174. Burlington filed suit
alleging violations of federal labor laws and sought an
injunction. The court granted the injunction, which was
dismissed.
Generally, how would the relationship between labor and
management be affected if unions did not have the right to
picket?
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National Labor Relations Act of
1935 (Wagner Act)
Established the rights of employees
to engage in collective bargaining
and to strike.
Created the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) to oversee
union elections and prevent
employers from engaging in unfair
labor practices (such as refusing to
recognize and negotiate with a
certified union or interfering in
union activities).
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Case 19.2 NLRB v.
Town & Country Electric, Inc.
Town & Country refused to interview job
applicants who were union “salts.” The
applicants filed a complaint with the NLRB
alleging that the company had discriminated
against them. The issue turned on whether job
applicants paid by a union to organize a
company were “employees.”
The NLRB ruled in the applicants’ favor and the
company appealed to the appellate court which
reversed. The applicants appealed to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
How would the relationship between labor and
management be affected if job applicants did
not have rights under the NLRA?
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Labor-Management Relations
Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Act)
Extended to employers protections already
enjoyed by employees.
Provided a list of activities prohibited to
unions (secondary boycotts, use of coercion
or discrimination to influence employees’
decisions to participate or refrain from union
activities) and allowed employers to
propagandize against unions before any NLRB
election.
Prohibited closed shops (which require that
all workers belong to a union as a condition
of employment), allowed states to pass rightto-work laws, and provided for an eighty-day
cooling-off period.
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Labor-Management Reporting
and Disclosure Act of 1959
(Landrum-Griffin Act)
Regulated internal union
business procedures and union
elections.
Imposed restrictions on the
types of persons who may
serve as union officers and
outlawed hot-cargo
agreements.
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The National Labor Relations Act (1935)
The pervading purpose of the NLRA
was to protect interstate commerce by
securing for employees the rights
established under Section 7 of the act.
Another purpose of the act was to
promote fair and just settlement of
disputes by peaceful processes.
Why was the act initially opposed by
employers?
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The Decision to Form a Union
The key starting point for labor
relations law is the decision by a
company’s employees to form a
union, which is usually referred to
in the law as their bargaining
representative.
If the workers decide that they
want the added power of collective
union representation, they must
follow certain steps to have a union
certified.
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Preliminary Organizing
Before beginning an organizing
effort, a union will attempt to
assess worker support for
unionization by obtaining signed
authorization cards from the
employees.
It can then ask the employer to
recognize the union, or it can
submit the cards with a petition to
the National Labor Relations Board.
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Appropriate Bargaining Unit
In determining whether
workers constitute an
appropriate bargaining unit,
the NLRB considers whether
the skills, tasks, and jobs of
the workers are sufficiently
similar so they can all be
adequately served by a single
negotiating position.
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Moving toward Certification
Certification by the NLRB
means that the union is the
exclusive representative of a
bargaining unit and that the
employer must recognize the
union and bargain in good faith
with it over issues affecting all
employees who are within the
bargaining unit.
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Union Elections
Labor law provides for an election
to determine whether employees
choose to be represented by a
union and, if so, which union.
If the election is a fair one, and if
the proposed union receives
majority support, the board
certifies the union as the
bargaining representative.
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Union Election Campaign
The NLRB is charged with monitoring union
elections.
During an election campaign, an employer may
legally limit union activities as long as it can offer
legitimate business justifications for those
limitations.
In regulating the union’s presence on the business
premises, the employer must treat the union in the
same way it would treat any other entity having onsite contact with its workers.
The NLRB is particularly sensitive to any threats in
an employer’s communications to workers, such as
declarations that a union victory will result in the
closing of the plant.
The NLRB will also closely monitor sudden policy
changes regarding compensation, hours, or working
conditions that the employer makes before the
election.
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Management Election
Campaign
Management may also campaign
among its workers against the
union.
The employer may not make
threats of reprisals if employees
vote to unionize.
If the employer issues threats or
engages in other unfair labor
practices and then wins the
election, the NLRB may invalidate
the results.
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Collective Bargaining
Once a union is elected, its
representatives will engage in
collective bargaining with the
employer.
Each side tries to use its
economic power to persuade
or pressure the other side to
grant concessions.
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Unions in Great Britain
In Great Britain a union that has been recognized
by an employer for collective bargaining purposes
has the following rights:
 a right to receive information related to collective
bargaining issues
 a right to time off
 the right to appoint a representative to handle safety
matters
 the right to be consulted before an employer
relocates its place of business
Do you think employees have rights that should
apply in all countries around the world under all
circumstances?
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Subjects of Bargaining
Topics such as wages, hours of
work, and other conditions of
employment are discussed during
collective bargaining sessions.
Other topics, such as college
scholarships for the children of
union members, may also be
brought up for consideration.
Some demands, such as a demand
for featherbedding or for a closed
shop, are illegal.
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Good Faith Bargaining
If the parties reach an
impasse, the union may call a
strike against the employer to
bring additional economic
pressure to bear.
This is one way in which the
union can offset the superior
bargaining power possessed by
management.
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Case 19.3 Stroehmann
Bakeries v. NLRB
When the collective bargaining agreement of
the shippers at Stroehmann Bakeries expired,
the company proposed cutting half the
positions. The union asked Stroehmann for
extensive financial information which the
company refused and then declared an
impasse. Ten days later, Stroehmann
eliminated the shippers’ jobs.
The NLRB ordered the company to reinstate
the shippers and the company appealed.
What did the court rule?
Why might a union (or an employee) make
“voluminous requests for information” and
refuse to bargain if the requests are not met?
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Strikes
The right to strike is protected
by the U.S. Constitution.
During a strike, an employer is
no longer obligated to pay
union members, and union
members are no longer
required to show up for work.
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Illegal Strikes
An otherwise lawful strike may
become illegal because of the
conduct of the strikers.
Two types of illegal strikes
include:
Secondary Boycotts
Wildcat Strikes
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Secondary Boycotts
Strikers are not permitted to
engage in a secondary boycott
by picketing the suppliers of an
employer.
Similarly, striking employees
are not permitted to coerce the
employer’s customers into
agreeing not to do business
with it.
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Wildcat Strikes
A wildcat strike occurs when a
small group of union members
engages in a strike against the
employer without the
permission of the union.
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Replacement Workers
An employer may hire permanent
replacement employees in the
event of an economic strike.
If the strike is called by the union
to protest the employer’s
unwillingness to engage in good
faith negotiations, the employer
must rehire the striking workers
after the strike is settled, even if
it has since replaced them with
other workers.
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Lockouts
Employers may respond to
threatened employee strikes by
shutting down the plant
altogether to prevent
employees from working.
Lockouts are used when the
employer believes a strike is
imminent.
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Case 19.4
Canteen Corp. v. NLRB
When Canteen Corp. took over a food service,
it agreed to negotiate a new contract with the
union. Without informing the union, Canteen
told employees their wages would be cut.
When the employees resigned, Canteen
recruited employees from other sources and
refused to negotiate with the union on the
ground that it no longer represented the
employees.
The NLRB ordered Canteen to reinstate the
employees and the company appealed.
Why should an employer be forced to honor a
collective bargaining agreement between a
union and the employer’s predecessor?
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Rights of Non-Union
Employees
The National Labor Relations Act
protects concerted action on the
part of nonunion employees.
Protected concerted action includes
walkouts and other activities
regarding wages, hours, workplace
safety, or other terms or conditions
of employment.
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Case 19.5 In re Simmons
Industries, Inc.
Simmons formed a TQM committee which
included managers and employees from a
cross-section of plants. When a union
failed to organize the employees, it filed a
complaint alleging that the TQM
committee was a “labor organization”
dominated by management in violation of
the NLRA.
How might an employer give employees a
forum to voice their dissatisfaction with
certain conditions without forming an
illegal employee committee?
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For Review
1. What federal statutes govern labor
unions and collective bargaining?
2. How does the way in which a
union election is conducted protect
the rights of employees and
employers?
3. What type of strikes are illegal?
4. What activities are prohibited as
unfair employer practices?
5. What are the rights of nonunion
employees?
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