Unionization
& Collective Bargaining
Definition:
A union is a formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its
members though collective action--generally directed at "bread and
butter" issues.
Historical
Perspective: Early attempts to unionize and to strike were seen
as criminal conspiracy actions; however, as a result of the Commonwealth v.
Hunt decision in 1842, unions were no longer seen as criminal
conspiracies. During the 1970-1980
decades, union membership in the U.S. dropped abruptly, and today represents
less than 14% of the total work force; 9.5% of the private work force in 2000,
the lowest since the Great Depression.
[Unions represented 33% of U.S. workers in 1955 (Mondy & Noe, 1998,
6ed).] Mathis & Jackson (2003) report that of the approximately 120 million
U.S. workers, only about 16 million Americans are members of labor unions, a
number down from 22 million in the 1970s (Mathis & Jackson, 2000).
Legal
Perspective: Before the National Labor Code, the Sherman Act
and the Clayton Act were anti-union.
Then, in the early 20th century, things began to change.
v Wagner
Act (1935) = National Labor Relations Act = also known
as the "Magna Carter" of labor because it was very pro-union =
established the impartial "umpire" of the organizing process, the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and defined unfair labor practices of
management.
v Taft-Hartley
Act ( 194 7) = Labor Management Relations Act =
gave more power back to employers in order to "balance the collective
bargaining equation." It provided
for "right-to- work" states, prohibited "closed shops," and
made "yellow dog contracts" illegal.
The
National Labor Code (continued)
v Landrum-Griffin
Act ( 1959) = Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure
Act = requires that union management make annual
reports to members regarding their finances and other activities so as to
protect union members from corrupt union officials. (Remember Jimmy Hoffa &
the Teamsters?)
v
Civil Service Reform Act (1978) = Federal
Service Labor-Management Relations Statute = allows federal
employees to collectively bargain.
Today, unionization continues to expand some in the government section;
however, government members cannot strike, nor can they negotiate wages.
§ The Federal Labor Relations Authority serves
as the "NLRB of the Federal Sector."
ü Remember
PACO, the air traffic controllers striking and failing to return to work after
President Reagan gave them 48 hours notice to return?
ü More
than 11,000 employees lost their jobs!
In
addition to the National Labor Code there are two other important items to
consider:
·
Union Security Agreements: Union
security agreements represent different formal techniques used secure and
maintain union membership.
v Closed
shop - required union membership before being hired;
outlawed by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947
v Union
shop -requires that employees join the union following
their probationary period; forbidden in right-to-work states by the Taft
Hartley Act of 1947. (Membership is
maintained through “dues checkoff” practices, which allow for automatic payroll
deductions of union dues for all employees under the collective bargaining
agreement.)
v Agency
shop -requires that non-union members pay union dues
and fees (at least that portion of the union dues required to negotiate and
administer the labor contract "union representation fee")
v Open
shop -no employee is required to join a union
v Maintenance
of membership - employees agree to belong to the union for the
period covered by their collective bargaining agreement, but then may change
their minds about membership during the next agreement period
·
Union Types: Unions
are formed to represent specific types of workers.
v Industrial
unions represent individuals who work in the same
industry or company, regardless of the specific job held by the member.
v Craft
unions represent individuals who are employed in one type
of work, which generally required specialized skills or training.
v Public
sector unions represent individuals who are employed in the
federal government, or in state or municipal jobs.
o All
federal workers and most state/municipal employees are prohibited from
striking.
o Federal
employees cannot bargain over wages; politics and taxes can play a role in
dollars available for employees.
o Public
section unionization has been increasing, while private sector numbers have
been falling.
Unionization:
Written publicity given to employees by unions to convince the
employees to sign authorization cards is known as hand billing. This
usually begins at the request of employees or when the union identifies an industry
or company amenable to unionization.
v On
the local level, union policies are normally established by a secret ballot of
members of the local.
v The
lowest elected officer in a union is the union steward.
v The
full-time elected official at the local union level is called a business
agent.
v Authorization
cards are signed by at least 30% of eligible employees
to designate a union as the employees' collective bargaining agent.
ü At
least 30% of eligible employees must sign cards before an election can be held.
ü If
more than 50% sign, no election is required.)
v The
election is overseen by the NLRB and requires a majority of votes cast to win
representation.
v A
bargaining unit is the group of all employees eligible to vote for union
representation and is represented by the union.
v Once
certified, the union will attempt to negotiate with the employer.
q
Note: Decertification, removal
of the union, basically follows the same process.
Organizational
Perspective: Most companies would rather be non-union.
v The
primary reason why employees join unions is dissatisfaction with their
employer. The best way for
organizations to keep unionization to a minimum is to establish and maintain
sound, people-sensitive, management practices.
v The
presence of unions results in less employment in the private sector, since pay
is almost always higher, which affects employers' ability to pay.
v The
effect of unions on productivity generally depends on the state of labor
relations in the company.
Organizational
Perspective (continued):
v Many
unions are encouraging use of ESOP/employee ownership in their companies so
they have more control.
v Company
managers are generally responsible for administering the labor agreement on a
daily basis, but otherwise are prohibited from attempting to wrongly
influence--or otherwise work against--the unionization and labor negotiation
processes.
v Managers
cannot lie to, coerce or restrain employees or the union.
ü Managers
can, however, present facts!
ü Management
can forbid distribution of union literature in work areas during working hours.
ü Management
can tell about and use all legal measures to oppose unionization.
v The
best way for unions to sustain is to show that they are sensitive to today's
issues and that they can help.
o
Many white-collar workers believe that unions are
too "blue collar" and cannot represent their needs.
Collective
Bargaining: Collective bargaining
is an on-going process whereby representatives of management and labor
negotiate over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
v The
most common bargaining structure is one employer with one union.
v Bargaining
in good faith implies that negotiators are in a position
to bargain and make decisions for their parties
ü After
decisions are reached in good faith, neither party can renege on the agreement.
ü After
the terms of a labor agreement are negotiated, the union members vote to ratify
or accept the agreement. (Ratification
is the process where union members vote to accept the terms of the negotiated
collective bargaining agreement or labor contract.)
v Mandatory
issues are those issues that are identified specifically
by labor laws or court decisions as being subject to collective bargaining, and
include wages, benefits and working conditions.
v If
both parties agree, bargaining over permissive issues is also allowed.
v To
preserve the rights of management to manage their organization, most labor
contracts include a management rights clause.
v When
a large union negotiates in depth with one company and uses that results in
another, as in the auto industry, pattern bargaining has occurred.
v The
multi-employer, one union structure, used extensively in the steel industry
provides a master contract, which applies to all companies involved.
Collective
Bargaining Power: Both management and union have power to
influence the collective bargaining process.
v Socio-demographic
factors will affect the types of proposals made by management and unions; for
unions, job security is critical.
v For
unions, job security is critical.
v Management
must provide appropriate data to the union, if requested.
v The
initial demand phase of the bargaining process sets the tone for future
negotiations.
ü Distributive
bargaining sets a win-lose tone.
ü Integrative
bargaining establishes a win-win environment.
v When
the union agrees to reduce, wages, benefits, or other factors during collective
bargaining, concessionary bargaining has occurred.
ü For
example, a two-tier wage structure, one in which new union employees
receive lower wages and fewer benefits than existing members, may be accepted
in the final negotiation.
v If
negotiations wind up in a situation where it appears that the parties will not
agree on a settlement, or lock in an impasse.
ü At
impasse any of the following may occur:
·
Picket: union members continue to work but put
pressure on the company by carrying signs around the premises to show their
displeasure and to try to get public sympathy.
·
Boycott: union members continue to work but put
pressure on the company by trying to influence the public not to buy the
company's products or services.
·
Strike: union members
refuse to work to put pressure on the company.
o
In cases of impasse, an economic strike
generally occurs.
o
A wildcat strike is one that does not
have the approval of union leadership.
o
The number of strikes seen in recent years is
declining.
·
Lockout: management shuts down company operations to
prevent union members from working.
Collective
Bargaining and Dispute Resolution: There are several means
for settling a dispute. The principle types, which all include third-party
intervention include:
v Conciliation:
third party attempts to keep the union and management
negotiators talking so that they voluntarily can reach a solution.
v Mediation:
third party assists the negotiators in their discussions and
also makes suggestions for settlement
v Arbitration:
third party reviews the facts of the negotiations and makes a
decision for the parties. The decision that an arbitrator makes is called an
award.
Collective
Bargaining and Dispute Resolution (continued):
v Grievances:
Grievances are more formalized and they generally follow an
established procedure than informal complaints, for which procedures are rarely
provided. The grievance procedure, or formal channel of communication used to
resolve formal complaints, should go beyond having an "open door
policy." Employees must know where to go to be heard so that their
grievances will be investigated and rectified: the first step is to discuss the
situation with their immediate supervisors but should the process should not
stop there.
ü
Non-union organizations often called their
grievance procedures the "dispute resolution” process.
ü The
Weingarten Rights provide unionized employees the right to union
representation when they are questioned by management in situations where
discipline may result. (In these cases,
the union steward is responsible for presenting the grievances to management.)
ü Grievance
arbitration is a third-party means of settling disputes
arising from different interpretations of the labor contract.
International
Perspective: Unionism in the U.S. is different from other
countries in the sense that U.S. unions have not been at the forefront of
national political trends and also are not as highly regulated by the
government as in other countries. Also, when compared to other countries, the
U.S. looses considerably less work time.