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Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 8e Instructor’s Manual

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Chapter 15

Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations

This chapter explores human resource activities in organizations where employees belong to

unions or where employees are seeking to organize unions. The chapter begins by formally

defining unions and labor relations, and then describes the scope and impact of union activity.

Next, it summarizes government laws and regulations affecting unions and labor relations. The

following three sections detail types of activities involving unions: union organizing, contract

negotiation, and contract administration. Finally, the chapter identifies ways in which unions and

management are working together in arrangements that are more cooperative than the traditional

labor-management relationship.

Chapter Outline

Role of Unions and Labor Relations

• A union is an organization formed for the purpose of representing its members in

resolving conflicts with employers.

• Labor relations is the management specialty emphasizing skills that managers and union

leaders can use to minimize costly forms of conflict and to seek win-win solutions to

disagreements.

Goals of Management, Labor Unions, and Society

• Management goals are to increase organization’s profits. Managers generally expect that

unions will make these goals harder to achieve

• Labor unions have the goal of obtaining pay and working conditions that satisfy their

members. They obtain these results by gaining power in numbers.

• Society’s values have included the hope that existence of unions will replace conflict or

violence between workers and employers with fruitful negotiation.

Laws and Regulations Affecting Labor Relations

• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)

• Right-to-work laws make union shops, maintenance of membership, and agency shops

illegal.

• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Union Organizing

Collective Bargaining

• In collective bargaining, a union negotiates on behalf of its members with management

representatives to arrive at a contract defining conditions of employment for the term of

the contract and to resolve differences in the way they interpret the contract.

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Contract Administration

• Contract administration is a daily activity under the labor agreement. It includes carrying

out the terms of the agreement and resolving conflicts over interpretation or violation of

the contract.

New Approaches to Labor Relations

• In contrast to traditional view that labor and management are adversaries, some

organizations and unions work more cooperatively.

Learning Objectives

LO 15-1: Define unions and labor relations and their role in organizations.

LO 15-2: Identify the labor relations goals of management, labor unions, and society.

LO 15-3: Summarize laws and regulations that affect labor relations.

LO 15-4: Describe the union organizing process.

LO 15-5: Explain how management and unions negotiate contracts.

LO 15-6: Summarize the practice of contract administration.

LO 15-7: Describe new approaches to labor-management relations.

Society for Human Resource Management Body of Competency &

Knowledge

This chapter contains content, which may be identified within the following content areas:

• Employee Engagement

• Workforce Management

• Employee Relations

• Risk Management

• U.S. Employment Law & Regulations

• Business & HR Strategy

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 8e Instructor’s Manual

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Human Resource Certification Institute’s A Guide to the HR Body

of Knowledge

This chapter contains content, which may be identified within the following content areas:

• Business Management & Strategy

• Employee and Labor Relations

• Workforce Planning and Employment

• Risk Management

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 8e Instructor’s Manual

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Question Guidance to Vignettes and Discussion Questions

Did You Know?

Profile of a Typical Union Worker

1. What trend shown in Figure 15.1 helps to explain why jobs in education and protective

services have the highest rates of unionization?

Best Practices

Desire for More Jobs Unites Lear and the UAW

1. What goals of management, labor, and society does this example illustrate?

2. How might negotiations on these issues help Lear and the UAW achieve their goals?

What interests, if any, do they have in common?

HRM Social

Employee Rights in the Social-Media Era

1. What is the difference between the way the NLRA treats an organization wanting to

discipline (a) a group of workers complaining about their work schedules on Facebook

and (b) an employee who posts hateful political remarks in a comment on her LinkedIn

page, where she is identified as an employee?

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it is questionable whether or not the employee is protected. The boundary that the NLRB

has set is whether or not the employee is engaging his or her co-workers about terms and

conditions of employment.

2. Suppose you are reading employee reviews on the Glassdoor page for a company where

you are considering applying for a job. You see one comment saying the supervisors

don’t care about employees, and you see ten favorable comments about the company’s

supervisors. As a job seeker, how would you weigh those comments? From the

perspective of the employer, what ideas does this give you for how to minimize the

negative impact of speech that is protected under NLRA but could hurt the company’s

reputation?

HR How To

Writing an Employee Handbook That Follows NLRB Guidance

1. Based on the information given, rewrite the following handbook statement to make it

better follow the NLRB’s guidance: “Employees may not say negative things about the

company on social media.”

2. As in question 1, rewrite the following handbook statement: “Employees may not post

photos of co-workers on social media.”

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HR Oops!

Arbitration Agreement Gets Out of Hand

1. Why might a company prefer to have disputes and controversies handled individually in

arbitration? Why might some employees prefer a class action in which several (or many)

employees present the issue together?

2. Suggest how Hobby Lobby might protect its interests while respecting employees’

concerns about class-action waivers. For example, can you think of a way to revise the

agreement?

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 8e Instructor’s Manual

End of Chapter Questions and Cases

Thinking Ethically

Free Ride or Free Speech?

1. What issues of fairness and equity come into play in this case?

2. How well does the outcome of this case represent respect for basic human rights? How

well does it do the greatest good for the greatest number?

Review and Discussion Questions

1. Why do employees join labor unions? Did you ever belong to a labor union? If you did,

do you think the union membership benefited you? If not, do you think a union would

have benefited you? Why or why not? (LO 15-1)

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2. Why do managers at most companies prefer that unions not represent their employees?

Can unions provide benefits to an employer? Explain. (LO 15-2)

3. How has union membership in the United States changed over the past few decades?

How does union membership in the United States compare with union membership in

other countries? How might these patterns in union membership affect the HR decisions

of an international company? (LO 15-2)

4. What legal responsibilities do employers have regarding unions? What are the legal

requirements affecting unions? (LO 15-3)

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that restrain workers such as preventing employees from working during a strike or

determining whom an employer may hire. The Taft-Hartley Act also permits state right-

to-work laws.

5. Suppose you are the HR manager for a chain of clothing stores. You learn that union

representatives have been encouraging the stores’ employees to sign authorization cards.

What events can follow in this process of organizing? Suggest some ways that you might

respond in your role as HR manger. (LO 15-4)

6. If the parties negotiating a labor contract are unable to reach an agreement, what actions

can resolve the situation? (LO 15-5)

7. Why are strikes uncommon? Under what conditions might management choose to accept

a strike? (LO 15-5)

8. What are the usual steps in a grievance procedure? What are the advantages of resolving

a grievance in the first step? What skills would a supervisor need so grievances can be

resolved in the first step? (LO 15-6)

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and be aware of the provisions in the union contract. This awareness can assist the

supervisor with a speedy resolution (or even prevention) of problems.

9. What can a company gain from union-management cooperation? What can workers gain?

(LO 15-7)

10. What are the legal restrictions on labor-management cooperation? (LO 15-7)

Taking Responsibility

Teamsters and UPS Strike a Deal for the 21st Century

1. Based on the information given, which of the terms in the new contract are favorable for

workers? Which terms are favorable for UPS?

2. What effects, if any, do you think the employment contract will have on UPS’s ability to

meet its goals for serving customers and improving efficiency?

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Managing Talent

Teachers Win over Unions and State Government

1. In this situation, what would you describe as the goals of management (the state

government leaders), labor unions, and society? Based on the information given, which

goals do you think were achieved?

2. Do you think a strike was the best way for the union to resolve its differences with the

state leadership? Why or why not? What other positions did the teachers have?

HR in Small Business

Huffington Post Accepts Collective Bargaining

1. What goals of labor, management, and society can you identify in this case?

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2. Do you think the Writers Guild and The Huffington Post can engage in cooperative labor

relations? Why or why not?

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Recommended Connect Activities

Effective Labor Relations

Learning Objective: 15-03 Summarize laws and regulations that affect labor relations.

Activity Summary: The case analysis details the laws and regulations surrounding union and

management interaction.

Follow-Up Activity: In small groups, have students seek out specific unions across multiple

industries. Once a union has been identified, the groups can determine the benefits of joining that

union and make a case for why they believe it to be in the best interest of employees. The

instructor, or another group, should take the management view with a healthy debate or

negotiation to follow. This will give students the opportunity to move between different

industries and see how unions fit into the modern landscape.

Goals of Management, Labor Unions, and Society

Learning Objective: 15-02 Identify the labor relations goals of management, labor unions, and

society.

Activity Summary: Students will match the appropriate party for each intended goal.

Follow-Up Activity: Students will need to demonstrate understanding of these concepts, rather

than simply categorizing them. Depending on the makeup of your class, there may be some

students who have personal experiences with joining a union. To go further, have a class

discussion on the industries where your students work (or would like to work) and how the goals

(if any) would be approached and accomplished.

The Union Perspective

Learning Objective: 15-01 Define unions and labor relations and their role in organizations.

Activity Summary: In this worksheet, students will select the appropriate union/role for each

definition or job description.

Follow-Up Activity: Depth of understanding is the key goal for this activity. Once the students

have correctly categorized the terms, examples and application should be the next step. In some

cases, identification of IBEW is self-explanatory. In others, students should seek out examples of

unions that organize across skill sets, what the work rules are, and who would be a business

representative. Consider using this as a flipped classroom activity or for additional test

preparation.

New Approaches to Labor Relations

Learning Objective: 15-07 Describe new approaches to labor-management relations.

Activity Summary: The case analysis details how companies and unions are working to create

less adversarial work environments.

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Follow-Up Activity: Researching “successful union/management negotiations” does not return a

lot of results. Given the lack of success in this area, have small groups of students select a real-

life union/management negotiation that has led to a strike/lock-out. Student should then research

the issue, present a list of stakeholders and their intended goals, and provide suggestions on ways

to find a fair resolution.

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Classroom Exercises

Students may benefit from exercises that illustrate the concepts of the chapter. Use these along

with CONNECT activities.

1. Understanding Unions and Labor Relations

Instructors may engage students in a general discussion meant to support the

understanding of unions and labor relations. Review and Discussion question #1 may be

used to facilitate this discussion. In addition, instructors may wish to engage students in

discussion concerning the Thinking Ethically vignette to not only help students

understand union benefits and negotiations, but also the contemporary issues concerning

the topic today. Finally, instructors may have students discuss the Taking Responsibility

vignette.

2. Management Best Practices

Students may be asked to discuss how to handle situations within work environments to

further their understanding of employee and labor relations. The instructor may ask

students to first answer the questions in the HR How To vignette. The instructor may also

modify the scenario or continue the discussion by having students respond to the

questions under the HRM Social vignette. Finally, students may be asked to discuss the

information in Table 15.1 in response to the previous vignette discussions.

3. Labor and Management Negotiations

Instructors may facilitate a discussion for students to discuss the potential opposing sides

of labor and management. The Best Practices vignette could be used to start the general

discussion, whereby students contrast each side’s negotiation position. Then, the

instructor may have students work toward identifying any common interests. To close the

discussion, instructors may pose Review and Discussion questions #2 and #9.

4. HRM Career Considerations

Instructors may wish to have students identify components in Chapter 15 within both the

Society for Human Resource Management Body of Competency & Knowledge and the

Human Resource Certification Institute’s A Guide to the HR Body of Knowledge.

Discussion could focus on how these chapter concepts are important to the development

of their careers and potential certification.

5. Vignette Discussions

Any of the vignettes (see above), may be employed for classroom discussion. Students

could be asked to respond as individuals or placed into groups for discussion. Individuals

and/or groups may then be asked to defend their responses and rationale when comparing

and contrasting other responses.