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CHAPTER 8
Administrative Issues
Outline
I. Technological Change and Job Protection
i. Technological change
ii. Automation
iii. Effects bargaining
iv. High-performance work organization (HPWO)
a. Benefits of Technological Change
b. Negative Effects of Technological Change
i. Deskilling
ii. Workplace privacy protection
II. Job Security and Personnel Changes
a. Job Security and the Changing Psychological Contract
i. Job security
ii. Union concerns
b. Job Security Work Rules
i. Featherbedding
ii. Job security negotiated work rules
iii. Radio-frequency identification tag (RFID)
c. Plant Closures, Downsizing, and WARN
i. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)
d. Subcontracting, Outsourcing, and Work Transfer
i. Subcontracting
ii. Outsourcing
iii. Offshoring
iv. Fibreboard ruling
e. Work Assignments and Jurisdiction
i. Jurisdictional disputes (Exhibit 8.1)
ii. Instructional situations
iii. Experimental work
iv. Emergency situation
v. Right to refuse
f. Work Scheduling
i. Flextime
ii. Compressed workweek
g. The role of Seniority in Personnel Changes
i. Seniority
h. Types of Seniority
i. Purpose of Seniority
i. Benefit rights
1. Competitive job rights
j. Seniority and Layoffs
i. Bumping rights
ii. Superseniority
k. Combining Seniority and Qualifications
i. Types of seniority clauses
l. Job Posting
i. Job sharing
ii. Work sharing
m. Legal Issues Involving Seniority in administrative Determinations
i. Distributive justice
ii. Procedural justice
iii. Interpersonal justice
iv. Informational justice
v. American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
vi. Reasonable accommodation
III. Employee Training
i. Future workers with higher levels of skills
ii. Types of training
iii. Union role in response to new work practices
IV. Work Restructuring
i. Work restructuring programs
ii. Semi-autonomous work team
iii. Self-managed work teams
iv. Cell manufacturing
V. Safety and Health
i. The Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
ii. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
iii. Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAW)
iv. Safety and health standards
v. Johnson controls
Discussion Questions
1. “My employer monitors my e-mail and
i
nt
erne
t
usage at work and tracks my location
through the GPS feature of my cell phone. I receive work-related text
messages o
r
voice
mails almost every day of the week and often after normal scheduled work hours. These
messages are often seeking information or making comments that could easily have waited
until the next business day. I am frustrated that I
always
seem connected to work with little
private time
to
pursue my own interests. What advice could you
give
me on how to manage
the job stress of working in a technologically connected work environment? Is there any way
I can capture some private time without making it appear to my employer that I’m not
motivated
t
o constantly improve my job performance? Also, under what conditions does my
employer have to pay me overtime for such work?”
For work-related phone messages, it might be advantageous for you to ask you employer to
Further, “on-call” scheduling has increased as cell phones have become widely-available.
State laws vary greatly. New York requires that an employee be paid a minimum of four
2. Think of an industry or company with which you are familiar, and assume that you are the
local union president. What types of clauses regarding technological issues would you
attempt to negotiate with the employer?
Students should include as possible classes the following topic areas:
• economic gain-sharing from production efficiency.
3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing or offshoring jobs. Should a
worker
i
n
today’s economy have any reasonable expectation of job security? Explain your
reasoning.
Advantages: lower costs (particularly labor costs); increased profitability, productivity, and
quality improvements; increased operating flexibility, speed, and faster access to innovative
With the current high rate of unemployment and difficult business environment, a worker
4. Discuss some of the advantages or disadvantages of using seniority as a factor to determine
shift preference or overtime assignments?
Advantages: Employees may view seniority as an important economic incentive reducing
Disadvantages: Overtime costs may increase to the extent more overtime hours are worked
5. Explain why unions often place a priority on seniority in personnel decisions, whereas
employers tend to emphasize ability to perform the job. Based on your own experience with
work performance appraisals conducted by managers, how confident are you that managers
can
effec
tively judge legitimate differences in performance between two or more
employees?
Unions place priority on seniority for several reasons:
Management seeks to emphasize ability to do the job because it is perceived to directly
6. Who has the responsibility of ensuring a safe and healthy work environment? Who should
pay to provide this work environment? Should it be the employer, union, individual
employees, or government?
Each of these parties has a role to play in ensuring a safe and healthful work environment.
7. S
everal
alternative work schedules
(e.g.,
flextime, compressed workweek) were
discussed
in
this chapter. What would be your ideal 40-hour workweek schedule? Why?
H
ow likely are
you to achieve
that
ideal work schedule in the career you currently have or intend to pursue
upon completing your education?
Student answers will vary. It is likely that all graduates will be faced with choosing between
Exploring the Web
Administrative Issues
1. WARN: Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
2. Safety and Health
3. Electronic Monitoring
4. Labor force projections
Suggested Readings and Term Paper Topics
1. Should union leaders vigorously pursue the 35-hour workweek? Why or why not?
What be the effects of such a workweek? Support your position.
Possible references:
Fishman, T. (June 27, 2000). Why not shorten workweek? USA Today, pg. l5.A.
Handel, M.J. and Gittleman, M. (2004). Is there a wage payoff to innovative work practices? Industrial
2. What should a union's position be with regard to "corporate wellness" programs?
Possible references:
Caldwell, B. (1992). Employers save with wellness programs. Employee Benefit Plan Review, 46, (7), 46-
3. What tactics did unions use to achieve a shorter workweek? Did the ends justify the
means? Is a shorter workweek actually better? Should it be even shorter? Support
your position(s) as you address some of these questions.
Possible references:
Costa, D. (2000). Hours of work and the Fair Labor Standards Act: A study of retail and wholesale trade,
1938-1950. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 53, (4), 648-665.
4. What are the implications of new technology for organized labor? Should labor unions
embrace the use of new technology?
Possible references:
5. Write a report to the AFL-CIO on the topic, "How labor unions should deal with the
AIDS crisis." Be sure to support your arguments.
Possible references:
Haus, L. (2002). Unions, Immigration, and Internationalization: New Challenges and Changing Coalitions
Palgrave Macmillan.
6. What should a union's position be with regard to genetic testing? How should unions
pursue these recommended policies? Be sure to support your recommendations.
59-70.
Rothstein, M. A. (1984). Medical screening of workers. Washington, D.C.: BNA Books.
7. Is job enrichment an appropriate job redesign strategy for everyone or only for certain
types of individuals? Defend your position.
Possible references:
Hall, K. (1999). The place of sacred space. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 22, (2), 44-48.
8. Is job satisfaction positively related to productivity? Support your position.
Possible references:
Barret, R. (1999). Why the future belongs to values added companies. The Journal for Quality and
Participation, 22, (1), 30-36.
Choi, Y. (2000). An analysis of mental processes, behaviors, and job satisfaction of apparel product
9. What is the relationship between labor unions and unemployment?
Possible references:
Budd, J. (1997). The effect of unions on the receipt of unemployment insurance benefits. Industrial &
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Flanagan, R. (1999). Macroeconomic performance and collective bargaining: An international perspective.
Journal of Economic Literature, 37, (3), 1150-1176.
Freeman, R. B., & Medoff, J. L. (1984). What do unions do? NY: Basic Books.
Kelvin, P. (1985). Unemployment. Cambridge University Press.
10. In 1989, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) took effect.
How well has this law worked? Express your opinion: Should the WARN act be
retained? Modified? Repealed? Support your position.
Possible references:
Jasper, M.C. (2002). Labor Law, 2nd edition. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. : Oceana Publications.
11. How should business, labor, the government, and society at large deal with plant
closings and layoffs? Support your arguments.
Possible references:
Addison, J. (1994). Has WARN warned? The impact of advance-notice legislation on the receipt of
12. What role do/should unions play in promoting safety? How should they promote safety
at work? Should unions be supportive of safety training programs? Or should they be
suspicious of these programs? Support your position.
Possible references:
Fenton, J. W., Ruud, W. N., and Kimbell, J. A. (June, 1991). Negligent training suits: A recent entry into
13. How have unions responded to changes in information technology used in the
workplace?
Possible references:
Fiorito, J. (2000). The adoption of information technology by U.S. national unions. Relations Industrielles,
14. Should unions be supportive of or suspicious of Total Quality Management (TQM)
programs? Support your position.
Possible references:
Batt, R. (1999). Work organization, technology, and performance in customer service and sales. Industrial
15. Agree or disagree: Unions are more interested in seeking "job security" or
"employment security" clauses today than at any time since World War II. Support
your position.
Possible references:
Bender, K. A., & Sloane, P. J. (1999). Trade union membership, tenure, and the level of job insecurity.
