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majority in the election, the union then petitions the NLRB for certification.
D. Certification and Decertification
Official certification of a union as the legal representative for designated private-sector
employees is given by the NLRB, or for public-sector employees by an equivalent body.
Once certified, the union attempts to negotiate a contract with the employer. The
employer must bargain; refusing to bargain with a certified union constitutes an unfair
labor practice.
• The treatment provided by employers has improved
• The union has been unable to address the changing needs of the organizational
workforce
• The image of the union has declined
E. Contract Negotiation (Collective Bargaining)
Collective bargaining, the last step in unionization, is the process whereby
representatives of management and workers negotiate over wages, hours, and other
terms and conditions of employment. This give-and-take process between
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VI. Collective Bargaining Issues
A number of issues can be addressed during collective bargaining. Although not often
listed as such in the contract, management rights and union security are two important
issues subject to collective bargaining.
A. Management Rights
Virtually all labor contracts include management rights, which are rights reserved so
B. Union Security
A major concern of union representatives when bargaining is the negotiation of union
security provisions, which are contract clauses to help the union obtain and retain
Union Dues Issues
A common union security provision is the dues checkoff clause, which provides for
the automatic deduction of union dues from the payroll checks of union members.
The dues checkoff provision makes it much easier for the union to collect its funds,
and without it, the union must collect dues by billing each member separately.
Types of Required Union Membership
Another form of union security provision is requiring union membership of all
C. Classification of Bargaining Issues
The NLRB has defined collective bargaining issues in three ways. The categories it has
used are mandatory, permissive, and illegal.
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Mandatory Issues
Issues identified specifically by labor laws or court decisions as subject to bargaining
are mandatory issues. If either party demands that issues in this category be subject
to bargaining, then that must occur. Generally, mandatory issues relate to wages,
Permissive Issues
Issues that are not mandatory and that relate to certain jobs are permissive issues.
For example, the following issues can be bargained over if both parties agree:
Illegal Issues
A final category, illegal issues, includes those issues that would require either party
VII. Collective Bargaining Process
The collective bargaining process involved in negotiating a contract consists of a number
of stages—preparation and initial demands, negotiations, settlement or impasse, and strikes
and lockouts. Throughout the process, management and labor deal with the terms of their
relationship.
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A. Preparation and Initial Demands
Both labor and management representatives spend considerable time preparing for
negotiations. Employer and industry data concerning wages, benefits, working
Core Bargaining Issues
The primary focus of bargaining for both union and management is on the core areas
of wages, benefits, and working hours and conditions. The importance of this
emphasis is seen in several ways. Union wages and benefits generally are higher in
unionized firms than in nonunionized firms.
B. Continuing Negotiations
After taking initial positions, each side attempts to determine what the other side values
highly so that the best bargain can be struck. For example, the union may be asking the
Good Faith
Provisions in federal law require that both employers and union bargaining
representatives negotiate in good faith. In good-faith negotiations, the parties agree
C. Settlement and Contract Agreement
After reaching an initial agreement, the bargaining parties usually return to their
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respective constituencies to determine if the informal agreement is acceptable. A
D. Bargaining Impasse
Regardless of the structure of the bargaining process, labor and management do not
always reach agreement on the issues. If they reach an impasse, then the disputes can be
taken to conciliation, mediation, or arbitration.
Conciliation and Mediation
Arbitration
In arbitration, a neutral third party makes a decision. Arbitration can be conducted
by an individual or a panel of individuals. “Interest” arbitration attempts to solve
bargaining impasses, primarily in the public sector. This type of arbitration is not
E. Strikes, Lockouts, and Other Union Tactics
If a deadlock cannot be resolved, an employer may revert to a lockout—or a union may
revert to a strike. During a strike, union members refuse to work in order to put
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pressure on an employer. Often, the striking union members picket or demonstrate
against the employer outside the place of business by carrying placards and signs.
Types of Strikes
HR Perspective: No More Twinkies, At Least for Now
The 83-year-old company Hostess Brands, makers of Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs,
Sno Balls, Hostess Cupcakes, and many other well-known baked products, recently
decided to close its doors due to failed negotiations with one of its major unions, the
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.
The company blamed the closure on union involvement in wage and benefit
disagreements and rising debt. The union blamed the company’s woes on low interest in
technological advancements and an overemphasis on generating profits for the hedge
funds that own Hostess Brands. CEO Gregory F. Rayburn indicated that he was
optimistic about the firm being able to sell it product lines to other organizations, and
there is speculation that other food producers such as McKee Foods (makers of Little
Debbie products), Bimbo Bakeries (makers of Entenmann’s baked goods), and ConAgra
could be involved in brand buy outs.
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Five types of strikes can occur:
• Economic strikes happen when the parties fail to reach agreement during
collective bargaining.
• Unfair labor practices strikes occur when union members leave their jobs over
what they feel are illegal employer actions, such as refusal to bargain.
Many unions are reluctant to go on strike due to the financial losses their members
would incur or the fear that a strike would cause the employer to go bankrupt. In
addition, management has shown its willingness to hire replacements, and some
strikes have ended with union workers losing their jobs.
Replacement of Workers on Strike
Management retains and sometimes uses its ability to simply replace workers who
Other Union Tactics
Besides picketing and strikes, unions and their members might resort to unorthodox
or even aggressive practices to express their discontent about employer practices and
F. Trends in Union/Management Negotiations
Unions are having a tougher time representing employees’ interests. A decline in
membership, increased competition for business, and the availability of more attractive
options for handling employee issues has severely weakened interest in unions. These
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realities have encouraged unions in both the public and private sectors to make more
concessions when negotiating with management.
VIII. Union/Management Cooperation
The adversarial relationship that naturally exists between unions and management may
lead to strikes and lockouts. However, such conflicts currently are relatively rare. Even
more encouraging is the recognition on the part of some union leaders and employer
representatives that cooperation between management and labor unions offers a useful
route if organizations are to compete effectively in a global economy.
A. Employee Involvement Programs
It seems somewhat illogical to suggest that union/management cooperation or involving
employees in making suggestions and decisions could be bad, and yet some decisions
by the NLRB appear to have done just that.
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programs in organizations today has raised new concerns along these lines. Because of
the Wagner Act, many employee-involvement programs set up in past years may be
illegal, according to an NLRB decision.
B. Unions and Employee Ownership
Unions in some situations have encouraged workers to become partial or complete
owners of the companies that employ them. These efforts were spurred by concerns that
firms were preparing to shut down, merge, or be bought out. Such results were likely to
cut the number of union jobs and workers.
IX. Grievance management
Unions know that employee dissatisfaction is a potential source of trouble for employers,
whether it is expressed or not. Hidden dissatisfaction grows and creates reactions that may
be completely out of proportion to the original concerns. Therefore, it is important that
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some form of arbitration to tackle grievances.
A. Grievance Responsibilities
The typical division of responsibilities between the HR unit and operating managers for
usually has more general responsibilities.
B. Grievance Procedures
Grievance procedures are specific communication channels that are used to resolve
grievances between employees and employers. Many times, first-line supervisors are
usually closest to a problem and should be one the primary problem solvers in
employee-grievance cases. However, supervisors can be distracted by other work
matters and may even be the subject of an employee’s grievance. Consequently,
grievances need to be handled with a specified resolution approach so that problems are
appropriately resolved.
Union Representation in Grievance Procedures
C. Steps in a Grievance Procedure
Grievance procedures can vary in the steps included. Figure 16-11 shows a typical
grievance procedure.
• The employee discusses the grievance with the union steward (the representative
of the union on the job) and the supervisor.
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Grievance arbitration is a means by which a third party settles disputes arising from
different interpretations of a labor contract. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that
X. Unions in the Global Arena
Globalization increases the degree to which there is economic competition among workers,
companies, and nations in different nations. As such, the ability of a country to remain
competitive is often influenced by its union bargaining arrangements and labor laws.
A. International Union Membership
The percentage of union membership varies significantly from country to country. The
highest is in the Scandinavian countries. Collective bargaining is set in law as the way
wages are to be determined in Europe. The range of labor concerns is quite wide and
varies from country to country, with child labor an issue in some countries, and changes
in participatory employment practices issues in others.
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B. Global Labor Organizations
Global labor relations standards are being addressed by several organizations. The
International Labor Organization, based in Switzerland, coordinates the efforts of labor
unions worldwide and has issued some principles about rights at work. Such
coordination is increasingly occurring as unions deal with multinational firms having
operations in multiple countries.
HR Perspective: Technology Helps Work Reform in China
In the past, Chinese authorities were fairly effective at squashing labor protests by
making arrests, offering concessions to disgruntled workers, and preventing more
organized demonstrations. However, there is a growing movement among migrant
The different technologies available today help Chinese workers organize more
effectively. There are almost 800 million individuals who use cell phones, and over
300 million use the Internet, which gives people access to information about different
labor developments around globe. Technology use has also made more workers
understand the tougher labor requirements passed in 2008 that require businesses to
consider worker rights.
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international policies on child labor, worker safety and health, and training. The UIN is
also providing aid and guidance to unions in developing countries, such as those in
Africa and Asia.
C. U.S. and Global Differences
Union management relations in the United States have taken some issues differently
from those in other countries. In the United States, the key focuses have been the
following:
• Economic issues vs. other concerns—in the United States, unions have typically
focused on improving the bread-and-butter issues for their members (wages,
benefits, etc.). In some other countries, integration with ruling governmental and
political power and activism are equal concerns along with economic issues.
• Competitive relations—in the United States, management and labor traditionally
take the roles of competing adversaries who often clash to reach agreement. In
many other countries, tripartite bargaining occurs between the national
government, employers’ associations, and national labor federations with little
clashing.
Critical Thinking Challenges
1. Discuss the following statement: If management gets a union, it deserves one.
Student responses will vary. Workers typically join unions when they are dissatisfied
with how they are treated by their employers and they believe unions can improve
2. Suppose a coworker just brought you a union leaflet urging employees to sign an
authorization card. What may happen from this point on?
The process is illustrated in Figure 16-6. More specifically, however, several scenarios
might occur. First is the possibility that fewer than 30% of the eligible employees
3. As the HR manager, you have heard rumors about potential efforts to unionize your
supervisors if they are asked questions by employees about unionization as part of a
“union prevention” approach.
4. Public-sector unions now account for more than half of union members, while the
private sector accounts for less than half. Why has this change occurred?
As the text discusses, union membership in the private sector has decreased due to
geographical, industrial and workforce changes. There has been a shift from
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5. There has been some discussion among the employees in your company’s
manufacturing plant about forming a union. Company management recognizes the
discussions may be due to the absence of a formal grievance procedure to assist
employees with reporting their concerns and grievances to management. HR has been
asked to develop a formal grievance procedure in an effort to develop better labor
relations between the employer and the employees and as an avoidance measure to the
formation of a union. To assist HR in developing a formal grievance procedure, visit
several websites including the ADR/Conflict Resolution link at
http://community.linchr.com/employmentguide.
A. Employees in the shipping department have requested the implementation of a
“suggestion box” system to help them bring their concerns to the attention of
management and to help improve labor relations. Identify the advantages and
disadvantages of such a system.
B. If company management determines that the “suggestion box” request will be
more cumbersome than helpful, what are some alternative solutions that
management can suggest to the employees?
Case
Just Let Them Strike
1. Should CEO Emilio Teti stick with his proposed plan to reduce the original
concessions offered to unionized employees? Should no concessions be offered?
Chapter 16: Union/Management Relations
Student answers may vary. However, they may include the following points in their
response:
• CEO Emilio Teti should be open to other ways of handling the situation, as the
2. Does changing compensation from a revenue-sharing approach to profit-sharing
represent a viable business strategy?
Student answers may vary. They may base their response on either of the two options
provided below:
• If the company follows a revenue-sharing approach, the employees will earn
3. How else might the Software Engineers Guild and Detonation Media reach a fair deal
for employees?
Student answers may vary. However, they may include the following points in their
response:
Chapter 16: Union/Management Relations
Supplemental Cases
Teamsters and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)
The case discusses how unions sometimes compete to represent workers and explores
experiences at the Denver Sheriff’s Department. (For the case, go to
1. Is it good or bad for one union to challenge another to represent these deputies? Why
or why not?
Students’ answers will vary but most will probably think that it is good for employees
2. Is the Teamsters rough approach appropriate and legal under the circumstances?
Based on the limited information provided, students may not think there is any illegal
3. If you were sheriff which union would you rather deal with? Is there a lesson there?
Wal-Mart and Union Prevention
This case covers Wal-Mart efforts to stay nonunion. (For the case, go to
1. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of Wal-Mart’s aggressive union prevention
efforts.
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Students’ views will vary. Some students might think that what Wal-Mart does is
identify your view of the Watch’s efforts.
The Wilson County Hospital
The case deals with labor disputes in a unionized hospital. (For the case, go to
Questions
1. Discuss the hospital administrator’s refusal to bargain from both his viewpoint and a
legal viewpoint.
Student answers may vary. As per the Wagner Act, there is a case of unfair labor
practices being conducted here. As per the unfair labor practices, employers are
prohibited from:
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2. If you were chairman of the board of directors for the hospital, what actions would you
suggest to deal with the problems present in the case?
Student answers may vary. It would be a good idea to talk and discuss with the union
Comments
The hospital administrator undoubtedly is still feeling bitter because of the union
organizing attempts. However, since the nurses’ union is the recognized bargaining agent
for the nurses, the administrator has an obligation under law to bargain in good faith with