Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Lecture Notes
Chapter 14: Employee and Labor Relations
Learning Objectives
14.2 Compare different types of organizational policies and procedures.
14.3 Recognize the role that the labor movement plays globally.
Chapter Summary
This chapter discusses managing the culture and expectations of a workforce through development,
communication, and enforcement of organizational policies and procedures. These are often
communicated through employee handbooks. Historically, being represented by a union and managing
working conditions through a collective bargaining agreement was perceived by many employees as the
Annotated Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
A. Employee Relations
i. Collective relationships between employees
ii. Relationships between employees and management
II. Factors Influencing Labor Relations
A. Culture
i. Shared assumptions which members of an organization have, affecting how they
think, act, and perceive their environment
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
c. Gather employee feedback
d. Employee involvement in how organizations function
C. Working Conditions
i. Rewards and benefits
III. Organizational Policies and Procedures
A. Employee Handbooks
i. Rules and expectations for employees and employers
ii. Not mandated, but frequently implemented
B. Examples of Types of Organizational Policies
i. Legally required information
a. Worker’s compensation
b. Family medical leave
c. EEOC nondiscrimination
v. Social media
a. Companies need to develop and communicate their policies regarding
the use of social media both during and outside of work hours.
IV. The Labor Movement
A. History
i. In early 1900s began to set up procedures to address employee concerns
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
iii. Types of unions
a. Industrial and craft unions
b. National and international unions
B. Reasons Employees Unionize
i. Job dissatisfaction, illustrated by the exit-voice-loyalty-neglect framework
C. Why Do Some Organizations Resist Unionization?
i. Profit concerns
D. Unions and Laws
i. Norris-Laguardia Act (1932) outlawed most court orders to stop union activities.
ii. National Labor Relations (Wagner Act of 1935) granted unions fundamental
rights.
a. Right to form, join, and assist with labor activities
iii. Labor Management Act (1947)
a. Limited unfair acts to companies
b. Prohibited jurisdictional strikes (only unions directed related to work of
the business could participate in the strike)
iv. Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (1959)
a. regulates how unions are internally regulated
b. how union funds spent
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
v. Right-to-Work State Laws
a. Workers employed within the state are not required to join the union in
E. Trends in Union Membership
i. In the United States, a steady declining trend resulted in 10.7% belonging to
unions in 2016.
F. Union Formation and Dissolution
i. Forming a union
a. Thirty percent of employees in unit sign an authorization card to
conduct an election.
ii. Decertifying unions
a. Thirty percent of employees in union sign a petition to vote to decertify.
b. Timing is important.
iii. Management–Labor partnerships have had some effective results in long-term
solutions.
V. The Collective Bargaining Process
A. Collective bargaining is negotiating in good faith to agree upon terms on wages,
VI. Negotiation Phase and Collective Bargaining Content
i. Preparation required of both the employer and the union representatives:
investigation of key issues, goals, data to support position
ii. Best alternative to a negotiated agreement determination (BATNA)
a. Brainstorming alternatives
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
iv. Bargaining, concessions made
a. May result in impasse, worker strike, company lock out employees
period of time
VII. Failure to Reach An Agreement
A. Alternative Dispute Resolution—method which does not involve litigation
i. Mediation—impartial third party who facilitates the communications
ii. Factfinders—impartial third party who makes nonbinding recommendations
C. Disputes and Grievances
i. Inform supervisor; this often requires completing a grievance form.
ii. Supervisor and union representative evaluate
a. If they both determine it is not valid, process ends.
b. If supervisor and union representative don’t agree, it must be resolved
VIII. Chapter Summary
A. Employee relations are managed through organizational policies and procedures which
often set the tone for employees’ cultural and working experiences.