CHAPTER 14 Understanding Unionization and Collective Bargaining
Teaching Note: Replacement workers who cross picket lines are referred
to as “scabs” by striking workers. Ask students why employees who are
represented by the union, but not union members, would decide not to
cross the picket line, even though they have a right to.
2. Lockouts
A lockout occurs when management refuses to allow employees to
work. Employers are legally allowed to lockout employees if they have
3. Slowdowns
Short of an actual strike, unions may initiate a work slowdown.
4. Primary Boycotts
Unions sometimes want to make the public more aware of their cause.
To do so, they may engage in a primary boycott. For instance, a union
5. Corporate Campaigns
In a corporate campaign, a union may ask the public and other unions
to write letters to a company, requesting that it change the way it
6. Mediation
7. Arbitration
Arbitration, which was also discussed in Chapter 3, is a procedure in
which a neutral third party studies the bargaining situation, listens to
both parties and gathers information, and then makes a determination
VIII. MAINTENANCE AND EVALUATION
Once signed, the collective bargaining agreement becomes the contract that
governs daily worklife. That is, the daily operation and activities in the
organization are subject to the conditions of the agreement.
A. Contract Administration
The most common method of resolving disputes that arise from the
implementation and interpretation of the contract is a grievance procedure.
1. Grievance Procedures
The most common grievance procedure, shown in Exhibit 14.11,
involves the following four steps:
Step 1. An employee who feels that the labor contract has been
violated usually contacts the union steward, and together, they discuss
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Teaching Note: In the day-to-day administration of a collective bargaining
agreement, the majority of the time is spent on grievance handling.
2. Grievance Issues
Grievances can be filed over any workplace issue that is subject to the
collective agreement, or they can be filed over the interpretation and
3. Management Procedures
Management can significantly affect the grievance rate by adopting
4. Union Procedures
The union has an obligation to its members to provide fair and
adequate representation and speedily process and investigate
grievances brought by its members. The union should have a
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B. Evaluating Effectiveness
The effectiveness of the entire collective bargaining process can be
evaluated by the extent to which each party attains its goals, but this
approach has its difficulties. Because goals are incompatible in many
cases and can therefore lead to conflicting estimates of effectiveness, it
may be more useful to evaluate the quality of the system used to resolve
conflicts.
1. Evaluating Negotiations
Because the purpose of negotiations is to achieve an agreement, the
agreement itself can be used as an overall measure of bargaining
2. Evaluating Conflict Resolution
The effectiveness of conflict resolution procedures has historically
been evaluated with measures of speed or the satisfaction of the
parties. Specific procedures may involve different metrics. The success
of a grievance procedure may be judged differently depending on
whose perspective one takes. Management may view the number of
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IX. CURRENT ISSUES
Two current issues are particularly important for unions today—namely, the
possibility of global unions and dealing with possible backlash for the power
of public sector unions.
A. Global Unions
Substantial country differences in conditions of employment and
unionization make forming global unions a formidable undertaking.
B. The Power of Public Sector Unions
As noted earlier in the chapter, the low and declining union membership
rate in the U.S. private sector is in sharp contrast to the high and stable
rate in the public sector. For several reasons, public sector unions have
considerably more power than private sector unions. Public unions
frequently have the power to shut down nonfederal government
monopolies, and they often have close ties to political parties and,
therefore, have influence over the very government officials they are
negotiating against. Neither the unions nor those they are negotiating with
have to worry about competitiveness or bankruptcy in the same way as
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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTIVE THINKING
1. Describe how a strike by the Teamsters against UPS affects that
company’s various stakeholders. Would the current political landscape
make a difference? Explain.
2. Union membership has been declining in the U.S. private sector for
many years. What do you think are the major reasons for this? Why
isn’t this true for the public sector?
3. Despite the fact that union membership is relatively low, many people
believe the fear of unionization ensures that employers treat employees
well. Do you agree or disagree with this view? Why?
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4. Describe the actions that an employer may take when a union attempts
to organize the workforce. What employer actions are prohibited?
5. Distinguish mediation from arbitration. How does rights arbitration
differ from interest arbitration? What is final-offer arbitration?
Mediation uses a neutral third party to assist in crafting an agreement
whereas arbitration uses a neutral third party to make a binding decision
CASE STUDY: THE UNION’S STRATEGIC CHOICE
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each strategy?
Strategy Number One: the strength is that it might provide some additional
revenue depending on how many find the low cost insurance to more than offset
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2. What strategies could be employed to get new bargaining units?
3. What other types of services could the union offer to its members?
4. What would be your final recommendation? Justify your response.
Opinions will vary. The important thing is the analysis used in responding.
CHAPTER 14 Understanding Unionization and Collective Bargaining
VIDEO CASE STUDY: UNITE
Instructors: The following video case can be found on the companion DVD. The
video can be used in class as an introductory activity or a post-lecture activity, as
well as an online assignment for those students using CourseMate.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Justification for demanding higher wages was set forth by Henry (the
head of local UNITE 1 of Chicago) who stated that the corporations had
made their money from the workers and Susan (a shop steward) who
indicated that the corporations had billions and were growing thus they
could afford to pay more. Do their arguments justify their demands?
What do you think?
This could be hotly debated. Views may differ among those who take a
comprehensive view of business functions, those who use economic
rationale, and those who have a particular view of social morality.
Those who view business success as not simply due to labor but include
other functional areas of business (such as marketing and finance) might
2. Restaurants are among the firms in the hospitality industry that the
union is trying to organize. Often such firms do not pay a lot. Why? Do
you think that those who currently work for such firms would benefit
from a union that could push wages up?
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3. Henry indicated that one of the disagreements the union has with
companies is that the workers have higher standards than management.
The implication is that the firms simply want to keep costs down so as
to keep profits up. However, since firms in the industry must compete
with each other for customers and quality can often be at least as
important as price (sometimes more important) why would there be any
disagreement regarding standards?
The hospitality industry tends to be extremely competitive on price and
quality. Firms may try to compete on price and such firms may be tempted to
4. Henry indicated that it is not so much whether the union and
management agree but how they resolve their disagreements. How does
that summarize the collective bargaining process?
Henry mentioned one firm that has had relatively good relations with the
union but there have been disagreements with even that firm. On the other
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