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• Striking the employer may not be as practical for the union as it once was.
Employers today seem much more willing to operate the organization with
management and supervisory personnel or to hire replacement employees. The
greater the chance for the employer to continue operations, the less the
chance of success for the strike.
• A boycott is an attempt by the union to persuade customers not to purchase
the organization’s products or services. Make sure that students understand
how a boycott works and its significance to both the employer and union.
• Identify any boycotts that are of national or regional interest.
2. Management Bargaining Power
• If employees strike, their employer has the option of closing the organization,
hiring replacements, continuing operations with management personnel, or
transferring work to another facility.
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H. Resolving Bargaining Deadlocks
• Both sides are affected by a bargaining deadlock. Employers can lose
customers, profits, or customer goodwill. Unions suffer as their members lose
wages. Union officers risk being voted out of office, or the union could be
decertified through an NLRB election. Therefore, both sides may use either
mediation or arbitration to resolve their bargaining impasse.
VI. THE LABOR AGREEMENT
Many students have never seen a labor agreement. Collect several agreements and bring
them to class. Pass them around and have a discussion on the major provisions included in
each. Compare the articles in these contracts to those shown in Highlights in HRM 5 in the
textbook.
A. The Issue of Management Rights
• A central article in any labor agreement is the management rights clause.
Management rights pertain to those decisions over which management is able to
exercise exclusive control.
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B. Union Security Agreements
• Under the concept of exclusive representation, once the union is certified by the
NLRB as the bargaining representative of employees, the union must then
represent everyone in the bargaining unit equally, regardless of whether those
individuals join the union. Therefore, the union desires that employees join the
VII. ADMINISTRATION OF THE LABOR AGREEMENT
Employers that are unionized know that most labor relations work centers around the day–
to-day administration of the agreement. The parties will need to apply the agreement to the
changing environment of the organization and interpret any ambiguous terms or clauses
put in the agreement during negotiations.
A. Negotiated Grievance Procedures
• Some authorities consider the grievance procedure to be the heart of the labor
agreement. This clause allows mutual differences to be resolved, and it serves as a
means by which employees can relieve job frustrations.
B. The Grievance Procedure in Action
• Grievances are presented either orally or in written form at the first step. The
employee or the shop steward is the logical person to present the grievance to the
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C. Grievance Arbitration
• Arbitration is conducted by a neutral third party who decides the issue between
the parties. Arbitration awards are final and binding upon the parties in almost all
grievance/ arbitration contract clauses. Rights arbitration can be performed by a
single individual or by a panel of arbitrators. The contract will normally specify
1. The Decision to Arbitrate
• The decision to arbitrate a grievance can revolve around the following points:
a. Importance of the issue to either side
2. Arbitration Hearing
• The arbitration hearing is a semijudicial proceeding. It resembles a court
trial but lacks the formalities of court proceedings. Witnesses are sworn in,
evidence is ruled on as to its admissibility, and opening and closing
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3. The Arbitration Award
• The arbitration award normally consists of several sections. These typically
are as follows:
a. Statement of the submission agreement
b. Contract articles in dispute
arbitrary, capricious, or discriminatory.
• Arbitration decision making is more an art than an exact science.
Arbitrators interpret contract words and phrases differently, evaluate
evidence differently, and give different weights to the statements of
witnesses or written documents presented by the parties.
• Assign Case Study 2: The Arbitration Case of Jesse Stansky at the end of the
chapter in the textbook.
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VIII. CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES TO LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
• Labor relations are in a time of change. Present challenges include foreign competition,
A. Decrease in Union Membership
• The textbook illustrates this union problem by presenting figures showing the
decline in union membership both in absolute figures and as a percentage of the
total civilian labor force. Highlight these to students.
B. GLOBALIZATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
• Foreign competition includes imports of automobiles, electronics, textiles,
clothing, and steel. This causes a decline in these industries in the United States
and a loss of jobs for workers.
ANSWERS TO END–OF–CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The two unfair practices that apply both to unions and employers are (a) refusal to bargain
2. The union will focus on the employer’s shortcomings and any employment conditions that
lag behind those of union employees. It will stress the job protection employees lack without a
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4. The bargaining zone, as shown in the illustration in the textbook, is significant because it
represents the area within which agreement can be achieved. The upper limit of this area is
established at the point representing the maximum amount that the employer is willing to
5. When negotiations deadlock, bargaining power is the use of persuasive force by one side to
compel the other side to yield to its bargaining demands. The union may strike (or threaten to
strike), picket the employer, or attempt a boycott of the employer’s product or service.
Should a strike take place, the employer may continue operating the facility by using
managers or supervisors to do bargaining unit work or hire replacement workers. In some
others oppose the strike or the pickets become violent themselves.
Boycotting may cause loss of sales for the employer with little negative reaction toward
employees. While several national boycotts have taken place, it is difficult to identify the
exact cost of these efforts on employers.
The bargaining power used by employers—continuing operations and lockouts—also have
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6. The typical union-management grievance procedure has five steps as shown in Figure 14.4
of the textbook. The process will normally end with arbitration. Each grievance step will have
filing and reply times which the parties must follow or risk having the grievance declared
“untimely.”
7. a. To cope with declining memberships, unions have become much more aggressive
during organizing campaigns. In the political arena, unions are pressuring Congress to limit
imports that have helped to reduce jobs for American workers. Public relations campaigns are
being conducted to improve labor’s image, and concerted efforts are being made to gain new
members from the ranks of white-collar, professional, and government employees.
b. Organized labor has lost the support of many groups within our society for a variety
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of the general public. Furthermore, the rising living standards enjoyed by union members have
reduced the public sympathy that existed when union workers were not so well off
economically.
Learn about Unions
Our experience with teaching labor relations is that a large majority of students
ANSWERS TO USING THE INTERNET ACTIVITIES
Internet Exercise #1, page 606
Question:
Visit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) website and research the NLRB process.
What are the roles of the NLRB? Describe the steps in the unfair labor practice process.
Answer:
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency vested with the power to
HRM EXPERIENCE
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Internet Exercise #2, page 624
Question:
Visit the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) website and review the content presented.
What are the current issues for postal workers today, particularly in reference to federal
legislation? What is your impression of the way that content is presented on the site?
Answer:
Current issues identified by students may vary. In 2011, the APWU published its 2010-2015
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VIDEO CASE DISCUSSION GUIDE
This video case provides a great opportunity to discuss the inner workings of a union. Most
students will say that UNITE HERE is a craft union, given that it represents many garment
industry and hospitality workers. Guide students in a discussion of why these workers need
Students’ answers should demonstrate their understanding that strikes and lockouts occur when
unions and management can’t seem to agree on negotiating terms. A strike is when the union
workers refuse to work until an agreement has been reached, while a lockout is when
management refuses to let the union workers come to work until an agreement has been
reached. The threat of either of these actions is sometimes used during negotiations to move
the process along.
NOTES FOR END–OF–CHAPTER CASE STUDIES
Case Study 1: The New Union Battles: Public Unions vs. Rich World
Governments
1. The weak economy in 2011 resulted in many states seeing tax revenue going down but not
spending requirements. Given that state governments do not have the same power as the
2. Obviously the risk is that state employees may not get as much of an increase in the pay and
benefits as would have been the case otherwise. It is even possible that political leaders may
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3. The politician could indicate that there is only a given amount that will be available for
Case Study 2: The Arbitration Case of Jesse Stansky
1. Arbitrators will give different weights to facts and evidence presented in an arbitration hearing.
Certainly company policy, employee handbooks, and the labor agreement will be
evaluated strongly in the employer’s favor. Management has the right to establish the rules and
2. Unprofessional conduct is a highly ambiguous concept and its definition may rest largely in
the eye of the beholder. Some acts of industrial life are clearly unprofessional such as
3. Based on the facts presented in this case, the arbitrator concluded that a “fight” between
Stansky and the coworker did not take place. There was no conclusive proof that the rough
hand placed upon the coworker’s should constitute a punch or physical shove. At the hearing,