Chapter 13- Union representation and collective bargaining

WHY DO EMPLOYEES JOIN UNIONS?

 Labor union- group of workers who join together to influence nature of their employment
o seeking improved wages and benefits, protection against arbitrary treatment, seeking
greater voice in company decisionmaking
 for employers, labor relations are about promoting goals like profitability or cost effective
service
 nonunion employers pursue goals by trying to remain union free
o Anti-union tactics or progressive HR management so unions aren’t necessary
 Loyalty to union is not just economic, its about dignity as a worker and personal identity
 Managers who fail to treat workers with respect invite collective action
 Workers will vote against unions if theyre unsympathetic

UNION MEMBERSHIP IN THE US

 Shrunk from 35% in 1945 to 22% in 1980 to 11.3% in 2013
 Still represent 14.7 million workers, but that’s 1 out of 10 employees
 6.7% of private-sector employees
 Same trends toward globalization, technology, and corporate downsizing that cut union
membership have created new receptiveness for union organizers among surviving employees
o Who find themselves overworked and stressed
 Many fast growing unions represent white-collar professionals like physicians and judges
 Minority group members tend to favor unions
o Women’s participation is likely enhanced if there’s greater rep of women in union office
 Large-scale resurgence unlikely
 Young workers are highly mobile and will not be willing to support 6 month unionization drive
that could culminate in a strike to win a first contract
 Service sector employment is growing, and 92% of that is unorganized
 Also high-tech industries focus on earning stock options and other rewards instead of wage
increases and health insurance
 Unions are still powerful, and economic & working conditions in unionized firms directly affect
nonunionized firms
o Managers strive to provide competitive working conditions for their own workers

THE CHANGING NATURE OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS IN THE US

 Labor management relations are about power—who has it and how do they use it
 Both parties are finding that best results come from shared power
 Unions lose power bc of global competition, nonunion domestic competition, deregulation,
service industry growth, corporate downsizing depleting membership, and overseas ops
o Deregulation made market entry easier and spurred lowering costs by matching labor
contracts of competitors
 Forced businesses to cut costs, innovate, and devise flexible labor force strategy
  Traditionally power of unions to set industrywide wage levels was based on market power of
domestic producers

FUNDAMENTAL FEATURES OF THE US INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SYSTEM

 1) exclusive representation
o One and only one union in given job territory, selected by majority vote
o But multiple unions represent diff groups of employees under same employer ( pilots,
flight attendants, etc)
 2) collective agreements that embody sharp distinction btwn negotiation of and interpretation
of an agreement
o Most agreements are fixed duration
o Result from legitimate, overt conflict that’s confined to negotiation
o Incorporate nostrike and no-lockout provisions during agreement, + interp of agreement
using private arbitrators
 3) decentralized collective bargaining
o Due to size of US and diversity of econ activity
 4) high union dues and large union staffs
 5) Opposition by large and small employers
 6) role of government
o US gov passive in dispute resolution
o Highly legalistic in admin procedures
o Role is not to establish labor standards but promote competition

A BRIEF HISTORY OF US LABOR RELATIONS

 Began industrial revolution of 19th century, which was productive and accumulated lot of capital
 Wages were low, working conditions were hazardous
 Workers started organizing 1794 when Philly shoemakers attempted to raise wages
o Employers sued union arguing that it was illegal conspiracy
o 1806 fed court ruled in favored of employers
 This was overturned 1842 in Commonwealth of Mass vs Hunt
o Union’s conduct will determine if it’s legal or illegal
 Emergence of American Federation of Labor
o AFL organized 1886 with pragmatic goals
o Soutght immediate benefits for its members, group of national craft unions
 Metal workers, carpenters, cigar makers, iron molders, miners, bakers, etc.
 Emergence of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)
o 1930s made unionism attractive
 Great depression
 Labor laws that made organizing workers easy
 Rebel leaders in AFL who wanted to organize unskilled workers
o 1935 rebels formed CIO and intended to work within the AFL
o Craft vs industrial unionism issue broke out
 CIO wanted to organize ALL workers rather than focus on certain crafts
  Used sit-down strike in which workers refused to leave premises until employers
met demands for recognition
o Membership for CIO reached 3.7m, exceeding AFL’s 300,000
 Merger of AFL-CIO
o 1950s, both orgs said they were sacrificing power and efficiency by fightin on two fronts:
against employers and each other
o Merged under George Meany and Walter Reuther
o Integrity was meany’s hallmark
 Primary conerns about wages and working conditions
 Elevated wages and hours to unprecedented standing
o From Meany (1938) came social security, national labor relations act, public employee
unions, and first national minimum wage (25cents per hour for 48 hour work week)
 Breaking away from AFL-CIO
o On 50th anniversary experienced dramatic turn
o Decline in membership frustrated leaders, and several unions left AFL-CIO in 2005 to
form Change to Win
 Four unions, but 5.5 million workers (less than 50% of AFL-CIO membership)
 Service employees, teamsters, united food and commercial workers, farm
workers
o All about action, 75% of budget goes to field organizing
o More resources are being put into organizing and political action
o Unioninizing nonunion workplaces is top priority for labor movement

UNIONIZATION PROCESS
 The Legal Basis
o Wagner Act (national labor relations act) of 1935 affirmed right of all employees to
engage in union activities, organize and bargain without interference or coercion from
management
o National Labor Relations Board created to supervise representation elections and
investigate charges of unfair labor practices
o Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 reaffirmed rights and specified unfair labor practices for
management and unions
 UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
 Management
o Interference with, coercion of, restraint of employees in their
right to organize
o Domination of, interference with, or illegal assistance of labor
org
o Discrimination in employment bc of union activity
o Discrim because employee filed charges or gave testimony
under oath
o Refusal to bargain in good faith
o “hot cargo agreements:” refusal to handle employer’s products
because of that employer’s relationship with the union
  Union
o Restraint or coercion of nonunion employees
o Attempt to influence employer to discriminate against
employee
o Refusal to bargain in good faith
o Excessive, discriminatory membership fees
o Make-work or featherbedding provisions that require
employers to pay for services not performed
o Use pickets to force an organization to bargain when org
already has a lawfully recognized union
o “hot cargo agreements:” refusal to handle, use, sell, transport,
or deal in another employer’s products
 Act amended by Landrum Griffin Act of 1959
 Secondary boycott (union appeals to other unions and firsm to stop
doing business with employer) added as an unfair labor practice
 Free speech clause
 Management has right to express opinon about unions or unionism to
employees
 AS LONG AS they don’t threaten or promise favors to further antiunion
 Right-to-work laws
 Employees repped by union cannot be compelled to join union or pay
dues as condition of continued employment
 24 states passed such laws
o Taft Hartley covers most private-sector employers and nonmanagerial employees (cept
railroad and airline employees, covered under railway labor act of 1926)
o Fed gov employees covered by Civil Service Reform act 1978
 Established unfair labor practices for management and unions
 Federal Labor Relations Authority administers this act
 The Organizing Drive
o Kick off organizing campaign with 1) employees themselves, 2) union beginning it 3)
national and intl unions contacting employees targeted for organizing
o Authorization cards are signed that designate union as employees’ exclusive reps
o Rules governing organizing activities
 Employee organizers may solicit fellow employees to sign authorization cards on
company premises but not during working time
 Includes email unless company shows valid biz reason for restricting it
 Outside organizers may not solicit on premises if company has existing
prohibition of all solicitation (which is enforced consistently)
 Management reps may express views about unions through speeches to
employees on company premises but PROHIBITED from interfering on employee
choice to join union
o Card check if union secures authorization from more than 50% of employees
 Asking management for right to exclusive representation
 Circumvent management’s power to influence an election
  But in 2007 NLRB diminished effectiveness of this by allowing employees and
rival unions to challenge voluntary recognition agreements
 BUT proposed Employee Free Choice Act (not passed yet) would make card-
check recognition automatic :O
 The Bargaining Unit
o After petition for election, NLRB conducts hearing to determine appropriate bargaining
unit
 Group of employees eligible to vote in representation election
o Labor and management agree jointly on appropriate unit, but when they don’t NLRB
determines the unit
 Guided in decision by community of interest—NLRB defines unit that reflects
shared interest of employees involved
 i.e. similar wages, hours, working conditions, proximity, supervision,
degree of integration of production process, etc.
 Taft Hartley protects employees from being forced into bargaining unit with
nonprofessionals without consent
o Size of unit critical for union and employer—related to outcome of rep election
o Larger bargaining unit, more difficult it is for union to win
o If bargaining unit contains several hundred employees, unit is almost invulnerable
 The Election Campaign
o Management typically unaware that union campaign is under way until most or all cards
have been signed
 Tactical advantages over union:
 Using company time and premises to stress positive aspects of current
situation
 Emphasize costs of unionization and loss of individual freedom
 BUT PROHIBITED TO
 Physically interfere
 Interfere with organizing drive
 Discipline/discharge pro union employees
 Promise to provide/withhold benefits depending on election outcome
o TIPS
 Management may not THREATEN, INTERROGATE, PROMISE, SPY
 i.e. expressions of distaste of union by pres of griffin electric was interpreted by
court of appeals as threats
 said “company would never be union” and employees signing cards
would be “stabbing him in the back”
o unions prohibited from coercing employees who fail to join
 union can picket employer ONLY if employer is not unionized right now, and
petition for election has been filed with NLRB the past 30days and if election
hasn’t been held the previous year
o during organization, emphasize union’s ability to help employees with econ and
personal needs, fair treatment, and working conditions
 the representation election and certification
 o if management and union jointly agree on size and composition of bargaining unit, rep
election occurs
o if not agree, long delay
 median time in 2013 btwn election and filing election was 38 days
o few employers agree with unions on size and composition bc not doing so bides time
o but to counter this NLRB 2014 proposed to speed rep elections by delaying employers’
legal challenges until after election
o secret ballot election held when date is established
 if union receives majority of ballots CAST (not votes of bargaining unit), union is
exclusive bargaining representative of all employees in the unit
o in 1950s, unions won more than 70% of rep elections
o however recently only 8100 of 22,000 petitions filed with NLRB were union victories,
and 4,600 resulted in signed contracts over the last 5 years
 The decertification of a union
o If rep election certifies union, employers want to know when and how they can
decertify it
o Union has 12 months as exclusive rep to reach contract for newly organized workers
 Afterwards faces decertification campaigns
o NLRB says incumbent union can be decertified if majority of bargaining union vote to
rescind union’s status as bargaining agent
 Unions lose 2/3 of decertification elections
 But elections not held while contract is in effect
o Decertification most likely to occur in first year after certification so unions make
multiyear contracts
o 2001 NLRB said employer need only demonstrate reasonable, good faith uncertainty
that union rep is still preferred by bargaining unit to call for a decertification
 Evidence:
 Unverified statements about employee views of union
 Employee statements expressing dissatisfaction
 Majority of employees not supporting union during strike
 Union is less active as rep of employees
 Substantial turnover after certification
 Union admits lack of majority support
o 2006, Communications Workers of America won first contracts after 5 years
 But when it had to represent 1000 workers, when contracts were signed only
400 workers remained
o Following decertification election, full year must elapse before another rep election
o Once certified, union needs to negotiate contract

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: CORNERSTONE OF AMERICAN LABOR RELATIONS

 The Art of Negotiation
o Two-party transaction where two parties intend to resolve conflict
o Best outcome is when both parties win but that’s an ideal
o Negotiation is most effective device for realizing common interests and compromising
 o Two postures in bargaining: win-lose and win-win
 Win-lose = distributive bargaining
 Goals are irreconcilable or appear that way
 Limited, controlled amount of resources (fixed-pie situation)
 When party adopts distributive posture, other party reciprocates with
contentious communication
 To break conflict, use contentious and cooperative comms in one turn
 i.e. if negotiator threatens to take this to court, response would say lets
just arbitrate ourselves
 win-win = integrative bargaining
 goals of parties are not mutually exclusive
 pursuing one set of goals does not prohibit other set of goals
 conflict initially may appear to be win-lose, discussion will suggest win-
win alts
o to do well in distributive, negotiators overstate demands, withhold info, and project
stern image
o to do well in integrative, ID and solve problems and promote sharing of info
o 5 lessons
 Biggest tool is willingness to get up and walk away from table without a deal
 Many people listen, few hear (don’t talk so much)
 No substitute for thorough prep
 Look for mutual interest and collarboation opportunities
 Best negotiators debrief themselves and keep notes on own performance
o Online negotiations yield lower levels of interpersonal trust before AND after
 also less satisfied in quality of performance and confidence
o Culture affects negotiation
 Americans value individualism and egalitarianism and try to integrate interests
 Germans value explicit contracting, leading them to rely on objective standards
of resolving conflict
 Japanese value collectivism and hierarchy, and emphasize status differences
o BE AWARE OF BEHAVIORS TO IMITATE OR AVOID
o Contract negotiations fail because parties don’t reach timely or mutually acceptable
settlement
 Union may strike, management may shut down operations, or both parties
appeal for third party involvement

BARGAINING IMPASSES: STRIKES, LOCKOUTS, THIRD-PARTY INVOLVEMENT

 Strikes
o Every negotiation has possibility of strike
o Right to strike  landrum-griffin Act
o BUT no unqualified right to strike
 Work stoppage must be result of lawful labor dispute, not violation of existing
agreeemnet between management and union
o Strikers doing things protected by law may not be discharged, but may be replaced
  If doing illegal activities, they need not be rehired after strike
 Types of strikes
o Unfair labor practice strikes
 Afforded highest degree of protection
 Management must exercise great caution bc NLRB will become involved
o Economic strikes
 Actions by union of withdrawning labor in support of bargaining demands for
recognition or organization
 Strikers have limited rights to reinstatement
o Unprotected
 All remaining work stoppages, legal or illegal, like sit-down strikes, strikes
violating fed laws, slowdown, wildcat strikes, and partial walkouts
 May be discharged by employers
o Sympathy
 Strikes to support other workers on strike (when there’s more than one union in
an org)
 Facts of situation determine legal status of sympathy strike
o Intermittent strike
 Backed by organized labor, includes sporadic, repeated actions of workers
walking out for a short time and then returning to work
 To seek higher wages, more hours, better health care
 Hard to distinguish from absenteeism
o MANAGEMENT MUST NOT
 Offer extra rewards to nonstrikers
 Threaten nonstrikers or strikers
 Promise benefits to strikers to end the strike
 Threaten employees with discharge in a lawful strike
 Discharge nonstrikers who refuse to take over striker’s job
 When Strike is Over
o org’s problems are not over
 conflict between strikers and replacements, and reaccomdation of strikes to
workplace
 method of reinstatement is protected by written memorandum of agreement
that outlines intended procedure
 misconduct by strikers can warrant refusing to reinstate
o restoration of harmonious relations is key, something to bring back workers to indicate
no resentment
o nothing is gained by vindictiveness, and organization has burden of maintaining healthy
relations
 Lockout
o Occur when collective bargaining agreement expires
o If no agreement, employer locks out employees to put economic pressure on union to
settle contract on terms favorable to employer
 o Legitimate tactic to decrease union power when done to avoid economic loss or
preserve customer goodwill
o NFL did this in 2011, lasting 159 days
o Legal for company to replace lock out workers with temp replacements, but permanent
replacements are not permissible or it’d destroy bargaining unit and be unlawful
withdrawl of duty designated union according to NLRB
 Third-Party Involvement
o bargaining impasse
 parties are unable to move further toward settlement
 litigation ensues and judge decides issue
o neutral third party may be involved, and parties have to agree voluntarily before they
arrive to mediate
o three types: mediation, fact-finding, interest arbitration
o mediation
 third party helps parties reach settlement without acting as judge to decide
resolution
 persuading, opening communications, readjusting/reassessing stances, making
procedural suggestions like scheduling
 restrictions on power
 1) invitation only involvement
 2) advice lacks even so much as umpire’s option of throwing someone
out of the game
 BUT it is a face-saving procedure with perceived fairness, which accounts for its
65% settlement rate
 Helps if mediators are high-expertise and trustworthy
o Fact-finding
 Commonly used in the public sector
 Nonbinding arbitration, where party submits whatever info is relevant and fact-
finder prepares report onf acts
 Neutral report will bring pressure on parties and induce them to accept
recommendations of the fact-finder
 MISNOMER—fact-finders often proceed to render public recommendation
 So it’s similar to mediation
 HOWEVER factfinding and mediation do not result in a contract, so parties
resort to arbitration of dispute as matter of law (compulsory) or mutual
agreement btwn union and management (interest)
o Interest arbitration
 Used in public sector
 Arbitration hears positions of both sides and decides on binding settlement
terms, instead of just assisting
 Controversial because imposition eliminates need for parties to negotiate on
their own
 Little evidence of excessive use of interest arbitration
ADMINSITRATION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT
 After agreement is signed, concern is to obtain employee rights granted on paper
 Union-security clauses
o Section 14b of Taft Hartley lets states make right-to-work laws that prohibit compulsory
union membership as condition of conutined employment
o Such union-security clauses are illegal in 24 states that passed right-to-work laws
o In remaining states, unions are allowed to negotiate union or agency shop provisions
into contracts with employers
 Grievance procedures in unionized firm
o Grievance is alleged violation of rights of workers
o Grievance procedure is the formal process invoked to help parties resolve disputes
o Keystone of labor-management relations bc they resolve disputes while work continues
w/o litigation, strikes, or radical strategies
o Defines and narrows nature of complaint
o Vast majority of grievances are resolved without arbitration
 Resolving grievances
o Unions and management win half the time
o Unions win more grievances about denial of benefits, termination, transfer, suspension,
and disciplinary memoranda
o Ordinarily burden of proof is on union
o Two advantages
 Ensures complaints and problems are heard instead of allowed to fester
 Provide formal mechanisms to ensure due process
o People who have access to such as system are more willing to continue working for the
org
o Process isn’t completely objective though
o Factors other than merit, like cost of granting grievance, need to placate disgruntled
workers vs settling to expedite negotiations, and grievant’s work history
 Grievance arbitration
o Settle disputes arising out of and during labor contract
o Arbitrators chosen from American Arbitration Association or Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service
o Hearings are quasi-judicial (partly)
 Not bound by formal rules of evidence like in court of law
o Arbitrator considers evidence, contract, and powers granted to the arbitrator
o Then makes decision
o If losing party refuses to honor decision, it can be enforced by taking that party to court

UNION MEMBERSHIP IN COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE US

 Highest in Sweden and finland, drops in western Europe
 25.8% in UK, 18% in Germany, 16 in spain, 8 in france
 Asian countries – 18% in japan, 18.7% in Singapore, 10 in korea, 2 in Thailand
 Australia 18%
 Still powerful forces in wage-determination
UNION WAGE PREMIUMS AND SPILLOVER
 In US, workers in unions earn wages 18% higher than nonunion
 Companies can take advantage of lower wage earners in other parts of the country and resort to
cheaper workers for production
 Spillover effect is when employers seek to avoid unionization by offering workers the wages,
benefits, and work conditions that rival unionized firms do
 Workers receive spillover rewards already obtained by unionized counterparts
 US unions attempt to increase influence on multinational corporations by assisting foreign
unions in organizing offshore employees