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Labor Relations

Labor Relations. Basic Concepts and Laws Relating to Union Activity. Major Labor Laws. Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926 Norris LaGuardia Act (Anti-Injunction Act) Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) of 1935 Taft-Harley Act (Labor-Management Relations Act) of 1947

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Labor Relations

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  1. Labor Relations Basic Concepts and Laws Relating to Union Activity

  2. Major Labor Laws • Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926 • Norris LaGuardia Act (Anti-Injunction Act) • Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) of 1935 • Taft-Harley Act (Labor-Management Relations Act) of 1947 • Landrum-Griffin Act (Labor-Management Disclosure Act) of 1959

  3. Government Regulation of Labor Relations • The Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926 • Purpose of the act is to avoid service interruptions resulting from disputes between railroads and their operating unions. • National Mediation Board • National Railway Adjustment Board • The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 • Restricts the ability of employers to obtain an injunction against unions for their lawful activities.

  4. Government Regulation of Labor Relations • The Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) of 1935 • Protects employee rights to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their choice. • Created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to govern labor relations in the United States. • Holds secret ballot union representation elections. • Prevents and remedies unfair labor practices.

  5. Wagner (NLRA) Act • Section 7 of the Act guarantees these rights: • To self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through freely chosen representatives. • To engage in concerted activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. • To refrain from any or all of such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment.

  6. Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) • Section 8 of the Wagner Act outlawed employer practices that deny employees their rights and benefits: • Interference with Section 7 rights • Domination of a union (company union) • Discrimination against union members • Arbitrary discharge of union members • Refusal to bargain with the union

  7. Amendments to the Wagner Act • The Taft-Hartley Act (The Labor-Management Relations Act) of 1947 • Balances the rights and duties of labor and management in the collective bargaining arena by defining unfair union practices. • The Landrum-Griffin Act (Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act) of 1959 • Safeguards union member rights and prevents racketeering and other unscrupulous practices by employers and union officers.

  8. Unfair Union Practices (Taft-Hartley Act) • Interfering with Section 7 rights of employees • Interfering with representation elections • Influencing employers to discriminate with regard to union membership • Refusal to bargain collectively with employer • Interference with certified employee representative’s relationship with employer • Assessment of excessive initiation fees and dues on bargaining unit members • “Featherbedding”

  9. Why Employees Unionize • As a result of economic needs (wages and benefits) • Dissatisfaction with managerial practices • To fulfill social and status needs. • Unionism is viewed as a way to achieve results they cannot achieve acting individually • To comply with union-shop provisions of the labor agreement in effect where they work

  10. How Employees Become Unionized • Bargaining Unit • A group of two or more employees who share common employment interests and conditions and may reasonably be grouped together for purposes of collective bargaining. • Exclusive Representation • The legal right and responsibility of the union to represent all bargaining unit members equally, regardless of whether employees join the union or not.

  11. Labor Relations Process • Workers desire collective representation • Union begins its organizing campaign • Collective negotiations lead to a contract • The contract is administered

  12. The Labor Relations Process

  13. Union Authorization CardUnited Food and Commercial Workers International

  14. Aggressive Organizing Tactics • Political Involvement • Union Salting • Organizer Training • Corporate Campaigns • Information Technology Union NOW!!

  15. Employer Tactics Opposing Unionization • Stressing favorable employer-employee relationship experienced without a union. • Emphasize current advantages in wages, benefits, or working conditions the employees may enjoy • Emphasize unfavorable aspects of unionism: strikes, union dues, abuses of legal rights • Use statistics to show that unions commit large numbers of unfair labor practices. • Initiate legal action when union members and leaders engage in unfair labor practices

  16. Impact of Unionization on Managers • Challenges to Management Prerogatives • Management prerogatives versus union participation in decision-making in the work place. • Loss of Supervisory Authority • Constraints on management in directing and disciplining the work force by terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

  17. Structure and Functions of Local Unions • Local Officers • Elected officials who lead the union and serve on the bargaining committee for a new contract. • Union Steward • An employee, as a nonpaid union official, represents the interests of members in their relations with management. • Business Unionism • The term applied to the goals of U.S. labor organizations, which collectively bargain wages, hours, job security, and working conditions.

  18. Types of Arbitration • Compulsory Binding Arbitration • A process for employees such as police officers, firefighters, and others in jobs where strikes cannot be tolerated to reach agreement. • Final-offer Arbitration • The arbitrator must select one or the other of the final offers submitted by the disputing parties with the award is likely to go to the party whose final bargaining offer has moved the closest toward a reasonable settlement.

  19. The Bargaining Zone and Negotiation Influences Source: Adapted from Ross Stagner and Hjalmar Rosen, Psychology of Union-Management Relations (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1965), 96. Adapted with permission from Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.

  20. Management and Union Power in Collective Bargaining • Bargaining Power • The power of labor and management to achieve their goals through economic, social, or political influence. • Union Bargaining Power • Strikes, pickets, and boycotts • Management Bargaining Power • Hiring permanent replacement workers • Continuing operations staffed by management • Locking out employees

  21. Don’t Buy Here Unfair On Strike Striking Picketing Boycotting Union Power in Collective Bargaining Boycott Our Employer This Union On Strike

  22. Employer Power in Collective Bargaining Management methods for applying economic pressure during bargaining: Outsourcing normal work Locking out workers Hiring replacement workers Demanding concessions

  23. Union Security Agreements • Dues Check-off • Gives the employer the responsibility of withholding union dues from the paychecks of union members who agree to such a deduction. • “Shop” Agreements • Require employees to join or support the union. • Union shop requires employee membership. • Agency shop allows voluntary membership; employee must pay union dues and fees.

  24. Five-Step Grievance Procedure

  25. Grievance Arbitration • Rights Arbitration • Arbitration over interpretation of the meaning of contract terms or employee work grievances. • Fair Representation Doctrine • The doctrine under which unions have a legal obligation to provide assistance to both members and nonmembers in labor relations matters.

  26. Grievance (Rights) Arbitration Significant issues in using arbitration as a method for dispute resolution: Deciding to use binding arbitration Rights arbitration and EEO conflicts Fair Representation Doctrine Methods for choosing an arbitrator Submission agreement and awards

  27. The Arbitration Hearing • The arbitrator declares the hearing open and obtains the submission agreement. • Parties present opening statements. • Each side presents its case using witnesses and evidence; witnesses can be cross examined. • Parties make closing statements. • Arbitrator closes hearing and designates date and time for rendering the award.

  28. The Arbitration Award • Four factors arbitrators use to decide cases: • The wording of the labor agreement (or employment policy in nonunion organizations). • The submission agreement (statement of problem to be solved) as presented to the arbitrator. • Testimony and evidence offered during the hearing. • Arbitration criteria or standards (similar to standards of common law) against which cases are judged.

  29. Current Challenges to Unions Important issues confronting unions Foreign competition and technological change The long-term decrease in union membership Employers’ focus on maintaining nonunion status

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