Assignment 1: Collective Bargaining Analysis (Paper) – 3-4 pages, not including cover or References pages
Locate an article describing a collective bargaining situation that has arisen within the year. This article should be from a newspaper, an academic journal, or a credible online news source (try searching “collective bargaining in the news”).
Attach the article or give the link.
Use a minimum of two additional references from the course materials (see below) to support your discussion and to respond to the questions in the assignment.
Use headings to separate the sections of the paper, double-space, and Times New Roman font, cover page, page numbers, and selected reference style (e.g., APA).
Identify your main article:
Using selected reference style (e.g., APA) guidelines state the proper citation for the article.
Respond to these questions:
What is the nature of the collective bargaining dispute?
What are the underlying causes of the dispute?
What economic or ethical pressures has each side attempted to use to prevail in the dispute?
If there is any evidence of any illegal or unethical conduct on either side, describe it in detail.
Was the dispute resolved? If so, how? If not, what are the possible resolutions?
What, if any, role was played by third parties in resolving this bargaining dispute? What was the identity of the third party?
In retrospect, could this dispute have been resolved in a more constructive fashion? If so, how?
COURSE REFRENCE
1) Module 2: The Unionization Process
and Negotiating the Collective Bargaining Agreement – https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/umuc/tus/hrmn/hrmn362/2225/modules/m2-module-2/s1-overview.html
OVERVIEW
In this
module, we describe the process by which employees choose to be represented by
a union as well as the elements involved in negotiating a collective bargaining
agreement. In addition, we discuss ways of resolving disputes when a
negotiations impasse occurs.
First we
focus on union organizing campaigns and the employer’s response to unionization
efforts. Next, we examine the process of good-faith bargaining, which leads to
a binding agreement or contract between union and management. It is this
document that sets forth the parties’ agreement on wages, benefits, and variety
of other terms and conditions of employment. We identify the ways laws and
regulations, chiefly through NLRB rulings, affect the parties’ conduct.
We go on
to consider the economic and noneconomic issues that are most often in dispute
during the bargaining process as well as a form of labor-management cooperation
that has been adopted in an effort to temper adversarial confrontations.
Finally, we consider the various means available for resolution when parties
reach an impasse.
COMMENTARY
1. Union Organizing and Election Campaigns
The
unionization process involves union organizing and election campaigns. The NLRB
has adopted a step-by-step procedure for authorizing and conducting elections
by employees on the question of union representation. Management and union
officials, as well as employees, enjoy specific rights during these campaigns,
but these rights have limits.
Typically
the union organizer does not create the climate for unionization. Rather, it is
a group of dissatisfied employees that creates a climate ripe for unions. The
successful organizer can generate support for the union by capitalizing on this
dissatisfaction. Unions use several tactics, including house calls, small group
meetings, leafleting, and the formation of an employee-led organizing
committee, to increase employee involvement and support. Unions are
increasingly turning to the Internet and e-mail as additional means to recruit
members.
For
the union and its supporters, the ultimate goal is to achieve recognition or certification. Only
when the union becomes formally recognized by the company or certified by the
NLRB can it insist upon good-faith negotiations with the employer.
Recognition/certification may occur in one of the following three ways:
secret
ballot election conducted by the NLRB
an
employer’s voluntary recognition of the union when it finds that the union
is acceptable and it is evident that support is widespread among employees
(in which case no campaign is called for)
summary
direction of the NLRB (supported by the Supreme Court in NLRB v.
Gissel Packing Co.), where the board finds that a fair election
is impossible because of the employer’s grave and numerous unfair labor
practices
Congress
has charged the NLRB with determining which employees are within the bargaining
unit. In making this determination, the NLRB evaluates whether the group the
union is attempting to organize possesses a community of interest. Shared
working conditions, shared supervision, and common personnel rules are all
indicators that a group of employees shares a community of interest.
Other
groups are excluded from union representation by law and may not be part of the
bargaining unit. Supervisors and managers are among those who are prohibited
from being in the bargaining unit. The same is true for confidential employees,
who may fall into this category because of family ties to the business owner or
because of the nature of their job responsibilities. As an example, human
resources staff would generally qualify as confidential employees and thus be
barred from union representation.
Voluntary
recognition and summary NLRB direction are both very rare. The normal method is
a secret ballot election conducted on-site by NLRB agents. In the days and
weeks leading up to the election, the union may hold rallies, contact employees
via e-mail, and use other means to persuade employees to authorize the union to
represent them.
Employers
are free to respond to the union’s campaign. Companies may hire labor relations
consultants and hold meetings in the workplace emphasizing the disadvantages of
unions. Most employers also emphasize the current benefits employees enjoy
without the necessity of paying union dues and point out the potential for
economic hardship should a strike occur. An employer may launch a vigorous
campaign to dissuade employees from voting for a union, so long as its message
is free from threats, promises, or coercion.
Ultimately,
each employee in the bargaining unit decides individually yes or no concerning
the question of having a union. A majority of those voting will determine the
outcome. Some may be convinced that the union is needed to communicate with and
persuade management on issues, benefits, and problems in the workplace. Others
may be driven by a need to participate and identify with a group. Others may
yield to peer pressure to join. Some may simply believe that unions are good
and should be supported. Of course, some will be indifferent or opposed to the
union or may fear management retribution.
Consistent
with NLRB rulings, if employees within the proposed bargaining unit vote
“no union,” the employer is insulated from another election for a
year. If the union wins, the NLRB certifies it as the sole and exclusive
representative of all employees in the bargaining unit, regardless of union
membership or voting record. The union is protected for a year from challenge
by another union (referred to as a raid) for a year. If the union
can negotiate a contract, this protection continues during the term of the
agreement for up to three years.
In
determining whether the outcome of the election will be validated, the NLRB
considers the “totality of conduct” of each party during the
preelection period. Employers conducting meetings with employees (called
“captive audience” meetings) cannot do so within 24 hours of the
election. Threats, coercion, and promises of benefits by employers are
forbidden, but employers may express opposition to the union and convey facts
to support their views. Polling workers concerning their union sentiments―pro
or con―is permitted. Employers must be cautious, however, not to do so in a
threatening or intimidating fashion.
Note
that even after certification, a union can later lose its status by being
decertified in a secret ballot election. When a petition for decertification is
filed by a group of disaffected employees, the board initiates a process
similar to the initial certification election process.
2) Katz, H.C, Kochan, T.A., &
Covin, A.J.S. (2017). An introduction to U.S. collective bargaining and labor
relations. (5th ed.). IPR Press.*
– SEE PDF ATTACHED
·
Chapter
5: Management Strategies and Structures for Collective Bargaining – https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE1ODkxNTJfX0FO0?sid=514600cb-d8f5-4670-b3fe-02776d8193b9@redis&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1
3) Collective Bargaining
·
Right
to Work Laws – https://nrtwc.org/facts/right-work-mean/
4) Employer/Union Rights and
Obligations
·
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/employer-union-rights-and-obligations
5) NLRB Collective Bargaining
·
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/employees/collective-bargaining-rights
6) NLRB Good Faith Bargaining
·
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/bargaining-in-good-faith-with-employees-union-representative
