Professional Documents
Culture Documents
HR Chapter14
HR Chapter14
HR Chapter14
union = an org w/ the legal authority to represetn workers, negotiate the terms and conditions of
employment w/ the employer, and administer the collective agreement
see figure 14-2 page 592 for structure of a typical local union
union steward usually elected by workers and helps them present problem to mgmt
if steward of an industrial or mixed local cannot help employee, problem given to grievance
committee who takes the issue to higher levels of mgmt or to HR dept
in craft unions, steward, (aka representative), usually takes the issue directly to the business
agent who is often a full-time employee of union
national & international unions
o many local unions are part of a larger union may be a national unions or an
international union
o national units based in Canada
o international usually in US
o national and international unions exist to organize and help local unions
pursue social objectives of interests to their members and frequently maintain a
staff that assists the local unions w/ negotiations, grievance handling, and expert
advice
Canadian labour congress (CLC)
o Central labour congress formed in 1956 by the merger of the Trades and Labour
Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour
o Membership of > 2.5 million
o Five main functions
Representing Canada at the International Labour Organization
Influencing public policy at the federal level
Enforcing the code of ethics set out in its constitution
Providing services for its member unions (ex: research, education)
Resolving jurisdictional disputes among its member unions
Succession only 28% of union members belong to international unions (compared to 67% in
1960)
o Trend referred to as succession
o Has been motivated by a desire for more autonomy on the part of Canadian local sand
the devt of policies aimed at specifically addressing the needs of Cdn. workers
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union security
o highest form = closed shop requires an employee to be a union member prior to
obtaining employment
o union shop = union security provision in which employers may hire anyone they want
but all workers must join the union w/in a specified period
but: employee not reqd to join union
o dues check-off requires an employer to deduct union dues at source from the wages of
an employee and remit the funds to the union
dues vary usually about 1% of earnings
o open shop = individual does not have to join the union and is not reqd to pay dues
past practice
o precedent = a new standard that arises from the past practices of either party
relationship restructuring programs are being used b/c the traditional approach to managing
workplace conflict is too time-consuming and costly
o 3 components:
relationship audit: involves collecting info about the org, union, employees
identification of problems
development of a plan: need to get buy-in from both labour and mgmt to be
successful. Need to consider resource issues, sharing of info, developing
priorities, schedule for implementation, on-going monitoring of the success of
the plan
cooperative methods
o techniques used to improve relations btw the employer and the union and to facilitate
cooperation
o prior consultation w/ the union to defuse problems before they become formal
grievances
o sincere concern for employee problems and welfare even when mgmt is not obliged to
do so by the collective agreement
o training programs that objectively communicate the intent of union and mgmt
bargainers and reduce biases and misunderstandings
o joint study committees that allow mgmt and unions officials to find solutions to
common problems
o third parties provide guidance and programs that bring union leaders and mgrs closer
together to pursue common objectives