Ch10-Working With Unions and Resolving Disputes

Fundamentals of
Human Resource
Management
2e
Gary Dessler
Working with Unions
and Resolving Disputes
Chapter 10
10-2
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
When you finish studying this chapter,
you should be able to:
1. Briefly describe the history and structure of the U.S.
union movement.
2. Discuss the nature of the major federal labor
relations laws.
3. Describe the process of a union drive and election.
4. Discuss the main steps in the collective bargaining
process.
5. Explain why union membership dropped, and what
the prospects are for the union movement.
10-3
The Labor Movement
 12.4% of workers in the U.S. belong to a

union.
 About 40% of America’s 20 million federal,
state, and municipal public employees
belong to unions.
 For the first time in many years, union
membership in America actually rose in
2008–2009.
10-4
Why Do Workers Organize?
Employer unfairness
To seek protection against the employer’s
whims
10-5
Why Do Workers Organize?
 A butcher hired by Wal-mart said he was told he

would be able to start management training.
 He said his supervisor never mentioned the
promotion again after the employee hurt his back at
work and was out for five weeks.
 The store’s meat cutters eventually voted to
unionize.
 A week later, Wal-mart announced it would switch
to completely prepackaged meat and the stores’
meat cutters would no longer be required.
10-6
What Do Unions Want?
Union security
Improved wages, hours, working conditions,
and benefits for their members
10-7
Union Security
• Closed shop • Union shop

 Company can hire only  Company can hire
union members nonunion people, but
they must join the
union
10-8
Union Security
• Agency shop • Preferential shop

 Employees who do not  Union members get
belong to the union preference in hiring,
must still pay union but the employer can
dues still hire nonunion
members
10-9
Union Security
Maintenance of membership arrangement

∟ Employees do not have to belong to the union,
but union members employed by the firm must
maintain membership in the union for the
contract period
10-10
What Do Unions Want?
Right-to-work
∟ Term used to describe state statutory or
constitutional provisions banning the requirement
of union membership as a condition of
employment
10-11
The AFL-CIO
American Federation of Labor and Congress

of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
∟ Voluntary federation of about 56 national and
international labor unions in the United States
10-12
Unions and the Law
Until about 1930, employers didn’t have to

engage in collective bargaining with
employees and were virtually unrestrained in
their behavior toward unions.
Most union weapons—even strikes—were
illegal.
10-13
Unions and the Law
Since 1930, labor law has gone through three

clear changes:
Strong encouragement
Modified encouragement coupled with
regulation
Detailed regulation of internal union affairs
10-14
Period of Strong Encouragement
Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932)

∟ Guaranteed to each employee the right to
bargain collectively, free from interference,
restraint, or coercion
∟ Limited the courts’ abilities to issue injunctions
for activities such as peaceful picketing
10-15
Period of Strong Encouragement
National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)

∟ Banned certain unfair labor practices
∟ Provided for secret-ballot elections and majority
rule
∟ Created the National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB)
10-16
Unfair Employer Labor Practices
1. Interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees

2. Dominate or interfere with the formation of
labor unions
3. Discriminate against employees for their legal
union activities
4. Discharge or discriminate against employees
simply because they file unfair practice charges
5. Refuse to bargain collectively
10-17
Period of Modified Encouragement
Coupled with Regulation
Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
∟ A law prohibiting unfair labor practices and
enumerating the rights of employees as union
members
∟ Also enumerates the rights of employers
∟ Allows the president of the United States to
temporarily bar national emergency strikes
10-18
Unfair Union Labor Practices
1. Restraining employees from exercising their

bargaining rights
2. Causing an employer to discriminate in any
way against an employee
3. Refusing to bargain in good faith
10-19
Taft-Hartley Act
Protected the rights of employees against

their unions
Right-to-work laws
Gave employers full freedom to express their
views concerning union organization
Allowed the president of the U.S. to intervene
in national emergency strikes
10-20
Period of Detailed Regulation of
Internal Union Affairs
Landrum-Griffin Act
∟ Aim was to protect union members from possible
wrongdoing on the part of their unions
Bill of rights for union members
10-21
Union Drive and Election
Initial contact
Authorization
Election
cards
Campaign Hearing
10-22
Step 1: Initial Contact
Union determines the employees’ interest in

organizing, and establishes an organizing
committee.
10-23
Contact Procedures
The law allows union organizers to solicit

employees for membership as long as it
doesn’t endanger the performance or safety
of the employees.
Much of the contact takes place off the job.
10-24
Union Salting
Union salting
∟ A union organizing tactic by which workers who
are employed by a union as undercover union
organizers are hired by unwitting employers
10-25
The Web
 Group trying to organize Starbucks workers (the

Starbucks Workers Union) has their own website
(www.starbucksunion.org).
 It includes notes like, “Starbucks managers
monitored Internet chat rooms and eavesdropped
on party conversations in a covert campaign to
identify employees agitating for union
representation.”
10-26
Step 2: Authorization Cards
Union must show that a sizable number of

employees may be interested in being
organized.
Thirty percent of the eligible employees must
sign.
10-27
Sample Authorization Card: Figure 10.2
10-28
Step 2: Authorization Cards
Both union and management typically use

various forms of propaganda.
The union claims it can improve working
conditions, raise wages, and increase
benefits.
Management can also explain its record, and
express facts and opinions.
10-29
Step 3: The Hearing
Employer may contest the union’s right, in

which case it can insist on a hearing.
Regional director of the NLRB sends a hearing
officer to investigate.
Bargaining unit
∟ The group of employees that the union will be
authorized to represent and bargain for
collectively
10-30
Step 4: The Campaign
The union and employer appeal to employees

for their votes.
The union emphasizes that it will prevent
unfairness, set up a grievance/seniority
system, and improve unsatisfactory wages.
Management emphasizes the financial cost of
union dues.
10-31
Supervisor’s Role
Supervisors must be knowledgeable about

what they can do to legally hamper
organizing activities, lest they commit unfair
labor practices.
TIPS, FORE
10-32
Rules Regarding Literature and
Solicitation
Nonemployees can always be barred from
soliciting employees during their work time.
Employers can usually stop employees from
soliciting other employees if one or both
employees are on paid-duty time.
Most employers can bar nonemployees from
the building’s work areas.
10-33
Example: Starbucks
 As a company that provides excellent benefits and

working conditions, Starbucks executives were
surprised that some employees may have expressed
a desire to unionize.
 The allegations that some local managers may have
tried to retaliate against employees who favored the
union underscore why all employers must carefully
train supervisors in how to react to organizing
efforts.
10-34
Step 5: The Election
Uses secret ballot.

The NLRB provides the ballots, as well as the
voting booth and ballot box.
It also counts the votes and certifies the
results of the election.
The union typically wins just over half of
elections.
10-35
NLRA Union Campaign Violations:
Figure 10.3
10-36
Sample NLRB Ballot: Figure 10.4
10-37
Decertification Elections
Decertification
∟ Method for employees to legally terminate the
union’s right to represent them
10-38
What is Collective Bargaining?
Management and labor are required to

negotiate wages, hours, and terms and
conditions of employment in “ good faith.”
Good faith bargaining

∟ Both parties make every reasonable effort to
arrive at an agreement.
10-39
When is Bargaining Not in Good
Faith?
Surface bargaining
Proposals and demands
Withholding information
Dilatory tactics
Concessions
Unilateral changes in conditions

10-40
Bargaining Items
Mandatory
Voluntary
Illegal
10-41
Bargaining Items: Figure 10.5
10-42
Bargaining Stages
1. Each side presents its demands

2. Reduction of demands
3. Subcommittee studies
4. Parties reach an informal settlement
5. Parties fine-tune and sign a formal
agreement
10-43
Negotiating Guidelines
10-44
Impasses
Insurmountable disagreements
Occur because one party demands more than
the other offers
Sometimes an impasse can be resolved
through a mediator or arbitrator
10-45
Third-Party Involvement
• Mediation • Fact-finder
 Neutral third party  Neutral party who
tries to assist the studies the issues in a
principals in reaching dispute and makes a
agreement public recommendation
of what a reasonable
settlement ought to be
10-46
Third-Party Involvement
Arbitration
∟ The most definitive type of third-party
intervention, in which the arbitrator often has
the power to determine and dictate the
settlement terms
 Binding arbitration
∟ Both parties are committed to accepting the
arbitrator’s award
10-47
Strikes
• Economic strike • Unfair labor practice

 Results from a failure strike
to agree on the terms  protests illegal conduct
of a contract by the employer
10-48
Strikes
 Wildcat strike • Sympathy strike

 An unauthorized  Occurs when one
strike occurring union strikes in
during the term of a support of the strike
contract of another
10-49
Picketing
Purpose is to inform the public about the

existence of the labor dispute
Encourages others to refrain from doing
business with employer
10-50
Dealing with a Strike
Halt operations until strike is over

Contract out work during the duration of the
strike
Continue operations using supervisors
Hire replacement workers
10-51
Other Responses
• Corporate campaign • Inside games

 Organized effort by the  Efforts to convince
union that exerts employees to impede
pressure on the or disrupt production
corporation  Slow work pace,
refusal to work
overtime
10-52
Other Responses
• Lockout • Injunctions
 Refusal by the  Court order compelling
employer to provide a party or parties
opportunities to work either to resume or to
desist from a certain
action
10-53
The Contract Agreement
1. Management rights
2. Union security and automatic payroll dues
deduction
3. Grievance procedures
4. Arbitration of grievances
5. Disciplinary procedures
6. Compensation rates
10-54
The Contract Agreement (cont.)
7. Hours of work and overtime

8. Benefits such as vacation, holidays,
insurance, and pension
9. Health and safety provisions
10. Employee security seniority provisions
11. Contract expiration date
10-55
Handling Grievances
Grievance process
∟ Steps that the employer and union have agreed
to follow to ascertain if some action violated the
agreement
∟ Aim is to clarify what contract points really mean
10-56
How to Handle a Grievance
10-57
Effective Dispute Resolution Practices
Emphasize fairness
Cultivate trust
Manage interpersonal conflict
10-58
Why the Union Decline?
 Proportion of blue-collar jobs has been

decreasing
 Intense international competition
 Permanent layoff of thousands of union
members
 Deregulation of trucking, airlines, and
communications; outdated equipment and
factories; technology; mismanagement; and
government regulations
10-59
How Unions are Changing
Change to Win
 Very aggressive about trying to organize workers
 Focused on organizing women and minority workers
 Focused on organizing temporary or contingent
workers
 Targeting specific multinational companies for
international campaigns
10-60
New Union Tactics
Employee Free Choice Act
Class Action Lawsuits
Coordination
Cooperative agreements
Global campaigns
10-61
Copyright
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
10-62

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Ch10-Working With Unions and Resolving Disputes

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Fundamentals of

 12.4% of workers in the U.S. belong to a

 A butcher hired by Wal-mart said he was told he

• Closed shop • Union shop

• Agency shop • Preferential shop

Maintenance of membership arrangement

American Federation of Labor and Congress

Until about 1930, employers didn’t have to

Since 1930, labor law has gone through three

Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932)

National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)

1. Interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees

1. Restraining employees from exercising their

Protected the rights of employees against

Union determines the employees’ interest in

The law allows union organizers to solicit

 Group trying to organize Starbucks workers (the

Union must show that a sizable number of

Both union and management typically use

Employer may contest the union’s right, in

The union and employer appeal to employees

Supervisors must be knowledgeable about

 As a company that provides excellent benefits and

Uses secret ballot.

Management and labor are required to

Good faith bargaining

Proposals and demands

Unilateral changes in conditions

1. Each side presents its demands

• Economic strike • Unfair labor practice

 Wildcat strike • Sympathy strike

Purpose is to inform the public about the

Halt operations until strike is over

• Corporate campaign • Inside games

7. Hours of work and overtime

 Proportion of blue-collar jobs has been

Employee Free Choice Act

Class Action Lawsuits

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

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