CHAPTER 14

The Dynamics of
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Identify and explain the federal and provincial
legislation that provides the framework for
labour relations.

Explain why employees join unions and

describe the process by which unions organize
employees and gain recognition as their
bargaining agent.

Discuss the bargaining process and the

bargaining goals and strategies of a union and an
employer.
LEARNING OUTCOMES

Differentiate the forms of bargaining power that

a union and an employer may utilize to enforce
their bargaining demands.

Describe a typical union grievance procedure

and explain the basis for arbitration awards.
 GOVERNMENT REGULATION
OF LABOUR RELATIONS
Key Legislation:

 The Industrial Relations Disputes and Investigation Act (1948)

 Canada Labour Code
 Provincial labour law statutes
 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS DISPUTES
AND INVESTIGATION ACT (1948)
Specified the right of workers to join unions,
allowed unions to be certified as bargaining agents by a labour relations board,
required management to recognize a certified union as the exclusive bargaining agent for a
group of employees,
required both unions and management to negotiate in good faith,
outlined unfair labour practices by both unions and management,
and created a two-stage compulsory conciliation process that was mandatory before strikes or
lockouts became legal
 CANADA LABOUR CODE
The federal government later incorporated these rights into a more comprehensive piece of
legislation known as the Canada Labour Code in 1967.
At the same time, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) was established to administer
and enforce the code.
More specifically, the CIRB was designed as an independent board to establish, monitor, and
encourage a more harmonious industrial relations climate within organizations and industries
that are federally regulated.
The CIRB deals with disputes between parties and facilitates solutions and agreements
 PROVINCIAL LABOUR LAW
STATUTES
Each province has a labour relations board that administers labour law and provincial labour
law statutes, such as Ontario’s Labour Relations Act.
The exception is Quebec, which has a labour court and commissioners.
Members of the labour relations boards are generally government appointees.
Labour relations boards are generally autonomous from the federal government and have
representatives from both labour and management.
DUTIES OF THE LABOUR RELATIONS
BOARD
promoting, fostering, and maintaining a stable, productive, and positive labour relations climate
within the workplaces under their jurisdiction
administering the statutory procedures for the acquisition, transfer, and termination of
bargaining rights
hearing complaints related to unfair labour practices
supervising strikes and lockout votes
determining whether bargaining was done in good faith
remedying violations of labour legislation
THE LABOUR RELATIONS PROCESS

Labour Relations Process

A logical sequence of four events:
(1) workers desire collective representation;
(2) the union begins its organizing campaign, which may lead
to certification and recognition;
(3) collective negotiations lead to a contract; and
(4) the contract is administered.
THE LABOUR RELATIONS PROCESS
WHY EMPLOYEES UNIONIZE
Economic needs
Dissatisfaction with management
Social and leadership concerns
WHY EMPLOYEES UNIONIZE

Union Shop
Provision of the collective agreement that requires employees to
join the union as a condition of their employment
 Election of bargaining committee and
contract negotiations
Application to labour relations board and
receipt of certificate
Formation of in-house organizing
committee
Initial organizational meeting
STEPS
Employee/union contact
ORGANIZING
ORGANIZING STEPS
Step 1. The first step begins when employees and
union officials make contact to explore the possibility of
unionization.
Step 2. As an organizing campaign gathers momentum, the
organizer schedules an initial union meeting to attract more
supporters.
Step 3. The third important step in the organizing drive is to form
an in-house organizing committee composed of employees willing
to provide leadership to the campaign.
 ORGANIZING STEPS
Step 3 (continued). An important task of the committee is to have
employees sign an authorization card indicating their
willingness to be represented by a union in collective bargaining
with their employer. Union membership cards, once signed, are
confidential, and only the labour relations board has access to
them.
 UNION CERTIFICATION
There are then two different processes for union certification used in Canada.
a union is certified to represent
card-check
the workers if the union submits
to the labour board authorization
cards on behalf of a majority of
workers (such as 55 percent) in an
appropriate bargaining unit
Two-step process.
mandatory ballot
1. the union must obtain
authorization cards on behalf of a
certain number of workers (in
Ontario, it is 40 percent or more)
to obtain a vote.
2. Then the labour board orders a
vote of employees in the
bargaining unit, which the union
must win.
3. In other words, those who do
not cast ballots are not assumed to
be voting against the certification
of the union.
ORGANIZING STEPS

Step 4. When the union has collected sufficient authorization

cards to satisfy the requirements under the applicable certification
model, it will file an application for certification.
Step 5. Once the labour board has applied the process, it will
declare whether or not the union has been successful in its
application for certification.
Step 6. Once the labour relations board determines that the union
is certified, the bargaining committee is put in place to start
negotiating a collective agreement.
EMPLOYER TACTICS
Can emphasize current advantages in wages, benefits, or
working conditions the employees may enjoy, but cannot promise
better conditions
Cannot interfere with the labour relations process or certification
Cannot threaten to close the business
Cannot dismiss, discipline, or threaten employees who wish to
join the union
Must bargain in good faith
EMPLOYER TACTICS
UNION TACTICS
• Cannot interfere with the formation of an employer
association

• Cannot intimidate or coerce employees to become

members of a union

• Must provide fair representation for all in the

bargaining unit
 UNION TACTICS

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

Unfair Labour Practices (ULPs)

• Specific employer and union illegal practices that deny employees their rights and
benefits under federal and provincial labour law
IMPACT OF UNIONIZATION
ON MANAGERS
Challenges to Management Decisions
• May involve such issues as the subcontracting of work,
productivity standards, and job content

Loss of Supervisory Authority

• Covering wages, benefits, job security, and working hours
 DECERTIFICATION

All legislation allows for the decertification of unions under certain conditions.
If the majority of employees indicate that they do not want to be represented by the union or
that they want to be represented by another union, or if the union has failed to bargain, an
application for decertification can be made to the labour relations board.
If a collective agreement has been reached with the employer, this application can be made only
at specified times, such as a few months before the agreement expires.
STRUCTURES, FUNCTIONS, AND
LEADERSHIP OF LABOUR UNIONS
Craft Unions: Represent skilled craft workers

Industrial Unions: Represent all workers—skilled, semiskilled,

unskilled—employed along industry lines

Employee Associations: Represent various groups of professional

and white-collar employees in labour-management relations
STRUCTURES, FUNCTIONS, AND
LEADERSHIP OF LABOUR UNIONS
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is a central federation of

unions (see http:// canadianlabour.ca/)

International and national unions

International unions tend to be affiliates of American unions, with

headquarters in the United States.

Local unions
 Role of the union (shop) steward
 Role of the business agent
STRUCTURES, FUNCTIONS, AND
LEADERSHIP OF LABOUR UNIONS
Union (Shop) Steward
Employee who, as a nonpaid union official, represents the
interests of members in their relations with management

Business agent
Normally a paid labour official responsible for negotiating and
administering the collective agreement and working to resolve
union members’ problems
LABOUR RELATIONS IN
THE PUBLIC SECTOR
•Collective bargaining among federal, provincial, and municipal government employees
and among employees in parapublic agencies (private agencies or branches of
government acting as extensions of government programs) has been an area of
important activity for the union movement.

•More than 70 percent of public employees are now unionized. Unions that represent
public-sector employees are among the largest in Canada.

• The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is the largest union in Canada.
LABOUR RELATIONS IN
THE PUBLIC SECTOR
• Political nature of the labour–management relationship

• Strikes in the public sector

• Back to Work Legislation

STRIKES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Compulsory Binding Arbitration
Binding method of resolving collective bargaining deadlocks by
a neutral third party

Final Offer Arbitration

Method of resolving collective bargaining deadlocks, whereby
the arbitrator has no power to compromise but must select one or
another of the final offers submitted by the two parties
THE BARGAINING PROCESS
THE BARGAINING PROCESS

 Gathering bargaining data

 Forming bargaining teams

 Developing bargaining strategies and tactics

 Negotiating the collective agreement

 Formalizing the collective agreement

THE BARGAINING PROCESS
THE BARGAINING PROCESS

Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB)

• Problem-solving bargaining based on a win–win philosophy and

the development of a positive long-term relationship
MANAGEMENT AND UNION
POWER
IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Bargaining Power
• The power of labour and management to achieve their goals
through economic, social, or political influence

Union Bargaining Power

• Strikes, pickets, and boycotts

Management Bargaining Power

• Continuing operations staffed by management
• Locking out employees
THE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
• The Issue of Management Rights: Decisions regarding organizational operations over which management

claims exclusive rights

Union Security Agreements

• Dues Checkoff- gives the employer the responsibility of withholding union dues from the paycheques of union members who agree to

such a deduction.

• Shop Agreements-

• a union shop agreement may stipulate that any employee who is not a union member on employment must join the union within 30

days or be terminated.

• the agency shop, provides for voluntary membership.

• However, all bargaining-unit members must pay union dues

RESOLVING BARGAINING DEADLOCKS
• The function of rights arbitration is to provide the solution to a grievance that
a union and an employer have been unable to resolve by themselves

Interest Arbitrator
• Third-party neutral who resolves a labour dispute by issuing a final decision
in the disagreement
ADMINISTRATION OF THE
COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
Negotiated Grievance Procedure
 Formal procedure that provides for the union to represent
members and nonmembers in processing a grievance

Rights Arbitration: Arbitration over interpretation of the

meaning of contract terms or employee work grievances
 Decision to arbitrate
 Arbitration process
 Arbitration award
ADMINISTRATION OF THE
COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
Arbitration award
 formal written document given to both sides
 There is no specific format to an arbitration award,
but, typically, the award contains five parts:
(1) the submission to arbitrate,
(2) the facts of the case,
(3) the positions of the parties,
(4) the opinion of the arbitrator, and
(5) the decision rendered.
 VIDEO

WestJet employees say company is breaking labour laws

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1188482627665

Source: CBC News (n.d.). WestJet employees say company is breaking labour laws [Video].
CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1188482627665

This presentation contains copyrighted material. Do not repost.