Management’s decision to have its organization unionized or stay as a nonunion operation is based on many factors. This paper will define and describe the impact of unions and labor relations along with examining the impact of changes in employee relations strategies, policies and practices on the organizational performance. This paper continues with answering the question “are unions still relevant in the United States?” and it concludes with a brief description of the union campaign, the election, contract negotiations, grievance handling, arbitrations, labor relations, and strikes.
Unions and Labor Relations
Unions are “organizations formed for the purpose of representing the member’s interests in dealing with employers” (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, p.441).
Unions provide a method for skilled and unskilled employees to achieve wage uniformity and improve working conditions through collective bargaining (Boone, & Kurtz, 1999).
In the 1700 and 1800s the need for unions evolved in the United States due to safety and security needs for employees working in intolerable conditions. Some of these intolerable working conditions include low wages, long work hours and unsafe work environment.
During the Industrial Revolution workers, including children, worked all day in unsafe factories for only pennies per day (Labor Union, n.d.).
Ongoing conflict between employees and employer allowed the unions to intensify its role in collective bargaining within an organization. Unions also provided conflict management for employee raised complaints, and labor contracts (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2003).
The Term Paper on Progressive Discipline – Employee/Labor Relations
Discipline within the workplace is and has been a controversial subject. With so much at stake, employers and employees have different opinions on types of discipline and the effectiveness of these processes. One largely debated form of workplace discipline is progressive discipline. Should employees be encouraged to rehabilitate in the workplace? Should management be protected against legal ...
Unions had forced employers to change the workplace environment drastically, develop new factory systems, seniority driven wages and management accountability. Today, US labor unions role is the legal representatives of workers in many industries but are predominant in the private sector. (Labor Union, n.d.).
Labor relations refer to the dealing between management and its unionized workforce regarding work condition, pay and benefits (Labor Relations, n.d.).
The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, also know as Taft-Hartly Act, allowed workers the right to unionize and bargain collectively with employers. The purpose of the Act is to prescribe and describe the legitimate rights of employer and employees, “and to protect the rights of the public in connection with labor disputes affecting commerce.” (Taft-Hartley Act, n.d., para. 1).
Even with the Taft-Hartley Act many labor relations had resulted in a strike. In 1983 16% of the private sector was unionized, by 2004 only 8% of the private sector is unionized. This decline is due to positive labor relations consultants which have minimized unionization (Labor Relations, n.d.).
Unions and labor relations can both positive and negative impact productivity, profits and worker’s rights.
Impact of changes in Employee Relations Strategies, Policies, and Practices on Organizational Performance
Unionized organizations have to follow the guidelines of the Nation Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
The NLRA allows “the free democratic choice by employees whether they wish to be represented by a union in dealing with their employers and if so, by which union; and to prevent and remedy unlawful acts, called [unfair labor practices,] by either employers or unions.” (National Labor Relations Act, n.d., para. 2).
The NLRA is a federal law that makes it legal for employees to self-organize and bargain collectively through a representative. These strict guidelines were put in place to prevent employers from doing whatever the employer saw fit for the organization (National Labor Relations Act, n.d.).
The Essay on Employee relations 2
All are dependent on policies being adopted that favour positive employee-employer relations. Employee relations play a vital role in the running of an organisation, as they possess the ability to determine the direction in which relationships will head. The workplace is a complex system that is prone to sudden changes of an industrial or economic nature, of which manoeuvring around it depends on ...
This act states that employers cannot interfere with employees that are trying to unionize; this is considered an unfair labor practice (ULP).
An employee’s union can file ULP charges with the NLRA along with evidence of the organization’s wrongdoing (National Labor Relations Act, n.d.).
Are unions still relevant in the United States?
Unions are still relevant in the USA even though the numbers of unionized organizations have decreased, and unions do negatively impact an organization’s profit. Unions are considered an important political factor since most unions favor the Democratic Party (Larson, R. 1990).
Unions will always be instrumental in maintaining communications between employees and employer. Without unions employers will take advantage of its employee’s pay and working environment.
Union Organizing
Campaign
Unions begin its involvement with an organization’s employees by conducting an organizing campaign. The union’s objective of the campaign is to convince a majority of employees that they are entitle to better pay or employee benefits, and that the union can assist in obtaining these goals. The employer’s objective is to either work with the union or convince its employees that they are better off without a union (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2003).
The Election
Once the union has secured the required number of employees interested in unionizing then an election must held. All employees can vote for a union except management and independent contractors of an organization. A secret ballot is held were eligible employees vote on unionizing or not unionizing, and the votes are verified by a member of the National Labor Relations Board. Contract negotiations can begin if the union is voted in (The Union Representation Election Process, 1999).
Contract Negotiations
“Contract negotiations in a union setting involve decisions about pay structure, job security, work rules, workplace safety, and many other issues. These decisions affect workers’ and the employer’s situation for the term of the contract.” (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2003, p 460).
The Term Paper on The Role of Management and the Union in an Organization
Corporations are important members of the society as they are responsible for providing substantial input in terms of goods and services as well as adding to the growth of the country as a whole. The employees of a company are the only assets which do not have a monetary figure assigned to them yet the benefit accruing from the continued use of the employees is substantial. In a wide range of ...
A union representative and an organization’s representative, typically from the Human Resources Department, conduct all the negotiations ((Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2003.
Grievance Handling
There are many steps in the grievance resolution process between union and management.
Below are the steps needed to initiate grievance claims as outlined on page 466 from the Fundamentals Human Recourse textbook:
Step 1: Employee and union steward discuss problem with supervisor. Union steward and employee decide whether problem was resolved. Union steward and employee decide whether contract was violated.
Step 2: Written grievance is submitted to production superintendent, another line manager or industrial relations representative. Steward and manager discuss grievance. Management puts response in writing.
Step 3: Union appeals grievance to top line management and senior industrial relations staff. Additional local or international union officers may be involved. Decision resulting from appeal is put into writing.
Step 4: Union decides whether to appeal unresolved grievance to arbitration. Union appeals grievance to arbitration for binding decision. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2003, p 466).
Arbitrations
The most formal type of outside intervention is arbitration, under which an arbitrator or [an] arbitration board determines a settlement that is binding, meaning the parties have to accept it. In conventional arbitration, the arbitrator fashions the solution. In “final-offer arbitration,” the arbitrator must choose either management’s or the union’s final offer for each issue or for the contract as a whole. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2003, p 465).
Strike
The purpose of a strike is to totally stop work within an employer’s organization. This work refusal is a collective action taken by employees ((Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2003).
Conclusion
Unionized does improve an organization’s productivity but it negatively impacts its profit. This paper defined and described the impact of unions and labor relations on an organization along with examining the impact of changes in employee relations strategies, policies and practices. This paper concluded by stating that unions are still relevant in the United States.
The Essay on Collective Bargaining Union Labor Contract
Collective Bargaining, in labor relations, negotiations between employers and employees about terms and conditions of employment. The bargaining process is concerned with wages, working hours, fringe benefits, job Security, safety, and other matter relating to working conditions. Any or all of these may be the subject of consideration. Besides representatives of management and unions, private ...
References
Boone, Louis E., and Kurtz, David L. (1999).
Contemporary Business. Fort Worth, TX: Dryden Press.
Labor Relations, (n.d.).
Investors Glossary. Retrieved October 18, 2008, Web site: http://www.investorglossary.com/labor-relations.htm
Labor Union, (n.d.).
Answer.com. Retrieved October 18, 2008, Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/labor-union
Larson, R. (1990).
LABOR Unions and Political Reform. Retrieved October 19, 2008, Web site: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Labor/HL242.cfm
National Labor Relations Act, (n.d.).
Retrieved October 18, 2008, from http://www.nlrb.gov/AboutUs/Overview/factsheet.aspx
Noe, R., Holenbeck, J., Gerhert, B., & Wright, P. (2003).
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Co., Inc.
Taft-Hartley Act, (n.d.).
Dpeartment of History. Retrieved October 18, 2008, Web site: http://vi.uh.edu/pages/buzzmat/tafthartley.html
The Union Representation Election Process, (1999).
Mackinac Center. Retrieved October 20, 2008, Web site: http://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=2319
