Labor Relations
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- Labor Day and the North American Labor Movement
Labor Relations
Labor relations are defined as, "the interaction between a company's management and its employees encompassing Representation, Collective Bargaining and Grievances" (National Mediation Board, n.d.). Employees have the right to form unions which bargain for the employees collectively. A union can bargain with an employer about wages, hours, benefits, and working conditions. Unions also have the right to address grievances between all employees (union or not) and employers.Once an organization is unionized, the union effectively controls all aspects of its members work experience. There can be several unions representing different communities of interest and not all job descriptions need to be unionized. Generally, exempt employees are not covered by union contracts, but in some cases professional unions exist (i.e. the Musician's Union, the Screen Actors Guild).
The process of unionization has several steps. First, employees determine if they are going to form their own union or affiliate with and existing union. They then need to determine the level of interest, and "if more than 30% of the employees sign "authorization cards", a union will ask the local National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a secret ballot election" (FreeAdvice, n.d.). A period of campaigning by both sides is allotted before the secret ballot takes place. If a majority of employees vote for representation, the union is certified by the NLRB.
The secret ballot is under attack by union leaders since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006. Unions cite studies showing intimidation and firing of employees wanting to unionize. Unions prefer a system called "card-check," which uses authorization cards signed by workers in place of secret balloting. UnionFacts.com cites cases of abuse of the card-check system and congress has held hearings regarding this. Another noteworthy fact is unions are against using the same card-check procedures for decertification.
Several independent reports which call into question the accuracy of these union statistics. One report (Wilson, 2007), shows only 2.7% of workers are fired illegally during organizing campaigns. This is in stark contrast to the 30% cited in the landmark Cornell University study. Wilson also disputes the Cornell findings which state a staggering 49% of organizations threatened to close or move operations when faced with union organization. The flaws pointed out in the study are the result of interviews with union leaders not NLRB statistics. The Cornell study was also authored by a former union organizer whose department received almost $580,000 in union funding.
Employees can also have the option to decertify the union if they determine the union is not meeting their needs. "In 2004, workers successfully decertified poor representation in 65 percent of decertification elections, according to cases closed by the NLRB," (UnionFacts.com, 2007).
Human Resources and Labor Relations
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Changes for the Organization
Unionization changes the way organizations need to look at human resources. Usually, strict wage plans, hiring rules, and defined benefits are all mandated by contract. In every state, unions represent all workers of a particular job type with no opting out of representation. 22 states are right to work, but even in those states, like the 28 who are not right to work, an employee is bound by union representation. The 28 union states require an agency fee, payable to the union, if an employee does not want to join. In both cases, the non-union employee has no vote in union matters.
Employees are guaranteed the right to form unions for collective bargaining (and are encouraged to do so) by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. The NLRA was enacted in the midst of the depression to "protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy" (National Labor Relations Board [NLRB], n.d.).
If the collective bargaining agreement is broken, a grievance can be filed. The procedure for filing a grievance is set out in the bargaining agreement. Grievances can be filed against both employer and the union and procedures exist for both types of complaints. Are Unions Still Relevant in the United States? Currently much debate on the relevancy of unions in the United States exists. Unions argue the benefits they provide improve the entire workforce, not just union employees. Critics on the other hand, can point to independent studies which show not only the lack of relevance, but also increased corruption and suppression of wages for non-union members.
Conclusion
Unions are losing members every year and certainly part of the reason is the loss of relevancy and lack of understanding union leaders have of the political positions of rank and file members. Unions claim to represent workers who would be exploited without union protections. Most of these protections have been taken care of by existing federal law. Child labor, minimum wage, social security, and workplace safety are all issues in which the union has little to no say. The one area unions still have influence over is politics. They are among the only nonprofit organizations with special exemptions allowing not only contributions to political candidates, but the ability to send propaganda at union members' expense supporting candidates (which are almost exclusively Democrat).
With an ever increasing global market threat, unions have priced themselves out of business. Rather than let the free market prevail, artificial wage standards are set. Unions also protect many underperforming employees. Perhaps the most controversial union policy is the legalized robbery of its members through dues.
Polling data from the 2004 election showed 38% of union members voted for George Bush, while 95% of union funds went to John Kerry. 55% of union members polled wanted a choice in where to invest social security taxes. Union officials spent millions of union members' dues fighting this choice (UnionFacts.com, 2007).
Ronald Reagan on Unions
Florida Unions
Writes strike 2007
AFL-CIO News
- Tire Industry Jobs Returning After Obama Enforces Trade Laws
Less than three months after President Obama enforced U.S. trade law and provided relief to the domestic tire industry in response to surging exports of tires from China, there are signs the tire industry is rebounding. Writing on the Campaign for America’s Future website, Dave Johnson reports that Cooper Tires is adding 100 new jobs to its plant in Findlay, Ohio, where unemployment is 9.1 percent. He quotes Findlay’s Mayor Pete Sehnert who told Toledo on the Move.com: That’s 100 more people working. That’s 100 more people spending their money in our community, paying their bills, paying their taxes so it means a lot. Click here to read Johnson’s post. In September, Obama imposed increased duties on tires from China for three years after the U.S. International Trade Commission found that tariff relief was needed to urgently reduce the negative impact of those tire imports. For eight years, President George W. Bush refused to invoke trade laws to help U.S. workers. As Johnson says: President Bush refused to enforce trade agreements and we suffered eight years of job loss and factory closings, but President Obama enforced it, and we are already seeing jobs return. Research by the United Steelworkers shows that between 2004 and 2008, the domestic tire industry suffered massive injury. Capacity by the tire companies is down 17.8 percent, and production is down by 26.6 percent. Employment has been reduced by 14.2 percent along with reductions in hours worked and wages paid. Net domestic sales were down 28 percent. - 86 minutes ago
- Union Movement Works to Halt AIDS/HIV Pandemic
Today is World AIDS Day, and global union members are reinforcing their commitment to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS, which has infected 33 million people worldwide and more than 1 million in the United States. Around the world, the pandemic has devastated workers and their families, shattered communities and reversed the rise in work and living standards. Among the most vulnerable of those with the disease are some 2 million children worldwide, with 1,000 more becoming infected every day. In the United States, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) is teaming up with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the producers of the fun children’s DVD “Sockville—A New Pair of Socks” to help fight pediatric HIV/AIDS. For every DVD purchased at a special $9.99 price, $3 will go to the Elizabeth Glaser Foundation, CWA’s charity of choice for nearly 20 years. Click here to buy the DVD at this special rate and help children with AIDS. This special offer is only good until Dec. 15, 2009. The situation for adults and children is particularly dire in sub-Saharan Africa. AFT has joined with teachers’ unions in Africa to create the Teachers Caring for Teachers program, which has become a prototype for teachers union across the continent. The AFT Educational Foundation also is working with six teachers unions in South Africa to provide support for teachers affected by HIV/AIDS. So far, the program has reached 750,000 teachers. With AFT’s help, students in the United States and Africa are learning more about AIDS. In September, students at Artesia High School in Lakewood, Calif., and Manenberg High School in Cape Town, South Africa, began communicating about their experiences with HIV/AIDS in their communities through cyberspace. Students also will visit each others’ schools. Click here to learn more about AFT’s efforts on AIDS. Also in South Africa, where one of every nine residents is living with HIV, the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center has partnered with the National Metalworkers Union of South Africa in a new HIV/AIDS workplace program, “Be Faithful, Be Tested, Be Unionized.” The five-year program, which began on World AIDS Day 2008, develops and supports workplace HIV/AIDS education and voluntary testing, counseling and services. The nearly all-male metal workers also can learn skills to negotiate workplace HIV/AIDS policies. The key to the program’s success: it’s led by the union, not management. Workers in South Africa and other countries fear they will lose jobs or job status if they are perceived as being HIV-positive. During the past year, the program provided HIV/AIDS education to more than 6,000 union members and their families and more than 2,300 workers volunteered to receive counseling and testing for the disease. In East Africa, the Solidarity Center is a partner in SafeTStop, a comprehensive five-year initiative aimed at bringing HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment to long-haul truckers and communities in the East African transport corridor. The global economic crisis could severely hamper these and other successful HIV/AIDS programs because governments and employers are cutting back on prevention and education. In a statement, the International Trade Union Confederation said it is “deeply concerned at the impact of the financial crisis on development and thus on combating HIV-AIDS.” There is clear evidence that the crisis has deepened the already existing inequalities in the world. With 60 million people expected to lose their jobs and 200 million more falling into absolute poverty, trade unions call on governments to keep their promises to deliver resources to…achieve universal access to treatment, and to halt and begin to reverse the spread of the pandemic. - 5 hours ago
- More than 1,000 Workers Win Voice with AFL-CIO Unions
(L-R) IAM’s Don Greshman, CSC workers Thomas O’Bryant, Scot Long, Richard Gomez and Chris Yeaton and IAM’s Bud Michel. Illinois state employees and nurses, government-contracted tech workers, airport workers and helicopter pilots all have won a voice at work with AFL-CIO unions recently. In Illinois, more than 500 Illinois state public service administrators won their fight for representation with AFSCME Council 31 after waiting more than a year and a half for their ballots to be counted. As Henry Bayer, Council 31 executive director, says: “In tough times, a strong union is essential.” With AFSCME, all public service workers have the job security and decent wages and benefits only a strong union can provide. The workers perform audits and other functions for many state agencies, primarily the Department of Revenue and the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. In a separate election last month, 180 working nurse supervisors also joined Council 31. They work in mental health and developmental centers operated by the Department of Human Services and in other state agencies. Meanwhile, 275 workers employed by Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) of Indian Springs, Nev., voted to join the Machinists (IAM). The CSC employees, who work at Nellis Air Force Base, a major training location for U.S. and foreign military air crews, now can bargain for raises under the Service Contract Act. The Service Contract Act covers employees working for employers holding contracts with the federal government. In Ontario, Canada, 200 employees of Toronto Ground Airport Services voted to join IAM Local 2323, following a hard-fought organizing win. District 140 organizer Ian Morland says: This is a very rewarding victory over an aggressive and anti-union employer. This campaign has been under way since May and it involved terminations and worker intimidation by the employer. We took the matter to the Federal Labour Board, who awarded us a vote and reinstatement for the terminated workers and severance for those who did not wish to return to work for this employer. The new members include dispatchers and wheelchair assistants for physically challenged patrons who use the airport and its services. Also in Canada, the 275-member Global Helicopter Pilots Association (GHPA) has affiliated with the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU). The group will be known as GHPA, OPEIU Local 103. After the Canadian pilots formed a union in 2006, they were forced to fight a series of legal challenges mounted by their employer, CHC, Helicopter Corp. GHPA voted to affiliate with OPEIU in March 2007, and affiliation was granted upon the recent issuance of a decision by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board. Kevin Kistler, OPEIU director of Organization and Field Services, says “this was a long time coming,” but we’re glad we now represent the more than 275 GHPA pilots. Contract negotiations have begun, and we look forward to achieving an agreement that provides improved compensation, benefits, and working conditions. - 21 hours ago
References
FreeAdvice (n.d.). How do you unionize a workplace?. Retrieved January 2, 2008, from http://employment-law.freeadvice.com/employment-law/unionize_workplace.htm
National Labor Relations Board (n.d.). National labor relations act. Retrieved January 3, 2008, from http://www.nlrb.gov/about_us/overview/national_labor_relations_act.aspx
National Mediation Board (n.d.). Definitions. Retrieved January 2, 2008, from http://www.nmb.gov/helpdesk/helpdesk_definitions.html
UnionFacts.com (2007). Kicking out your union. Retrieved January 2, 2008, from http://www.unionfacts.com/articles/memberDecertification.cfm
Wilson, J. J. (2007, June). Union math, union mythsAn analysis of government data on employees firedduring union organizing campaigns. Retrieved January 3, 2008, from http://www.unionfacts.com/downloads/Union_Math_Union_Myths.pdf
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Comments
Ralph,
Thanks for the comment, sounds like you are more qualified than me to write about this! I am writing from an academic point of view, more like an upper division management school intro.











Ralph Deeds says:
2 years ago
Interesting and well-written Hub. I especially enjoyed the Reagan video. It brought back memories of the 1960s and GE's infamous Boulwareism which was designed to undermine the collective bargaining process in General Electric. I heard Lemuel Boulware speak at John Dunlop's Littauer seminar on labor relations. The following week Al Hartnett, Secretary-Treasurer of the IUE spoke. Reagan's comments in 1958 were not surprising, considering where his views ended up later--anathema to labor.
One small point with which I disagree. You said "the union effectively controls all aspects of its members work experience." This strikes me as a bit of an overstatement. The work experience of union members is influenced by the union and by many other factors. The union contract results from bargaining between the union AND the employer over wages, hours and working conditions. Sometimes the bargaining over the terms of the contract is one-sided with the union calling the shots and in other situations the employer has the upper hand.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of your Hubs and perhaps a continuing discussion.
[I retired in 1993 from a career with GM in labor relations, served as assistant to the Chairman of the NLRB during the Clinton administration, and after that as a member of the Michigan Employment Security Board of Review (unemployment compensation appeals). Currently, I represent claimants in UC administrative law judge appeal hearings.}
I just noticed your link to the Cornell ILR School. After a BA in economics at Cornell I spent a semester in the MILR program there before going into the Army. I've been a member of IRRA (now LERA)for more than 40 years.