CH 16: Union - Management Relations Flashcards
Union
Formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective action
Yellow Dog Contracts
Pledges by workers not to join a labor union
Protected Concerted Activities
Actions taken by employees working together to try to improve their pay and working conditions, with or without a union
Unfair Labor Practices
Actions that employers are leagally prohibited from taking to prevent employees from unionizing.
Right to-work Laws
State laws that prohibit requiring employees to join unions as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment.
Open Shop
Employer in which workers are not required to join or pay dues to a union
Closed shop
Employer that requires individuals to join a union before they can be hired
Microunit
Bargaining unit that includes only one job category or department within a company.
No-solicitation policy
Policy that restricts employees and outsiders from distributing literature or soliciting union membership on company premises.
Salting
Practice in which unions hire and pay people to apply for jobs at certain companies to begin organizing efforts.
Union Authorization Card
Card signed by employees to designate a union as their collective bargaining agent
Bargaining Unit
Employees eligible to select a single union to represent and bargain collectively for them
Decertification
Process whereby a union is removed as the representative of a group of employees
Collective Bargaining
Process whereby representatives of management and workers negotiate over wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.
Management Rights
Rights reserved so that the employer can manage, direct, and control its business
Union Security Provisions
Contract Clauses to help the union obtain and retain members and collect union dues
Dues Checkoff Clause
Provides for the automatic deduction of union dues from the payroll checks of union members
Mandatory Issues
Negotiation topics and collective bargaining issues identified specifically by labor laws or court decisions as subject to bargaining.
Permissive Issues
Collective bargaining issues that are not required but might relate to certain jobs or practices.
Illegal Issues
Collective bargaining issues that would require either party to take illegal action.
Ratification
Process by which union members vote to accept the terms of a negotiatied labor agreement.
Conciliation
Process by which a third party facilitates the dialogue between union and management negotiators to reach a voluntary settlement.
Mediation
Process by which a third party suggests ideas to help negotiators reach a settlement.
Arbitration
Process that uses a neautral third party to make a decision.
Lockout
Management shuts down company operations to prevent union members from working
Strike
Union members refuse to work in order to put pressure on an employer.
Affinity Groups
Groups of employees with a common interest or characteristic.
Complaint
Indication of employee dissatisfaction.
Grievance
Complaint formally stated in writing.
Grievance Procedures
Specific steps used to resolve grievances.
Grievance Arbitration
Means by which a third party settles disputes arising from different or conflicting interpretations of a labor contract.
Codetermination
Practice in which union or worker representatives are given positions on a company’s board of directors.
In the early 20th century, what 2 federal laws were passed that focused on employee’s rights to form labor unions?
Railway Labor Act & Norris-LaGuardia Act
Railway Labor Act
Of 1926 gave railroad employees “the right to orgaize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.”
Norris-LaGuardia Act
An Act which guaranteed workers some rights to organize and restricted the issuance of court injunctions in labor disputes.
Context: Under Laws athe the time of the stock market crash and onset of Great Depression 1929, employers were allowed to ask a federal judge to issue and injunction ordering workers to return to work if they were striking or resistant.
What are the 3 Major National Labor Laws that are the basis for labor laws now?
The Wagner Act, The Taft-Hartley Act and The Landrum-Griffin Act
Primary focus of Wagner Act
Rights of unions and workers
Primary focus of Taft-Hartley Act?
Rights of Management
Primary Focus of Landrum-Griffin Act?
Rights of union members in their unions
What is another name for the Wagner Act?
National Labor Relations Act or NLRA
What name is the Taft-Hartley Act known as?
Labor Management Relations Act or LMRA
What is one Primary feature the Taft-Hartley Act identified?
The fact that unions could also be commiting unfair labor practices.
The Taft-Hartley Act established what agency?
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)
What is the FMCS (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service)?
An Agency to help management and labor settle labor contract disputes.
What year was the Railway Labor Act Established?
1926
What year was the Norris-LaGuardia Act established?
1932
What year was the Wagner Act Established?
1935
What year was the Taft-Hartley Act Established?
1947
What year was the Landrum-Griffin Act Established?
1959
What is another name for the Landrum-Griffin Act?
Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
What does the Landrum-Griffin Act do?
Unions are required to establish bylaws, make financial reports, and provide union members with a bill of rights.
As required by the Landrum-Griffin Act, unions must file a finacial report detailing all reciepts and disbursements of funds along with a breakdown of payments made for what following activities?
Representational Activities Political activity and lobbying Contributions, Gifts and grants General overhead Union administration
NLRB vs. Noel Canning 134 S. Ct. 2550
Overturned the appointment of several board members of the NLRB.
In what 2 ways can unionizing workers begin?
1) a union targets an industry, region or a company
2) employees request union representation
What is the order of the Typical Unionization Process?
1) Organizing campaign
2) Authorization cards/petition filing
3) Representation election
4) Certification
5) Collective bargaining/contract negotiation
How can employers try to prevent unionization?
Preventative employee relations: emphasize good morale and loyalty based on concern for employees, competitive wages and benefits, a fair system for dealing with employee complaints, and safe working conditions.
What percent of employees need to sign a union authorization card before a representation election can be scheduled?
30% of the employees in the targeted group
Employees who constitute a bargaining unit have mutual interests in what following areas?
1) Wages, hours and working conditions
2) Traditional industry groupings for bargaining purposes
3) Physical location and amount of interaction and working relationships between employee groups
4) Supervision by similar levels of management
What are the unfair labor practices that are illegal for employers to engage in before an election of a union?
TIPS:
T- Threaten - Threaten to reduce pay, fire workers, or take other nagative steps to prevent workers from voting for a union
I- Inerrogate - Grill or quiz employees to learn the identity of the workers who initiated the organizing attempt or how employees are planning to vote.
P- Promise - Promise pay raises, promotions, better working conditions or other perks and benefits in exchange for employees to reject the union.
S - Spy - Follow/tail employees, visit employee gathering places, write down license numbers, and investigate who is participaing in union organizing activities.
What percentage of votes does the union need to win?
50% of those voting +1
Ex) if a group of 200 employees is the identified bargaining 50 people vote, only 26 need to vote yes for the union to be named as the representative for all 200 employees.
What percentage of the bargaining unit of a union nust sign decertification authorization cards before a decertification election can be held?
30% of bargaining unit
What are the 3 collective bargaining issues categories?
Mandatory,Permissive and illegal
What are the 3 mandatory subjects that must be discussed during collective bargaining?
Compensation, Benefits and working conditions
What are the 4 stages of negotiating a contract during collective bargaining?
Preparation and initial demands
Negotiations
Settlement or passe
Strikes and lockouts
What are the 20 items in a labor agreement?
- Purpose of agreement 11. Discipline
- Nondiscrimination clause 12. separation allowance
- Management rights 13. Seniority
- Recognition of the union 14. Pension/insurance
- Dues checkoff 15. Safety
- Wages 16. Grievance procedure
- Incentives 17. No-strike or lockout clause
- Hours of work 18. Definitions
- Vacations 19. Terms of contract (dates)
- Sick/absence leaves 20. Appendices
If the union and employer cannot come to an agreement and go into bargaining impasse…what happens to the disputes?
Disputes can be taken to conciliation, mediation or arbitration
What are the 5 types of strikes that can occur?
- Economic strikes
- Unfail labor practice strikes
- Wildcat strikes
- Jurisdicitional strikes
- Sympathy Strikes
What is an economic strike?
The parties fail to reach agreement during collective bargaining.
What is an unfair labor practices strike?
Union members leave their jobs over what they feel are illegal employer actions, such as refusal to bargain
What is a wildcat strike?
Occur during the life of the collective-bargaining agreement without approval of union leadership and violate a no-strike clause in a labor contract. Strikers can be discharged or disciplined.
What is a jurisdictional strike?
Members of one union walk out to force the employer to assign work to them instead of to members of another union.
What is a Sympathy Strike?
Once union chooses to express support for another union involved in a dispute, even though the first union has no disagreement with the employer.
Grievance arbitration includes what common concerns?
Discipline and discharge
Safety and health
Security
What are the 5 steps in a typical grievance procedure?
- Discussion of written grievance between employee, union steward, and supervisor
- Meeting between union steward and supervisor’s manager and/or HR manager
- Meeting between committee of union officers and company managers
- Discussion between national union representative and company executive or corporate industrial relations officer
- Arbitration by impartial third party
In the USA What are the 4 key union focuses?
- Economic issues vs. other concerns
- Organization by kind of job and employer
- Collective agreements as “contracts”
- Competitive relations
