Defining and Commencing: Collective Bargaining

Question 1

describe how certification changes the relationship between employees and employers

Answer 1

• when a union is in place the employer cannot negotiate one-on-one with employees
• both the employer and the union are compelled to commence collective bargaining
• to make sure the union has the resources to do work union security clauses are formed

Question 2

Name some examples of union security clause

Answer 2

Dues check off - the employer deducts union dues from the employee’s pay cheque
The Rand Formula - based on the principle that not all employees may wish to join the union, but all benefit from the union contract
Closed shop or union shop - new employees must become union members as a condition of employment
Hiring Hall - union matches union members with empoyers
Union expulsion - if an employee is expelled from the union, then the employer may terminate employment

Question 3

What is the structure of collective bargaining?

Answer 3

Structure refers to the number of locals, unions, employers, workplaces, or industries represented in a collective bargaining situation

Question 4

the most common bargaining structure is?

Answer 4

Single unit-single employer

Question 5

group of employers or unions may bargain as a single entity to avoid what?

Answer 5

pattern bargaining or whipsawing

Question 6

Who are the participants in collective bargaining

Answer 6

two teams: one union team and one employer team

Question 7

What can be bargained for?

Answer 7

• benefits, hours of work, procedures for hiring and promotion, discipline and discharge, and working conditions
• most agreements contain a management rights clause

Question 8

What are some legislative guidelines for collective bargaining

Answer 8

• must last for a minimum length of time (one year)
• agreements cannot undercut the minimum employment standards
• agreements cannot discriminate
• agreements are generally required to contain a grievance procedure

Question 9

Setting Bargaining Priorities what two questions will be addressed? identify and prioritize goals

Answer 9

• what outcomes does the team want to achieve?
• which of these outcomes are the most or least important?
• review past negotiations
• examine related collective agreements
• examine past grievances and their outcomes
• both teams look at external factors

Question 10

how to prepare for the start of bargaining

Answer 10

The teams exchange initial proposals without indicating each issues priority and may include items which are unachievable

Question 11

What is surface bargaining?

Answer 11

Participating in negotiations but with no intention of concluding a collective agreement

Question 12

What is Boulwarism?

Answer 12

Presenting an initial offer as a final offer without justification or rationale and refusing to negotiate further

Question 13

What are some examples of bargaining in good faith

Answer 13

• does not require that a collective agreement be reached
• parties are not expected to give in just to reach an agreement
• most labor codes state that once bargaining begins, existing workplace terms and conditions are under a freeze.

Question 14

Define the stages of negotiation

Answer 14

Pre- negotiation - Each side determines its priorities, goals and proposals
Establishing the negotiating range - bargaining session begins
- team introduces its members
- oral presentations include the bargaining range, each sides commitment to issues, attempt to influence the others perception
Narrowing the negotiation range - each team enters negotiation with an initial offer
- zone of agreement must exist for there to be the possibility of an agreement
- both sides start to change their original positions in a n attempt to find a point where a mutually satisfactory resolution can be reached
Crisis - one or both sides must decide whether to settle or to use economic pressure such as a strike or lockout
- may occur over a package deal
Ratification - necessary once terms are agreed upon

Question 15

What are the four negotiation sub processes

Answer 15

intra-organizational bargaining - negotiators seeks to achieve consensus within the bargaining team and the organization
attitudinal structuring - each side forms attitudes toward the other side and toward the relationship between the teams
Integrative bargaining - identifying issues with common interests to get to ‘win-win’ solutions
Distributive bargaining - both sides compete over limited resources, producing ‘win-lose’ situations (contentious issues)

Question 16

Two types of internal conflict that appear during the intra organizational bargaining

Answer 16

Role conflict - occurs because of conflicting expectations for each sides negotiators
Factional conflict - develops when different groups have conflicting demands; results in disagreement within the organization over bargaining goals and priorities

Question 17

What is bargaining power?

Answer 17

It is the ability of one side to get the other side to agree t its terms

Environmental, socio-demographic, and organizational factors can affect each party’s bargaining power

Question 18

Factors affecting the employers bargaining power include?

Answer 18

size of its inventory, the structure of its operation, its competitiveness, whether the business is seasonal, can it operate during a strike, and its labor costs

Question 19

What are the two alternative models of union management negotiations?

Answer 19

Mutual Gains Model or Bargaining Cost of Disputes Model

Question 20

What is the Cost of Disputes Model?

Answer 20

• this model focuses on the interaction among the bargaining power, the interests, and the rights of each side, and how this interaction affects the costs of negotiating disputes
• if parties focused on interests rather than on issues it can reduce the cost of disputes

Question 21

four criterias to consider when evaluating the costs of disputes

Answer 21

Transaction costs - expenditures of time, money, resources, emotional energy, and lost opportunities
Satisfaction with the outcome - how fulfilling the ultimate resolution is to each side
Long-term effect on the relationship - a poor relationship will be costly because of later disputes
Recurrence - whether the agreement resolved the issues between the parties

Question 22

Four principles of the mutual gains model of bargaining

Answer 22

People - separate the people from the problem
Interests - focus on interests, not positions
Options - generate a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do
Criteria - insist that the results of negotiations be based or evaluated on some objective standard

Question 23

3 approaches have been proposed to resolve adversarial bargaining conflicts of the mutual gains model

Answer 23

• each side should strive to establish a minimum degree of trust and communication
• each side should determine the minimum level of acceptance
• mutual level of dependency should be recognized

Question 24

Mutual Gains Model of Bargaining

Answer 24

• joint union, management training has produced positive results
• however, this model may not be completely appropriate for union-management negotiations
• inherent power imbalances and different perspectives make it difficult to apply apply this model