Organization - Employee & Labor Relations Flashcards
National Labor Relations Act / Wagner Act
Addresses relations between unions and employers in the private sector.
International Labor Standards
The standards issued by the International Labour Orgz (ILO) capture key issues related to EE rights.
- promote rights at work
- encourage decent EE opportunities
- enhance social protection
- strengthen dialogue on work related issues
ILO has 8 Labor Standards
- Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize
- Right to Organize and Collective Bargain
- Forced Labor
- Abolition of Forced Labor
- Minimum Age
- Child Labor
- Equal Renumeration
- Discrimination
Employment Contracts
Employment contracts are the norm in many countries, some countries penalize employers for not providing written contracts within a certain length of time
The absence of a contract may give rise to an implied contract AKA a paystub
Employment-at-Will
In the US, unlike other countries, most EEs work on an at will basis.
EAW is not a federal law but a principal derived from common law.
Employee Relations Strategy
An orgz ER Strategy should include:
- Alignment with the orgz strategy
- Alignment with employment laws and business practices
- A vision for workplace culture
- Must fit the orgz values and beliefs
- Should have strategic goals
- Should have strategic initiatives
Policy
A broad statement that reflects an orgz philosophy, objectives, or standards concerning a particular set of managment or EE activities
EE Handbooks
EE handbooks should reflect the orgz vision and values and be legally compliant
Involving Managers and Supervisors
Managers and supervisors must understand the orgz ER strategy and how the strategy is aligned with management practices.
*In organized labor–managers should be able to explain the orgz labor strategy
Types of Unions
- Single enterprise: all EEs of an employer, regardless of job type or skill, may be represented by a single enterprise union.
- Trade or craft: a union representing electrical, chemical, or atomic workers
- National union: differnt trade or craft unions join national federations of unions.
- Industry union: represents workers from different employers within a certain industry, like steel or auto
Understanding Individual Labor/Trade Unions
Unions can vary significantly–HR should try to identify in labor groups with whom their orgz interact:
- level at which bargaining occurs
- focus on bargaining topics
- union penetration or density
- membership
- relationship with management
- role government will play
‘Acceptance’ Labor Strategy
Orgz may accept unionization for food reason like: unions may be the norm in certain industries, or some orgz may find the costs of fighting unionization efforts to be too high
‘Avoidance’ Labor Strategy
Employers may choose to avoid unionization because of the additional cost of managing a unionized workforce
*The appeal of unions can be blunted by addressing the major reasons why EEs consider joining unions
‘Adaption’ Labor Strategy
When a workplace is already unionized, the employer can define the type of relationship they want with 3rd party representatives: confrontational or collaborative
7 Options for Global Orgz
- Hands-off: locally managed
- Monitor: headquarters tracks local mgmt decisions, but it leaves decisions to be made locally
- Guide and Advise: headquarters offers more advice, but it still leaves decisions at the local level
- Strategic planning: policies are set globally, but practices are developed locally.
- Set limits and approve exceptions: some local adaptations may be made but only after review and approval by headquarters HR
- Integration of headquarters and line managers in field: labor decisions are made jointly
- Manage locally from headquarters: local HR staff simply implement, without change, headquarters developed HR policies and practices
