Union/Management Relations Flashcards
Union
Formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective action.
Craft union
Union whose members do one type of work, often using specialized skills and training.
Industrial union
Union that includes many persons working in the same industry or company, regardless of jobs held.
Federation
Group of autonomous unions
Business agent
A full-time union official who operates the union office and assists union members.
Union steward
Employee elected to serve as the first-line representative of unionized workers.
Right-to-work laws
State laws that prohibit requiring employees to join unions as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment.
Open shop
Firm in which workers are not required to join or pay dues to a union.
Closed shop
Firm that requires individuals to join a union before they can hired.
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.
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.
Mandatory issues
Collective bargaining issues identified specifically by labor laws or court decisions as subject to bargaining.
Permissive issues
Collective bargaining issues that are not mandatory and that relate to certain jobs.
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 negotiated labor agreement.
Concilation
Process by which a third party assists union and management negotiators to reach a voluntary settlement.
Mediation
Process by which a third party helps the negotiators reach a settlement.
Arbitration
Process that uses a neutral third party to make a decision.
Strike
Work stoppage in which union members refuse to work in order to put pressure on an employer.
Lockout
Shutdown of company operations undertaken by management to prevent union members from working..
Complaint
Indication of employee dissatisfaction.
Grievance
Complaint formally stated in writing.
Grievance procedures
Formal channel of communication used to resolve grievances.
Grievance arbitration
Means by which a third party settles disputes arising from different interpretations of a labor contract.
Codeterminiation
Practice whereby union or work representatives are given positions on a company’s board of directors.
