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As the corporate labor relations lawyer for a European car manufacturer, building a new facility in Middle Valley, Tennessee, you have been asked by corporate management to draft a position paper regarding the labor relations process at the new plant. Management would like you to address the prompts below.
Should we attempt to avoid unionization as other foreign plants have in the area, though the company’s headquarters are in a European Union (EU) country with strict labor laws? If so, what should be our strategy now and in the future?
What should be our strategies, tactics, goals, and process be in collective bargaining?
UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE
Employee Discipline
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
2. Examine the challenges for union members in the modern workplace.
3. Critique the concept of collective bargaining.
4. Discuss union avoidance strategies.
5. Construct the framework for a labor agreement.
6. Compare and contrast negotiation models, strategies, and tactics.
8. Interpret the laws that affect unions.
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 12: Employee Discipline, pp. 601–628
Unit Lesson
Welcome to Unit VII! In this unit, we will look at the end of the negotiation process and why people join
unions.
In the previous unit, we considered the key issues from the Harper Container Company (HCC) and United
Chemical and Plastics Workers (UCPW) collective bargaining agreement from both the management and the
union perspective. If we were actually sitting down to negotiate, the process would be more dramatic given
the heated emotions involved on both sides, and there would be several back-and-forth offers. These can
frustrate some team members with the long hours working on offers and counteroffers, adding to the already
tense environment. Things would get even more intense if either party initiated a strike or a lockout. Before
we get to that stage, let’s look at the process as we have gone though it so far and how it may end—in a
successful agreement, with an arbitrator who takes over, or in a strike or lockout.
We started the process by determining our team members and their role and responsibility in the bargaining
process. We then reviewed the previous contract to determine what might come up during this contract
period, as well as what did and did not work in the previous contract. Next, we started researching industry
standards, the latest settlements, and economic predictions so that we would be prepared to support our
options and defend ourselves in counteroffers. We have identified our issues and met several times.
If we come to an agreement, then the teams did a great job and should be congratulated, but that is not the
end. The union team has to take the final offer to the union membership for a vote. This will be the time the
union representative needs to convince the union membership that this is the best deal possible. Hopefully,
the union team member has enough influence
and charisma to convince the employees to
accept the offer. If not, the union membership
could reject the offer and vote to strike. The
teams could get together and try to
renegotiate, but it may be a moot point at this
stage. If the union membership does not
HRM 6304, Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining
1
accept the final agreement, the result would be much work for many people. UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
The union now implements their strike plan. Typically, the union
gives management 48-hour notice of a strike. A typical strike plan
requires the notification of all members not to come to work in order
to support the strike. It also means the union has to organize the
picket schedule. If you are a part of the union, you are obligated to
walk the picket line or perform other duties assigned by the union,
or you are not eligible for strike pay.
During a strike, union members do not get paid their regular salary
or benefits. Instead, the union gives them a small stipend. Some
unions will also provide health benefits, but it depends on the
union and its bylaws. The size and financial security of the union
will determine the benefit coverage available to the striking
members. While on strike for economic reasons, the union
members may or may not be eligible for unemployment insurance.
That would depend on the state where the company is located.
Some employees may opt to cross the picket line and go to work
regardless of the strike. That is their choice, but, not surprisingly, it
is frowned upon by the striking members. Tensions can be high
during the strike because, although the union membership wants
an increase in wages, it is difficult to go without a paycheck when
you are making less than $20 an hour. Bills and mortgages still
have to be paid, and children have to be fed. It is not easy.
Crossing a picket line requires that the employee resign from the
union in writing and give that resignation to the union prior to crossing the picket line to go back to work.
Otherwise, the union can fine the employee.
During a strike, the union members are free to look for work
elsewhere—providing they first meet their union obligations, such
as the picket line. Employees can work other jobs as well and still
earn their strike pay as long as they continue to walk the picket line
or perform other duties as required by the union. Regardless of
whether or not the employee resigns from the union, the union is
still obligated to represent the employees as a part of the
bargaining unit.
Management will also be very busy should the union go on strike. They will need to initiate their strike plan as
to how the company will continue business as usual or at least do enough to keep the customers happy.
Sometimes, this means management and non-union personnel will fill in for the striking employees. In our
HCC case, there are very few management employees, so this is
not possible. Another option is to hire replacement workers.
Typically, the organization would have a contract set up to
accommodate strikes. Then, at the very least, essential positions
would be staffed so customer orders could be filled. Usually,
management is forced to pay higher wages to acquire employees on
a short notice and for an undetermined amount of time.
Management does not want to pay more for less any longer than is
absolutely necessary, so the union will often use the expense factor as a tactic to get management to
reconsider their position. Take the example of a teacher. A teacher has signed up to be a substitute teacher
for K–12 schools that go out on strike. Let’s say substitutes are getting $150 a day in addition to a hotel room
and a meal allowance. In the interest of safety, they are bussed to the school each day and back to their hotel
HRM 6304, Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining
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again in the evening. It is a great deal for the substitutes but a raw deal for theUNIT
teachers
because
there is no
x STUDY
GUIDE
way they are earning $150 a day.
Title
Management has the right to hire replacement workers brought on
during a strike. The replacement workers can stay, and the striking
employees have to wait until a vacancy opens up before they can come
back to work. Employees must consider this risk when they decide to
strike.
Similar to the strike, there are actions taken by management should they decide to enforce a lockout—
essentially locking the employees out of the workplace. Management would develop a plan to hire essential
positions in order to meet customer demands. A lockout and a strike are very similar; it is just a matter of who
initiates the work stoppage. Both a strike and a lockout are work stoppages—even if they are temporary.
Today, we see strikes lasting for a much shorter period than the 5 or 6 months that they lasted a generation
ago. A strike may last 2 to 4 weeks but rarely more than 2 months. If the two teams cannot come to an
agreement and see no value in a strike or lockout, they can agree to bring in an arbitrator.
An arbitrator is a neutral third party who will come into the
collective bargaining process; review the facts, arguments,
offers, and counteroffers; and then make a decision as to the
terms of the collective bargaining agreement. Management and
the union collectively decide on an arbitrator by name, and both
parties share in the cost. Arbitration is an alternative way to
reach an agreement, but it takes away any influence or input from management or unions. The arbitrator
makes the final decision, and it is binding. Both parties are bound to the arbitrator’s final decision for the
duration of the contract, so neither of them want this route if at all possible.
Here is a final scenario for you to consider. An employee has been with a company for 30 years. About five
years before he retires, he is asked to join the management team. It is a significant promotion to move from
the shop floor into management, but it is also very difficult. After 3 decades as a union member, he is now
being asked to join the opposing team—management. Why? He has been a respected foreman, he worked
well with all of the employees, and he could do any job in the plant. Several of his union colleagues saw him
as a traitor and would not speak to him at first. They could be assured, though, that he would treat them fairly
and work with them whenever he could. Nonetheless, it is an adjustment that the union member who turned
into a member of management will struggle with for a long time.
In this unit, we reviewed the bargaining process and considered three potential end results. In the next unit,
we will wrap up. Hopefully, by then, you will have a much better informed understanding of the collective
bargaining agreement process than you did before the course began.
HRM 6304, Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining
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