[Music] exactly how political economic and workforce changes affect employers and unions will be factors in the future of the labor-management relationship employers and HR professionals still need to understand the system of laws regulations court decisions and administrative rulings related to the nature of unions this is important because unions remain a strong alternative for employees in the event of poor HR practices a union is a formal association of workers that promotes the interest of its members through collective action over the years employees have joined unions for two general reasons they are dissatisfied with how they're treated by their employers or they believe that unions can improve their work situation if employees believe that they are being treated unfairly by their organizations they may turn to unions to get assistance for their concerns the major factors that can trigger unionization are issues including compensation working conditions management style and employee treatment one of the primary determinants of whether employees want to unionize is how well their companies are managed unions function is a watchdog for workplace equity and make sure that employees are treated fairly without union representation employees may be paid unfairly and treated poorly employees expect to receive reasonably competitive compensation a good working environment effective management and supervision and fair and responsive treatment when these basic expectations are not met employees may seek out a labor union unionization often occurs when employees feel disrespected unsafe underpaid and underappreciated they see a union is a viable option for change once unionization occurs the ability of the Union to foster commitment from its members and to remain as their bargaining agent depends on how well the union succeeds in providing the services that its members want which can further strengthen or weaken workers perceptions of unions unions are criticized for creating inefficiencies at work that cause waste and poor performance Union workers frequently receive higher compensation the non-union workers but on the flip side higher paying benefits might be related to logger job tenure and better job performance if union membership is aligned with organizational goals some employers seek to build a cooperative relationship with labor unions while others choose an aggressive adversarial approach however there are numerous strategies that can be employed to prevent unionization from occurring in the first place to remain union free organizations must be proactive and develop good employment practices earn employee trust encourage employee feedback offer fair competitive compensation and build support of supervisory relationships with workers both HR professionals and operating managers must be attentive and responsive to employees primary responsibility for dealing with labor unions may fall to HR or line managers depending on the organization's philosophy and history to some extent unions may be victims of their own successes unions in the United States have historically emphasized helping workers obtain higher wages and benefits stronger working hours job security and safe working conditions for their employees some believe that one cause for the decline of unions has been their success in getting those important issues passed into law for everyone during the past decade job growth in the United States has been the greatest in the state's located in the south southwest and the Rocky Mountains places traditionally less open to unions and more employer friendly another geographic issue involves the movement of many low-skilled jobs outside the US many manufacturers with heavily unionized u.s. workforces have moved a significant number of low-skilled jobs to the Philippines China Thailand and Mexico to take advantage of cheaper labor and fewer employment restrictions much of the decline of union membership can be attributed to the shift in US jobs from in trees such as manufacturing construction and mining to service industries private sector union membership is primarily concentrated in the shrinking part of the economy and unions are not making significant progress in the fastest growing segments of the US economy there are growing numbers of white-collar employees such as clerical workers insurance claims representatives data input processors mental health aides computer technicians loan officers auditors and retail sales workers unions have increased their efforts to organize white-collar workers because advances in technology have boosted their numbers in the workforce however unions have faced challenges in organizing these workers many white collar workers seat unions as resistant to change and not in touch with the concerns of the more educated workers and technical and professional jobs in addition many white collar workers exhibit attitudes and preferences quite different from those held by blue collared union members and they tend to view unions is being oriented primarily towards those blue-collar workers unions have historically enjoyed significant success in the public sector the public sector federal state and local is the most highly unionized segment of the u.s. workforce with more than 35 percent of government workers represented by unions local city and county government workers have the highest unionization percentages of any group in the US workforce public sector unions have come under attack in recent years the high cost of Union benefits particularly retirement plans has become a flashpoint between lawmakers and labor representatives public unions have been slow to change from traditional defined benefit pensions to more complementary defined benefit plans serious issues within adequately funded pensions are causing city and state officials to consider drastic changes to public employee union rights these continuing losses have led to disagreements among unions about how to fight the decline a number of unions have devised creative strategies to remain relevant in the public's eye three acts passed over a period of almost 25 years constitute the core of US labor law the Wagner Act the taft-hartley Act in the landrum-griffin act the economic crisis of the early 1930s in the continuing restrictions on workers abilities to organize into unions led to the passage of the landmark labor legislation the Wagner Act in 1935 labor acts reflected other pressures and issues that required legislative action the National Labor Relations Act more commonly referred to as the Wagner Act is by anyone's standards pro-union passed in 1935 the Wagner Act was an outgrowth of the Great Depression with employers having to close or cutback their business operations workers were left with little job security however the high rate of unemployment and the large percentage of workers who were recent immigrants allowed companies to hold down wages and pay little heed to workers concerns unions stepped in to provide a feeling of solidarity and strength for many workers the Wagner Act declared in effect the official policy of the US government was to encourage collective bargaining specifically it established the right of workers to organize free from management interference workers were provided with the right to participate or not participate in union membership the basic provisions of the law spelled out in section 7 protect employee rights as follows employees shall have the right to self-organization to form join or assist labor organizations to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection employees shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activities except to the extent that an agreement requires membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment these section 7 rights have broad application in particular the right to engage in protecting concerted activities actions taken by employees working together to try to improve their pay and working conditions with or without Union in addition to these rights section 8 of the law to find a number of actions that employers are legally prohibited from taking to prevent employees from unionizing these are called unfair labor practices enforcement of the Wagner Act was assigned to the newly created National Labor Relations Board known as the NLRB and today the NLRB administers all provisions of this and all subsequent other labor laws the primary functions of the NLRB include conducting union representation elections investigating complaints by employers or unions through its fact-finding process issuing opinions on its findings and processing violations in the courts the five members of the NLRB are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the US Senate the labor management Relations Act better known as the taft-hartley Act was passed in 1947 as a means to offset the pro-union Wagner Act by limiting union actions it was considered to be Pro Management and has become the second major labor law of the National Labor Code the new law amended or qualified in some respect major provisions of the Wagner Act and established an entirely new code of conduct for unions the taft-hartley Act confirmed employees section 7 rights and further protected them from restraint by unions several changes were made to the process of representation elections most notably excluding supervisors from inclusion in the bargaining unit Congress also added new types of elections of note union members were given the right to hold elections to deauthorize or decertify the union thus reversing the process of representation the law allowed states to enact right-to-work laws and gave workers their freedom to reject union membership a primary feature of the taft-hartley Act was the identification of unfair labor practices that might be committed by unions lawmakers recognize that companies may not be the only party that might violate workers rights the Act expanded the NLRB from three to five members and established the Federal Mediation and conciliation service known as the FMC as an agency to help management and labor settle labor contract disputes the Act required the fmcs be notified of disputes over contract renewals or modifications if they were not settled within 30 days after a designated date the third major labor law in the United States the landrum-griffin Act was passed in 1959 to protect the Democratic rights of union members the need for these members protection grew from instances of corruption within the Teamsters and other unions some unethical union officials embezzled funds for their own use basically stealing from their union members under the landrum-griffin act unions are required by established bylaws to make financial reports and provide union members with a bill of rights the law appointed the US Secretary of Labor to act as a watchdog of Union contracts as required by the landrum-griffin act unions must file a financial report detailing all receipts and disbursements of funds along with a breakdown of payments made for the following activities representational activities political activity in lobbying contributions gifts and grants general overhead and Union Administration the National Labor Code provides for the foundation for understanding and managing within the context of organized labor accordingly several states have passed right-to-work laws which prohibit requiring employees to join unions as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment these laws are so named because they allow a person the right to work without having to join a union while the majority of right-to-work state laws were enacted between 1947 and 1963 in the recent past several union stronghold states have also joined the list there are now 25 states with right-to-work laws in effect employment levels tend to be higher in right-to-work states but wages tend to be lower however many right-to-work states have lower costs of living therefore wage differences may not be as great as they appear in states with right-to-work laws employers may have an open shop which indicates workers cannot be required to join or pay dues to a union thus even though a union may represent a group of employees at a company individual workers cannot be required or coerced to join or pay union dues however these workers are still subjects to the terms and conditions negotiated by the Union and the Union must represent them for any disputes the nature of union management Relations is affected by right-to-work provisions of the taft-hartley Act right-to-work generally prohibits an employer from having a closed shop which requires individuals to join a union before they can be hired because of concerns that a closed shop allowed a union to control who may be considered for employment and who must be hired by an employer section 14 B prohibits closed shops except in construction related occupations in states that do not have right-to-work laws different types of Arrangements exists three types of shops are as follows the Union shop workers must join the Union usually 30 to 60 days after being hired the agency shop workers who don't join the Union must make payments equal to union dues and fees to get union representation services and maintenance of membership shops workers must remain members of the Union for the period of the labor contract the nature of the shop is negotiated between the Union and the employer employees who fail to meet the requirements are often terminated from their jobs the National Labor Relations Board known as the NLRB is an agency of the United States government that was created by Congress to administer the NLRA this agency has two main functions to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices and to decide whether groups of employees want labor union representation the NLRB x' position on workplace issues is often influenced by national politics and executive branch priorities the current board has issued far-reaching decisions that impact many aspects of employment policies and practices particularly in non-union settings policies and employees use of social media and electronic communications are one of those issues employers ability to limit what employees say about them on social media has been severely limited while the company can restrict employees use of its logo and trademarks it cannot prohibit people from identifying where they work and posting derogatory comments about the company as long as it's done with the intention of promoting co-workers to take group action such postings are considered protected concerted activity if their goal is collective action to improve workplace conditions the next issue is courteous or respectful behavior many organizations have created personnel conduct policies to prohibit discourteous behavior or language in the workplace the goal is typically to set expectations of professional demeanor the labor board has called these policies overboard and chilling the labor board has limited policies that restrict employees from sharing certain information employers cannot ban employees from discussing personal or financial information such as individual pay rates or other sensitive information this is especially troubling with regard to a workplace investigation about misconduct this ruling puts companies in a no-win situation as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC requires confidentiality during investigations a blanket confidentiality policy will likely be outlawed by the NLRB companies can protect trade secrets and proprietary information they should also state the right to conduct a confidential investigation if circumstances warranted well union organizers typically attempt to create large bargaining units that will generate substantial dues revenues in recent years they have sought to establish labor unions with a micro unit that includes only one job category or department within a company taking on these micro units makes organizing easier because they're often pockets of discontent within an organization companies must show that additional employees or departments should be added to the labor bargaining unit because of shared common interests with those seeking to organize the union a recent decision by the NLRB States the mcDonald's USA and its franchises are joint employers for the purposes of compliance with labor laws the labor boards opinion is that the franchisor is liable for labor violations at all operations barring the company's name regardless of who owns the restaurant this aggregate workforce is far more attractive to a labor union seeking to organize workers previously each franchisee operated independently with relatively few employees not usually enough to expand a lot of union resources and establish a local union this ruling certainly changes the nature of the franchise business model in the United States these rulings by the labor board highlight the need for organizations to maintain effective two-way communication with their workers and address workplace issues promptly and fairly companies that fail to establish good employee relations programs may find that their employees turn to labor unions to resolve their problems like other entities seeking members a union usually mounts a systematic campaign to persuade individuals to join as would be expected employers respond to unionization efforts by taking various steps to oppose them a union authorization card is signed by employees to designate a union as their collective bargaining agent at least 30% of employees in the targeted group must sign authorization cards before a representation election can be scheduled an election to determine if a union will represent the employees is supervised by the NLRB for private sector organizations and by other agencies for public sector organizations if two unions are attempting to represent employees the employees will have three choices Union a union B or no union before any election the appropriate bargaining unit must be determined a bargaining unit is comprised of all employees eligible to select a single union to represent and bargain collectively for them if management and the union do not agree on who is and who is not included in the unit the regional office of the NLRB will make the determination a major criterion in deciding the composition of a bargaining unit is what the NLRB calls community of interest employees who constitute a bargaining unit will have mutual interests in the following wages hours and working conditions traditional industry groupings for bargaining purposes physical location and amount of interaction and working relationships between employee groups and supervision by similar levels of management the taft-hartley Act excludes supervisors from voting for or joining unions as a result supervisors cannot be included in bargaining units for unionization purposes except in industries covered by the NLRA but who qualifies as a supervisor is not always clear the NLRB expanded its definition to classify a supervisor as any individual with the authority to hire transfer discharge discipline and use independent judgment with employees numerous NLRB and court rulings have been issued regarding supervisory designation in various situations a major case decided by the US Supreme Court found that charge nurses with RN degrees were supervisors because they exercised independent judgment this case and others have provided employers and unions with some guidance about who should be considered supervisors and thus excluded from bargaining units employers and unions engage in many activities before an election both the Wagner Act and the taft-hartley Act place restrictions on these activities once unionizing efforts begin all activities must conform to the requirements established by applicable labor law both management and the Union must adhere to these requirements or the results of the effort can be appealed to the NLRB and overturned official certification of a union as a legal representative for designated private-sector employers is given by the NLRB and for public sector employees is given by an equivalent body once certified the union attempts to negotiate a contract with the employer the employer must bargain refusing to bargain with a certified union constitutes an unfair labor practice if members no longer wish to be represented by a union they can the election process to sever the relationship between themselves and the Union similar to the unionization process decertification is a process whereby a union is removed as a representative of a group of employees employees attempting to oust a union must obtain decertification authorization cards signed by at least 30% of employees in the bargaining unit before an election may be held if a majority of those voting in the election vote to remove the union the decertification effort succeeds employers can take numerous actions to prevent unionization all managers and supervisors must adhere to NLRB and other requirements to avoid unfair labor practices collective bargaining the last step in unionization is the process whereby representatives of management and workers negotiate over wages hours and other terms and conditions of employment a collective bargaining agreement will typically be enforced for several years therefore both sides attempt to negotiate terms they can live with for some time the bargaining process balances the power between the parties management union relations in collective bargaining can follow one of several patterns this figure depicts them as a continuum ranging from conflict to collusion on the left side of the continuum management in the Union see each other as enemies on the right side the two entities join in collusion which is relatively rare in US labor history and is illegal most positions fall between the two extremes the power relationship in collective bargaining involves conflict and the threat of conflict seems necessary to maintain the relationship perhaps the most significant aspect of collective bargaining is that it is a continuing relationship and it does not end immediately after an agreement is reached instead it continues for the life of the labor agreement and beyond therefore the more cooperative the parties are the less hostility and conflict will carry over into the workplace however this cooperation does not mean that either party agrees to all demands from the other management rights union security and dues checkoff are important subjects to collective bargaining let's take a look virtually all labor contracts include management rights which are rights reserved so that the employer can manage direct and control its business by including such a provision management attempts to preserve its unilateral right to make changes in areas not identified in the labor contract management naturally tries to retain as much latitude and freedom to run its operation as possible a major concern of union representatives when bargaining is the negotiation of union security provisions contract clauses that help unions obtain and retain members and collect union dues one type of Union security Clause in labor contracts is the no layoff policy or job security guaranteed such a provision is especially important to many union workers because all the mergers downsizing and job protections that are taking place another union security provision is requiring union membership of all employees subject to state right-to-work laws a closed shop is illegal except in limited situations within the construction industry but other types of arrangements can be developed including union shops agency shops and maintenance of membership shops a common union security provision is the dues checkoff clause which provides for an automatic deduction of union dues from payroll checks of union members the dues checkoff provision makes it much easier for the Union to collect its funds and without it the Union must collect dues by billing each member separately human resource professionals must be aware of and respond to the common issues related to collective bargaining the collective bargaining process involved in negotiating contract consists of four possible stages preparation and initial demands negotiations settlement or impasse and strikes and lockouts in preparation and initial demands each side presents its list of demands to the other to begin the bargaining process if the organization argues it cannot afford to pay what the union is asking then it must provide evidence of its financial status the primary focus of bargaining for both of you the union and management is on mandatory issues of bargaining like wages benefits and working hours and other conditions after taking initial positions each side attempts to determine what the other side values highly so that the best bargain can be struck provisions in federal law require the employer and the union bargaining representatives negotiate in good faith in good faith negotiations the parties agree to send negotiators who can bargain and make decisions rather than people who do not have the authority to commit either group to a decision to be more effective meetings between the parties should be conducted professionally and address issues rather than being confrontational refusing to bargain scheduling meetings at absurdly inconvenient hours and or using other conflicting tactics may lead to employers or unions filing complaints with the NLRB after reaching an initial agreement the bargaining parties usually returned to their respective constituencies to determine if the informal agreement is acceptable a particularly crucial stage is ratification of the labor agreement which is a process by which union members vote to accept the terms of a negotiated labor agreement before ratification the union negotiating team explains the agreement to the union members and presents it for a vote regardless of the structure of the bargaining process labor and management do not always reach agreement on the issues if they reach an impasse then disputes can be taken to conciliation mediation or arbitration when an impasse occurs an outside party such as the Federal Mediation and conciliation service may help the two deadlocked parties continue negotiations and arrive at a solution in mediation the third parties suggest ideas for solution to help the negotiators reach a settlement the third party does not impose a solution sometimes fact-finding helps clarify the issues of disagreement as an intermediate step between mediation and arbitration in arbitration a neutral third party makes a decision arbitration can be conducted by an individual or a panel of individuals interest arbitration at to solve bargaining impasses primarily in the public sector this type of arbitration is uncommon in private sector because companies generally do not want an outside party making decisions about their rights wages benefits and other issues fortunately in many situations agreements are reached through negotiations without the need for arbitration when disagreements continue strikes or lockouts may occur the collective bargaining process includes preparation and initial demands negotiation and settlement of contract agreement in a lockout management shuts down company operations to prevent union members from working this action may avert possible damage or sabotage to the company's facilities or injury to employees who continue to work it also gives management leverage in negotiations during a strike union members refuse to work in order to put pressure on the employer often the striking union members picket or demonstrate against the employer outside the place of business by carrying placards and signs five types of strikes can occur an economic strike where the parties fail to reach agreement during collective bargaining unfair labor practice strikes where union members leave their jobs over what they feel are illegal employer actions such as refusal to bargain a wildcat strike occurs during the life of the collective bargaining agreement without approval from union leadership and violates a no strike clause in a labor contract strikers can be discharged or disciplined jurisdictional strikes where members of one union walk out to force the employer to assign work to them instead of members of another union and sympathy strikes where unions choose to express support for another union involved in dispute even though the first union has no disagreement with the employer many unions are reluctant to go on strike because of the financial losses their members would incur over the fear the strike would cause the employer to go bankrupt in addition management has shown a willingness to hire replacements and some strikes have ended with you workers losing their jobs a complaint which is merely an indication of an employee's dissatisfaction is one outlet if an employee who is represented by a union believes that the company has taken an action contrary to the collective bargaining agreement and submits it in writing then the complaint becomes a grievance a grievance is a complaint formally stated in writing management should address both complaints and grievances because they highlight possible issues with workers and potential problems within the workforce without a grievance procedure management may be unaware of employee concerns and unable to respond appropriately therefore a formal grievance procedure provides a valuable communication tool for organizations whether a union is present or not the typical division of responsibilities between the HR unit and operating managers for handling grievances varies considerably from one organization to another even among unionized firms the HR unit usually has more general responsibilities managers typically attempt to prevent and resolve grievances in order to maintain work unit harmony grievance resolutions may constrain future management decisions and actions so it's important that managers actively participate in the process and handle grievances as quickly and professionally as possible a unionized employee generally has the right to union representation if the employee is being questioned by management and if discipline may result if these so called Weingarten rights named after the core escapes that established them are violated and an employee is dismissed he or she will usually be reinstated with back pay employers are not required to allow non-union workers to have co-workers presence in grievance procedure meetings however employers may voluntarily allow so if they desire grievance procedures can be varied based on what's negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement at each stage of the process the goal is to resolve the issue and not proceed to the next step a typical grievance procedure consists of the following steps the employee discusses the grievance with a union steward the representative of the union on the job and the supervisor the union steward discusses the grievance with the supervisors manager and/or the HR manager a committee of union officers discusses the grievance with appropriate company managers the representative of the union discusses the grievance with designated company executives or corporate industrial relations officer if the grievance has not been resolved this stage it goes to arbitration grievance arbitration is a means by which a third party settles disputes arising from difficult or conflicting interpretations of a labor contract this process should not be confused with contract or issues arbitration discussed earlier in which arbitration is used to determine how a contract will be written the US Supreme Court has ruled that grievance arbitration decisions issued under labor contract provisions are enforceable and generally may not be overturned by the courts in essence the arbitrator has the final word on the decision grievance arbitration includes many topic areas with discipline and discharge safety and health and security being common concerns [Music]