CH 11 BSAD 310 Fall 2019

Chapter 11
Managing Labor
Relations
Copyright ©2020 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
2
Copyright © 2020 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
accessible website, in whole or in part. HR5 | CH11
1. Describe the role of labor unions in
organizations
2. Identify and summarize trends in
unionization
3. Discuss the unionization process
4. Describe the collective-bargaining process

3
LEARNING OUTCOMES (Continued)
5. Discuss how labor agreements are negotiated
6. Describe how impasses get resolved and
agreements are administered
7. Discuss emerging labor union issues in the
21st century

4
Labor Relations and Labor Unions
• Labor relations: Process of dealing with
employees who are represented by a union
• Labor union: Legally constituted group of
individuals working together to achieve
shared, job-related goals, including:
• Higher wages
• Enhanced benefits
• Better working conditions
LO 1

5
Collective Bargaining
• Process by which managers and union
leaders negotiate acceptable terms and
conditions of employment for those
workers represented by unions
• Known as employee relations in
nonunionized settings
LO 1

6
Figure
11.1 A Historical Time Line of Unionization in
the United Sates
Source: Ricky Griffin and Ronald Ebert, Business, 3rd ed., © 1993, p. 264. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.
LO 1

7
Legal Context of Unions
• National Labor Relations Act, 1935
• Commonly referred to as the Wagner Act
• Aimed to grant power to labor unions and put
them on a more equal footing with managers in
terms of the rights of employees
• Established the National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB)
• Labor Management Relations Act, 1947
• Known as the Taft-Hartley Act
• Aimed to curtail and limit union practices
LO 1

8
Legal Context of Unions (Continued)
• Landrum-Griffin Act
• Officially called the Labor Management
Reporting and Disclosure Act
• Focused on eliminating various unethical, illegal,
and undemocratic union practices
LO 1

9
Union Structures
• Most unions have some basic structural
characteristics in common
• Cornerstone of most labor unions is the
local union, or local
• Local: Union organized at the level of a single
company, plant, or small geographic region
• Each local has an important elected position
called the shop steward
- Shop steward: Regular employee who
functions as a liaison between union
members and supervisors
LO 1

10
Trends in Unionization
• Union membership
• Has decreased because of the shift in the
economy from manufacturing to service jobs
and more aggressive antiunionization strategies
undertaken by businesses
• Union–management relations
• Weaker unions have taken a conciliatory stance
with managers and organizations
• Bargaining perspectives
• Have shifted from increases in wages and
benefits to job security
LO 2

11
Steps Employees Use to Form a Union
• Generate interest in union among
employees
• NLRB defines the bargaining unit
• Collect signed authorization cards
• Petition the NLRB to conduct elections
• Secret ballot election is held
• Majority vote elicits union certification
• If a majority fails to approve certification, the
process ends, and organizers cannot attempt to
hold another election for at least 1 year
LO 3

12
Steps Employees Use to Form a Union (Continued)
• If the union becomes certified, organizers:
• Create rules and regulations to govern union
conduct
• Elect officers
• Establish a meeting site
• Recruit members from the labor force in the
bargaining unit
LO 3

13
Decertification of Unions
• For decertification to occur:
• No labor contract can currently be in force
• Union must have served as the official
bargaining agent for the employees for at least
1 year
LO 3

14
Collective-Bargaining Process
• Management and unions must both be
adequately prepared for a bargaining and
negotiation period
• Prior agreement regarding parameters of
the bargaining session should exist
• Mandatory items: Included as part of collective
bargaining if either party expresses a desire to
negotiate one or more of them
• Permissive items: Included in collective
bargaining if both parties agree
LO 4

15
Negotiation Process
• Involves defining a bargaining zone
• Bargaining zone and its three intermediate
points for the organization include the
employer’s:
- Maximum limit
- Expectation
- Desired result on items being negotiated
LO 5

16
Negotiation Process (Continued)
• Bargaining zone and its three intermediate
points for the union include:
- The union’s minimum acceptable limit on
what it will take from management
- Its own expectations about what
management is likely to agree to
- The most it can reasonably expect to get from
management, or the union target point
LO 5

17
Barriers to Effective Negotiation
• Lack of an overlap for the bargaining zones
of respective sides
• Difficulty in negotiating in good faith
• Inept negotiators and poor communication
between negotiators
• Reaching an impasse
• Impasse: Situation in which one or both parties
believe that reaching an agreement is not
imminent
LO 5

18
Resolving Impasses
• Objective is to force the other side to alter
or redefine its bargaining zone so that an
accord can be reached
• Unions can organize:
• Strikes: Occur when employees walk off their
jobs and refuse to work
- Workers indulge in picketing
• Boycotts and slowdowns as less extreme tactics
• Workers may be involved in a wildcat strike,
which is illegal
LO 6

19
Resolving Impasses (Continued)
• Management can organize:
• Lockouts: Occur when an employer denies
employees access to the workplace
• Mediation: Involves a neutral third party
listening to and reviewing information presented
by both sides
- He or she then makes an informed
recommendation and provides advice to both
parties about what should be done
• Arbitration: Both sides agree in advance that
they will accept the recommendations made by
an independent third-party arbitrator
LO 6

20
Labor Unions in the 21st Century
• U.S. labor unions:
• Have been able to form coalitions with other
groups who oppose the use of prison labor or
are concerned about exporting jobs overseas
• Have become very vocal in this movement
- Resulted in gaining a great deal of credibility
as guardians of middle-class jobs
LO 7

21
Labor Unions in the 21st Century (Continued)
• Unions and the electronic age
• Technological advances reduce the need for
workers, which results in a reduction of union
members
• The Internet challenges no-solicitation rules
• Communication is simpler, which enables
democratic internal policies in unions
LO 7

KEY TERMS
22
• Labor relations
• Labor union
• Collective bargaining
• Knights of Labor
• American Federation
of Labor (A F of L)
• Congress of Industrial
Organizations (C I O)
• National Labor
Relations Act (or
Wagner Act)
• National Labor
Relations Board
(NLRB)
• Labor Management
Relations Act (or Taft-
Hartley Act)
• Closed shop
• Union shop
agreement
• Agency shop
agreement

KEY TERMS
23
• Landrum-Griffin Act
(Labor Management
Reporting and
Disclosure Act)
• Locals
• Shop steward
• Bargaining unit
• Mandatory items
• Permissive items
• Impasse
• Strike
• Picketing
• Boycott
• Slowdown
• Wildcat strike
• Lockout
• Mediation
• Arbitration
• Final-offer arbitration

SUMMARY
24
• Labor relations deal with employees who
are represented by a union
• Many trends can be seen in union
membership, union–management relations,
and bargaining perspectives
• Specific set of steps should be followed in
order to establish a union
• Collective bargaining is an ongoing process,
and barriers that arise while negotiating
labor agreements should be resolved

CH 11 BSAD 310 Fall 2019

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CH 11 BSAD 310 Fall 2019