Chap 12a dealing with employee management issues and relationships

Chapter Twelve

Dealing with Employee-Management Issues and Relationships

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.


ORGANIZED LABOR

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Unions -- Employee organizations whose main goal is to represent members in employeemanagement negotiations of job-related issues.

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Labor unions were responsible for:

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Minimum wage laws
Overtime rules
Workers’ compensation
Severance pay
Child-labor laws
Job-safety regulations

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PUBLIC SECTOR
LABOR UNIONS

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Public sector union members work for governments as teachers, firefighters, police
officers, etc.

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Many states face serious debt problems and want to cut labor costs. But states with
public sector unions have limited ability to cut those costs.

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GOALS of ORGANIZED LABOR

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To work with fair and competent
management.

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To be treated with human dignity.

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To receive a reasonable share of

wealth in the work it generates.

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Labor Union History

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HISTORY of
ORGANIZED LABOR

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Craft Union -- An organization of skilled specialists in a particular craft or trade.

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As early as 1792, shoemakers in a Philadelphia craft union met to discuss
fundamental work issues.

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Work weeks were 60+ hours, wages were low
and child labor was rampant.

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EMERGENCE of LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

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Knights of Labor -- First national labor union; formed in 1869.

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Knights attracted close to 800,000 members but fell from
prominence after a riot in Chicago.

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American Federation of Labor (AFL) -- An organization of
craft unions that championed fundamental labor issues; formed in
1886.

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INDUSTRIAL UNIONS

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Industrial Unions -- Labor unions of unskilled or semiskilled workers
in mass production industries.

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Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) -- Union organization

of unskilled workers; broke away from the AFL in 1935 and rejoined in
1955.

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The AFL-CIO today has affiliations with 56 unions and about
12.2million members.

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Labor Legislation

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EFFECTS of LAWS on
LABOR UNIONS

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Labor unions’ growth and influence has been very dependent on public opinion and
law.

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EFFECTS of LAWS on
LABOR UNIONS

Pro-Labor Legislation

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EFFECTS of LAWS on
LABOR UNIONS
Norris-La Guardia Act
Paved way for union growth

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The Norris-LaGuardia Act helped unions by
prohibiting the use of Yellow-Dog Contracts -- A type
of contract that required employees to agree to NOT
join a union.

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EFFECTS of LAWS on
LABOR UNIONS
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
Wagner Act
Legal justification for union activities
Collective Bargaining
National Labor Relations Board
Certification and Decertification

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EFFECTS of LAWS on
LABOR UNIONS

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Collective Bargaining -- The process whereby union and management representatives
form an agreement, or contract, for employees.

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FORMING a UNION
in the WORKPLACE

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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was created to oversee labormanagement issues and provide guidelines for unionization.

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FORMING a UNION
in the WORKPLACE

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Certification -- The formal process by which a union is recognized by the NLRB as the
bargaining agent for a group of employees.

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Decertification -- The process whereby employees take away a union’s right to represent
them.

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EFFECTS of LAWS on
LABOR UNIONS

Pro-Management Legislation

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EFFECTS of LAWS on
LABOR UNIONS

Labor-Management Relations Act
Taft-Hartley Act (1947)

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LABOR/MANAGEMENT
AGREEMENTS

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Union Security Clause -- Stipulates workers who reap union benefits must either join the
union or pay dues to the union.

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UNION SECURITY AGREEMENTS

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Closed Shop Agreement -- Specified workers had to be members of a union before
being hired for a job.

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UNION SECURITY AGREEMENTS

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Union Shop Agreement -- Declares workers don’t have to be members of a union to be
hired but must agree to join the union within a specific time period.
However…

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UNION SECURITY AGREEMENTS

The Taft-Hartley Act also granted states the power to outlaw union shop agreements.

This led to the creation of the Agency Shop Agreement

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UNION SECURITY AGREEMENTS

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Agency Shop Agreement -- Allows employers to hire nonunion workers who don’t have
to join the union, but must pay fees.

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UNION SECURITY AGREEMENTS

Also,

because the Taft-Hartley Act granted states the power to outlaw union shop
agreements, some states passed…

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RIGHT-to-WORK LAWS

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Right-to-Work Laws -- Legislation that gives workers the right, under an open shop, to
join or not to join a union,

which created the…

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Open Shop Agreement -- Agreement in right-to-work states that gives workers the right to
join or not join a union, if one exists in their workplace.

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