Chapter
1
A Framework for Analyzing
Collective Bargaining and
Industrial Relations
McGrawHill/Irwin
An Introduction to Collective Bargaining & Industrial Relations, 4e
Copyright © 2008 The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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The Participants
• Management
• Labor
• Government
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Management
Responsible for promoting the goals of employers
and their organizations
Composed of at least three groups:
• Owners and shareholders
• Top executives and line managers
• Industrial relations and human resource staff
professionals
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Labor
• Encompasses both employees and the unions that
represent them
• Employees influence whether the firm meets its
objectives
• Shapes the growth and demands of unions
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Assumptions About Labor and
Conflict
• Labor is more than just a commodity
Some acquired skills are of unique value to the
employer
Skills may not be easily marketable
Not always easy to change jobs
• A Multiple Interest Perspective
Industrial relations policies must consider both
employer and employee interests
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The Inherent Nature of Conflict
There is an inherent conflict of interest between
employer and employees
It is economic, not pathological
Arises from a clash of economic interests
• Workers seek higher pay and job security
• Employers pursue profits
Society has an interest in limiting the intensity of
work conflicts
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Common as Well as Conflicting Interests
• Both management and labor can benefit from
increasing productivity
It can produce both higher wages and higher
profits
• No single best objective satisfies all parties
Successful relationships occur when both parties
resolve issues and pursue joint gains
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TradeOffs among Conflicting Goals
• Focusing on any single goal is inappropriate
It would destroy collective bargaining as an
instrument for accommodating the multiple
interests of workers and employers
• Unions would not survive if suppressed
• Management could not compete in the global
market with excessive labor costs
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The Three Levels of Industrial Relations
Activity
• Strategic Level
Strategies and structures of longterm influence
• Functional Level
The process and outcomes of collective
bargaining
• Workplace
The daily union/employer interaction and
contract administration
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Conceptual framework for the study of
collective bargaining
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The Institutional Perspective
• Developed by “institutional” economist John
Commons the father of industrial relations
• Described as “a shift from commodities, individuals,
and exchanges to transactions and working rules of
collective action”
• Placed great value on negotiation and compromise
among the divergent interests
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Sidney and Beatrice Webb
• Institutionalists in the U.S. were influenced by these
two British economists & reformists
• They rejected Marx’s theory that exploitation of
workers would lead to the overthrow of the system
• They shared Marx’s belief that workers have unequal
bargaining power and needed protection
• Institutionalists advocated legislation for the right to
join unions, and workplace issues such as safety,
health, child labor laws, and minimum wages
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The Performance of Collective
Bargaining
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• Measured by how well it serves the parties and the
public
Labor’s Goals: Wages, benefits, safety conditions,
and employee satisfaction, and quality of life
Management’s Goals: Costs, productivity, profit,
quality, managerial control, employee motivation
and turnover
Public’s Goals: Industrial peace & union
democracy; balance and fairness. Security without
corruption
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The Environment
• The external environment sets the context for
collective bargaining & influences outcomes
• It includes five key dimensions –
The economic environment
Law & public policy
The demographic context
Social attitudes
The technological context
• Laws and macroeconomic conditions can alter the
balance of bargaining power
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The Strategic (Top) Tier
• Involves strategies and structures that guide the long
term direction of industrial relations
• Management: Committed to working with the union,
or seeking nonunion alternatives?
• Labor: Is leadership adversarial or flexible?
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The Functional (Middle) Tier
• The process of contract negotiations takes place
here & the terms and conditions of the labor
agreement are established
• In the middle tier we find:
Union organizing & bargaining structure
The negotiations process
Impasse resolution
Bargaining outcomes
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The Workplace Tier
• The workplace tier involves issues such as:
management of conflict
delivery of due process
motivation, participation, supervision of workers,
and the structuring of jobs
• Administration of the bargaining agreement is an
important part of this tier
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Public Sector Collective Bargaining
Chapter 13 addresses the rules and procedures
of public sector collective bargaining
• The chapter identifies the differences from the
private sector
• For example, public employees are not covered by
the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
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International and Comparative
Industrial Relations
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• The changes occurring globally warrant the special attention
given in Chapter 14
• The labor movement has been at the forefront of the sweeping
political changes in the former Communist bloc nations and
newlyindustrialized countries such as South Korea
• International trade and competitiveness have moved to the
forefront of economic policy in the U.S.
In particular, there is much discussion about whether
globalization has fundamentally increased management's power
and advantage
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Labor Policy
Chapter 15 assesses the broad public and social
issues and their impact on industrial relations
Reviews the many changes emerging in U.S.
collective bargaining
Considers the various policy options
Addresses the merits and implications of the
alternative policies
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Summary
• There have been many changes in the workplace in
recent years, including:
The expansion of the participatory process
The team form of work organizations
Globalization has increased management’s
advantage
• A shift in American industrial relations from the middle
level to both the strategic and workplace levels
• Concern for job security, union decline, and
participation programs are all part of a transformation
in industrial relations