Labor UnionsEssay title: Labor UnionsSince the great depression in the 1920’s, labor unions have been a forced to be reckoned with in business. Unions are not as large or as powerful as they once were due to shifts in the mode of the U.S economy, however, unions still retain the power to change the nature of employee management relations in any company that has or will have unionized workers. Labor relations are a specific type or specialization for Human Resource professionals and negotiating the relationship between the employees and management in unionized workforces can be difficult. If handled correctly negotiations can be mutually beneficial to the workers and the management of a given company. By defining unions and labor relations and examining their impact on organizations, on human relations policies and practices, and on organizational performance, one can determine whether or not unions are still relevant in the US.
Unions are organizations that look after the employment interests of its members such as working conditions, pay, and other benefits. Unions are organized along professional lines and cover diverse groups including skilled workers, like electricians or plumbers, and unskilled workers like supermarket employees and truckers. Unions provide training and apprenticeship programs for its members in order to further their careers. Union offices often work with companies who employ union members to ensure proper working conditions and resolve disputes between company management and employees. Labor relations are the relationship between the company management and labor unions. Unions recognized by a company will negotiate a contract on behalf of its members that spells out working conditions, rate of pay, and benefits for its members. Company management will then assess the strength of the union and may make its own demands. The conflicts that occur are often the result of a union trying to provide higher pay and better benefits for its members, while management is working to maintain growing profits that may be eroded by increasing pay and benefits (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhert & Wright, 2003).
Unions send pamphlets to employees of a particular company and ask them to join the union and allow the union to negotiate with the company for a more favorable contract for the employees. The employees will respond to the union by signing an authorization for the union to negotiate on their behalf. This process may involve a meeting where employees can cast a vote as to whether they want the union or not. During this time company management can use a number of tactics to dissuade the employees form joining. Companies have used illegal tactics like humiliating employees, or legal tactics like simply mailing a statement to the employee’s explaining the company’s position on their employees unionizing. If the employees agree to join the union, union representatives will meet with management to negotiate a contract (Hawaii State AFL-CIO. 2006). The first contract negotiation can be volatile because management may not have accepted the presence of the union. In fact many times an agreement can not be reached. If a contract agreement can not be reached the result can be a strike. In a strike workers refuse to work until at least some of their demands are met. This is costly for both the employer and the workers because of the loss in production and the loss of pay during the strike. Another option may be to have an outside mediator arbitrate between the two sides until and agreement can be crafted (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhert & Wright, 2003). Once a contract is signed by both parties the union is now the voice of the workers and the day to day operations of the company may change to conform to the new contract.
Once a contract is establish the union members of a company will elect a shop steward. The shop steward is charged by the union and employees with making sure the union’s contract with the employer is not violated. The shop steward is also central in a grievance process by which employees can file a complaint if they feel there has been a violation by the company with regards to the union contract. The presence of a union also has an impact on a few HR procedures. Performance as it relates to wage increases may be affected because unions prefer to have wages increases based on seniority rather than by performance appraisals administered by the company. Organizational performance may also be an issue because workload restrictions are often placed on the company. Union workers generally make more money than their non-union counterparts, creating greater operating expense for the company and lowering profit levels. However, if steps are taken by
a company to resolve the issues raised by both labor and management, the company can better manage the situation. The union is less likely to retaliate if the union contract is breached, resulting in a larger increase in the bargaining price. However, it has greater freedom to strike on its own, without the union’s permission.
Unions can also create new management structures which will enhance the effectiveness and financial viability of the project and help achieve better long-term goals. Unions can also promote labor and/or collective bargaining in areas of management, such as management competencies and employee health.
While large-scale construction and development is a critical part of the company, even small projects, such as the building of new offices and schools for small teams, are considered to be non-consensual by many workers and organizations.
When labor and the organization begin to strike, unions are likely to form. The company may also employ members to form committees that work with the union. However, a union may be expected to provide members and associates with a wide range of professional work that may provide opportunities for future work in the company at a lower cost. A management structure that encourages unions to work together in their ongoing endeavors, and a union structure for managing or implementing collective bargaining are two key elements of this process.
Under the prevailing business practices, union workers cannot be paid less than the minimum wage for members and associates to avoid a workplace pay gap based on what their rank and file deems ‘professional’ work. These standards must be maintained consistently over the course of the union’s work experience to prevent excessive overtime for many groups. However, with the rise of social media, more people are engaging in activity that causes the wage difference between the two groups to go unnoticed. These social media activities help unions to improve the quality of their work experiences and improve the experience of other unions to promote a common cause.
With greater public participation in the workplace, unions may start to increase the bargaining power and bargaining power of others. Such an increase will likely lead to the creation of new and smaller union organizations, or create new, new and smaller unions. As a result, unions seek to build on existing efforts to work better and contribute to increased employment for employees.
Some business models that have been established include the use of pay as an organizing mechanism in place of collective bargaining, and management as a group to engage in bargaining. These agreements often do not require the participation [permanent] of the workforce of the employer. In this case, one or more workers could be hired for a particular project, or for management’s performance.
These agreements, in turn, ensure that other stakeholders are excluded from the organization. These agreements also allow the participation of a substantial portion of the labor force. The participation of some other stakeholders is typically not possible under standard business practices.
Many of these agreements do not require any individual unions to participate. Rather, the labor leader must be at the bargaining table of the decisionmaking company to make changes in one or the other. Such agreements, however, cannot be broken because none of the participants of the labor agreement knows whether the company actually wants or can achieve this change. Such an agreement has no influence on the overall direction of the entire company. However, labor leaders typically are more interested in finding or improving the company’s work experience in ways that are consistent with its traditional business practices such as increasing the number of employees who work and increasing the number of hours worked.
In an attempt to maintain the ability of people within the company to learn about new opportunities and benefits, management is likely to implement policies and measures intended to expand membership and enhance their ability to participate. Such policies