Negotiation, drafting, administration, and interpretation of a written agreement between             an employer and a union for a specific time period

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    Contract sets forth joint understandings as to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment is the purpose of ______ ?

wages

benefits

working conditions

job security

employees perception that the union can change the situation including:

•          Better communication with management.

•          Higher quality of management and supervision.

•          Increased democracy in the workplace.

•          Opportunity to belong to a group where they can share experiences and comradeship.

wages

benefits

working conditions

job security

•          Providing satisfactory wages, benefits, working conditions, and job security.

•          Creating procedure to handle employee complaints

•          Eliminating arbitrary or heavy-handed management practices.

•          Establishing meaningful system of two-way management-employee communication.

•          Eliminating threats to employees’ job security.

•          Making employees feel like they are part of organization.

campaigns:

•          Typically, union begins a campaign to interest employees in joining it:

•          Employees sign authorization cards indicating they would like to have an election.

•          NLRB may be requested to supervise an election: If 30% of employees sign authorization cards

•          In practice, NLRB is petitioned only if over 50% sign authorization cards

•          Employees can orally solicit support from other employees only on non-work time.

•          If allowed to engage in casual conversation while working, employees can discuss union matters if production is not hindered.

•          Union literature can be distributed only on non-work time, and management can limit distribution of literature to non-work areas.

•          Management can prohibit union organizers from entering company property for solicitation.

•          Exception: If management allows other solicitors to enter company property, they cannot exclude union organizers.

management rights:

•          Can speak against union on company time to employees and require employees to attend meeting.

•          Prohibited from giving a speech on company time to mass employee audience in 24 hours immediately before election.

•          24-hour rule applies only to a speech before a large group.

union rights:

do not have the right to reply on company time

When can   Either union or employer can petition NLRB to conduct a representation election.

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when can a union

make a direct request to employer to become bargaining agent of employees.

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•          Group of employees --- recognized by employer, agreed on by all parties, or designated by NLRB --- as appropriate for collective bargaining purposes.

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•          Union elections in which parties have agreed on appropriate bargaining unit.

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NLRB makes a bargaining unit decision based on areas of employee commonality

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•          Similar wages, hours, and working conditions.

•          Employees’ physical proximity.

•          Common supervision.

•          Amount of interchange of personnel within proposed unit.

Degree of integration of employer’s production process of operation

•          Physical interference, threats, or violent behavior by employer toward union organizers.

•          Employer interference with employees involved in organizing drive.

•          Discipline or discharge of employees for  pro-union activities.

•          Threatening or coercing of employees by union organizers.

•          Employer is not presently unionized.

•          Petition filed with NLRB within the past 30 days.

•          Representation election has not been conducted during preceding 12 months.

Individuals patrol at, or near, place of employment carrying signs to publicize fact that union is requesting an election to become bargaining agent for employees

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•          State opinions about possible ramifications of unionization if based on fact and not threatening.

•          Explain positive aspects of current situation.

•          Conduct polls to verify union strength, but not question employees individually about preferences, or threaten or intimidate.

•          No election can be held in a bargaining unit if a valid election was held in preceding 12-months.

NLRB will not permit another election in bargaining unit within 12 months of a union’s certification.

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 NLRB prohibits an election for up to 12 months after employer voluntarily recognizes a union.

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NLRB will not permit an election in bargaining unit covered by a contract until contract expires, up to maximum of 3 years

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•          If union receives a majority of votes cast, union becomes Exclusive Bargaining Representative.

Union represents all employees (both union members and non-members) in bargaining unit in negotiating wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.

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•          when union has been certified, by law it remains exclusive bargaining representative for all employees until employees within unit desire otherwise.

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employees: •          File petition with NLRB for decertification election.

•          If 30% of employees support petition to decertify --- and a valid election to oust union has not been held within preceding 12 months --- decertification election is conducted.

•          If a majority of voting employees vote to decertify union, it no longer legally represents them

•          Sincere intention of both parties to negotiate differences and reach mutually acceptable agreement.

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•          National Labor Relations Act: Private organizations.

•          Civil Service Reform Act: Federal agencies.

Management makes best offer at outset of bargaining and firmly adheres to offer throughout bargaining sessions.  NLRB ruled this illegal.

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•          Representatives of one company meet with representatives of union and negotiate a contract.

•          One company may have several unions representing different groups of employees.

•          One company and one union may negotiate different contracts for each facility or plant location of company.

•          Individual employers in these industries are          small and in a weak position relative to union.

•          Employers often pool together in an employer association, which negotiates a single agreement for all involved employers.

•          Employer Association may be on local, regional national level.

•          Industry wide Bargaining: Multi-employer bargaining occurring on regional or national basis.

•          In large organizations (such as General Motors), master agreements on wage and benefit issue are negotiated between which two parties?

•          Corporate officials

•          Officials of national or international union

•          Single-company agreements: Size of company determines nature of union participation.

•          Smaller companies: Local union works with field representative (of international or national union) in negotiations.  Field Rep:

•          Gives advice and counsel to local union.

•          Often serves as principal negotiator for union.

•          Large companies, with multiple plants: Top officials (of national or international union) conduct negotiations:

•          Union participation usually directed by president of national or international union.

•          Local unions reps usually serve on union’s negotiating committee.

•          Coordinated Bargaining: Several unions bargain jointly with a single employer.

•          requires both unions and management to bargain in good faith.

•          Refusal to bargain can be overridden by NLRB.

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•          If either party believes unfair practice occurred, charge can be filed with NLRB.

•          Either party can appeal decisions of NLRB to U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and even to U.S. Supreme Court.

____ is the counterpart to NLRB for the federal sector.

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•          Investigates unfair labor practice charges.

•          Conducts hearings on unfair labor practices.

•          Issues orders to cease from such practices.

•          FSIP, an entity within FLRA, has authority to do two things??

•          Recommend solutions to resolve an impasse.

•          Take action to resolve dispute, as long as action is consistent with the Civil Service Reform Act.

Independent federal government agency provides mediators to assist in resolving contract negotiation impasses

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•          Employees of private enterprise organizations engaged in interstate commerce.

•          Federal government employees.

Employees in private, nonprofit hospitals and other allied medical facilities

•          Both parties invite neutral third party to help resolve contract impasse.  Mediator has no authority to impose solution.

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•          Help parties find common ground for continuing negotiations.

•          Develop data on issues of disagreement.

•          Create joint study committees (involving members of both parties) to examine difficult issues.

•          Separate/serve as buffer between antagonistic parties.

•          Carry proposals/counterproposals between parties.

parties agree to settle dispute through independent third party

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•          arbitrating terms.

•          Rare in private sector, but common in public sector.

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•          Conventional Interest Arbitration

•          Final-Offer Interest Arbitration

•          Arbitrator listens to arguments from both parties and makes a binding decision.

•          Decision can be identical to position of either party or different from positions of both parties.

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Arbitrator restricted to selecting final offer of one of the parties

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•          Parties are not required to bargain on them.

•         It is an illegal labor practice for one party to insist on bargaining about a permissive issue.

Agreement to not  handle or  use goods or services of another employer.

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•          For federal sector, Civil Service Reform Act makes it mandatory to bargain over “conditions of employment,” defined as:??

    Personnel policies and practices

                          Matters affecting working conditions

•          Management Rights

•          Union Security

•          Wages and Benefits

•          Individual Security (Seniority) Rights

•          Dispute Resolution

requires all employees in bargaining unit to join union and retain membership as condition of employment.

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•          Modified union shop; requires all employees hired after effective date of agreement to acquire and retain union membership as a condition of employment.

•          Most right-to-work laws outlaw union shop.

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does not require employees to join union, but requires them to pay equivalent of union dues as a condition of employment.

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Pledges union to cooperate in preventing work stoppages.

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Ban any interference with production during life of contract

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•          Exhaustion of grievance procedure.

•          Arbitration award has been violated.

•          Employees collectively refuse to work.

•          Not permitted for most public employees.

Union must first hold a vote among its members

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What is the purpose of a strike?

•          Bring economic hardship to employer, forcing to agree to union demands.

•          Success of strike determined by how severely union is able to interrupt organization’s operations.

•          President can issue injunction prohibiting strike action for 80 days.

60 days to resolve impasse, after which NLRB polls employees on whether they will accept employer’s last offer

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With conventional, the arbitrator may pick the position of either party or a different position from either

with Final Offer- the arbitrator has to pick the position of one of the parties involved

Most ____ outlaw Union Shops.

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