*The Labor Agreement
The Issue of Management Rights
Management Rights Clause
states that managements authority is supreme in all matters except those it
has expressly conceded in the collective agreement, or in those areas where
authority is restricted by law
The following is an example of a clause defining management rights in one labor
agreement:
It is agreed that the company possesses all of the rights, powers, privileges,
and authority it had prior to the execution of this agreement; and nothing in the
agreement shall be construed to limit the company in any way in the exercise of the
regular and customary functions of management and the operation of its business,
except as it may be specifically relinquished or modified herein by an express
provision of this agreement.
Items in a Labor Agreement
Typical clauses will cover:
Wages
Vacations
Holidays
Work Schedules
Management Rights
Union Security
Transfer
Discipline
Training
Grievance procedures
No strike/no lockout
clause
Overtime
Safety procedures
Severance pay
Seniority
Pensions and benefits
Outsourcing
Work rules
Progressive clauses will
cover
Employee access to
records
Limitations on use of
performance evaluation
Elder care leave
Flexible medical
spending accounts
Protection against
hazards of technology
equipments (VDTs)
Limitations against
electronic monitoring
Bilingual stipends
Domestic partnership
benefits
Employee involvement
programs
Union Security Agreements
It is an agreement where an employer and the union agree on the extent to
which the union may compel employees to join the union and how the dues
will be collected.
Types of Shop Agreements
1) Union Shop
Provides that any employee who is not a union member upon employment
must join the union within 30 days or be terminated.
2)
Agency Shop
Provides for voluntary membership.
*Administration of the Labor Agreement
Negotiated Grievance Procedure
Grievance Procedure
It is a formal procedure that provides for the union to represents the interest
of its members and nonmembers in processing a grievance.
It is considered as Heart of Bargaining Agreement
Initiated by union, or an individual employee.
Its operation is unique to each individual collective bargaining relationship,
Bypass Grievance
it is when the supervisor promoted an employee without the seniority's order.
Significant Benefits of Grievance Procedure:
it provides a formal and orderly procedure for the union to challenge the
actions of management without resort to force.
Five-Step Grievance Procedure
ARBITRATION
Step 5
V.P. Industrial
Relations
Department
Manager
Immediate
Supervisor
Immediate
Supervisor
Step 4
30
Workdays
Local Union
President
Step 3
15
ChiefWorkdays
Steward
Step 2
10
UnionWorkdays
Steward
STEP 1
5 Workdays
Grievant
CONTRACT
VIOLATION
The Grievance Procedure in Action
the employees grievance must be expressed orally or In writing to their
immediate supervisor to be considered formally.
Grievance should not be viewed as something to be won or lost.
Satisfactory solution may not be possible at the first step because of:
Legitimate differences of opinion between employee and supervisor.
Supervisor doesnt have the authority to take action to satisfy the
grievant.
Personality conflicts, prejudices, emotionalism, stubbornness, or other
factors.
Grievance Arbitration
Rights Arbitration
It provide the solution to a grievance that a union and an employer have
been unable to resolve by themselves.
Decision to Arbitrate
In deciding whether to use arbitration:
Each party must weigh the cost involved against the importance of the
case and the prospects of gaining a favorable award.
Fair presentation doctrine
A doctrine under which unions have a legal obligation to assist both
members and nonmembers in labor relation matters.
Arbitration Hearing
Have the appearance of a court hearing but without many of the
formalities of a court proceeding.
It begins with the swearing-in of witnesses and the introduction of the
submission agreement.
Submission Agreement
-
It is a statement of the problem to be resolved.
After the introduction, the party will make opening statements, followed
by the presentation of facts and evidence, and the oral presentation of
witnesses.
Conclusion with each side making summary statements that supports
their position.
Primary purpose:
To assist the arbitrator in obtaining the facts necessary to resolve a human
relations problem rather than a legal one.
After conducting the hearing and receiving post-hearing briefs, the arbitrator
has 30 days in which to consider the evidence and render an award. Mostly,
the costs of arbitration are shared equally by the parties.
Arbitration Award
It is a formal written document given to both sides.
It can help lessen the disappointment and protect the self-esteem of those
representing the unsuccessful party
In deciding a case, the arbitrator has the power to modify the outcome
requested by both sides.
5 Parts of Arbitration Awards:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Submission Agreement
Facts of the Case
Position of the Parties
Opinion of the Arbitrator
Decision Rendered
4 Factors when deciding a case:
1) The wording of the labor agreement (or employment policy in nonunion
organizations)
2) The submission agreement as presented to the arbitrator
3) Testimony and evidence offered during the hearing
4) Arbitration criteria or standards against which cases are judged
Decision of an employee discharged for absenteeism
The arbitrator would consider these factors separately or jointly.
The arbitrator, also, are essentially constrained to decide cases on the basis
of the wording of the labor agreement, employment policy, and the facts,
testimony, and evidence presented at the hearing.
Contemporary Challenges to Labor Organizations
Decrease in Union Membership
Reasons for the decline in union membership:
A shift from traditional unionized industries to high technology industries
Growth in the employment of part-time and temporary workers
Growth in small business, in which unionization is more costly and difficult to
perform
Globalization of the workforce particularly among low wage employers
What are labor organizations doing to stem the decline in union
memberships?
-
According to one union official, is energized organizing.
First, unions are targeting workers they have long ignored also they see
immigrants, the fastest-growing segment of working people, as potent
prospects for union growth
Second, the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations is a national trade union center and the largest federation of
unions in the United States) has embraced an aggressive unionization
strategy.
Globalization and Technological Change
Offshoring
-
It define as the work that was previously carried out in one country is moved
to another country.
