Speaker 1: Hi, greetings, it's me, Dr. Paul Gerhart and this is the 15th video and final video in my Human Resource Management video series. So if you haven't watched the other videos and you're interested in human resources or if you own your own business and you want to know more about human resources, I highly suggest you go back and check out this series and the other series of videos that I have here on my YouTube channel. They're up here and they're free and they're designed to help you know what you don't know or help refresh things that you once learned. So I'm going to get right into this video. It's got a lot of important information. This video is on collective bargaining and labor relations. And for larger employers, it's a topic that you probably are going to need to know about. In this video, I'm going to talk about how unions and labor relations work in their roles within organizations. I want to talk about the goals of management, labor unions, and society as a whole. I'll share a few of the laws and regulations that affect labor relations. We're going to talk about the union organizing process and how management and unions negotiate contracts. We're going to talk a little bit about practicing contract administration and talk a little bit about some new approaches to labor management and relations. So let's get right into the video and let's assume you don't know very much about unions at all and let's talk about what a union is. So unions were formed for the purpose of representing members' interests and resolving conflicts of employers. And management, in order to manage conflict between employers and employees, it gives people more strength and have a voice within any organization. So labor relations really involves having labor relations strategies, negotiating contracts, and administering contracts. The national and international unions that are all around the world. Most union members belong to a national or an international union and they could be a craft union members who all have the same particular skill or occupation. An industrial union where members are linked by their work in a particular industry. Most national unions are affiliated with the American Federal Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations or the AFL-CIO. And the role of labor relations you have to take right down to the local unions. Most have day-to-day interactions between labor and management and membership in a local union really depends on the type of union. Members elect officials and vote on resolutions to strike. There's usually a union steward and this person is elected by union members to represent them and ensuring that the terms of the contract are enforced. Some of the trends in union membership. Very interesting. In the 1950s, it was really at its highest and now it is about 11.1% of all people employed belong to a union. In the private sector, it's 6.7%. So most of the decline has been in the private sector for a few different reasons. Change in the structure of the economy, management efforts and control costs, human resource practices and government regulation. So it really is interesting to watch how since the 1980s essentially, union membership has continued to have a downward slope. In other countries, unions are going strong. As a matter of fact, in Sweden, almost 70% of all employees are members of a union. In Italy, it's about 40%. In Canada, believe it or not, it's right around 30%. United Kingdom, a little over 25% as well as Australia. Mexico, just under 20%. And in the United States, like I mentioned before, we are just right above or hovering around 11%. So in the government, there are also union members. And there was an executive order 10988, so 10988, established a collective bargaining rights for federal employees. What you need to know about this is strikes are illegal for federal workers and for state workers in most states. And at the local level, almost all states prohibit strikes by police and firefighters. Let's face it, unions truly make an impact on company performance. There is evidence that unions have both positive and negative effects on productivity. Most studies have found that union workers are more productive than non-union workers. And on average, union members receive higher wages and more generous benefits than non-union workers and evidence shows that unions have a large negative effect on profits. What I know about unions is that if you have an organization that has union employees, they can help set the tone for other organizations as far as what kind of benefits and pay you have to pay. So unions are really good to help establish a fair set of wages and fair means what is perceived fair by employees and employers. And then people who have organizations that are non-union, if they want to be able to attract talent, they have to make sure that they have a competitive wage. So really it's kind of interesting how union organizations affect non-union organizations. Most organizations find that having unions helps make them more competitive. You're bringing in skills. People are seeing not only their jobs as good jobs, but they're seeing them as careers. And when people stay in organizations because they want to, they see it worth their while, then it makes the organization stronger and more competitive. So in my mind, that's one of the major benefits of having unions. So with management, you have to keep in mind for whatever organization, if you're a human resource manager, managers need to make sure that profits are continuing to go up. The one way of doing that is keeping labor costs low and making sure that you are being flexible as an organization in your operations. Labor unions generally have the goal to obtain pay and working conditions that satisfy and give members a voice in decisions that affect them. Unions achieve results by gaining power in numbers. And union membership is linked to better compensation and benefits in most cases. And a two-tier wage structure is becoming more and more common. So contracts usually have provisions that are critical for union security and viability. There are checkoff provisions and union membership and contribution provisions that are in place. Checkoff provisions are contract provisions under which the employer, on behalf of the union, automatically deducts union dues from employees' paychecks. Membership security is all about having a clothes shop or a union shop, an agency shop, and maintenance of membership rules. Some societal goals to consider is that society's values drive laws and regulations that affect labor unions. And society's goal for unions is to ensure that workers have a voice in how they're treated by their employers. The National Labor Relations Board, or the NLRB, has Section 7, which protects the following activities. Union organizing, joining a union, going on a strike, and refraining from activity on behalf of the union. And most employees in the private sector are covered by the NLRA. Some laws that amended the NLRA are the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 and then the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. And essentially, it established right-to-work laws. These are state laws that make union shops, maintenance of membership, and agency shops illegal. And then employees should be free to join a union or not. And it's really interesting to know that there are a lot of right-to-work states. Some of those are Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. The National Labor Relations Board, or the NLRB, has a five-member board with a general council and 52 regional and other field offices. The function is to conduct and certify representation elections and to prevent unfair labor practices. So let's talk about the process of organizing and shift gears a little bit. So 30% of employees must sign an authorization card and there's a secret ballot election that gives consent and there's also a stipulation election too. So as an employer and supervisor, here's what you should do as it relates to unions. You can report any direct or indirect signs of union activity to core management. You can deal with employees by carefully stating the company's response to pro-union arguments and these responses should be coordinated with the company to maintain consistency to avoid threats or promises. You can take away union issues by following effective management practices all the time like delivering recognition and appreciation, solve employee problems, provide business related information, be consistent in treatment of different employees, accommodate special circumstances when appropriate, ensure due process and performance management, and treat all employees with dignity and respect. What you should not do is you should never employ employees with harsher terms and conditions of employment or employment loss for that sake if they engage in union activities, interrogate employees about pro-union or anti-union sentiments that they or others may have or reviewing union authorization cards or pro-union petitions, promising employees that they will receive favorable terms or conditions of employment if they forgo union activity, and then spying on employees known to be or subject of being engaged in pro-union activities. So some union strategies, organizers call and visit employees at home to talk about issues like pay and job security, they offer workers associate union membership, they conduct corporate campaigns, and they negotiate employer neutrality and card check provisions into a contract. You can decertify a union and the Taft-Hartley Act made it possible for employees to decertify a union and it may not take place when a contract is in place. So at least 30% must petition for an election, petitions submitted 60 to 90 days to an expiration of a current contract, you have to schedule a decertification election, if a majority of votes go against the union, employees will be union free. In 2013, the NLRB reported that 13% of elections were decertification elections. So let's talk about collective bargaining. So with negotiation between union representatives and management representatives, you'll have to arrive at a contract and define conditions of employment for the term of the contract and then administer that contract. Typical contracts include provisions for pay, benefits, work rules, and resolution of workers' grievance. So bargaining structures always kind of vary in these kinds of bargaining. So here are some typical provisions in collective bargaining contracts. So let's talk about these. So establishment and administration of the agreement. So there should be a contract duration and reopening and negotiation provisions, grievance arbitration and mediation, strikes and lockouts and contract enforcement, functions, rights and responsibilities, management rights clauses, subcontracting, union activities on company time and premises, union management cooperation, regulation of technological change, advance notice and consultation. For wage termination and administration, the rate structure and wage differentials, incentive systems and production bonus plans, production standards and time studies, job classification and job evaluation, and wage adjustments for each individual in general. Job and income security should be thought of in these contracts and specify hiring and transfer agreements, employment and income guarantees, supplemental unemployment benefit plans, regulation of overtime, shift work, reduction of hours, forestall layoffs, layoff procedures, seniority recall, promotion practices, retraining and training, relocation allowances, severance pay, and layoff benefit plans. For operations, work and shop rules, rest periods and other time allowances, safety and health information, hours of work and premium pay practices, shift operations, hazardous work, discipline and discharge. With paid and unpaid leave, these should be specified. So language about vacation, holidays, sick leave, funeral and personal leave, military leave and jury duty, employee benefits, health insurance plans, pension plans, profit sharing, stock purchase, thrift plans, bonus plans, and then special groups. In some organizations, clearly defining apprentices and learners, workers with disability, veterans, and then union representatives. This language should be clearly defined. Reviewing over new contracts, you have to make sure that you are prepared. Establish objectives for the contract, reviewing things from the old contract, gathering data such as compensation paid by competitors and companies' ability to survive a strike, predicting the likely demands to be made, establishing costs of meetings and demands. You have to consider work stoppages. One of the terms that we use, a couple of the terms, are strike and lockout. A strike is a collective decision by the union members not to work until certain demands and conditions are met, and then a lockout, that's when the employer excludes workers from the workplace until they meet certain conditions. Some alternatives to going on strikes are mediation, having a fact finder, or doing arbitration. So, what is mediation? Mediation is resolution procedures in which a mediator hears views on both sides and facilitates negotiation but has no formal authority and dictates a resolution. With a fact finder, this is a third party of collective bargaining where they report reasons for a dispute, views and arguments of both sides are heard, and possibly a recommended settlement with parties may be declined. With arbitration, it's conflict resolution procedure in which an arbitrator or an arbitration board determines a binding settlement. So that's mediation, fact finder, and arbitration. It is important to know that in the past there's been a breakdown in bargaining which often led members to stop working, and these days this is happening less and less. When strikes occur, the conduct of each party during the strike can do lasting harm to labor management relations, and so people really have to think through the process. There's a lot of lessons learned in going on strike, and you shouldn't have to recreate the wheel by going on a strike to learn that both sides really get harmed. You don't want that. With contract administration, it's about carrying out agreements, terms, and resolving conflicts over interpretation or violation of the agreement. In a grievance procedure, this is a process for resolving union management conflicts over interpretation or violation of collective bargaining with the agreement. There are five steps, essentially, in an employee-initiated grievance. Here are the procedures. In step one, the employee and union steward discusses problems with the supervisor. The union steward and employee decide whether the problem was resolved, and the union steward and employee decide whether the contract was violated. Step two, written grievance is submitted to the line manager or whoever the boss is and the representative of the organization. The steward and the manager discuss grievances, and management reports a response in writing. Step three, the union appeals the grievance to the top management and senior industrial relations staff. Additional local and international union offices may become involved, and a decision resulting from an appeal is put into writing. And then step four, the union decides whether to appeal the unresolved grievance or arbitration, or the union appeals grievance to the arbitration for binding decision. Let's talk about labor-management cooperation. Traditionally, we've always thought of there being two sides and our adversaries. Now more cooperation between labor and management really is becoming more visible. Every organization needs happy employees. The National Labor Relations Board supports employees' involvement in work and teams in decision making. Non-union representation systems include management-established systems that are worker-centered. Many non-profit organizations offer member services such as training, legal advice, lobbying, and worker advocacy. So these days we're seeing a lot of evolution in how organizations do collective bargaining and maintain labor relations. And so I know I've gone on for over 20 minutes, and I hope that this has been a helpful video and a helpful video series. I hope that you've enjoyed these videos and have taken something away from it. I hope even more than that that you have a great day because only you get to choose how you feel about it. I'm Dr. Paul Gerhart.