...Running Head: LABOR RELATIONS Ric Hillock Labor Relations Paper University of Phoenix- Online The creation of labor unions began in the late nineteenth century as a result of workers collectively uniting to force companies to limit the hours in a workday, improve wages and working conditions. Currently, labor unions are “formed for the purpose of representing their members’ interests and resolving conflicts with employers.” (Noe et al., 2007) Some of these interests may include increases in wages, improving healthcare and retirement benefits, and job security. Labor relations can be thought of as the working relationship between management and the leaders of the unions. Their cooperation with each other helps to eliminate strikes through collective bargaining, which will ideally be mutually beneficial for both management and workers. It involves the critical skill of arbitration and compromise. According to the text labor relations involves three levels of decision, which are labor relations strategy, negotiating contracts, and administering those contracts. Labor unions have a considerable impact on the organization. One impact is on productivity. There are opinions on both sides as to whether productivity increases or decreases with unions. “There is a common myth that unions hurt productivity, supposedly because they impose work rules that make their employers less efficient.” (Eisenbray, 2007) In fact, according to the article titled “Strong Unions...
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...Being an HR manager in any company requires a lot of carefulness and tact. The HR manager is responsible for hearing out the employees and making sure that the work environment is conducive for them. There are always problem to foresee. For example, when there is talk of unionizing and the HR manager hears about this, something has to be done immediately. This is the case with these four companies. Acme Auto Parts, The Zinnia, School District 273 and Woodville Healthcare are all relatively small companies that seem to be compensating their employees properly. However, there have been talks about unionizing. There are even petitions being signed. As an HR manager, these matters need to be handled appropriately and carefully. Acme Auto Parts is a small nonunion auto parts manufacturer. Recently, employees have been mentioning the United Auto Workers (UAW). The UAW is the union that represents the other auto companies. They are trying to organize the nonunion parts factories and they have been trying to contact Acme workers. The problem is that the workers might be convinced to join the union. As an HR manager, I need to protect the company and keep the employees happy as well. The way I would respond to this situation is to keep an open communication with the employees. They need to be aware that the Big Three automakers (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler) are trying to wring cost concessions. They are facing high competition and this is affecting Acme Auto Parts as well. I would...
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...Introduction On the Waterfront is a 1954 film starring Marlon Brando as longshoreman Terry Malloy. The film focuses on union violence and mob involvement among dockworkers in New York. It is based on "Crime on the Waterfront", a series of articles in the New York Sun by Malcolm Johnson. The series won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. The stories detailed widespread corruption, extortion and racketeering on the waterfronts of Manhattan and Brooklyn (Mills). The film was a huge critical and commercial success and received 12 Academy Award nominations, winning eight awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Marlon Brando, Best Supporting Actress for the debut of Eva Marie Saint, and Best Director for Elia Kazan (Oscar history). Director’s Purpose Director Elia Kazan’s main purpose in making this film was to portray the faces behind the corruption and violence facing those in some waterfront unions. His intent was not to create a documentary but instead show the emotions of the people involved. The first page of the Waterfront shooting script contained the director’s note “[d]on’t be objective! This is not a Documentary” (Almereyda). By placing the focus on a few main characters rather than the larger union group, the director was better able to play out Terry’s inner conflict with himself as well as his personal relationship with Edie Doyle and his professional relationship with Johnny Friendly. In a sentiment echoed by the numerous awards this film...
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...The Farm Labor Movement was when Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta worked together to form the United Farm Workers Union. This union was formed to ensure that farm workers got paid for the right amount of time they worked for. Many farmers were getting low wages and Cesar Chavez thought that was unfair. Cesar Chavez was a farmer ever since he graduated eight grade. His father was in an accident and he didn't want his mother to work so much. When he was 17 he went to the Navy for two years. He started the United Farm Workers Union in 1962. Cesar didn't have many members in it until 1970, when he urged grape workers to join the union. This caused the Delano grape strike, a march from Sacramento to Delano. This was a three hundred and forty mile trip to Delano. The marchers wanted state government to pass laws, which would permit farm workers to organize into a union and allow collective bargaining agreements. He tried to make people aware of the struggles of farm workers for better pay and treatment. He did this through boycotts, pickets, and strikes. Cesar did not believe in acts of violence. The picketing, boycotts, and strikes worked against the grape growers and this led to the grape growers sign contracts with the union. The result of the Farm Labor Movement gave farmers the money and dignity that everyone should receive and ensured that the farmers of America will always be treated fairly. Work Cited ----------...
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...This paper will discuss important labor laws and litigation that have empowered both the private and public sector employees with regards to an employee’s First and Fifth Amendment rights of the United States Constitution and their obligations to a labor union. The first part of this paper will discuss the Railway Labor Act and its regulation of union membership or dues as requirement of employment in the railroad and transportation industry. The National Mediation Board was established to administer union membership requirements and the collective bargaining process required by the Railway Labor Act. The second part of this paper explores the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA; Wagner Act). The NLRA is the key labor law that governs union activities and collective bargaining in the private sector in the United States (Katz, 2008). The NLRA gives private sector unions the right to organize and regulates the private sector collective bargaining process that allows unions to collect Agency Fees. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) administers the NLRA. The third part of this paper explores the individual state laws that regulate the public sector right through collective bargaining to negotiate an agency shop agreement between a public agency and its recognized union, specifically California. In California it is the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act of 1968 (MMBA) that governs public sector collective bargaining. The Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) administers the...
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...Legal Status of Unions Legal Status of Unions The history of the American labor movement coincides with the development of labor unions in the United States, from the initial local craft unions like the Federal Society of Journeyman Cordwainers (shoemakers), to the formation of national unions such as the National Labor Union (NLU) and the Knights of Labor, creation of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and the Congress of International Organizations (CIO), the merger of the AFL-CIO, and its breakup through the defection of the national unions that formed the Change to Win (CTW) coalition (Fossum, 2012, pp. 27-34, 53-54). Paralleling the union development was a series of national labor legislation: Railway Labor Act (1926), Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932) legitimizing collective bargaining, National Industrial Recovery Act (1933), ruled unconstitutional in 1935, National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act, 1935) establishing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Taft-Hartley Act (1947), and Landrum-Griffin Act (1959) (Fossum, 2012, pp. 63-75). This paper will examine this evolution of the legal status of American unions and what union activities were restricted by laws and courts; the major contributing causes to the failure of uplift unionism; advantages and disadvantages of a business union vs. labor political party approach; leading personalities contributing to the definition of labor relations in the United States; and the most effective union leaders during the 1930s...
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...this Research Assignment is to do all of the following (be sure to read and adhere to the notes below: 1. Define the term “collective bargaining” and list and describe four issues that are mandatory components of a collective bargaining agreement. The term collective bargaining is defined as U.S. labor relations system that works effectively, efficiency, equity and voice in which are achieved through collective bargaining. Representatives of the employer and the employees negotiate the terms and conditions of employment that will apply to the employees. There are four major issues including the following; compensation, personal policies and procedures, employee rights and responsibilities, and employer rights and responsibilities. Compensation is based on wages, benefits, vacations and holidays, shift premiums, and profit sharing. Personnel policies and procedures include layoffs, promotions, transfer policies, overtime and vacation rules. Employer rights and responsibilities are the management rights; just cause discipline and discharge, subcontracting, and safety standards. (Text, pg. 11) Efficiency, equity and voice, are the three primary objectives of labor relations, of employees, and even some management personnel. Employees seem to lean more towards equity and voice at the workplace, while management usually prefers efficiency. The tricky part is attempting to balance all three for an overall happy medium at the workplace for both employers and employees. One...
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...Human Resources Final Project University Fundamentals of Human Resource Management Instructor September 09, 2012 Human Resources Final Project Table of Contents I. Recruiting and Selection. II. Training and Development. III. Performance Management. IV. Employee Discipline. V. Compensation and Benefits. VI. Labor Relations. Recruiting and Selection A Bad Hire Is Worse Than You Think. According to the Harvard Business Review, 80 percent of turnover is caused by bad hiring decisions. These are costly mistakes. The U.S. Department of Labor calculates that it costs one-third of a new hire’s annual salary to replace him. These figures include money spent on recruitment, selection and training plus costs due to decreased productivity as other employees fill in to take up the slack. But these numbers don’t reflect the intangible damages an exiting employee can have such as lost customers and low employee morale across the rest of the organization. And, turnover costs climb even higher as you move up the organization: mid- and upper–level managers can cost over twice their annual salary to replace. (Meyer, n.d., p. 2) IT seems to have put themselves in a position to be heavily reliant on their employees to recruit for open positions. Therefore, many of the employees are related socially or through family. This is s practice that can potentially be dangerous. Possible cases for nepotism, broken friendships, divorces, etc. can cause employees...
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...Pros and Cons of Unions Today GB 541: Employment Law Unit 6: Research Paper Assignment (Final) June 12, 2014 Prof. K. Rauch Unions in America Currently, there is are over 60 unions representing over 14 million workers throughout the country. A labor union is defined as an organization intended to represent the collective interests of workers in negotiations with employers over wages, hours and working conditions. Labor unions are often industry-specific and tend to be more common in manufacturing, mining, construction, transportation and the public sector (Labor Unions, 2014). Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy (National Labor Relations Act, 2014). Labor union s are mostly associated with Democratic Party and supports them during election. When unions are powerful, they boost the incomes of not only their members but also of nonunion workers in their sector or region. Labor unions strive to improve the lives of all working families by bringing economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation. Also, it is important because most corporations focus on creating profits at the expense of employees. History Unions are very prevalent in the United States presently and has a long history...
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...The Loud Speaker Campaign Tactics BUS405 The Labor Relations Process July 30, 2011 Abstract This paper is focus on the Loud Speaker Tactics. Acoustical Enterprises makes commercial audio soundproofing material at a company in Echo, South Dakota. The Union filed an appeal with the NLRB requesting authorization as the private bargaining representative of Acoustical manufacture and maintenance workers On December 20. As the election came near, the key issue became the salaries and benefits obtained by the non-union workers at the Echo organization set against those received by unionized personnel at a Bronx, New York, business owned by the Acoustical Enterprise. The Board has petition a cross-application for implementation of its charge. Learning that the Board abused its freedom of choice in confirm the Union as the private bargaining spokesperson of Acoustic personnel’s. The Employer acknowledges refusing to bargain but argued that the Union had been incorrectly certified, and therefore no legal duty to bargain could be imposed (Holley, 2010). Explain the captive audience, 24-hour rule. Captive-audience policy applies to a legal rule prohibiting an individual from making intrusive language. This is identified as the captive-audience law. The rule is recognized under constitutional law and labor law. With the labor law, it veto’s a party to a union vote from speaking on company time to a form assembly of workers inside 24 hours of an election. A status quo in...
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...business market. Each country have different laws addressing the treatment of employees in the workplace. Standards that may be unethical in the United States may prove to be an opportunity for laborers in other countries, making it more difficult to establish and build business relations. This paper will describe and analyze employment and labor laws in the domestic and international markets, and the impact those laws may have on the XYZ Construction Company. Employment and labor law initially arose out of the desire to protect the employee from unethical and immoral practices in the workplace and combat preferential and bias treatment towards specific groups of people. The establishment of the employment and labor laws was set in place to provide redemption and equality for employees. There are four categories dealing with employment law. Employment at will is a contract of employment for an indeterminate term, is terminable at will by either the employer or the employee; the traditional American rule governing employer–employee relations. One of the first laws to restrict the employer’s right to freely terminate employees was the National Labor Relations Act, which has reduced the number of...
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...Description of Paper This paper will be discussing the historical and legal framework which provides the foundations for the American system of labor and management relations. I will also be analyzing the actions of unions and management to determine basic compliance with the major U.S federal labor laws. I will also discuss the roles and responsibilities of key participants in the right to work state when compared to a non right to work state. Finally I will explain the process for organizing and for decertifying unions. Historical and Legal Framework for American Unions Labor Unions go back all the way to the development of America. Starting when the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620, several of the pilgrims were craftsmen. These were considered primitive unions, or guilds of not just carpenters but also cabinet makers, cordwainers and cobblers made their appearance as well. Although many early attempts at labor unions failed, during the 19th century and the start of the Industrial Revolution, workers preserved and began union traditions that continue today. The purpose of forming unions was so that members could speak out and seek fair solutions when it came to working conditions, to improve job security, and increase wages and fringe benefits without the fear of losing their jobs. The union is selected by the employee as their bargaining agent to represent their interest and what is best for them when it comes to negotiation and administration...
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...labor relations MG420 RESEARCH assignment pAPER MG420 Labor Relations July 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic Page 1. Collective Bargaining 2 * Four Components of a Collective Bargaining Agreement 2 2. Three U.S. Laws Supporting Collective Bargaining 5 * Three Examples of Employer Unfair Labor Practices 5 3. Establishing and Decertifying a Collective Bargaining Unit 9 * Part of the Process of Establishing a Union 9 * Part of the Process of Decertifying a Union 9 4. Administering a Collective Bargaining Agreement 12 * Role and Function of an Arbitrator 12 Conclusion 14 Works Cited 16 1. Define the term “collective bargaining” and list and describe four issues that are mandatory components of a collective bargaining agreement. Include and discuss [showing relevance or applicability] at least one reference found in our text, along with a current web-based news item/magazine article about a real life example of a collective bargaining action. Pick any two of the four mandatory components you've listed and include and discuss [showing relevance or applicability] at least one reference found in our text, along with a current web-based news item/magazine article about each of those [two] collective bargaining issues in action. Collective bargaining is the process of negotiations involving the representatives of the employer and employee for terms and conditions of employment that will apply to the employee. In the United...
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...Running Head: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING Collective Bargaining Paper MMHRM591/Human Resources Seminar in Problem Solving Danielle A. Williams Collective Bargaining Paper Companies have created environments where employees are working hard but employees are not achieving progress in the area of money and benefits they would like to earn. The establishing of unions assisted in creating a platform for individuals to voice concerns and issues to employers to create a better work environment and benefits that employers offer to employees. The Wagner Act of 1935 gave employees the right to organize unions, bargain collectively with employers, and engage in other concerted actions for the purpose of mutual protection. The Norris–La Guardia Act had previously granted these rights the Wagner Act went further and required employers to recognize unions chosen by employees and to bargain with unions in good faith. The Taft-Hartley Act placed the federal government in a position to ensure that union-management relations are conducted fairly by both parties. The act allowed employees the right to organize a union, bargain collectively with an employer, and engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining. Major provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act established a number of unfair union practices unions are not able to coerce employees who do not want to join, force employers to pressure...
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...February 24, 2013 The University Collective Bargaining It is common to define collective bargaining as a negotiation between an employer and trade union. Collective bargaining, however simple that short definition may be, is a complex labor process defined by several discussion topics; collective bargaining is governed by strict definitions and rules, extensive long-standing laws that support it, and specific methods and people to administer agreements reached in the collective bargaining process. The best way to discuss collective bargaining is to approach each of these topics in order to round out the full spectrum of knowledge required to full understand and define collective bargaining with ease. In this paper, you will approach each of these complex topics with the intent of learning more about collective bargaining. The best approach is to begin by defining collective bargaining. Defining Collective Bargaining Collective bargaining is the process by which employers and a group of employees negotiate and agree upon the scope of employment relationships (wages, hours, working conditions, benefits, other employment terms). The employees are typically represented by a labor union in collective bargaining. In the US labor system, when collective bargaining leads to mutual agreement of the sides, the agreement terms become the basis of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or union contract that is a legally enforceable. An example of collective bargaining is...
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