...Resource Department for the Fort Hood Community that provides a Labor Relations Office to look out for the well-being of the federal employees as well as the Bargaining Unit Employees in utilizing the best approach in resolving labor disputes and labor conflicts while working closely with the union. Most federal employees are represented by the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1920 which without membership is the union who also fall under the Bargaining Unit. The Labor Relations office is there to provide guidance as representatives should the bargaining unit employees find themselves in a dispute with their employer or supervisor that could lead to filing grievances or they choose to address their issues to the union. As a federal employee myself and of the 5, 5000 federal employees on Fort Hood, I chose to conduct an interview with a Labor Relations Specialist working with in the Labor Relations office of the Human Resource Department on the installation to gain a better insight of how the labor issues are handle from the federal government perspective while working hand in hand with the AFGE. Labor Relations Functions Fort Hood being a military installation holds a Human Resource Department within the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC). Human Resource department also has a Labor Relations office consisting of three Labor Relations Specialists. I had the...
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...shift premiums, profit sharing. * Personnel policies and procedures: Layoff, promotion, and transfer policies, overtime and vacation rules. * Employee rights and responsibilities: seniority rights, job standards, workplace rules * Employer rights and responsibilities: management rights, just cause discipline and discharge, subcontracting, safety standards. (Budd, p. 11) According to ABC News, Brian Bennett from ESPN talked about Northwestern players get Union Vote. The NLRB ruled that Northwestern Football players qualify as an employee of the university and can unionize. This was accepted after three years member colleges and universities have worked to re-evaluate the current rules. This is beneficial for employees in this case the athlete and employer in this case university. The player is an employee since the player sign a contract for the university and as result obtain a scholarship. For now, the push is to unionize athletes at private schools, such as Northwestern, because the federal labor agency does not have jurisdiction over public universities. (ABC NEWS) Jack Murtha, a writer for Greater Media Newspaper website writes about Township of Marlboro, settles new contracts for incoming employees. The new terms of these contracts provide less paid time off and a reduction in benefits, according to municipal...
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... National Labor Relations Act Initial History The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, commonly referred to as the Wagner Act, is the basic bill of rights for unions. It was enacted to eliminate employers' interference with the organization of workers into unions. Before, many employers would threaten the employees that if they would be joining a union they would receive less pay, benefits, hours, or even be fired. This caused an outcry in American society because many of the employers weren't giving the employees much security for their jobs and they weren't able to join any unions. So to help out with this problem the Wagner act was signed into law on July 5th, 1935 and it investigates and charges ventures on unfair labor practices. This law gives the workers many rights as far as being able to organize and join unions, to bargain collectively, and to actively pursue their objectives whatever they may be. The problem with the law at first was that many people were ignoring this as a law all together. Many of the initial appellate courts agreed that this law was unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable. It took many years and many court cases that were won because of the NLRA that it became an enforceable law that could be upheld in court. The Wagner Act requires that employees bargain in good faith with the union when it comes too wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment. In accordance with the NLRA the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was created...
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...general public, citizens have the right to know what is going on. These laws require parties in public-sector labor relations to make contract negotiations open to the public. National Labor Relations Act/date (Wagner Act) Also known as the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, this act gave employees the right to form and join unions and to engage in collective bargaining. Ex. Wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Consists of 5 members appointed by the president; Established to administer and interpret the Wagner Act, the NLRB has primary responsibility for conducting union representation elections. They only have remedial and not punitive powers. NLRB vs Bildisco & Bildisco/date 1984; The Supreme Court upheld a company’s right to file bankruptcy and have a labor contract nullified. Later legislation gives requirements for companies to set aside a labor agreement. Union busting an attempt by an employer to break and remove a trade union in order to secure a non-union workforce. Union avoidance Representation certification (RC) The election process whereby employees vote in a union as their representatives. Occurs once every 12 months. Representation decertification (RD) The election process whereby union members vote out their union as their representative. If majority of the members vote the union out, it’s gone. Injunction a court order to cease (stop) and desist (refrain from doing again) an activity...
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...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 States the negotiations that happen between concerning parties are written into legally binding contracts and usually last from one to five years (Budd). On the Huffington Post website, a writer by the name of Amanda Terkel writes about the labor conflicts that happened in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana states. Governor Scott Walker from the state of Wisconsin tried to deprive the state’s public-employee unions for having collective bargaining rights. He stated that this will make it possible to shore up the states estimated 3 billion loss. The legislative action that has caused major protest in Madison, Wisconsin, with gatherings around 25,000 protestors while Wisconsin’s Democratic senators have fled the state to stop the bill from being voted on. Thousands of opponents of Ohio’s Senate proposed collective bargaining overhaul surrounded the statehouse with chants of kill the ill prior to the hearing of Ohio’s Senate Bill 5. The bill is written to do away with collective bargaining rights to state employees and cut back the rights of local level government employees. While the state of Indiana’s legislature is considering a bill that will strip Indiana teachers of their collective bargaining rights between local districts and the teachers union. The goal of this bill is to focus on wages and wage...
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...The Aspects of Labor Unions in America Zella K. Olvera MGT/431 June 14, 2012 Becky A. Shokraii MA, SPHR The aspects of labor unions in America The paper will explore how labor unions have changed the working environment in the United States. The paper will theorize if labor unions are essential and necessary in 2012 as a valuable asset to the American employee, or if labor unions have out lived usefulness. There was a time in America history labor unions were essential to protect American employees from unfair business practices. Labor unions had an enormous hand in implementing several local, state, and federal labor laws that changed working relations in unions and nonunion organizations. * Define unions and labor relations and their effect on organizations. * A union is composed of hard workingmen and women acting collectively to have his or her voice heard at work. By joining together as one cohesive entity the employees gain strength in numbers to address what the group cares most about. Unions may negotiate new contracts with the employers through collective bargaining for better working conditions, increased wages, retirement benefits, fair, and safe working conditions...
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...Unions and the Human Resources Department: Information and Trends Unions and the Human Resources Department: Information and Trends Introduction: Compared to personnel management, human resource management is relatively a new approach to manage people. Since human resource is the most valuable asset of an organization without which it could not possibly be able to use any other resources and run the business. So it becomes quite necessary to manage the human resources efficiently and effectively. It paves the way for the development of human resources management. Human resources management is a distinct management philosophy which emerged as a perspective to manage the human resources in an effective manner for the benefit of an organization. Last decade it had witnessed a great exploitation towards the employees in terms of the working hours, payment, and working condition which in turn resulted to the development of their representative group as an employee’s union. As per the article ‘The role of Unions or HR in workplace’ “Unions have been in existence since 1935” (Morreaux, 2013, par.4) when the national labor relation law was passed, which was the first labor relation law. Employee unions were primarily formed for the purpose of representing the employment problem before the management and engaged in “collective bargaining” (Morreaux, 2013, par.3) with the employers in order to protect the worker’s interest and prevent it against exploitation. The prime purpose...
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...INDUSTRIAL/LABOUR RELATIONS Meaning of Industrial Relations Means an Employer-employee relationships that are covered specifically under collective bargaining and industrial relation laws. It refers to all types of relationships between employer and employee, trade union and management, workers and union and between employee and employee. It also includes all sorts of relationships at both formal and informal levels in the organization. In broader sense industrial relations means all such relationships that a business enterprise maintains with various sections of society including employee, state, customers and public in industries contact. Parties in Industrial Relation Three main parties are directly involved in industrial relations: Employers: Employers possess certain rights vis-à-vis labors. They have the right to hire and fire them. Management can also affect workers’ interests by exercising their right to relocate, close or merge the factory or to introduce technological changes. Employees: Workers seek to improve the terms and conditions of their employment. They exchange views with management and voice their grievances. They also want to share decision making powers of management. Workers generally unite to form unions against the management and get support from these unions. Government: The central and state government influences and regulates industrial relations through laws, rules, agreements, awards of court and the like. It also includes third parties and labor and tribunal...
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...program and was bought by Litton Industries. The yard began to grow with the assistance of the State of Mississippi. Mississippi created “The Shipyard of the Future” on the west bank of the Pascagoula River. In 2001, Northrop Grumman bought Litton and Ingalls was combined with Avondale as Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. In March 2011, the yard was spun off, together with Newport News, as Huntington Ingalls Industries, with each yard winning back its old name (Ingalls Shipbuilding, 2011). Unions are a group of workers that have come together to accomplish goals such as better working conditions. They bargain with the organization on behalf of the union members and negotiate labor contracts with employers. Unions usually bargain on wages, work rules, grievances, instruction leading to hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace protection and rules. Ingalls can encounter legal issues and obstacles when it comes to bargaining with a union by providing unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices can be carried out if an organization interferes with the employee’s right to form, organize and bargain collectively, if the company discriminates against the employee to keep...
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...Background of Labor Relations Labor relations can refer broadly to any dealings between management and workers about employment conditions. Most commonly, however, labor relations refers to dealings between management and a workforce that is already unionized, or has the potential to become unionized. Labor relation is the field that emphasizes skill managers and union leaders can use to minimize costly forms of conflict and seek win-win solutions with labor force. The decision for management involves whether the organization will work with unions or develop non-union operations. The decision is influenced by outside forces such as competition, public opinions etc. while there are several advantages of unionism to both the members and the employers, negative consequences on profitability and productivity have also been found by researcher. The best labor relation strategy is dependent on the tradeoffs between the positive and negative consequences and external legal environment. The term ‘Labor management Relations’ comprises of two terms: ‘Labor’ and ‘Relations’. “Labor” refers to “any productive activity in which an individual (or a group of individuals) is (are) engaged”. By “relations” we mean “the relationships that exist within the industry between the employer and his workmen.” The term labor management relations explains the relationship between employees and management which stem directly or indirectly from union-employer relationship...
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...Basis of the Grievance and Arbitration Process The Grievance and Arbitration Process BUS405 Labor Relations July 20, 2010 The Grievance and Arbitration Process There has always been a need for conflict resolution on the job. The grievance and arbitration process is one way for employees to be heard when conflict on the job arises. The grievance and arbitration process is also a way for employees to obtain some type of satisfaction at the end of the grievance process. Having representation by the union often guarantees an employee a fair, just, and timely grievance process. However, not all employees feel that way when they are not a represented the union. The grievance process can mean different things to each individual employee and usually no two complaints are normally about the same type of issue. “There are two possible approaches to defining a grievance: therapeutic and legalistic” (Holley, Jennings, & Wolters, 2008, p.421). A grievance is a complaint and more than likely some type of violation of an employee's rights on the job. Grievances almost always are due to work related issues. Similar a right that is usually, but not always defined by an employment or some other type of contract. According to Holley et al., (2008), “a grievance is clearly defined as an employee’s or employer’s alleged violation of the labor agreement that is submitted to the grievance procedure for resolution by the employee” (p. 420). Despite the definition of a grievance,...
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...15 Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining 1) About ________% of people working in the United States belong to unions. A) 5 B) 12 C) 20 D) 45 E) 62 Answer: B Explanation: Just over 17.7 million U.S. workers belong to unions—around 12.4% of the total number of men and women working in this country. Diff: 1 Page Ref: 544 Chapter: 15 Objective: 1 Skill: Concept 2) One of the earliest unions in the United States, the Knights of Labor, was formed by a group of ________. A) coal miners B) tailors C) carpenters D) railroad workers E) printers Answer: B Explanation: In 1869, a group of tailors met and formed the Knights of Labor. The Knights were interested in political reform. Diff: 2 Page Ref: 544 Chapter: 15 Objective: 1 Skill: Application 3) Who was responsible for forming the American Federation of Labor in 1886? A) Samuel Gompers B) Benjamin Franklin C) Frederick Taylor D) George Meany E) Alexander Hamilton Answer: A Explanation: In 1886, Samuel Gompers formed the American Federation of Labor (AFL). It consisted mostly of skilled workers and, unlike the Knights, focused on practical, bread-and-butter gains for its members. Diff: 2 Page Ref: 544 Chapter: 15 Objective: 1 Skill: Application 4) Which of the following was the primary goal of the American Federation of Labor? A) achieving political reform B) gaining a higher social status C) addressing immigrant labor D) improving work conditions E) creating labor legislation ...
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...Executive Summary In this paper, I argue that unions will still survive as an institution and play a significant role in the labor relations development, but for the purpose of better meeting the changing demands of new environment, after analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, I try to prove that unions must change in order to survive and further grow. Then the following part focuses on specific changes need to be made and the difficulties unions face in making such changes. Because the intensity of membership has fallen quickly since the 1980s, labor unions are forced to take measures to deal with this trend, but new changes of the labor force in the United States are barriers for unions’ expectation. Actually, for the purpose of regaining the vital role unions once did in American labor-management relations, they have made changes to create more communication and cooperation opportunities with the management to reach agreements and undoubtedly, this new approach has a positive effect on the total labor and management relations. Strengths and Weaknesses of Unions According to the definition of unions, they should be organizations of wage earners and are formed for the purpose of serving the members' interests with respect to wages and working conditions. By analyzing its history, it is obvious that labor unions were born out of necessity, to protect the health and well-being of American workers. Through the years, they have provided a unified voice...
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...after Congress enacted the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act, and they remain on the books in roughly twenty two states today. The right these laws enshrine is the nineteenth-century liberal individualist conception of freedom of contract between employer and employee. They protect the individual worker's freedom to refuse to join or to help support a union, including one chosen by fellow employees as their bargaining representative. Thus, from the perspective animating the Wagner Act, they aim to undercut collective labor agreements. More specifically, right-to-work laws are aimed against union security provisions in collective labor contracts. Such provisions may require that the employer hire only union members, ensuring a so-called "closed shop," or they may require that newly hired workers join the union within a certain period. Or union security provisions may not require union membership: they may only demand that employees contribute their share to the union's costs of bargaining on workers' behalf. Also, they may provide that the employer shall deduct union dues or fees from workers' pay checks. State right-to-work laws typically outlaw all such arrangements. Most of the 22 states that have Right to Work laws adopted them in the 1940’s and 1950’s after the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. (Encyclopedia, 2005) The right-to-work law gives workers a choice regarding joining union or pay union dues. Since it is our constitutional right...
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...Labor Laws and Unions Kaiser Permanente has been a well-known health care provider in the United States for over 65 years. Kaiser Permanente started with a simple 12 bed hospital in the middle of the Mojave Desert with a single surgeon. Kaiser Permanente has now grown to partnership as two organizations known today as Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals and the Permanente Medical Groups. Kaiser Permanente upholds their mission to provide quality care for members and families, and to contribute to the well-being of their many communities. Legal issues and obstacles that Kaiser Permanente could encounter would be areas such as lawsuits, malpractice and tort reform, discrimination, workers compensation, false claims, compliance requirements, and labor and employment issues. As a result of these legal issues come federal, state, and or local laws that could very well be broken. Laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 as well as the Fair Employment and Housing Act are the laws that could be broken. The description of these laws provide the necessary reasons as to why they would be considered broken if any of the above listed legal issues were to occur. There are many recommendations to minimize possible litigation; however, the recommendation that would be most fitting in this situation would be to continuously send the Kaiser Permanente employees through mandatory trainings and refresher courses. The purpose of these trainings and courses would be to keep...
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