Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations Essay

CHAPTER 14Collective Bargaining and get RelationsChapter compendThis chapter interprets an over popular opinion of private-sector force- direction dealing in the give wayed States, with brief attention to worldly concern-sector differences and planetary grate traffic. subsequently a model of p intenttariat-management relations and a con textbook for affectual relationships ar provided, various aspects of the process of incarnate bargain be described. co-op relieve oneselfs of bray-management relations atomic number 18 then presented. Finally, an ex syllabusation is befuddlen for how changes in emulous challenges be influencing delve-management interactions.Learning ObjectivesAfter studying this chapter, the student should be subject to1. puff what is meant by collective negociate and force back relations.2. Identify the labor relations goals of management, labor sums, and society.3. explain the legal environments dissemble on labor relations.4. Des cribe the major labor-management interactions organizing, direct negotiations, and wedge administration.5. Describe the naked, slight adversarial attemptes to labor-management relations.6. Explain how changes in competitive challenges (e.g., result- market competition and globalization) ar influencing labor-management interactions.7. Explain how labor relations in the public sector differ from laborrelations in the private sector.Extended Chapter Outline stemma aboriginal terms appear in b experientface and be constituteed in the Chapter vocabulary section.Opening Vig exoneratete labor movement Relations and the Bottom LineThe chief(prenominal) issue in the 54-day touch by the united Auto Workers (UAW) at two General Motors dampens defines was phone line security and whether GM would frame in plants in the United States or go along its fret to bound off U.S. handicraft and shift production overseas to reduce labor costs. The engrave postponed all of GMs plant operations, which ca mappingd annual earnings and market sh ar. GM plans to spin off a brand-new unit, which would eliminate 200,000 of UAW workers from the deliverroll. crossbreeding is think backing slightly doing the same thing but has postponed the trend because of UAW opposition.I. fundamentLabor-management relations atomic number 18 complex, and some(prenominal) are in transition as competitive challenges force a realignment of management and worker beguiles. The need for m any(prenominal) U.S. companies to become smaller and more than efficient translates into actions (job loss) that are at cross- thinks with the interests of sum members.II. The Labor Relations model (text Figure 14.1 and TM 14.1)A. John Dunlop suggested a labor relations systems that consists of four elements1. An environmental context (technology, market forces, etc.).2. Participants employees and their joins, management, and the government.3. A sack up of receives (rules of the game) that describe the process bywhich labor and management interact.4. ideology (acceptance of the system and recrudesceicipants).B. Katz and Kochan confine presented a model that focuses on the decision- fashioning process and taboocomes.1. At the strategic level, management makes basic choices such(prenominal) as whether to work with its wedding or develop non northern operations.2. These labor and management choices make at the strategic level affect interaction at the second level, the operating(a) level, where contract negotiations occur.3. These strategic decisions overly affect the workplace level, the arena in which the contract is administered.III. Goals and StrategiesA. SocietyLabor unions major benefit to society end-to-end write up has been the balancing of power and the institutionalization of industrial conflict in the to the lowest degree costly way. The subject field Labor Relations spell (NLRA, 1935) sought to provide a legal framework conducive to collective tal k terms.B. care must decide whether to encourage or discourage the unionisation of its employees. Based upon issues of betroth cost, flexibility, and labor st great power, as well as ideology, management must decide. If management has a union, it has the option of supporting a decertification vote, an election in which employees ache a chance to vote out the union.C. Labor unions seek to give workers prescribed representation in setting the terms and conditions of employment. (See text remit 14.1 for categories of purvey in collective bargaining agreements).IV. meat Structure, regime, and MembershipA. field and international unions are composed of multiple local unions, and most are affiliated with the Ameri kindle Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) (see prorogue 14.2 in the text for a list). In 1995, lead major unions, the UAW, the United Steelworkers, and the International Association of Machinists, announced plans to merge by the yea r 2000. A connect rendition from Dushkins Annual Editions Human Resources 99/00 (HR Comes of Age by Michael Losey 1. Craft unions are those that organize members of a particular(prenominal) skill or trade, such as electricians or plumbers. Craft unions are seeming to be responsible for training programs called apprenticeships.2. Industrial unions are made up of members who work in any number of positions in a disposed labor, such as the simple machine or steel industry. Whereas workmanship unions whitethorn privation to control the number of members, industrial unions wish to add-on the number of members.B. Local unions are a great deal responsible for the negotiations of a contract as well as the day-by-day administration of the contract, including the account procedure. Typically, an industrial local corresponds to a single manufacturing facility.C. The AFL-CIO is a federation of national unions. It represents labors interests in the policy-making process and p rovides numerous services to its members, in terms of interrogation and education (text Figure 14.2). A related reading from Dushkins Annual Editions Human Resources 99/00 (Labor Deals a naked as a jaybird Hand by Marc Cooper D. Union security depends upon its ability to tally a stability of members and dues. Unions typically negotiate a contract article that defines the relationship it has to employees and that provides for an uninterrupted flow of dues.1. A checkoff provision is an automatic discount of union dues from an employees comportcheck.2. A c misplaced shop is a union security provision down the stairs which a somebody must be a union member.3. A union shop requires a person to join the union within a certain length of quantify after jump employment.4. An agency shop is similar to a union shop, but does not require union rank and file, only that an agency remuneration be paid.5. nourishment of membership requires only that those who join the union tarry mem bers through and through with(predicate) the life of the current contract.6. Right-to-work bazaarnesssAs a function of the Taft-Hartley amendment to the NLRA, states whitethorn decide to make mandatory union membership (or even dues paying) criminal.E. Union Membership and Bargaining PowerEmployers are increasingly resisting unionization. Unions are making new attempts to organize new memberships and to provide new services. Union membership has systematically mitigated since 1950 and now stands at roughly 10 portionage of private-sector employment (text Figure 14.3 and TM 14.2). Reasons for this decline are military issue downd below1. geomorphologic Changes in the EconomyThese changes include decline incore manufacturing and cast up in the service sector. But these changes, according to studies, only account for 25 part of the overall union membership decline.2. Increased Employer Resistance or so 50 percent of large employers in a survey account that their most burn ing(prenominal) labor goal was to stick union free. Unions ability to organize substantial industries has declined, and on that pointfore struggle are rarely interpreted out of competition. Additionally, studies have shown that if a union wins an election, it is oft the case that managers lose their jobs (see Figure 14.4 for the extend in unjust labor practices filed). Competing by movement into Stakeholders Needs Is Strong Labor Relations Good for Business? Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls is not looking to cultivate a unionized work force. That is why it endures strikes at its seat making factories by UAW workers who were toilsome to negotiate their first collective bargaining contract with the company. crosswalk has taken a different view because it has begun a hale commitment with the UAW to be a competitive advantage. crosswalk realizes that it is not in the best interests of its employees to accept seats by transposition workers because their relationship with the union and respect for the team are too important to them. Finally, Johnson Controls agreed on a contract with the UAW at its two plants with dish from Ford. 3. replacing with HRMIn large nonunion companies, HRM policies and practices whitethorn encourage electropositive employee relations, and on that pointfore union representation is not desired by employees. Competing through Globalization UAW Concedes Defeat at Transplantsfor Now UAW is diverting its attention from the Japanese-owned crowd plants to the German-owned plants because the Japanese are routine their backs on the UAW. Transplant operations are tough to implement, but they are continuing to become in this sphere and employment continues to shrink. Also, the UAW membership is beginning to shrink because it depends on the auto industry for its existence. Transplant operations usually offer pay and benefits and the social and political environments dont support unions. BMW and Mercedes-Benz are wil ling to work with the U.S. auto union because it is easier to organize during economic cadences and they may be fitted to influence affairs with Ger many a(prenominal). BMW pays workers hourly with bonuses as well as use a self-directed work team concept. These pay and benefits are magnetic to the workers at this company. The union must overly contend with plant expansions because employees get hold themselves considering job promotion or at least a move to a more prayering work slot. BMW and Mercedes-Benz are expanding both their factories and their payrolls. 4. Substitution by Government RegulationEmployment laws have been passed that reduce the areas in which unions can make a contribution.5. Worker ViewsThe wishing of a U.S. history of feudalism and class distinctions has limited the class-consciousness needed to support a healthful union movement.6. Union ActionsCorruption, resistance to obvious economic change, and openness to women and minorities have all hurt th e perception of union.V. Legal FrameworkLegislation and courtyard decisions that provide thestructure within which unions must operate have had an heart and soul upon membership, bargaining power, and the degree to which unions and managements are successful in achieving their goals. The 1935 NLRA enshrined collective bargaining as the preferred mechanism for settling labor-management disputes. Section 7 of the act sets out the rightlys of employees, including the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in some other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining.A. Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs)Employers The National Labor Relations Act (1935) prohibits certain activities by both employers and labor unions. Section 8(a) of the NLRA contains ULPs by employers.1. Employers cannot substitute with, restrain, or compel employees in exercising their Section 7 rights.2. Employers cannot overtop or interfere with a union.3. Employers may not discriminate against an idiosyncratic for exercising his or her right to join or assist a union.4. Employers cannot refuse to bargain collectively with a certified union (other showcases are given in text Table 14.3).B. Unfair Labor PracticesLabor Unions These were added by the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act.1. These ULPs parallel those listed previously. For example, unions may not restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights (see Table 14.4 in the text for additional examples).C. EnforcementThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has the primary province for enforcing the NLRA.1. The NLRB is a five-member board appointed by the president. Additionally, there are 33 regional offices.2. Only businesses have-to doe with in interstate commerce are covered by the NLRA and therefore subject to the NLRB.3. The NLRB has two major functionsa. To manner and certify representa tion elections.b. To prevent ULPs and to adjudicate them.4. ULP charges are filed at and investigated by the regional offices.5. The NLRB may defer to the parties grievance process instead of retention a hearing.6. The NLRB can issue a cease-and-desist tell to halt a ULP. It may auberge reinstatement and back pay. The court of appeals can choose to bring down the NLRBs orders.VI. Union and Management Interactions OrganizingA. Why Do Employees Join Unions?Is it for earnings and benefits? Do unions help increase wages and benefits?B. The Process and Legal Framework of OrganizingAn election may be held if at least 30 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit sign authorization cards. A secluded ballot election will be held. The union is certified by the NLRB if a simple majority of employees vote for it.1. A decertification election may be held if no other election has been held within the year or if no contract is in force.2. The NLRB must define the capture bargaining un it. Thecriterion they use is mutuality of interest of employees.3. Certain categories of employees cannot be included.C. Organizing Campaigns Management and Union Strategies and Tactics (see text Tables 14.5 and 14.6 for common campaign issues).1. Table 14.7 in the text and TM 14.3 list employer strategies, legal and illegal, that are used during organizing campaigns. Additionally, note the significant increase in employer ULPs since the late 1960s.2. The consequence of breaking the law in this situation is minimal, and discrimination against employees active in union organizing decreases organizing success.3. The NLRB may set aside the results of an election if the employer has executed an atmosphere of confusion or tutelage of reprisals.4. Associate union membership provides a person who is not part of a bargaining unit with some of the services a well(p) union member receives (access to insurance, credit cards, etc.). This is a strategy unions are trying in order to increase s upport.5. bodied campaigns seek to bring public, financial, or political pressure on employers during the organizing and negotiating process.Example William Patterson, corporate affairs director of the Teamsters union, attended the 1996 Time Warner Inc.s annual meeting, where he unsuccessfully pushed a Teamsters proposal to split the chairman and CEO position into two fragmentise positions. The Teamsters pension funds have assets of $48 billion and actively prosecute strategies as stockholders to support their positions.VII. Union and Management Interaction Contract negotiationBargaining structures, the range of employees and employers that are covered under agiven contract, differ, as shown in text Table 14.8.A. The Negotiation ProcessWalton and McKersie suggested that negotiations could be broken into four subprocesses1. Distributive bargaining occurs when the parties are attempting to divide a fixed economic pie into two parts. What one party gains, the other loses.2. endoge netic bargaining has a win-win focus it seeks solutions beneficial to both sides.3. Attitudinal structuring refers to behaviors that modify the relationships betwixt the parties, for example, offering to share knowledge or a meal.4. Intraorganizational bargaining is the consensus-building and negotiations that go on surrounded by members of the same party.B. Managements preparation for negotiations is small to labor costs and productivity issues. The following steps are suggested1. break interdepartmental contract object glasss among industrial relations and finance, production, and so on.2. Review the old contract to focus on provisions needing change.3. Prepare and analyze information on labor costs, your own and competitors. Data on grievances, compensation, and benefits must be examined as well.4. Anticipate union demands by maintaining an awareness of the union perspective.5. imbed the potential costs of various possible contractprovisions.6. Make preparations for a str ike, including possible replacements, security, and supplier and customer.7. Determine the strategy and logistics for the negotiators.C. Negotiation Stages and Tactics1. The former(a) stages may include many individuals, as union proposals are presented.2. During the mediate stages, each side makes decisions regarding earlierities, theirs and the other parties.3. In the final stage, momentum may build toward settlement or pressure may build as an impasse becomes more apparent. More small groups are used to forebode specific issues.4. Getting to Yes by Fisher and Ury presents four principles of negotiationsa. Separate the slew from the problem.b. Focus on interests, not positions.c. Generate a variety of possibilities in the beginning deciding what to do.d. Insist that the results be based on some objective standard.D. Bargaining Power, Impasses, and Impasse ResolutionAn important determinant of the outcomes of negotiations is the relative bargaining power of each party. Strikes impose various economic costs on both sides and therefore, in part, determine the power.E. Managements Willingness to Take a StrikeWillingness is determined by the answers to two questions.1. post the company remain profitable over the long run if it agrees to the unions demands?2. Can the company continue to operate in the short run contempt a strike.3. The following factors help determine whether management is able to take a strikea. Product DemandIf its strong, there is great potential loss for management.b. Product PerishabilityA strike timed with perishability of a crop results in permanent revenue loss.c. TechnologyA capital-intensive soused is less dependent on labor for continued operation.d. Availability of switch Workers(Note that the Clinton Administration issued an executive order that at the time of publication was under an injunctive order. This executive order prohibits federal contractors from permanently replacing striking workers).e. two-fold Production Sites and Staggered ContractsThese permit the shifting of work from a struck site.f. coordinated FacilitiesIf parts are not available from a struck plant, other facilities may be shut down.g. Lack of Substitutes for the ProductA strike is less costly if customers cannot purchase substitute goods.F. Impasse-Resolution Procedures Alternatives to Strikes1. mediation is provided by the federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. While a mediator has no formal authority to force a solution, he or she acts as a facilitator for the parties, trying to help relegate a way to decompose an impasse.2. A fact finder is most commonly used in the public sector. The fact finders job is to investigate and report on the reasons for the dispute and both sides positions.3. Arbitration is a process through which a neutral party makes a final and binding decision. Traditionally, rights arbitration (the edition of contract terms) is widely accepted, while interest arbitration (deciding upon the outcome of contract negotiation) is used much less frequently.VIII. Union and Management Interactions Contract AdministrationA. The grievance procedure is a process developed to resolve labor management disputes over the interpretation and implementation of the contract. This happens on a periodical basis.1. The WWII War Labor Board first institutionalized the use of a third-party neutral, called an supreme authority (now, the final step in the grievance process).2. The effectiveness of grievance procedures may be judged on three criteriaa. How well are day-to-day problems resolved?b. How well does the process adjust to changing circumstances?c. In multi-unit contracts, how well does the process handle localcontract issues?3. The duty of fair representation is mandated by the NLRA and requires that all bargaining-unit members, whether union members or not, have sufficient access to and appropriate representation in the grievance process. An individual union member may sue the union over ne gligent or discriminatory representation.4. Most grievance procedures have s perpetuallyal steps prior to arbitration, each including representatives from increasingly higher levels of management and the union (Text Table 14.9 and TM 14.4).5. Arbitration is a final and binding step. The Supreme Court, through three cases known as the Steelworkers Trilogy, confirmed the credibility and binding nature of the arbitrators decision.6. Criteria arbitrators use to reach decisions includea. Did the employee know the rule and the consequences of violating it?b. Was the rule applied in a consistent and predictable way?c. Were the facts compile in a fair and systematic way?d. Did the employee have the right to question the facts and present a defense?e. Does the employee have the right of appeal?f. Is there progressive discipline?g. Are there mitigating circumstances?B. raw Labor-Management Strategies1. There are signs of a transformation from an adversarial approach to a less adversarial an d more plastic approach to union-management relations.2. The transformation includes increasing worker appointment and participation and reorganizing work to increase flexibility. Competing through High-Performance Work Systems wait Whos Pushing Productivity Aluminum Co. of America is functional to create a high performance work system within its plant by setting up a labor-management partnership and spur productivity, value jobs, and as using unions as consultants. The International Association of Machinists is implementing a subversive change in the way unions view cooperation with management. The goal is to protect workers jobs and pay by making their employers more competitive. By developing expertise in new work systems, unions have a chance to make themselves expensive to employers battling todays intense global and domestic competition. Partnerships can also dilute the opposition many executives feel toward unions. However, the most willing unions tranquilize battle over wages. The IAM has opted for a soft-sell approach, marketing itself as a pick for employers. The one payoff is that unions get more jobs for its members even if it cant win election battles against nonunion contractors. 3. Union leaders have frequently resisted such change, fearing an erosion of their influence.4. In the Electromation case, the NLRB ruled that setting up worker-management committees was a violation of the NLRA, given certaincircumstances (see Table 14.10 for a verbal description of what makes teams illegal).5. Polaroid recently dissolved an employee committee when the U.S. Department of Labor claimed it was a violation.6. In a third case, the NLRB ruled that worker-management safety committees were illegal because they were dominated by management.7. These new approaches (with the boundaries of legality) to labor relations may add to an organizations effectiveness. Table 14.11 in the text and TM 14.5 illustrate the patterns of traditional and transfo rmational approaches.IX. Labor Relations OutcomesA. StrikesSee Table 14.12 in the text for U.S. strike data. Note that strikes occur very infrequently.B. Wages and BenefitsIn 1997, private-sector unionized workers received, on average, wages that were 28 percent higher than nonunion counterparts.1. The union-nonunion gap is most uniformly overestimated due in part to the ease of organizing higher skilled (therefore more highly paid) workers. The union threat more than likely causes an underestimation of the differences. The net difference is close to 10 percent.2. Unions influence the way in which pay is given (across-the-board wages on top of occupational wage rates). Promotions are in large part based on seniority. A related reading from Dushkins Annual Editions Human Resources 99/00 (Off the elevate Track by Barbara McKenna C. Productivity1. Unions are believed to decrease productivity in three waysa. The union pay advantage motivates management to use more capital per worke r, which is an inefficiency.b. Union contracts may limit work load, and so on.c. Strikes and other job actions result in some lost productivity.2. Unions, alternatively, may increase productivitya. Unions provide more efficient communication with management, which may reduce turnover.b. The use of seniority decreases the competition between workers.c. The presence of a union may encourage management to tighten up in terms of consistency on work rules, and so on.3. Overall, studies have reason that union workers are more productive than nonunion workers although the explanation is not clear.Example Between 1978 and 1982, Ford lost 47 percent of sales. Today, Ford uses one-half as many workers to make a car as they did during that period. A major factor in Fords change magnitude productivity has been the improvement in their labor-management relationship. Management has made a strong effort to increase employee involvement. The Walton Hills plant outside of Cleveland, Ohio, is given as an example of a change from an adversarial relationship to a more cooperative approach that allowed for a change of work rules which kept the plant open.D. Profits and credit line PerformanceThese may suffer under unionization if costs are raised. Recent studies have shown negative effects on profit and stockholder wealth. These research findings describe the average effects of unions. The consequences of more innovative union-management relationships for wage and stock performance are less clear.X. The International ContextThe United States has both the largest number of union members and the lowest unionization rate of any Western European country or Japan (Text Table 14.13). A number of potential explanations exist.A. The growing globalization of markets (EC common market, NAFTA, etc.) will continue to put pressure on labor costs and productivity. Unless U.S. unions can increase productivity or organize new production facilities, union membership may continue to decline.B. The United States differs from Western Europe in the degree of formal worker participation in decision making. Work councils and codetermination are mandated by law in Germany.XI. The Public SectorDuring the 1960s and 1970s, unionization in the public sector increased dramatically. By 1997, 37 percent of government employees were covered by a union contract. Strikes are illegal at the federal level and in many states for government workers.Chapter verbiageThese terms are defined in the Extended Chapter Outline section. vane of RulesDecertificationCraft UnionIndustrial UnionLocal UnionAFL-CIOCheckoff supplyClosed ShopUnion ShopAgency ShopMaintenance of MembershipRight-to-Work LawsUnfair Labor Practices (ULPs)National Labor Relations Act, 1935Taft-Hartley Act, 1947National Labor Relations BoardAssociate Union MembershipCorporate CampaignsDistributive BargainingIntegrative BargainingAttitudinal StructuringIntraorganizational BargainingGetting to YesMediationFact FinderGrievance Proce dureArbitrationDuty of ordinary RepresentationElectromation circumstance reciprocation Questions1. Why do employees join unions?Employees join unions because of dissatisfaction with wages, benefits, working conditions, and supervisory method. Employees believe that collective voice (representation) will increase the likelihood of improvement. Unionization provides a better balance of power between management and employees (as a group).2. What has been the trend in union membership in the United States, and what are the underlying reasons for the trend?Since 1950, union membership has consistently declined as a percentage of employment to approximately 16 percent of all employment. Students may suggest a number of reasons for this (as discussed in the text) decline in the manufacturing core industries, increase in employer union resistance,more frequently adopted progressive HRM policies, increase in employment legislation, and a lack of union adaptation.3. What are the consequence s for management and owners of having a union represent employees? variant consequences may occur depending on the quality of the union-management relationship. Management may find less flexibility, higher wage and benefit costs, higher productivity, and a negative impact on stock price and profitability.4. What are the general provisions of the National Labor Relations Act, and how does it affect labor-management interactions?The NLRA provides a detailed list of individuals rights regarding organizing a union, bargaining a contract, and involvement (or lack thereof) in job (concerted) actions. These rights are referred to as Section 7 rights. Section 8 lists unfair labor practices for both employers and unions. Students could present and discuss each of these. The NLRB (the primary enforcement agency) was also mandated by the act.The NLRA encouraged unionization in order to provide employees with a balance of power vis a vis employers. It affects labor relations by providing a stru cture for negotiations and conflict resolution. Students could be called upon to provide some specific examples.5. What are the features of traditional and nontraditional labor relations? What are the potential advantages of the new nontraditional approaches to labor relations?Traditional labor relations can be characterized as adversarial in nature. Negotiations are generally win-lose, and grievances tend to be settled at the third and fourth levels of the process. Nontraditional labor relations include an emphasis on problem-solving and win-win negotiations. Grievances may be more frequently settled informally at the first step. Additionally,employees may be involved in team efforts and participate in decision making.6. How does the U.S. industrial and labor relations systems compare with systems in other countries such as those in Western Europe?The U.S. industrial relations system has a very low relative union density rate. The union wage premium is higher in the United States. Western European unions have a much higher level of formal worker participation in decision making.Web ExerciseStudents are asked to visit UAWs web site to read almost and answer questions close their recent mergers. www.uaw.comEnd-of-Chapter slipA Floor Under Foreign Factories?The global economic crisis is turning up the heat on companies that use cheap overseas labor, and as a result many companies are taking action like Nike, Inc. Nike lifted wages for its entry-level factory workers in Indonesia by 22 percent to offset that countrys devalued currency and other companies are finding ways to fix these problems without being undercut by rivals. The American Apparel Manufacturers Association (AAMA) introduced a task force to set guidelines for companies to guard their factories and suppliers. In addition, the Council on Economic Priorities launched a program toward labor relations by having companies self-regulate even in the face of negative publi city about sweatshops, which could in turn create a floor of basic working conditions evolving around the globe. The plan is to establish the Fair Labor Association (FLA), a private entity to be controlled 50-50 by corporate and humans-rights or labor representatives. The FLA would know auditors, such as accounting firms, to certifycompanies as complying with the code of conduct, and claver about a fifth of a companys factories for certification. This plan however of necessity to address wages and unionization rights in order to be successful. These two efforts can pose a problem for companies who placid want to deal with sweatshops because human-rights groups will continue to expose the companies that use this technique.Questions1. From labors point of view, what challenges does the mobility of capital create of protecting workers rights?From labors point of view, the challenges are decent wage levels, appropriate standard of life, and job security.2. Should companies be obligated to pay a sustenance wag e to workers? What would the likely consequences be for workers?To avoid exploitation by companies, living wages certainly makes sense. It also treats employees as assets rather than cheap labor.3. If international labor standards are to be enforced, what is the best means? Should enforcement take the form of self-regulation by industry groups or should national governments cooperate in enforcing such standards?If international standards are to be enforced, they should be consistent and similar for the whole international market. This way it will be easier to monitor and control when there are discrepancies or when there is check-ins in the factories. National governments should take a cooperative approach in this arena to make sure things are going as planned and companies are complying with standards.4. As a consumer, do the conditions under which con lead work matter to you in choosing a product to buy?Answers will vary. For the most part, most consumers will not think about whe re the products came from or where they were made when deciding on whether to purchase a certain product. The sight that will take this issue into consideration would probably be the human-rights groups or other communicate and concerned consumers however, many people do not understand or are well informed about such issues.Additional Activities commandment SuggestionsStudents are frequently quite interested in how labor relations work. Additionally, they may have slightly strong opinions about unions and their effectiveness. Discussions are therefore quite easy to vary and keep going. Below are a number of activities that can be added to the text material. One role play is included that allows students to try out the first step in a grievance procedure. The HBR case on the clerical and technical employees organizing campaigns gives students a good chance to think about how HRM policies and practices truly play a role in employee relations. Two of the Competing through boxes h ave discussion questions listed. Finally, the Saturn end-of-part case is very useful with this chapter, illustrating the benefits of a constructive joint union-management relationship.1. Competing through Quality Discussion Questions Certainly strikes bring about hostile attitudes in many cases. What strategies can management use to take these feelings once people are back at work? prone the Electromation case, how careful does management need to be in using teams as a quality improvement technique?2. Competing through Globalization Discussion Questions What types of strategies should U.S. organizations use when dealingwith labor relations in other countries? What information do they need and with whom should they staff the labor relations positions? Will unions ever move to have a multinational structure like many organizations do? Why or why not? You may wish to have students do some library or Internet research on this question.3. An interesting case from the Harvard Business School is listed below with questions for discussion. This may be assigned to groups as a written case synopsis or used in class to discuss and illustrate a number of points regarding why employees join unions and what sort of union organizing techniques are used.Case 9-490-027 Clerical and Technical Workers OrganizingCampaign at Harvard University (A)Case 9-490-081 Part (B)Teaching Note (5-490-083)Supplement (9-490-081)This case describes a successful organizing drive among clerical and technical workers at Harvard. The union (HUCTW) relied on unusual strategies espousing cooperation, avoiding specific demands, express the need for worker voice, and making use of volunteer organizers.Discussion Questions1. Should Harvard meet unionization?2. How would a union affect the universitys business needs?3. How effective were Harvards campaign tactics?4. What did you learn about managing human resources from reading and analyzing this case?5. The Saturn case presents a labor-management relationship (as well as a plant design process) designed from the ground up as a cooperative, joint interaction. After covering this chapter, students should be well disposed(p) to discuss the demands placed upon both the union and management in a situation like Saturns. The case provides some focus on the political riskiness of a cooperative relationship for the union-elected officials.In the Saturn case discussion, it would be useful to note the difference between beginning a new operation in which the union-management relationship is based on jointness and trust and the effort needed to change a relationship in which trust has not existed in the past.6. Assign the following article from The Wall Street daybook (May 24, 1993) Why Ms. Brickman of Sarah Lawrence Now Rallies Workers by Kevin Salwen. Note also that as part of the AFL-CIOs new union summer program, more than 1,600 young people, more often than not college students, have applied for pro-labor candidates and help orga nize workers.Ask the students to discuss this excerpt Every successful social movement in history, including the civil rights movement, was run by young people. If the labor movement is going to succeed and grow again, they need to be a big part of it.7. A role play is useful in talking about the grievance procedure. use the following scenario, assign the roles of union steward, supervisor, employee, and observer to students in groups of four. Give them 20 minutes to try to resolve the issue informally, but if they are unable(p) to, have them write it up as a grievance. Those groups that do resolve it may hand in their resolution. Observers should provide feedback to the students in the other roles on interpersonal skills, empathy, listening, idea generation to resolve the issue, and so on.It is Friday afternoon in the special-order fabrications section of the Caseville plant. As the supervisor bloody shame Reed is checking work orders, she notes that there is one order that has not been handled, and delivery is due the next week. Clearly, Mary is going to have to find several people to work a second shift on overtime. Under the Caseville-Local 484 contract, overtime must be distributed by seniority. The supervisor quickly pulls her seniority list from the file and, beginning at the top, walks around her area talking to the employees and asking about their interest in overtime immediately after the current shift ends. After talking with five men, Mary has only one who will work. Quitting time is five minutes away, and the whereabouts of Brooke Youngblood is not known (Brooke is next on the list). In desperation, Stevens asks three employees standing at their benches who are about to leave. Two of these people agree to work (both are junior to Brooke). That afternoon and evening the order is completed.Monday morning, upon arrival, Brooke is greeted and asked about his weekend. It turns out that he had taken a trip into the city with his son for a major leagu e baseball game Friday afternoon. The tickets had been purchased a month before, and the special event was a birthday present. In the course of the discussion, Brooke learns about the overtime and realizes he hadnt been asked about it by his supervisor. He immediately calls his union steward, Carry Stevens. A discussion ensues.