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MG420 DL Labor Relations Research Assignment 23 April 2011 1. Define and discuss the term “collective bargaining. ” 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. Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you’ve provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research. (5 points) Collective bargaining is a type of negotiation used by employees to work with their employers.
During a collective bargaining period, workers’ representatives approach the employer and attempt to negotiate a contract which both sides can agree upon. Typical issues covered in bargaining are compensation, personnel policies and procedures, employee rights and responsibilities, employer rights and responsibilities, union rights and responsibilities, and dispute resolution and ongoing decision making. Once both sides (upper management and union members) have reached a contract that they find agreeable, it is then known as the union contract or collective bargaining agreement.
Recently, the National Football League (NFL) has experienced issues with the players and the owners in regards to their collective bargaining agreement. In 1993, the original collective bargaining agreement was signed, setting a new standard for salary caps, free agency, and more than 15 years of labor peace in the NFL. The agreement stated that player’s salaries’ would be based on the revenue of the franchises’ success. Players have done quite well with this agreement with the median NFL salary equaling $790,000 a year in 2009. Franchises’ have also done considerably well with this agreement with the average franchise being worth $1. 4 billion. So this has begged the questions of championship team players such as Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and other NFL stars questioning, “Should a championship team player negotiate higher salaries than those that just do their job? ” Currently the NFL owners are threatening to “lock out” the players next season. With no team, this means that the franchise owners will lose as well. This collective bargaining agreement was to be resolved by March 2011. Did this resolution happen? In 2006, the current collective bargaining agreement was signed, stating an increase of 57. 5 percent for the 2009 season.
Many franchise owners are arguing that this increase did not benefit them. Currently, the only franchise that releases financial information to the public is the Green Bay Packers because the team is publically owned. Substantially earning teams such as the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys financial information wasn’t released by the NFL, but limited data clearly shows that not only were the players, but the owners were successful in the 2006 extension of the original 1993 version of the collective bargaining agreement. In the Forbes magazine annual “Business of Football” article, the average franchise was worth $1. 4 billion—with 19 to 32 franchises valued at over $1 billion. In an April 2011 article, CNN. com reported that both sides (the NFL players and owners) presented their arguments and they are now awaiting a judge’s decision whether the lockout will be lifted. If the lockout is not lifted this will not only be a sad dilemma for football fans, but the workers that man these stadiums and ticket sellers. The New York Jets have already reached a decision that any “business side” employees will have to take a week of unpaid vacation each month until the lockout is lifted.
References: Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005. (Budd 13). NFLs Win-Win Labor Agreement http://www. americanprogressaction. org/issues/2010/09/nfl_labor_agreement. html Hearing ends with no decision on NFL lockout http://edition. cnn. com/2011/SPORT/football/04/06/nfl. lockout/index. html 2. Identify and discuss three laws that support collective bargaining. 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.
Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you’ve provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research. (14 points) The legal framework supporting collective bargaining stems back to 1935 when President Franklin Roosevelt enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or the Wagner Act. This act attempted to promote and protect workers abilities to unionize in the private sector if they chose. The Wagner Act is still used today with amendments applied in 1947 and 1959.
Labor being more than a commodity, labor and management are not economic or legal equals, the recognition of conflict between workers and employers that will not be resolved unanimously, and the understandings of the importance of the employee voice are the principle beliefs of the Wagner Act. Senator Wagner stated that, “The spirit and purpose of the law is to create a free and dignified workingman who has the economic strength to bargain collectively with a free and dignified employer in accordance with the methods of democracy. ” (Budd, 121).
Bottom-line, Senator Wagner wanted to ensure the employees had the right to create a group (union) that could represent them collectively and to represent them exclusively, voicing grievances to the employer. Three elements make up the Wagner Act: exclusive representation, unfair labor practices, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In the early years, the Wagner Act caught tremendous backlash. The act wasn’t clearly defined, with numerous strikes in 1937 and the NLRB had to defend their role and responsibilities. It wasn’t until the Supreme Court’s ruling on the NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp. which the NLRB and the Wagner Act could carry out Senator Wagner’s vision. In 1947, Congress enacted the Taft-Hartley Act or the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA). Significantly amending the Wagner Act, the LMRA wanted to recognize that employers, employees, and labor organizations each had legitimate rights and that neither should infringe on the others rights as it pertained to public health, safety, or interest. Like the Wagner Act, the Taft-Hartley Act is divided into three categories: restrictions on union actions, enhancing rights of individuals and employers, and new dispute resolution procedures.
In 1959 Congress passed the Landrum-Griffin Act or Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act as a direct result of the labor movement corruption beginning in 1956. The Teamsters leader Jimmy Hofa, Johnny Dio, and other organized crime leaders in New York used sweetheart contracts [1]in return for ignored contract violations. These violations were brought to the forefront by a New York journalist, which led to his subsequent beating and blinding in an acid attack.
The Landrum-Griffin Act was put in place to minimize the “instances of breach of trust, corruption, disregard for rights of individual employees, and other failures to observe high standards of responsibility and ethical conduct …. ” (Budd, 133). The Landrum-Griffin Act created a bill of rights for union members that guarantee equal rights of participation in internal union affairs. To further decrease union corruption and labor racketeering three additional concepts were introduced: disclosure of financial records by unions to the U. S.
Department of Labor, the restriction of union trusteeships, and the establishment of the fiduciary responsibility of union leaders. In an article published 28 March 2011, the Justice Department is cracking down on alleged involvement in price fixing by Blue Cross Blue Shield. The department filed suit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and five other states, including the District of Columbia for entering into deals with over half the states acute care hospitals, giving them better terms in return for the hospitals marking up the same cost for care by up to 40%.
Blue Cross Blue Shield is in direct violation of the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959. They are being investigated on the possibility of anticompetitive practices. In February 2010 in an immediate settled suit, United Regional Health Care System dropped the use of most-favored contracts to maintain over 70% contract hospitals. References: Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005. (Budd 14, 119 – 135). Sweetheart Contract Law and Legal Definition http://definitions. uslegal. com/s/sweetheart-contract/ Blue Cross anti-trust probe expands: Do some hospitals get sweetheart deals? http://www. iercehealthpayer. com/story/blue-cross-anti-trust-probe-expands-do-some-hospitals-get-sweetheart-deals/2011-03-28 3. Define and discuss four issues that are potential components of a collective bargaining agreement. Pick any two of the four issues 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. Write succinct and complete summaries on the contents of each of the articles you’ve provided along with your critical comments about each article.
Support your findings with referenced research. (18 points) Four of the major components of collective bargaining are those involving employee rights, job rights, union rights, management rights. There are four types of employee rights that are often granted in union contracts. Just cause discipline and discharge is included in approximately 90 percent of private sector union contracts. Employees have the right to insist that there be “just cause” for discipline or dismissal. Seniority rights in layoffs and promotions is another employee right. Typically when a company has to lay off workers seniority comes into play.
Usually the phrase ‘Last in, first out’ is buzzed, employees with the most tenure are usually are safer in regards to layoffs, bumping those with less. Seniority is usually used in regards to promotions, vacation days, and overtime. There are three seniority provisions that govern layoffs: seniority as a sole factor, determining factor or secondary factor. Seniority is usually referenced in regards to layoffs rather than promotions or transfers, because those are leave room for grievances. The next category of employee rights is compensation topics such as benefits, call-in pay, etc.
Unionized members are more likely to receive benefits such as health care, retirement benefits and life insurance. Also, most unionized contracts include reporting pay and call-in pay options. The last category dealing with employee rights include fair hearing through the grievance procedure. This means that employees are entitled to challenge rights they feel are violating the contract. In a 2002 article from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy titled, ‘Improvement #4: Limit “Just Cause” Discipline and Discharge Clauses the discussion was how they can improve on discharging teachers that didn’t have seniority.
The article talked about just limiting the just cause standard to include only tenured teachers and provide less rigid standards for probationary teachers. Basically, probationary teachers have other issues they could potentially be terminated for. With them still in the probationary period why waste a “union” issue for someone that may not make it past probation. Seven points were discussed that school officials should use when trying to build a case against a tenured teacher. By using the seven point’s school boards could avoid the costly bill of arbitration. The second major component of union contracts is job rights.
Job holders are entitled to certain wage rates is the first right that can be included in union contracts. Unions typically negotiate the wages of different workers. Bottom line: holders of a specific job are entitled to different pay than others. The last category dealing with job rights is specific tasks must be done within the bargaining unit and by certain jobs. Some contracts prohibit supervisors from doing bargaining unit work with the exception of training new employees and in emergency instances. Union contracts also, include clauses that prevent employers from lowering the skill of a job to pay lower wages.
In order for this right to be carried out the employee must fulfill the performance standards of the jobs. The third component of the traditional union contracts is union rights. The first clause is the exclusive bargaining agent, which employer recognizes the union as the exclusive bargaining agent. The two clauses are a combined effort: union leader access and union bulletin boards coincide. To facilitate communication between the union leader and employees, he or she should have access to the premises. Also employers are providing access to intranet and e-mail systems if available as long as it doesn’t interfere with job duties.
The next clause grants the union a shop steward(s). Shop stewards are elected as the first line of advocates for the workers. Usually this is the first person employees discuss issues with. Stewards investigate grievances and have special seniority rights. Union security and dues check off clauses are two controversial clauses in regards to union rights. Employees have the rights to unions security as it pertains to a closed shop (employer can only hire union members), union shop (have to become member after being hired), or agency shop (employees must pay dues after hired in order to keep their jobs).
Furthermore, workers are only bound to pay dues that go toward collect bargaining and contract administration. In a 2009 article titled, ‘Controlling Shop Stewards is Tough’ talked about how a Labor Appeals Court found the resignation of a shop stewards unfair. There was an altercation between the steward and a retail manager. The retail manager was reluctant to bring up the issue for fear of a strike because of ill-treatment. Retail managers and supervisors were provided suggestions of how to maintain peaceful workplaces. Bottom line: employers should involve a reputable labor law expert when deciding disciplinary act of a shop steward.
The fourth component is management rights. The management rights clauses gives the employer the sole authority to hire, fire, assign work, determine job content or decide what to produce and how and where to make it. 80 percent of union contracts include these management related clauses and include the reserve rights doctrine reserving certain rights by management. Many arbitrators uphold the reserved rights doctrine if the specific language is not included in the union contract. References: Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005. Budd 304 – 312). Improvement #4: Limit “Just Cause” Discipline and Discharge Clauses http://www. mackinac. org/4915 Controlling shop stewards is tough http://www. skillsportal. co. za/page/features/contributors/ivan-israelstam/183301-Controlling-shop-stewards-is-tough 4. Describe the process of establishing a union in the workplace. 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 any part of the process of establishing a union.
Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you’ve provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research. (5 points) In the workplace, employees have the right to “self-organize”, making requests from their employer. The employer in turn, has the right to ignore the request. If the request is ignored, the employees can seek employment elsewhere, continue to work with the current policies, become disruptive and actively voice their opinions, or they can form a labor union to represent them, having a “middle-man” act on their behalf’s.
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935 was put in place so the employees could have secret ballot elections administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in which the union and employer must abide by the decisions of the majority. The organizing process is shaped by the NLRA and the legal aspects of the NLRB elections. These secret ballot elections known as representative elections answer the “whom” aspect of who will represent the employees. The most significant of representation election is the certification election, in which the results determine whether a union will be certified as the bargaining agent.
The first step in the union organizing process is initiating an organizing drive. There are three possible initiators in this step: the employee, union, or employer[2]. The employees can initiate contact with a union organizer, because as a collective group they are dissatisfied with their working environment or a union organizer can campaign strategically or opportunistically with the employees. The next step is building support and collecting authorization card signatures. This step involves meeting with interested parties outside the workplace and distributing information.
In order to solidify support an authorization card must be signed. This critical card is an important document stating official interest in a union. A majority support must be obtained from 50% or more of the employees in order for a request for voluntary recognition is sent to the employer. If the employer accepts, the union is officially recognized and the employer must further bargain with this union. On the other hand, if less than 50% of the employees support the union an election petition must be filed with the NLRB.
The NLRB will ensure the following: election results are verified for sufficient interest, no more than one election is conducted in a 12-month period, not authorize any election within 12-months of any union certification, or ensure there a decertification is not held when there is a valid collective bargaining agreement in place. The NLRB must also define the occupations and the geographical locations included in the certification election. What this means is that the NLRB, must determine if the election will include certain employees, and what locations if multiple areas are covered.
The NLRB’s determination of the appropriate bargaining unit is generally based on grouping together the jobs that share a community of interest. This is determined on a case-by-case basis as no two workplaces are the same. In a case where the numbers may have increased, building support and collecting signed authorization cards must be re-achieved. Once the individual workers receive their ballot form they must make a determination of whether they want to be represented by the union.
At this phase campaigns from both the employer and the union have been conducted to sway the employee’s final decision. Both sides use tactics to state “pro union or pro company. ” If the final outcome of the vote includes more than 50% of the votes for the union, the employer must recognize the union, thus forcing the employer to bargain with the union. If less than 50% of the vote is achieved, the union will not be recognized, thus giving the employer no bargaining obligation. In summation, the overall process of establishing a union is a lengthy one.
This process could range from months to years. Each January union leaders hold their breath for the annual Bureau of Labor Statistics on union membership. In an article, ‘The Incredible Shrinking Labor Movement’, it was reported that in past years there hasn’t been an increase, but a steady state of decline in union membership. Union leaders are blaming the decrease in union membership on flaws in labor law, employer hostility or a combination of the two. From 1999 to 2006, the nation added 9. 3 million jobs, but lost 1. million union members. Michigan makes up 19. 6 percent of union members, but between 1999 and 2006 lost 120,000 members. Union officials state the decline is due to plots by employers who exploit the loopholes of labor law, threatening union supporters with being fired, plant closing, and forced anti-union meetings. Unions are trying different tactics to gain union supporters on the other hand. They are trying “card checks” which may force the employer to immediately recognize a union after a sufficient number of supporters is gained.
This may be considered a “bulldog” tactic, because the union forces potential supporters to sign cards in the public, taking away the secret ballot option. This option really doesn’t give the potential supporter a chance to think about the pros and cons, forcing them to sign in the public. The second tactic that unions are using is to have an arbitrator automatically determine wages and other terms of employment when agreements cannot be immediately determined. Bottom-line: unions are forcing members to join just to get their yearly stats up.
Maybe they should pay more attention to WHY there is such a decline and maybe the “bulldog” tactics won’t be needed. References: Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005. (Budd 187 – 203). The Incredible Shrinking Labor Movement http://www. mackinac. org/8223 5. Define and discuss three examples of unfair labor practices. Include and discuss [showing relevance or applicability] at least one reference found in our text, along with two current web-based news item/magazine articles, each pertaining to at least one of the three examples of unfair labor practices you’ve cited.
Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of each of the articles you’ve provided along with your critical comments about each article. Support your findings with referenced research. (14 points) Economic strikes and unfair labor practice strikes are protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). An unfair labor practice is defined as an illegal employer action. The first unfair labor practice prohibits employers from interfering, restraining, or coercing employees who are exercising their Section 7 rights.
Circulating antiunion petitions, using unnecessary surveillance to watch union activities, threatening employees with being fired, demoted, or causing physical harm, and bribing employees with wage increases are examples of Section 8(a)(1) known as the “universal enforcer” because it covers all employer violations of employee rights. Section 8(a)(1) is the only unfair practice that is needed to enforce the Wagner Act. The second unfair labor practice is known as Domination of a Labor Organization or Company Union Ban.
Senator Wagner wanted to avoid management “handling” unions, preventing workers from forming legitimate, independent unions. Employers that initiate the formation of a union, provide financial support to a union, create a nonunion employee representation plan, or create a labor-management committee that discusses wages and working conditions with some give and take with management is in direct violation of Section 8(a)(2). The third section deals with employers discriminating to encourage or discourage union membership.
Examples include firing a union supporter or someone trying to form a union, transferring a union supporter to a less desirable job or promoting an employee because of opposing a union, refusing to hire a potential employee because of past union participation or simply closing a part of a business because of antiunion reasons are examples of Section 8(a)(3). Almost 30 years ago, former President Ronald Reagan set a defining moment in the history of the aviation, his presidency, and labor relations. In August 1981, President Reagan fired thousands of unionized air traffic controllers for illegally going on strike.
In February new contract negotiations were underway between the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), the union representing the more than 12,000 members that eventually walked off the job and went on strike and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). PATCO requested a 32-hour work week, $10,000 pay increase for all controllers, and better retirement benefits packages. The FAA subsequently halted negotiations. By August, strike action began with 13,000 employees walking off the job in various locations, halting operations as busy airports including Dallas, Fort Worth, Atlanta, and Chicago.
President Reagan intervened sending a warning statement that anyone not returning to work within 48 hours would be terminated. Two days later most of the striking employees were fired. They were replaced by employees not participating the protests and military air traffic controllers. This is a direct violation of Sections 8(a)(1) and (3)—threatening employees with job loss, firing a union supporter, and promoting a union opponent to a better job. On August 17th, the FAA was accepting applications for new controllers.
In October, PATCO was replaced by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) and 6 years later they were recognized as the only bargaining unit for the FAA. On 13 August 1993, 12 years after the initial incident, now former President Bill Clinton ended the prohibition on rehiring any of the controllers that were fired in 1981. In October 1996, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Act, which organizes NATCA’s ability to bargain with the FAA for wages and matters. References: Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005. (Budd 123 – 124). 981 Strike Leaves Legacy for American Workers http://www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=5604656 6. Define and discuss the role and function of an arbitrator. 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 an arbitrator or a labor relations-related arbitration action. Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you’ve provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research. (4 points)
Dictionary. com defines an arbitrator as “a person chosen to decide a dispute or settle differences, especially one formally empowered to examine the facts and decide the issue. “(dictionary. com). Third-party dispute resolution mechanisms use a neutral third party to settle bargaining impasses with the goal of avoiding costly strikes. In arbitration, the neutral third party (arbitrator) forces an agreement on both parties by issuing a ruling that specifies the settlement terms. An arbitrator has a high level of control over the outcome but no involvement in the negotiating process. Arbitrators re usually full-time, self-employed arbitrators or are lawyers or university professors (typically in law or industrial relations) who arbitrate on a part-time basis. They are usually picked by the labor and management negotiators, for their expertise and analytical skills. In a 1992 article, the Supreme Court ruled on a case between Litton Financial Printing Division and the NLRB. The union contract expired and neither side (union or company) made any effort to negotiate a successor contract. Months later the company partially closed operations, laying off workers without notice to the union and without regard to seniority.
The union filed grievances, but the company refused to submit the dispute to the arbitrator. The union contract specified all contract interpretation disputes were to be resolved through arbitration. The Supreme Court determined that the arbitration provision survived the expiration of the contract and the dispute was regarding the terms of the contract. The union argued that the union contract provided that seniority would be a determining factor as long as aptitude and ability were equal. These issues would have been brought up had the company took the dispute to arbitration. The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in this case.
References: Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005. (Budd 285 – 286). http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/arbitrator Arbitration obligation after expiration of union contract. http://www. allbusiness. com/legal/laws-government-regulations-employment/280842-1. html 7. Describe the process of administering a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). What are the issues, and how are they handled? 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 CBA being implemented.
Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you’ve provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research. (5 points) A labor-management partnership (LMP) is a formal initiative in which workers and union leaders participate in organizational decision making beyond the daily work-related decisions of employee empowerment and beyond the usual collective bargaining subjects, (Budd, 366). Upper management and the union representing the employees both have responsibilities that ensure the administration of the collective bargaining agreement run smoothly.
Upper management’s responsibilities should include understanding, complying with, monitoring, and addressing any issues with the collective bargaining agreement. On the other hand, the union has a responsibility to the employees and to management to understand the collective bargaining agreement, protecting the workers’ rights when needed, and making the workers issues known to management. Challenges associated with administering the collective bargaining agreement include union leaders needing to develop new skills while filling traditional roles and avoiding unclear information.
The most challenging for union workers would be effectively communicating with management, but still keeping the workers faith in what they do. Other issues include dealing with and communicating change. Change can be done in a positive or negative way. Change could be administered positively by education and communication, participation and involvement, or facilitation and support. Negatively relayed examples of change would be manipulation and co-optation, explicit and implicit coercion, or negotiation and agreement.
If both sides (management and unions) have flexibility and strong communication they will avoid the pitfalls of administering a collective bargaining agreement. In 2006, the University of California and the Coalition of University Employees (CUE) reached a three year contract for the clerical unit. The collective bargaining agreement provided clear and concise information on the roll-out of a pay increase for employees on the payroll as of 15 February 2006. The agreement stated that monthly and biweekly paid employees would see a 3. 5 percent increase in their April 19th or May 1st paychecks.
The agreement went on to discuss general salary-range adjustment, title-specific range adjustment, lump sum payments, and shift-differential increases. Changes were also agreed upon for 2006, 2007, and 2008. References: Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005. (Budd 347 – 374). Wage Implementation of CX Collective-Bargaining Agreement http://map. ais. ucla. edu/portal/site/UCLA/menuitem. 789d0eb6c76e7ef0d66b02ddf848344a/? vgnextoid=abde7616f7fc9010VgnVCM200000dd6643a4RCRD 8. Describe the process of decertification of a labor bargaining unit.
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 the decertification process, proceeding, or action. Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you’ve provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research. (5 points) The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has several types of elections in place, with one goal in mind: to carry out the wishes of the employees.
One of those elections is the decertification election used to decertify a union because a majority of the employees no longer wish to be represented by that group any longer. There are many provisions in place and the National Labor Relations Act provides the legal framework for the decertification process. To request an election, the employees must file a petition form, stating that 30 percent[3] of the employees request such action. To show proof of 30 percent of the employees supporting this election, authorization cards must be signed by each employee.
They are valid for 1-year and the NLRB must ensure that the employee decision is free of employer coercion. In addition to scheduling the decertification election, the NLRB must ensure that there are no other elections against that union in a 12-month period. Second, they must make sure that the decertification petition is filed prior to the expiration of the contract. Lastly, the NLRB must make sure that a decertification election takes place when there is a valid collective bargaining agreement in place.
Finally, once the NLRB receives and validates the petitions, it will schedule a date for the election. Prior to the election both sides may campaign to influence the vote. If a majority of the votes for decertifying the union is received, the union will no longer be able to bargain for the employees. In a 2011 article from Workplace Fairness Institute, the “Big Labor” bosses were under fire because of the lack of “education” from both sides of the spectrum in regards to collective bargaining.
They talked about from their perspective the “positives” but stated nothing about what they would believe to be negative. Nothing was said about how an employee has the right to not become a member of a union, pay due’s, and support agenda’s—politically and socially. Their rationale … they (union bosses) can’t support both sides. Union bosses have made demands that force places force to unionize, but make it tougher to decertify a union. Union bosses demand that small businesses post notices about workers’ rights to unions, but nothing is stated about their right to decertify one.
Also, this article talks about the National Mediation Board (NMB) and how they have made stricter rules in regards to decertifying unions in the airline and railroad industries. Under the Railway Labor Act, workers must wait two years and 35 percent of the employees must be in favor to the decertification process. Currently the NLRA states a 12 month period and 30 percent must be in favor. This story is being watched closely, The House of Representatives voted in favor of reversing the NMB’s actions. References: Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance.
New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005. (Budd 192 – 197). Did You Know This About Big Labor? http://www. biglaborbailout. com/2011/04/05/did-you-know-this-about-big-labor/ ———————– [1] A sweetheart contract is a contract made through collusion between management and labor representatives which contains terms beneficial to management and unfavorable to union workers. [2] For purposes of this research paper, the employer will not be discussed as an initiator in the organizing process. [3] “Sufficient interest” is defined by the NLRB as 30%