This site is 100% ad supported. Please add an exception to adblock for this site.

CB 2

Terms

undefined, object
copy deck
What are the techniques of dispute resolution?
1. Negotiation with or without strike
2. Mediation
3. Fact finding
4. Arbitration
5. Other
What are the two phases of collective bargainning in the US?
1. the negotiation of the contract
2. the administration of the contract
What are the two fundamental types of disputes?
1. Interest disputes
2. Rights disputes
What is involved in an interest dispute?
1. negotiation or renegotiation of a contract
2. organizing or recognition
3. secondary boycotts
4. political actions
What is involved in a rights dispute?
1. administration and interpretation of a contract
2. breach of contract
3. statutory claims
What is the process used to resolve interest disputes?
-negotiations and mediation
-coercive action likes strikes, lockouts, etc.
-fact finding and arbitration sometimes
What is the process used to resolve rights disputes?
-negotiation
-grievance procedure and arbitration
What is mediation?
A process of assisted negotiations
Where do mediators come from?
-Federal Mediation and Conciliatory Service
-Various public employment mediation agencies
When is mediation used?
1. When the parties request it
-negotiations have broken down and they need help
2. When statutes of the law require it
-RLA requires National Mediation Board
What is fact finding?
-a process in which the neutral has more power than a mediator but less than an arbitrator
-hears the case an an arbitrator and issues an opinion, but its not binding
Types of interest Arbitration
1. voluntary arbitration - predispute
2. mandatory arbitration - postdispute
3. compulsory arbitration - required by statute
What does an arbitrator do in an interest arbitration?
Arbitrator is given the authority to determine the provisions of the collective bargainning agreement
Where is interest arbitration used most often?
-public sector
-utilities, newspapers, public transit
-professional sports
what is the arbitrators function in interest disputes?
- writes part of the CBA for the parties
- acts more legislatively than judicially
what is conventional arbitration?
arbitrator has nearly unlimited scope of authority
what are common criticisms of conventional arbitration?
- arbitrators split the difference
- narcotic effect
- chilling effect
What is the chilling effect?
result that occurs when labor and management avoid making compromises they might otherwise be willing to make because they believe the fact finder or arbitrator will split the difference between their final positions.
what is the narcotic effect?
dependence on arbitration
How was Final Offer Arbitration developed?
1. started as an academic idea
2. nixon and shultz's proposal for national emergency disputes
- title II of taft-hartley
- RLA
3. public sector bargainning
What are factors influencing wage determination?
1. labor and product market conditions
2. productivity
3. prices and inflation
4. legislation (i.e. minimum wage)
5. custom and tradition
6. wage comparisons
What are union methods for obtaining higher wages?
1. bargaining power
2. patterns and spillover effects
3. controlling the supply of labor
How do unions control the supply of labor?
1. strict union security provisions
2. long apprenticeship programs
3. licensing and certification requirements
4. regulation of entrance requirements
How do unions influence the demand for labor?
1. promoting union-label goods
2. supporting tariffs and opposing free trade agreements
3. promotion the export of goods and services
4. supporting boycotts of nonunion goods
What are two opposing arguments to union wage objectives in CB?
-Economic view vs. political view
What is the economic view of union wage objectives?
1. unions try to maximize wages
2. high wages often lead to reduced employment rates
3. Mashellian conditions suggest that there are economic constraints on the unions ability to raise wages
4. that explains why some can get large increase in wages and others cant
5. thats why plumbers and sport stars can get more wages
What is the political view of union wage objectives?
1.the most critical facor: standard of equitable comparison are the principle factors unions consider in a negotiations
2. key bargains and patterns overide market factors in wage bargaining
How do you reconcile the economic and political views of union wage objectives?
- short run v. long run
- patterns persist that are compatible with economic survival of the firm
- union motivation v. union achievment
What is the criteria of wage determination used in negotiation?
1. comparisons
2. ability to pay
3. productivity
4. the standard of living
5. the cost of living
What are other issues related to wage bargainning?
1. duration of the contract
-trend is towards longer contracts
- frontloading and backloading
2. fringe benefits
What are direct economic effects of collective bargainning?
1. unionized workers earn 17% more than non unionized
2. collective bargaining tends to reduce inequality since the highest wage effects are for the lowest paid, least educated, nonwhites
3. unionized workers receive more paid time off the job
What are indirect economic effects of collective bargaining?
1. adjustments to higher wage rates by management
-reduction in output
-increase in prices
-substitute capital for labor
-exit the market
2. productivity increases
- higher quality workers
- lower turnover
- more and better capital
What are the economic threat effects of collective bargaining?
1. nonunion workers in unionized industries receive higher wages than in nonunion industries => free rider
2. collective bargaining establishes norms that nonumion employees must follow in order to stay competitive in the market
What are the two conflicting theories of management rights?
1. reserved rights: if an issue is not expressly covered in the CBA, the management has the right to take action
2. trusteeship theory: management acts as a trustee and must seek an equitable balance of interests
what are the limits on management rights?
1. statutes
2. cba
3. scope of the management right clause
4. arbitration clause or grievance procedure
5. arbitration cases and awards
What is normally considered to be management rights?
1. products to be manufactured
2. location of the business
3. financial policies
4. direct working forces
5. hiring of employees
6. production standards
7. quality standards
8. plant rules
what is usually considered within the scope of bargaining?
1. wages
2. benefits
3. hours
4. working conditions
what is the grey area between what is a management right and in the scope of bargaining?
1.technological advancements
2. overtime
3. right to subcontract
4. assigment of work outside the bargaining unit
5. promotion, seniority
6. demotion
7. discharge and discipline
8. drug and alcohol testing
What is the union shop?
- people who join the firm are required to join the union
- right to work laws prohibit this 14b of Taft Hartley
What is the agency shop?
- all members of the bargainning unit have to pay union dues
what are two forms of union security?
1. recognition is the main form
2. dues checkoff- firm automatically takesout union dues from paycheck
3. union shop
4. agency shop
5. preferential hiring
6. prehiring agreements
What are critical issues in union security?
- individual v. collective rights
- does the type of union security effect the relative bargainning b]power of the parties?
- is it only sybolic or is it trully a substative issue?
What are key issues with seniority rights?
- they are used for the allocation of benefits and opportunities
- they provide protection of employment reductions
- they provide opportunities for promotion
- they create deference in scheduling, vacations, and benefits
What is the impact of seniority provisions?
- workers stay longer and quit less often in unionized firms
- there is ease of administration in promotions, wages, and benefits
- if productivity and individual difference measurements are available, then they can be a signigicant handcuff on management- this is why SAG and MLBPA don't have seniority provisions
what are forms of job and income security?
1. job control through tight jurisdiction
2. COLA
3. unemployment benefits
4. employment guarantees:
- limitiations of layoffs
- limitations of tech impacts
- limitations on outsourcing
- limitations on part time workers
what is the story with the transit industry ad part time work?
- there was demand for service at two peaks in the am and pm
- drivers typically did both with time off in between, called the spread
- the longer the spread, the more compensation they got
- 1980s: when workers are needed, they hire two part time workers
- 1990s: Amalgamated Transit Union negotiates limits on the number of part time drivers
What are the tiers of protection for safety and health?
1. follow the law
2. right to grieve
3. right to refuse work
4. joint safety and health committees
5. right to strike
What are the options for resolving a rights dispute?
1. file for breach of contract - go to courts
2. file a grievance - use the grievance procedure
3. use an economic weapon - use bargaining power
What are critical issues in designing a grievance procedure?
1. scope - what issues can be grieved?
2. who can initiate a grievance?
3. how many steps are there in the procedure?
4. how much time is allowed at each step?
5. is there a statute of limitations?
6. who is involved in each step?
What is in the scope of a grievance procedure that is broader that the contract? Narrower?
1. broader- any dispute between union and manangement can be grieved
2. narrower- personnel policies and handbook and external law key
What are the functions of the grievance procedure?
1. to settle disputes arising during the terms of the contract
2. to alert the union and management to shop floor problems
3. to serve as a vent for employees deeper concerns
4. to serve the political purposes of the union and management
5. to serce as a tactical weapon for union and management
What are ways to select an arbitrator?
- permanent umpire
- public provider
- ad hoc choice
How do you pay the arbitrator?
- split the difference
- loser pays
what authority can you give an arbitrator?
- unmentioned
- can't change contract
- limited to yes/no decisions
What is the average arbitrator like?
- 63 years old
- arbitrator for 26 years
- has been a member of the NAA for 16 years
- earns 76% of income from work as a neutral
How is evidence used in arbitration?
- there is liberal admission of evidence; the arbitrator applies appropriate weight
- offers of compromise are admitted but given little weight
- the charging party has the burden of proof, except in contract interpretation
What is the role of precedent in arbitration?
- no particular requirement of stare dicisis
- awards under under contracts are given very little weight
- procedural and evidentiary standards generally become accepted
What is the role of custom and past practice in arbitration?
- the written contract alone doe not determine the terms and conditions of employment
- accepted behavior of the parties can also create enforceable conditions of employment
- past practices include mutual agreements, benefits that have always been given, and can form over a period of time
What are the standards for deciding an arbitration case?
1. just cause: this is typically used for discipline and discharge cases
- proof of wrongdoing
- appropriatness of punishment
- progressive discipline related to offense
- length of service
2. Clear and unambiguous contract language
3. specific v. general contract language
- specific language beats out general language
What are other standards for deciding arbitration?
- when to express one thing excludes another
- when the contract will be construed as a whole
- words and phrases are given their normal usage
- industry practices
- reason and equity
- what happened in the contract negotiation as evidence of intention
What is the importance of public sector collective bargaining?
- the public sector is 35% of our GDP
- it is heavily unionized - 37%
- it is the exception to the decline in unionism after WWII
- the economic and legal landscape is different than the private sector
How did public sector collective bargaining develop?
- sporadic unionism throughout the 2oth century
- sovereignty doctrine applied extensively by courts
- civil service provided the alternative to CB
- change in the legal environment and rapid growth of unionism in the 1960s
Why did public sector unions grow so rapidly?
- convergence of social, political, and economic institutions
- general public support at the time
- fear of strikes
- lack of management resistance
- limits of civil service
- permissive laws
What is the legal environment for public sector CB?
- government specific legislation
- several jurisdictions silent
- specific NLRB like agencies
- most legislation was adopted from mid60s to mid80s
- concerted activity is restricted; ususally can't strike
- strong preference for craft unionism
- preference for decentralized bargainnig
- scope of bargaining may be limited
What is the scope of bargaining in the public sector?
- non-economic issues only in the federal sector
- state and local is usual between that of the private sector and the federal, but with a braod history of employee involvement
What is the economic environment surrounding public sector bargaining?
- labor costs are a very high proportion of total costs
- demand for the final service is inelastic, but this is changing, as in private prisons
- its difficult to substitute workers
- difficult to substitute capital
What is the bargaining process for the public sector?
- general prescribed bargaining process and time limits
- multilateral bargaining instead of bilateral bargaining in many jurisdictions because of the diversity of management issues and the political nature of bargaining
How is public sector dispute resolution done?
- they generally fear strikes
- effectiveness of strikes would vaty by the type of service; police v. social workers
- variation over time in which the public would tolerate strikes
- generally, this leads to a ban on strikes
- nearly universal use of mediation
- widespread use of factfinding
- some use of interest arbitration
Describe management in the public sector.
- generally less resistant to unionization
- spread of unionization into management ranks is much more extensive than in private sector
- at high levels, managers are politicians which means there is a seperation of monetary authority and manegerial authority
What are the big current issues in public sector labor relations?
- service delivery
- labor management cooperation
- contracting out
- privatization
What are some examples of privatization of the public sector?
- prisons
- airport security
- school bus transportation
- department of defense
- educational voucher programs
What are the trends with the hospitality sector?
- rapid growing sector
- little technological change
- organizing is done through the extension of existing relationships
- there is no threat of globalization
What is the typical CB relationship in the hospitality industry?
- typically multiemployer structure
- industrial type units are common, but not the only kind
- if there are multiple unions, there is usually coordinated bargaining
- HERE is big
What is meant by the tipping point?
- unionism and cb have no influence in the hospitality industry until it reaches a certain level of penetration within a city
- then it becomes like Vegas; a union city
- it can be successful even if it fails in other cities
What are the distinguishing features of the entertainment industry?
- multiemployer bargaining structure
- above the line (talent) and below the line (production)
- visible effects of production and conflict
- significant net export industry
- extremely high unemployment rates
- casual employment model (project)
- CB set in minimum standards only
How is compensation done in the entertainment industry?
- minimum wages only
- personal service contract
- residuals
What are the peculiar features of the health care industry?
- profit, nonprofit, and public
- bargaining structures differ
- unit determination different
- legality of collective bargaining
- acceptability of bargaining tactics
- employment status of physicians
What effects the legality of CB in the health care sector?
- profit hostipitals are covered by NLRA but the NLRB didn't assert jurisdiction until 1967
- nonprofit hospitals were removed from NLRA by Taft Hartley
- then in 1976 nonprofits were put back under NLRA
- public health care is covered by many different state statutes
What are the appropriate health care bargaining units under the NLRA?
-physicians
- RNs
- other professionals
- technical employees
- maintenance
- office clericals
- other service employees
- security guards
How is conflict handled in the health care sector?
- unions have to provide 10 days notice of intent to strike to employer and FMCS
- required to submit to FMCS mediation
- FMCS can appoint factfinding board of inquiry if the strike would substantially interrupt health care to the community
- parties are then free to strike
What are the current important issues in health care collective bargaining?
- rapid technological change
- aging population
- government spending
- medicare/medicaid as bottom line price setter
- insurers and HMOs driven change as primary third party payers
- this leads to physicians being employees rather than entreprenuers
- substitution of lower for higher price labor (interns for doctors)
- so, there is organizing of physicians in response to declining pricing power
- nurses are well paid, but there is concern over staffing
- patient care is now a bargaining issue
- wages in the nursing home sector are problematic
What is mediation and how does it work?
- the most widely used form of dispute settlement
- neutral party assists union and management negotiators in reaching a labor agreement
-no power to impose settlement
- power is limited by the fact that she is an invited guest and can be asked to leave if either side has an objection
What kinds of disputes are best settled by mediation?
- problems with communications
- not good with economic issues
- also not good for intraorganizational problems
What happens in the initial stage of mediation?
- mediator is concerned with achieving acceptability and identifying the issues in the dispute, the attitudinal climate between the parties, and the distribution of power within negotiating teams
- parties test the mediator--explain their side of the story
- biggest mediator challenge: to accurately diagnose the nature of the dispute and the obstacles to settlement and to get somethign started that will produce movement towards a final resolution
What happens in the middle stage of mediation?
- begin the exchange of proposals and test areas for compromise
- crucial that the mediator made an accurate diagnosis of the sources of the conflict
What happens in the final stage of mediation?
- mediator becomes more agressive
- mediate must convince hardliners on both negotiating teams that there must be an agreement
- sometimes makes a mediator proposal

Deck Info

86

permalink