Working with Labor Unions

This chapter discusses labor unions: what unions are, why they exist, major legal acts that shape unions, the unionization process, union's impact on organizations, collective bargaining, and the grievance process. Think of industries with a large union impact and how it might change the dynamic between employees and employers.

The Nature of Unions

Key Takeaways

  • Union membership in the United States has been slowly declining. Today, union membership consists of about 11.9 percent of the workforce, while in 1983 it consisted of 20 percent of the workforce.
  • The reasons for decline are varied, depending on whom you ask. Some say the moving of jobs overseas is the reason for the decline, while others say unions' hard-line tactics put them out of favor.
  • Besides declining membership, union challenges today include globalization and companies' wanting a union-free workplace.
  • The United States began its first labor movement in the 1800s. This was a result of low wages, no vacation time, safety issues, and other issues.
  • Many labor organizations have disappeared, but the American Federation of Labor (AFL) still exists today, although it merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and is now known as the AFL-CIO. It is the largest labor union and represents local labor unions in a variety of industries.
  • The United States has a low number of union members compared with other countries. Much of Europe, for example, has over 30 percent of their workforce in labor unions, while in some countries as much as 50 percent of the workforce are members of a labor union.
  • Legislation has been created over time to support both labor unions and the companies who have labor unions. The Railway Labor Act applies to airlines and railroads and stipulates that employees may not strike until they have gone through an extensive dispute resolution process. The Norris-LaGuardia Act made yellow-dog contracts illegal and barred courts from issuing injunctions.
  • The Wagner Act was created to protect employees from retaliation should they join a union. The Taft-Hartley Act was developed to protect companies from unfair labor practices by unions.
  • The National Labor Relations Board is the overseeing body for labor unions, and it handles disputes between companies as well as facilitates the process of new labor unions in the developing stages. Its job is to enforce both the Wagner Act and the Taft-Hartley Act.
  • The Landrum Griffin Act was created in 1959 to combat corruption in labor unions during this time period.
  • To form a union, the organizer must have signatures from 30 percent of the employees. If this occurs, the National Labor Relations Board will facilitate a card check to determine more than 50 percent of the workforce at that company is in agreement with union representation. If the company does not accept this, then the NLRB holds secret elections to determine if the employees will be unionized. A collective bargaining agreement is put into place if the vote is yes.
  • Companies prefer to not have unions in their organizations because it affects costs and operational productivity. Companies will usually try to prevent a union from organizing in their workplace.
  • Managers are impacted when a company does unionize. For example, management rights are affected, and everything must be guided by the contract instead of management prerogative.