Chapter 12Chapter 12

Employee-Management Employee-Management RelationsRelations(Unions)(Unions)

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First known union was formed in 1792 by a group of shoemakers in Philadelphia to discuss matters of common interest.

Knights of Labor, American labor union, originally established as a secret fraternal order(1869). It is notable in U.S. labor history as the first organization of workers to advocate the inclusion in one union of all workers in the country.

In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Body discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Bluff. A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880!

BODIE, CALIFORNIASTATE HISTORIC PARK

The Miner’s Union Local 61, Western Federation of Miners, was Organized December 22, 1877, and was one of the first organized unions in California.

BODIE, CALIFORNIASTATE HISTORIC PARK

Unions History: The American Federation

of Labor (AFL) was founded in 1886.

During WWII, unions grew. Rosie the Riveter, fictional, symbolic poster character during World War II (1939-1945), part of the United States government's publicity campaign to encourage women to join the work force.

Unions History:

In 1947 legislators in Washington enacted the Labor Management Relations Act (Also known as the Taft-Hartley Act.)

James Riddle Hoffa is noted from playing a huge role in improving U.S. Labor working conditions starting in the 1930’s. (More to follow)

The Committee for Industrial Organizations was organized in 1935. The Committee was fully independent of the industrial unions and changed it’s name to the Congress of Industrial Organizations or (CIO).

Unions History: Continued

Unions History: Continued In 1955 – the AFL and the CIO

merged, boasting 16 million members.

Profile: James Riddle Hoffa

At 17, he began work in a warehouse for the Kroger Company where he helped organize a strike.

By 1933, at 20yrs old, became a business agent for Teamster Local 299 in Detroit.

In the early 1940s he formed and led the Michigan Conference of Teamsters.

In 1952 (39yrs old) he was elected an international vice president of the Teamsters Union

In 1957 he became international president. negotiating the union's first national contract with trucking companies.

Information taken fromhttp://www.hoffa.com

Profile Continued

Under Jimmys leadership the Teamsters Union membership grew to more than two million.

Jimmy was sentenced 13 years in federal prison for jury tampering, pension fund fraud, and conspiracy.

In 1975 Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. He was last seen in the parking lot of Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan on July 30.

Investigators believe Jimmy was taken out by east coast mob bosses because he wanted to recapture union presidency.

Hoffa was declared legally dead in 1983.

Information taken fromhttp://www.hoffa.com

1913 – 19??

"Hoffa's career literally touched millions and millions of workers in this country.... who know a quality of life that was not possible before Jimmy Hoffa."       Ed Scribner of the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO

Profile: Cesar Estrada Chavez

1952 – Community Organizer recruits Cesar Chavez into the Community Service Organization.

1952 – 62 – Cesar organizers 22 CSO chapters across California.

1962 – The first convention of Cesar’s National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) is convened in Fresno, CA.

1965 – On Mexican Independence Day, Cesar’s NFWA, with 1,200 member families, votes to join a strike against Delano-area grape growers.

1966- Cesar and a band of strikers embark upon a 340 mile pilgrimage from Delano to the steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento to draw national attention to the suffering farm workers.

Spring/Summer 1966 – De Giorgio Fruit Corp. agrees to an election among its workers. Workers vote for the UFW.

1968 – Cesar fasts for 25 days to rededicated his movement to nonviolence.

1972 – UFW is chartered as an independent affiliate by the AFLCIO.

1973- 1975 – 17 million Americans boycott grapes.

1992- Working with UFW First Vice President, Arturo Rodriguez, Cesar leads vineyard walkouts in Coachella and San Joaquin Valley.

1993- April 23 – Cesar Chavez dies peacefully in his sleep.

Profile: Cesar Chavez

“Once social changes begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”

1927 – 1993 Cesario Estrada Chavez

Swarms of marchers fill Garces Highway to pay their last respects to Cesar Chavez. 35,000 mourners attended Chavez rites. (Photo:Richard Darby)

3

•.UNIONS TODAY…

Union members earn more money, have better benefits, are more productive and have greater job security than nonunion workers.

America's 16.3 million union members represent a cross section of people—women and men of all ages, races and ethnic groups.

They work in hospitals and nursing homes, auto assembly plants and on construction sites, trains, buses and airplanes. They are security guards, musicians, electricians, postal workers, janitors, laborers and more.

Information taken from http://www.aflcio.org/uniondifference/uniondiff13.htm

3

•.UNIONS TODAY…

“Overall, 11.5 percent of working women are union members, compared with 15.2 percent of male workers. While the number of women union members has risen from 5.9 million in 1983 to 6.7 million in 2000 (a 14 percent increase), women still are under-represented in unions. Women make up 42 percent of union membership, but they account for 48 percent of the total workforce.”

Information taken from http://www.aflcio.org/uniondifference/uniondiff13.htm

Well-Known Unions:

Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE)

United Auto Workers (UAW) United Steel Workers (USW) International Longshoremen’s and

Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU) United Farm Workers (UFW) United Brotherhood of Carpenters Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)

2

Union Definitions

Definitions:Labor Unions – Organizations of

employees formed to protect and advance their member’s interest.

Craft Unions – Unions made up of skilled artisans belonging to a single profession or practicing a single craft.

Industrial Unions – Unions representing skilled and unskilled employees from all phases of a particular industry

Questions for Discussion: Do you believe that unions serve an important

service for employees to be represented? Why or why not?

Do you believe that all companies should have unions? Why or why not?

“Do you believe that if laws were passed in this country that would eliminate unions, would employers revert back to the 30’s and 20’s and pay their employees starvation wages and take full advantage over their employees?” (Question asked by Jimmy Hoffa in 1950 to Joe Franco, his assistant.)

The Collective-Bargaining Process

Table Talk

The Collective-Bargaining Process:

The four stages of collective bargaining:

1. Preparing to Meet

2. The actual negotiation

3. Reaching a tentative agreement

4. Ratifying the Proposed Contract.

Factors That Affect theCollective Bargaining Process

Union Union Rep.Rep.

MgmtMgmt.Rep..Rep.

BargaininBargaining Topicg Topic

State of State of EconomEconom

yy

Goals of Goals of Bargaining Bargaining

PartiesParties Precedents Precedents in in

BargainingBargaining

Labor Labor LawLaw

Public Public SentimenSentimen

tt

Issues Issues Being Being

DiscusseDiscussedd

Meeting and Reaching an Agreement:

Givebacks- Concessions made by union members to give back to the company in wages or benefits in order to enhance the companies competitive positions.

Permissive Subject: Topics you are free to discuss; not forbidden

Mandatory Subjects: Topics that must be covered during the talks.

Mediation: Bringing a third party in to study the situation and make recommendations. (These recommendations are not binding.)

Arbitration: Bringing in a third party to listen to both sides and render a decision. (This is binding.)

5

Voting and Ratifying a Contract

Compensation:Wage RatesCOLAs (Cost of Living Adjustments based on the US

Consumer Price Index)Profit SharingEmployee Benefits

“Signing a collective-bargaining agreement between union and management doesn’t mark the end of negotiations. Rather, it lays the groundwork for discussions to continue throughout the life of the contract.”

Chapter 11, page 336

Union EstablishmentsRatification: A vote to accept or reject the contract.

Closed Shop: Employees must join the union as a condition of being hired.

Union Shop: After probation, the employee must join the union.

Agency Shop: Union service fees must be paid by non-union employees who are benefiting from the union contracts.

Open Shop: Employees are not required to pay or join the union. They may join voluntarily.

Right-to-Work Laws: Gives employees a right to keep their jobs without joining the union.

Pattern Bargaining: Negotiations for wages and benefits will be adopted by all companies within an industry.

Two-tier Wage Plan: Protects employees with seniority from having new hires hired in at the same wage rate or scale as a senior employee.

7Prentice Hall

When Negotiations Break Down

Labor’s OptionsStrikes and Picket Lines (Non-Violent)Boycotts (Non-Violent)Financial and Political InfluencesPublicitySlowdowns

8Prentice Hall

When Negotiations Break Down Management’s Options

Strikebreakers- Non-union workers. Union members label them as “scabs.”

Lockouts – Physically locking employee union members out of the workplace.

Injunctions- Court orders Industry Pacts and Organizations

Grievance Resolution Process Grievance Resolution Process

9

Employee-Management Relations

Strategies for Building Better Relations: Employee Input Stocks or shares of the company Management-Employee Teams Better pay and benefits Better working conditions

(Safety and Health conditions) Opportunities for Advancement Updated equipment The company needs to be informed of union activities and keep in touch with the demands of employees to better understand their needs.

Websites to Viewhttp://boozers.fortunecity.com/brewerytap/586/hoffa.htmlhttp://www.hoffa.comhttp://www.who2.com/jimmyhoffa.htmlhttp://www.aflcio.org/home.htmhttp://www.aflcio.org/voiceatwork/stories.htmhttp://www.aflcio.org/safety/ergo_say.htmhttp://www.ufw.org

Recommended Movies:•Hoffa- Staring Danny DeVito,

and Jack Nicholson

•Norma Rae- Staring Sally Field

End Chapter 11End Chapter 11

Employee-Management Employee-Management RelationsRelations(Unions)(Unions)

BusinessBusiness TodayToday