Unions ~ A Collective Bargaining ExperienceDwayne Richardson, RT(R), RN, MSN.

Agenda:• Union History & Perceived Pro’s and Con’s of

the Union • Working with your bargaining units and

delegates • The Power of Negotiations • Short Story: Dealing as we Speak • Questions & Answers

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Learning Objectives:

• You will learn: *Collective Bargaining Models. *Perceived Pro’s and Con’s of the Union *How to work with your Bargaining Units and

the Delegates? * What are they truly negotiating?

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What is a Union

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What is a labor union?• Main Entry:

– labor union• Function:

– noun

• an organization of workers formed for the purpose of advancing its members' interests in respect to wages, benefits, and working conditions

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union 6

How Do Unions Work?• A union– Is a democratic organization of member

workers– Provides strength in numbers– Provides worker representation– Negotiates a contract (collective

bargaining agreement)– Approves a contract through the vote of

its members

History of Collective Bargaining in the United States

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1920189418661791178617851648 1865

Boston Shoemakers New York

Shoemakers

The First successful Strike in American History was by the Philadelphia printers.

First strike in building trades by Philadelphia

carpenters

Slavery Abolished

Pullman Strike

Women's Right to

VoteNational

Labor Union

1869 1886

Knights of Labor (K of L), was the largest and one of the most

important American labor organizations of the 19th

Century

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

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Is union membership required?• Depends upon the relationship detailed in the

collective bargaining agreement

–Open shop – no need to join or pay dues–Agency shop – no need to join, but you will

have to pay the same dues as members

–Closed shop – membership is required as is payment of dues

Right to Work• The following 22 states are right-to-work states:• Alabama• Arizona †• Arkansas †• Florida †• Georgia• Idaho• Iowa• Kansas• Louisiana• Mississippi †• Nebraska• Nevada• North Carolina• North Dakota• Oklahoma †• South Carolina• South Dakota• Tennessee• Texas• Utah• Virginia• Wyoming 10

^ NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement 2006-2012: Art. V, Sec. 1 (agency shop); Art. LIX (law of New York, not a right-to-work state, applies).

If you are employed in one of the 22 states that has a Right to Work law, you are probably protected by the state's Right to Work law and cannot be required to join or pay dues or fees to a union. (There are a small number of exceptions to the basic rule that individuals who work in Right to Work states cannot be required to pay to join or pay dues or fees to a union. Employees of airlines and railroads, and employees working on property subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction, cannot be required to join a union, but may be required to pay union fees.

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The National Labor Relations Act

• Established in 1935• Guarantees non-supervisory

employees the rights to:– Organize a union– Choose their own representatives– Bargain collectively for improved

working conditionswww.NLRB.gov

The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947aka Labor Management Relations act

• It gives employees the right to refrain from participating in union activities and adds a series of prohibited unfair labor practices by unions. In addition, it creates the Federal Mediation Service to assist management and unions in settling disputes. The Taft-Hartley Act gives the president the power to require striking workers to return to work for up to 80 days while labor negotiation continue if the labor dispute “imperils the national health or safety.”

12The Labor–Management Relations Act, 80 Pub.L. 101; 61 Stat. 136, informally the Taft–Hartley Act, is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions.

History Of Violations• A Virtually every U.S. labor union faces

allegations of violating labor law. Consider the number of charges filed against these unions between 1998 and 2004:

• United Food and Commercial Workers 2,161 • Teamsters 6,909 • Service Employees International Union 3,910 • Steelworkers 1,912

Source: data supplied by the Bureau of National Affairs 13

History (continued)Violence

1875 Molly Maguires in mining, Pennsylvania and West Virginia

1886 Haymarket Riot, Chicago: Strike for 8 hour day

1892 Homestead Steel, Pennsylvania: Lockout when workers refuse wage cuts

1894 Pullman Strike, Illinois: strike over layoffs, wage cuts

1972 Norman Rayford, August 28th, a paid holiday for all 1199C members.

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1199: The National Health Care Workers' Union (originally known as the Drug, Hospital, and Health Care Employees Union-District 1199) was a labor union originally founded by Leon J. Davis for pharmacists in New York City in 1932

How does a Union start?

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Simple Majority Wins!

Simple Majority Wins!

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What you CAN Do!

Fighting a Union Campaign: What Employers Can and Can't D: HR Specialist 12/17/2007 Published White Paper

What you CAN’T Do!

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Fighting a Union Campaign: What Employers Can and Can't D: HR Specialist 12/17/2007 Published White Paper

Campaigning on company time and premises within 24 hours of an NLRB-scheduled election. Meetings held off-premises may take place under special circumstances. Reproducing and distributing official NLRB ballots and showing employees how to mark them. Discussing the union with employees in a supervisor’s office, regardless of the noncoercive tenor of your remarks.

Authorization Card Example

18Adapted: 2010 National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

Employee Free Choice Act ~2009 (also called majority sign-up) ~aka “Card Check”

1. Eliminating the Private Ballot2. Government Arbitration and Control3. Harsh New Penalties for Businesses

Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 1409 S.560) US Chamber of Commerce 19

Under the proposed Employee Free Choice Act(EFCA), if the NLRB verifies that over 50% of the employees signed authorization cards, the secret ballot election is bypassed and a union is automatically formed.

Pro’s & Con’s

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Money

Representation

DuesNo

Voice

Bargaining

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Why join a union?• Wage advantage – 30% higher wages• Healthcare advantage – 63% greater coverage• Pension advantage –greater coverage• Disability benefits advantage – 77% greater coverage• Paid-time-off advantage – 28% more paid days off

**US Dept. of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006**

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Benefits of Labor Unions• A binding contract• Higher wages• Better benefits• Greater job security

• Health and safety• Grievance procedures• Special member

services

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Member Responsibilities• Pay periodic dues• Elect a slate of officers• Vote on contracts• Solidarity

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Are there disadvantages?• Common union complaints include

– Cost of dues (most common)– Improper or poor representation– Lack of incentives to membership

Union Dues: What can they expect to Pay?• BASE SALARY (Monthly) DUES (Monthly) up to $1,089.00/month

$25.10/month (minimum dues) between $1,089.00/month and$2,317.00/month 2.15% of actual base wages EXAMPLES

• If you earn: Your monthly dues are: • $1,200/month ~ $27.50/month

$1,400/month ~ $31.80/month $1,600/month ~ $36.10/month$1,800/month ~ $40.40/month $2,000/month ~ $44.70/month $2,200/month ~ $49.00/month over $2,317/month ~$51.50/month (maximum dues)

• Note: The union reserves the right to increase its dues yearly based on contract wage gains in the total

Adapted: AFSCME ~ 1199C Union Dues Schedule* 25

The Union Numbers• Union membership in the private sector

has fallen below 10%• Union membership in the public sector

has grown to above 35%.• Overall union membership has fallen

below 15%.

26Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics ~ 2009

Unionization

27Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics ~ 2009

Work Stoppages

28Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics ~ 2009

What can striking get you?• Strike = 1 Month without pay• The union negotiated an $800 signing bonus in lieu of retroactivity (delayed contractual increase). • An RN $35 hr x 36 hr/week x 4 weeks (not including differentials) = 5,040 pay loss.• Raises of 2 %, 2.5 %, and 3 % over the course of the contract was negotiated.• Average yearly RN salary (base only) 65,520 x 2% = 1,310.40 first year = 66,830.40; 1,670.76

year two (2.5%) = 68,501.16; and 2,055.03 the third year (3%) = 70,556.19…Total $ increase for three years is $5,036.19 + 800 1x bonus = 5,836.19 over three years. Basically they will gross $796.19 in three years (5,836.19-5,040). Therefore they will see no financial gain in base salary until the third year of the contract and the gain is minimal (796.19).

• Anti-disparagement "gag" clause was eliminated. • A three-tiered health insurance is imposed with employees paying 10%, 20% or 25% of the

premium, depending on their plan choice. There is a short delay in implementation for highest-priced plan.

• The union negotiated smaller tuition benefit for workers' dependents (6 credits per semester). • Some random drug testing is permitted. • Therefore, the question is was it worth the financial loss of 5,040 in a month of a strike “OR”

the minimal gain of 796.19 in the three year contract period. 29

Collective Bargaining

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The basic objective of collective bargaining is to arrive at an agreement on wages and other

conditions of employment.

Types of Bargaining Over the years, four distinctive types of bargaining have evolved, namely;

Conjunctive or distributive bargaining: where both parties try to maximize their respective gains

Cooperative bargaining: where both parties yield ground to the other to get ahead and resolve knotty issues

Productivity bargaining: where the wages and benefits of workers are linked to productivity

Composite bargaining: where labor bargains not only for wages but goes a step further and demands equity in other matters relating to work norms, employment levels, etc in return for agreeing to the tight productivity norms set by management.

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Advantages of Collective Bargaining

• Bipartite agreements• Quick & efficient• Democratic method

CT MRI

US

Nuc Diag

IR

Reconciliation of Interests

Different

Similar

Collective Bargaining

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Settlement

Opening Bargaining Closing

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6

4

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3

What goes in the Contract?

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Call PayCall Pay

HolidaysHolidays

BirthdaysBirthdays

What can Technologist expect to make in a Union on Average?

Median

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CT TechYrs. Of Experience

0-2 $27.462+-4 $28.814+-6 $29.646+-8 $30.468+-10 $31.3010+ $32.28

LEAD $36.65

MRI TechYrs. Of Experience

0-2 $29.173+ - 6 $31.50

6+ $34.28LEAD $38.00

Nuclear Medicine Tech

Yrs. Of Experience0-2 $31.04

2+-4 $32.304+-6 $32.956+-8 $33.598+-10 $34.2410+ $34.89

LEAD $42.62

Angio TechYrs. Of Experience

0-3 $30.083+-6 $31.366+ $31.99

LEAD $37.73

Ultrasound TechYrs. Of

Experience0-3 $30.40

3+-5 $32.305+ $33.59

LEAD $36.81

Diag Tech IIIYrs of

Experieince1 - 3 yrs $24.993 - 6 yrs $26.976+ yrs $27.60

Mammo TechYrs of Experience

0 - 3 yrs $27.013+ - 6 yrs $29.15

6+ yrs $30.32LEAD $35.26

$32.02$32.02

Working with the Union

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Weingarten Rights• The rights of employees covered by the NLRA

to request union representation during investigatory interviews if they reasonably believe that the interview could result in their being disciplined. Weingarten rights also guarantee the rights of union representatives to assist and counsel employees during interviews which could lead to discipline.

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You think you are ok and that your staff have no interest in

unionization.

Peace Accord

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You Have a Union: Now What?

•Document, Document, Document !•Communicate

No need to Fight!!!40

Key to Success

•Motivate•Create•Congratulate

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MC2

Staffing Changes/Department Requirements

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•Librarians downsized due to PACS Certification Requirement ~ All staff given 1 year notice.

Working with your Union~ A Positive Message

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Dealing as we Speak

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Questions

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References• [1] Benjamin Radcliff and Patricia Davis, “Labor Organization and Electoral Participation in Industrial

Democracies,”American Journal of Political Science, 44 (1) (2000): 132-141.• David Brody, Labor Embattled: History, Power, Rights, (Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 2005).• [3] David Brody, “New strategies: How the Wagner Act became a management tool,” (New Labor Forum, 2004).• [4] Martin Jay Levitt, Confessions of a Union Buster (New York: Crown Publishers, 1993).• [5] HR Policy Association's review looked for any NLRB decisions involving coercion or deception in connection with a

union's solicitation and collection of union authorization cards. It covered cards signed for union representation purposes. Thevast majority of these petitions were most likely petitions for a union representation election.

• [6] Julie Martinez Ortega and Erin Johansson, “The Facts Behind the Employee Free Choice Act,” (Washington: American Rights at Work, 2008).

• [7] Ibid.• [8] Orley Ashenfelter and Dean Hyslop. “Measuring the effect of arbitration on wage levels: The case of police officers,”

Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 54 (2) (2001).• [9] The cost of benefits—especially health insurance—has increased over time and now accounts for a greater share of total

compensation than in the past, but this increase is nowhere near enough to account for the discrepancy between wage and productivity growth. For example, according to analysis by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, between 1973 and 2006 the share of labor compensation in the form of benefits rose from 12.6 percent to 19.5 percent.

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