Collective Bargaining - Research Paper Example

?Research Assignment Table of Contents Q1. Definition of Collective Bargaining 3 A Recent Article on Collective Bargaining 4 Q2. Three Laws That Supports Collective bargaining 6 Three Labor Laws to Support Collective Bargaining 6 A Recent Article on the Law of Collective Bargaining 7 Q3.  Four Issues That are Potential Components of a Collective Bargaining Agreement 8 A Recent Article on the Potential Components of Collective Bargaining 9 Q4. Process of Establishing a Union in Workplace 11 A Recent Article on Establishing Union 12 Q5. Three Examples of Employer Unfair Labor Practices 13 Two Recent Articles On The Employer Unfair Labor Practices 13 Q6. Arbitrator 15 A Recent Article on the Arbitrator’s Roles and Functions 15 Q7. The Process of Administrating Collective Bargaining Agreement 17 A Recent Article on the Implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreement 18 Q8. Labor Bargaining Unit 19 Decertification of the Bargaining Unit 19 A Recent Article on the Decertification of the Bargaining Unit 20 Works Cited 21 Q1. Definition of Collective Bargaining In the world, every single person has their own interest and negotiation is a process through which the person can save one’s interest. Negotiation is a part of the day-to-day life. Through the process of negotiation both the parties involved can have their rights to save their own interests. Negotiation is there in the corporate as well. When it comes to the corporate, negotiation is known as collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is a process where both managerial officials and the union can place their opinion and they can have a mutual agreement on their interest (Holley, W. H. & Et. Al., “The Labor Relations Process”). Each and every person has the power to fight for their own interest, but when it is collective bargaining both the parties will have a systematic negotiation, so that both the parties remain satisfied. Collective bargaining has become a famous and a common aspect in almost every organization. Collective bargaining is a politically powerful arrangement. The managerial board decides to negotiate with their employees or with the union, so that they can have a continuous and a peaceful work process in the future (Holley, W. H. & Et. Al., “The Labor Relations Process”). In the relation to the above discussion, one incident can be observed. United Steelworkers (USW) has successfully bargained various different provisions to improve several facilities and the safety of the workers working at ArcelorMittal at 14 plants in around eight states in the US. In fact, for the on-site employees’ health and safety they have appointed few representatives and a union safety committee. USW negotiated an increase in the minimum number of safety training hours per worker as well as an agreement by the company to provide flame-resistant clothing (American Federation of Labor, “Collective Bargaining”). This development would help the organization to have continued production, good intrapersonal relationship among the employees and the superiors. It will help to reduce the medication cost on the employee. A Recent Article on Collective Bargaining The Major League Baseball (MLB) is one of the most recognized organizations in the field of baseball. MLB has their steroid policy for their players, and the investigation department is under strict observation and rules and norms. Recently, MLB had a tough time in the organization and they had to bring certain changes in the policies. And, which was done by collective bargaining. This is a pertinent example of a successful collective bargaining. The article presented about the incident describes that two particular players of the organization were found guilty out of their steroid test. And, the company had appointed a person as consultant to look into the matter. When the result or the report was out, the players did not take it seriously and they showed their doubts regarding the findings. Therefore, the higher officials decided to take an action and they brought certain changes in their policy such as the numbers of tests were increased to make certain that the report is absolutely correct. There has been a mutual understanding between both the parties. And, the result of the collective bargaining has been really positive. By this collective bargaining the relation between the parties will remain good and this will be helpful for the game as well (News Core, “MLB Announces New Collective Bargaining Agreement”) This article highlights that the bargaining by MLB resulted in a really positive output. In relation to the incident, Commissioner Bud Shelig mentioned that "I am thrilled for the fans that the clubs and the players of Major League Baseball, together, have the opportunity to further build on our game's unprecedented popularity" (News Core, “MLB Announces New Collective Bargaining Agreement”). In the relation to the above statement it can be stated that the result of the collective bargaining was fruitful for the organization as well as for the fans of MLB. Q2. Three Laws That Supports Collective bargaining Every organization has its own rules and regulations. The labor law is one among such regulations. Labor laws are there to support every personal interest of the employees. There are few labor laws which support collective bargaining. Three Labor Laws to Support Collective Bargaining National Labor Relation Act The National Labor Relation Act is a law which supports the collective bargaining for the employee. This law helps the labor to join union; it covers the right of the labor and any other worker of the work place. It also helps to get rid of any kind of discrimination of the union. It covers certain particular categories of employees, such as domestic servants, government workers, contractors and agricultural workers among others (DelPo, A. & Guerin L., “The Manager's Legal Handbook”). Management Labor Relation Act Management Labor Relation Act is also known as Taft-Hartley Act. This is again a law which supports collective bargaining. This law covers the right of the union and also the right to stop a strike if it is harmful in any case to the national health (Enright, “How to Identify Three Laws That Support Collective Bargaining”). Management Reporting and Disclosure Act This is another law which supports the collective bargaining for the labor. This law helps to stop corruption in the union or anywhere in the organization. It also protects the right of the union and it provides the requirements of the union and grooms them with the codes of conduct (Enright, “How to Identify Three Laws That Support Collective Bargaining”). Thus, these are the three laws which support the collective bargaining. A Recent Article on the Law of Collective Bargaining The Saskatchewan Federation was recently in the media for the debate against the union labor law of collective bargaining. According to them, the Trade Union Act was inconsistent; they also claimed that this Act was unauthorized. Due to this incident the Saskatchewan teachers went for a strike. The situation became very severe. Employees were ready to leave the organization. They thought they did not get the proper treatment. At the same time, the recruitment became tough. They also said they want to have free collective bargaining, equality and education among others (Quigley, “Saskatchewan Unions Challenge Labor Laws”). In this scenario, it can be said that the law of labor which is supposed to support the collective bargaining, seemed to be unauthorized, so the organization stood against the law. This incident can make the situation far better if they use the legal actions that can help to reduce the poverty and can provide a good educational facility among others. Q3.  Four Issues That are Potential Components of a Collective Bargaining Agreement Collective bargaining has various components. There are four important potential components of collective bargaining, such as: Compensation Compensation covers the remuneration for the work done by the employee for the organization. It can be holidays, gifts or bonus among others. Compensation helps to boost energy of an employee and to motivate them to work more efficiently (Upadhyay, “Compensation Management”). Personnel Policies and Procedures Personal policies and procedures cover various company rules and regulations. It covers the policies which facilitate the employee in various ways. It covers the promotion policy, vacations, transfers and overtime among others (Khurana & Et. Al., “Human Resource Management”). Employee Rights and Responsibilities In every organization, there are certain rules and regulations for the employees. Those are also known as company norms. Every worker has to follow them. These are known as employee rights and responsibilities. Each and every employee has certain responsibilities towards the organization. It can be office rules, work standards and seniority among others (Khurana & Et. Al., “Human Resource Management”). Employer Rights and Responsibilities Not only employees, employers are also responsible towards their organizations. They too have certain rules to follow. They are responsible for the discipline, behavior towards employees, and discarding the employee from the organization among others (Khurana & Et. Al., “Human Resource Management”). A Recent Article on the Potential Components of Collective Bargaining Compensation In a recent case, the New South Wales government in Australia took a decision of bringing changes in the policy for the police. In the process of change, the government mentioned that the current policy is getting too costly. Previously, they had the scheme called death and disability policy, which is now replaced by the new policy which is known as commercial income protection policy. However, the police department is not willing to accept the changes and they are protesting against the new policy saying that it is a mess. The officials of the police department said that they would go for the negotiation one more time and they are not at all happy with the change in the policy (Tobin, “Report backs NSW cop compensation scheme blow-out”). In relation to the above incident, it can be reviewed that compensation does not always make the employees happy. New South Wales government will again have to go for a peaceful negotiation with the police department. Employee Rights and Responsibility Recently, Google declared in media that they will provide improved medical or health facility to their transgender employees. By doing this, Google has proved to be a responsible organization in the field of corporate responsibilities. This policy would cover various aspects like operations or surgeries, women transgender medical checkups, and certain other medical facilities. This would offer Google the opportunity to grab more LGBT fan following. This would facilitate the employees as well as the company (GLAAD, “Google Increases Health Care for Transgender Employees”). In the relation to the above article, it can be stated that Google has initiated a out of the box policy and thereby they showed that they are enough responsible towards their employees. Q4. Process of Establishing a Union in Workplace A union is a group of people which takes care of various personal and organizational interests of the employee and supports them to get their deserved right. Almost every organization has a union. But, to establish a union the organization has to follow several steps, and rules and regulations. The steps are as follows: Legal obligations are the first step to follow to create a union in the organization. While establishing the union the company has to keep in mind that there are various legal formalities which have to be performed before creating the union. Secondly, the company should gather information regarding the employees and the present situation of the organization, employees’ needs and demands among others. Subsequently, the creation of the union takes place and it is given a name and divisions of work. After that, the main responsibility is to make the union official with all the legal rules and regulations. And, finally, the union has to get a legal documentation and a strong contract. These are the different steps to establish a union in the workplace (OPEIU, “Steps to Create a Union Where You Work”). A Recent Article on Establishing Union In a recent article, the final stage of creating a union has been discussed. A company named Qantas Airways Ltd has faced a problem getting the affiliation for their newly established union. The company may face delay for next six months to get the final contract. They have already got a strong contract, but they are still waiting for a few useful witnesses. In the meantime, the demands of the union as well as the strike are creating hurdles. As soon as they get the contract, they can establish the new union at their workplace (Fenner & Schneider, “Qantas May Face Six Month Arbitration for New Union Contract”). As Qantas Airways Ltd has already applied for the contract to get affiliation for their union but is yet to receive it, in this period of time a mutual understanding can be helpful for the existing union and the workers so that the issues get dissolved soon. However, it proves that until and unless the company has a legal contract they cannot establish a union. Q5. Three Examples of Employer Unfair Labor Practices An employer unfair labor practice refers to the issue of violating the norms. When the employers violate the rights of the employees in an organization, it is known as employer unfair labor practices (Khurana, & Et. Al., “Human Resource Management”). Three examples of employer unfair labor practices are: When the employers dismiss one or more than one employee fighting for their rights and seeking changes in the work condition, it can be identified as an unfair labor practice by the employer When the employers frighten and threaten the employees not to join the union When the employers discriminate the employees under certain acts (Agricultural Labor Relations Board, “Agricultural Labor Relations Act”) Two Recent Articles On The Employer Unfair Labor Practices In a recent news, it was found that The Pacific Beach Hotel, Honolulu faced a huge problem for practicing unfair labor law. In the news, it was said that the employers of the hotel were not having a good relation with their union and they could not rehire the unfairly fired employees and also made them to apply for their own job repeatedly. National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) found the hotel guilty and the employers had to pay and rehire the fired employees (Dicus, “Pacific Beach Hotel Cited For Contempt Of Court”). In connection to the above article, it can be reviewed that the hotel by practicing unfair labor law lost their reputation being in the media and also they had to face certain financial losses. In the other report, it was found that a company named Science Applications International Crop (SAIC) refused to hire a lady just because she had a case going against her previous employer, as she was not getting her pay properly. SAIC did all the medical tests with her as per the company norms; they almost issued her offer letter. But only because of the case she was involved into, they refused to hire her for SAIC, which is against labor law, and it was an example of employer unfair labor law (The HR Specialist, “4th Circuit: You Don’t Have To Hire Applicant Who Sued Former Employer For FLSA Violations”). In relation to the above article, it can be stated that SAIC actually violated the norms, and by doing so they themselves have made it tough for the organization as the lady has already sued them for the unfair practice. Q6. Arbitrator An arbitrator is a person who can examine any contravention or controversy and take a required decision regarding the same. There are various roles and functions of the arbitrator of an organization, such as: Roles of an Arbitrator An arbitrator has to be impartial to the parties, and he or she should listen to both the parties and then come to the final conclusion. The arbitrator should not add or less anything from the main content of the subject matter of the controversy or the debate. The decision taken by the arbitrator is considered as the final decision, until and unless any of the party seeks for a review of the same. The decision taken by the arbitrator should be implied practically as soon as possible (CWA Local 1031, “The Function of the Neutral Arbitrator Shall be a Judicial Rather Than a Legislative Nature”). A Recent Article on the Arbitrator’s Roles and Functions In recent news, it has been published that an arbitrator was called to solve the problem between two parties regarding gas pipelines. The arbitrator named Mr. Laurie James was called to resolve the contravention between the gas pipeline service providers and the other parties who are willing to have the right to use the gas pipes. The arbitrator is playing his role in the company for last few years and he has been appointed several times (Economic Regulation Authority, “Overview of the Arbitrator”). In relation to the above content, it can be reviewed that the company has been appointing the arbitrator for several years for the same issue but the problem has not yet been solved. They should either appoint a new arbitrator or take other necessary measures. Q7. The Process of Administrating Collective Bargaining Agreement Collective bargaining agreement refers to the negotiation between two or more than two parties. There are different processes or steps of administrating collective bargaining agreement, such as, First step is to prepare the negotiation team, and each team should have a leader or representative Second step is the discussion regarding the rules and the norms which both the parties have to follow in the negotiation process Third step is to propose the first statement by any of the party and continue with the process Fourth step is, to start the bargaining, both the party will have a chance to bargain for their interest And, finally, the fifth step is to take the final call through a settlement (International Labor Organization, “Collective Bargaining Negotiations”). The Issues Regarding Collective Bargaining Agreement There can be several different issues regarding collective bargaining agreement, such as, while preparing a negotiation team there can be more than one person willing to apply for the leader’s position or there can be no willing member for the position of the leader. Second issue is the parties may not agree with the rules and the regulations given. There can be certain conflicts about the arbitrator and his or her decisions. Biasness or partiality can be an issue as well. And, if the final judgment is not acceptable by any of the party, then that can render the bargaining process as a failure. These are the issues which can be handled by mutual settelement, both the parties should have equal chance to speak out, they should avoid biasness and the arbitrator has to be impartial. Most importantly, the conclusion should make both the parties satisfied to an extent (Khurana, & Et. Al., “Human Resource Management”). A Recent Article on the Implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreement In a recent article it has been observed that National Basketball Association (NBA) has declared the changes in the share of their revenue, where they have an agreement between the players and the owners of the organizations. The games have been canceled due to this agreement process. NBA has decided to reduce the players’ share of the revenue and make it equal for both the parties. Previously, the share was 57–43, which has been replaced by 50-50. The players’ association is not at all happy and did not even agree with the final decision (Brennan, “Issues involved in the National Basketball Association lockout”) In relation to the above article, it can be stated that the agreement made by the owner for making the revenue share 50-50 instead of 57-43 could not make the players happy, and the owners of the organization are expected to face problems. Q8. Labor Bargaining Unit Labor bargaining unit is a group of people who act as the representatives of the union. Labor bargaining unit should not include the managerial workers of the organization. The people of the unit get a specific card from the organization to join the union. When the amount of people to apply for the unit post is full, the organization conducts an election to choose the representative. The number of representative depends on the size of the union (Khurana, & Et. Al., “Human Resource Management”). Decertification of the Bargaining Unit The union or the bargaining unit is not permanent and any time there can be a decertification. When the workers feel hurt by the existing union and they also realize that the employers are being good and cooperative towards them but the union itself not at all is cooperating, the employees want to get rid of that union. While performing the decertification two aspects have to be kept in mind, one is, the agreement or the contract between both the parties needs to be expired and the new agreement is not yet in action. The other aspect is that the existing unit has given the service for minimum of not less than one year. Then the organizations again conduct an election to get the votes in favor of decertification. If these criteria are covered only then an organization can do the decertification of the bargaining unit (Denisi, A. S. & Griffin, R. W., “Human Resource Management”). A Recent Article on the Decertification of the Bargaining Unit Recently, in a news report it was found that the player’s association of National Basketball Association (NBA) decertified their union and made it a trade association. The owner of the organization has brought a few changes in the scenario of the revenue share between the players and the owners, which was previously 57-43 for the players and the owners respectively and now 50-50. The players did not find their union to be effective enough and dissolved it (Feldman, “The Legal Issues Behind the NBA Players' Decertification Strategy”). In relation to the above article, it can be reviewed that the decertification of the union was really needed for the players who will be losing a huge amount of their revenue in the future to the owner if the decision of making it ‘50-50’ remains the same. Works Cited American Federation of Labor. “Collective Bargaining”. November 24, 2011. Real Life Examples of Collective Bargaining, 2011. Agricultural Labor Relations Board. “Agricultural Labor Relations Act”. November 24, 2011. Unfair Labor Practices, 2007. Brennan, Matthew. “Issues involved in the National Basketball Association Lockout” November 24, 2011. Home, 2011. CWA Local 1031. “The Function of the Neutral Arbitrator Shall be a Judicial Rather Than a Legislative Nature”. November 24, 2011. Web, No Date. DelPo, Amy. & Guerin, Lisa. The Manager's Legal Handbook Nolo, 2009. Dicus, Howard. “Pacific Beach Hotel cited for contempt of court”. November 24, 2011. Home, 2011. Denisi, Angelo S. & Griffin, Ricky W. Human Resource Management Dreamtech Press, 2005. Enright, Carolyn. “How to Identify Three Laws That Support Collective Bargaining”. November 24, 2011. Instructions, 2010. Economic Regulation Authority. “Overview of the Arbitrator”. November 24, 2011. Executive Summery, 2011. Fenner, Robert & Schneider Joe. “Qantas May Face Six Month Arbitration for New Union Contract”. November 24, 2011. Home, 2011. Feldman Gabriel A. “The Legal Issues Behind the NBA Players' Decertification Strategy”. November 24, 2011. Front Page, 2011. GLAAD. “Google Increases Health Care for Transgender Employees”. November 24, 2011. Home, 2011. Holley, William H. & Et. Al. The Labor Relations Process Cengage Learning, 2008. International Labor Organization. “Collective Bargaining Negotiations” November 24, 2011. Table of Contents, 2011. Khurana, Ashok. & Et. Al., Human Resource Management FK Publications 2010. News Core. “MLB Announces New Collective Bargaining Agreement”. November 24, 2011. Baseball – SPORTS, 2011. OPEIU. “Steps to Create a Union Where You Work”. November 24, 2011. Need a Union, 2011. Quigley, Tim. “Saskatchewan unions challenge labor laws”. November 24, 2011. Conservative Government Tries To Curtail Collective Bargaining, 2011. Tobin, Mark. “Report backs NSW cop compensation scheme blow-out”. November 24, 2011. Home, 2011. The HR Specialist. “4th Circuit: You Don’t Have To Hire Applicant Who Sued Former Employer For FLSA Violations”. November 24, 2011. Business Management Daily, 2011. Upadhyay, S. S. Compensation Management Global India Publications, 2009. Read More