1. The grievance process—which typically is comprised of labor agreements negotiated by organized labor—has been severely criticized by many analysts for providing unwarranted protection for workers, and for making many types of workers virtually incapable of being fired. From your research, what are 2 real examples of grievances filed within a union environment? 1. At a Northern New Mexico College, two instructors filed complaints alleging that their employer declined to renew their contracts because of their union involvement (Jones, 2017). Their complaints were initially dismissed by the employer due to technicalities. The employees registered a level three complaint when they were supposed to file a level two grievance. When they corrected …show more content…
The second example involves Southwest Airlines (Shine, 2017). For many years, they outsourced the overnight cleaning of their planes to outside contractors. Recently, unionized employees at the airline took issue with the outsourcing practice, claiming that it violates the union’s contract with Southwest. They filed a grievance which led to failed arbitration since the the union failed to file within 10 days of the alleged contract violation. A subsequent revisal of the union’s contract with Southwest triggered a fresh grievance claim. The arbitrator sided with the union at this point and agreed with their assertion that the airline’s outsourcing actions stood in violation of they contract with the union. Southwest initiated a federal lawsuit that is still in it early …show more content…
My first suggestion for employers and their workers is to institute an open door policy for informal conflict resolution, a proven method for minimizing the likelihood of escalating conflict (Newman, 2013). If an employee can stroll into their supervisor’s office at any time with a concern, the issue can hopefully be addressed before things progress to a stage where formal steps become necessary. My second suggestion is inspired by Lewin’s (2014) comments on the criticality of employees having a voice within their organization. While open door policies are one way to resolve issues before they become a grievance, I advocate for regularly scheduled (perhaps quarterly) meetings where workers can voice concerns or challenges amongst each other. This type of forum, set up by the union or human resource department, allows issues to be presented to a group for a synergistic solution before they reach the level where a grievance is
Unions have an extensive history of standing up for workers. They have advocated rights of steelworkers, coal miners, clothing factory employees, teachers, health care workers, and many others. The labor movement is based on the idea that organized workers as a group have more power than individuals would have on their own. The key purpose of any union is to negotiate contracts, making sure workers are respected and fairly compensated for their work. “In theory” unions are democratic organizations, resulting in varying inner authority. Workers look for security within a job a...
Internal disagreements are prevalent among labor unions, and even within the union there remains to be debate about how unions engage. Early ...
This report is set to outline and highlight key developments in a very important piece of law “Federal Arbitration Act” which is also commonly known as FAA. In order to look at the FAA in detail which was developed in late 1925, first let’s see what the word Arbitration mean. In simple words, Arbitration is known be to a very informal, private and isolated process in which all participating parties agree to hand in their disputes and problems in writing to one or more independent parties who are sanctioned to resolve the problem or issue. If someone ask you a question to define the act of Arbitration or what does it mean, most of us will have one of the following opinion:
Labor unions were established as a way for workers’ needs and grievances to be heard by management. According to Fossum (2012), “forming a union creates a collective voice to influence change at work” (p. 7). The collective voice of workers in a union holds much more power than any single employee’s voice. It can loudly draw attention to mistreatment or abuse of workers. The organized collective voice of workers demands to be treated in a fair way by its management in terms of wages, hours, benefits, and working conditions.
Their causes differed. Now and then financial grievances like low pay, and, particularly, extended periods and prompted strikes. Occasionally the contentions were more inconspicuous, as employers attempted to expand their control over the work procedure. Often, the essential issue was the privilege of laborers to have unions and to take part in aggregate haggling. Normally, strikes finished when the administration connected its energy against the unions.
Under what circumstances may an employer whose employees are unionized bargain legally with individual employees? “The employer may address the grievances of individual employees as long as it is done in a manner consistent with the collective agreement and the union has been given an opportunity to be present at such adjustment (Cihon & Castagnera, 2013).” That provision raises the question of how far the employer can go in dealing with individuals rather than the union. The employer may not deal with an individual in a manner which would undercut the union’s position. In the case of professional athletes certain negotiations on salary are allowed even if they have collective agreements (Cihon & Castagnera, 2013).
According to her, conflict and changes can be managed with flexible mindset. She encourages to have periodic one on one meeting with the employees. Also, she stresses on frequent communication sessions/webcast with the leadership team to avoid any last minute surprises. There is also an employee grievance program where employee can report their woes anonymously or to any senior management which promotes transparency between the employee and employer.
workplace include greater total resources, greater knowledge band and a greater source of ideas. However, these advantages can also bring on conflict within teams and the entire workplace. Varney (1989) reported that conflict remained the number one problem within a large company. This was after several attempts were made to train management in conflict resolutions and procedures. However, the conflict remained. The conflict possibly remains because the managers and leaders did not pay attention to the seriousness of the issue. In order to maintain an effective team, leaders and team members must know and be proactive in the conflict resolution techniques and procedures.
Finally, after the employee/union have made their case, reiterate the policy (do not give or mention any forms the employee has signed, not at this stage) and importantly, close the meeting. Do not go around and around allowing tempers to flare. Within the allotted time, give a formal short denial. In situations like these, a union may have very limited grounds in adding to the grievance and will have to proceed with what they have. Do Not Give Them More.
... with the aggrieved worker and representative meeting with the supervisor involved, followed by an appeal system with strict time limits and ultimately ending in binding arbitration. When management and the union cannot resolve a grievance submitted by a union, the union must decide whether to proceed to the final step of the grievance procedure: arbitration. Arbitration is an adversary proceeding like a trial in court. An arbitrator’s function is usually to interpret the collective bargaining agreement between the parties, not to apply his or her standards of what is right in a given situation. The courts have sought to compel labour and management to a peaceful resolution of grievances through arbitration. The Supreme Court has given support to the arbitration process in a series of decisions, and judicial deferral to arbitration has become a basic tenet of national labour policy.
Employers favor and consider the unitarist approach rather than the pluralist approach. The unitarist approach includes common interests between employers and employees and refer to the responsibility of management to control and manage conflict (Moore&Gardner, 2004, p. 275). The unitarist approach indicates that employees should have loyalty to only one authority that is management (Ross & Bamber, 2009, p.25). The unitarist approach discusses legitimacy on managerial authority to prevent third party involvement from unions and treat them unnecessary. Trade unions play a key role in the employee relationships, although the membership of trade unions have been declined because of the unitarism approach. The pluralist approach recognizes that the organizations are made up of “sectional groups that interest may agree or may conflict with rival sources of leadership and attachment” (Geare, Edgar& McAndrew, 2006, p.1191). The Industrial relations explain the relationship between the employees and management which arise from either directly or indirectly from union-employer relationship (Saif, 2013, p. 34- 35). Saif (2013) states that “it is in the interest of all to create and maintain good relations between employees (labor) and employers (management) (p.34).industrial relations covers the aspect of trade unionism in collective bargaining, industrial disputes and employees participation in management. Employees’ associations and trade unions appear to have developed a ‘protest movements’ against the working condition in the
Unnecessary conflict may be prevented through employee involvement and treating employees in a fair manner. Ethical employment practices, involving employees in decisions, and treating employees as valued organizational members all work towards a positive employer-employee relationship. Unfortunately, however, it sometimes becomes necessary for an outside party to help employers and employees resolve differences through processes such as mediation or arbitration. Taken together, positive engagement strategies and constructive resolution of differences help to develop relationships which support organizational performance and success.
When it comes to contract negotiations, labor unions may differ from one and another throughout the different industries, but they usually share the same goals when it involves contract negotiations (Sloane & Witney, 2010). During these procedures, demands are usually made by from both parties, the employer and the union; this processes main goal is to negotiate a written agreement between each other covering a multitude of issues and concerns (Sloane & Witney, 2010). These talks are typically the most confrontational part of the relationship between labor unions and management, especially when it comes to wage issues (Mayhew, n.d.). This author will take a look the wages and wage-related issues, employee benefits, institutional issues, administrative clauses, and make recommendation that will would prevent wage-related grievances from happening.
Trade unions and management therefore use collective bargaining as a dispute-resolution measure to settle grievances, preserve employee rights, negotiate wages and conditions of employment including benefits, as well as ensuring job safety and safe working conditions (Kadian-Baumeyer, 2015).
Industrial Conflict is a broad and complex topic and conflicts may arise from many diverse issues resulting hostile acts by employers and employees.