Bab 5 Why and How Unions Are Organized

PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook
Copyright 2005 South-Western. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 5
Why and How
Unions Are
Organized
Copyright 2005 South-Western. All rights reserved. 52
Why Unions Are Formed
Work and Job Conditions Explanation
Alienation Theorythe influence of machinery
Loss of personal contact with labor and products produced
Loss of personal involvement in the work
Pace of work estranging workers from each other
Scarcity Consciousness Theoryjobs are difficult to
obtain and retain
Employees believe unions protect jobs by:
Negotiating work rules and apprenticeship programs
Bargaining seniority and layoffs provisions
Agreeing to grievance procedures
Lobbying for legislation to protect worker rights and jobs
Why Unions Are Formed (contd)
Work and Job Conditions Explanation (contd)
Hoyt Wheeler Model of Union Formation
First stage: individual workers readiness to take aggressive
action to express anger at the employer that results from:
Fear of deprivation of current work benefits
Frustration with not being heard as an individual
Rational calculation that the benefits of unionization
outweigh its costs
Second stage: individual workers form a group and decide to
take collective action
Saliency: the workers belief that the union can facilitate
resolution of their problems
Wheeler Model of Union Formation
First Stage:
Readiness to
take action
Frustration of not
being heard
Fear of
deprivation
Rational
calculation
Second Stage:
Decision to take
collective action
Decision not
to unionize
Fear of
punishment
Lack of belief
in unions
Withdrawal
and/or revenge
Love
Hope
Saliency
Why Unions Are Formed (contd)
Employee Backgrounds and Needs
Previous experience as a union member generally
results in a favorable attitude towards unions
Union member parents attitudes and family
experiences strongly influence positive union attitudes
Unions help satisfy the interrelated social needs of
members for identity, self-esteem, and affiliation

Influences on Employees on Whether to Vote for
or Against a Union
Exhibit 5.1
Social Pressure
Knows union supporters
Believes unions attract
good
Job Satisfaction/
Dissatisfaction
Pay or economic benefits
Supervision
Work
Attitudes and Beliefs
about Unions
General
Specific
Union Instrumentality
Fair treatment
Better pay
Better management-
employee relations
Employee Vote
For union
Against union
The Unions Challenge of Organizing the
Diverse Workforce
The changed workforce increased numbers of:
Temporary (contingent) employees
Permanent part-time employees
Independent contractors
Leased workers
Minorities (racial and ethnic)
Immigrant (legal and illegal) workers
Older workers
Higher-skilled workers
The Unions Challenge of Organizing the
Diverse Workforce
A Changing Workforce
Temporary (contingent)
employees
Permanent part-time
employees
Independent contractors
Leased workers
Minorities (racial and
ethnic)
Immigrant workers
Older workers
Higher-skilled workers
A Changing Workplace
Declines in unions
stronghold industries
Increases in service
industries workers
Increases in industries with
skilled workers
Outsourcing

Organizing Professional Employees
Arguments
Against the organization of professionals:
Unionization represents a rejection of professional values
For the organization of professionals:
Unionization helps achieve and maintain professional values
Issues in collective bargaining:
Professional standards
Participation in policy making
Regulation of professional work
Training and professional development
Commitment of organizational resources to professional goals
Criteria for personnel decisions regarding professionals
Activities of the Union in Organizing
Employees
Union Actions
Dont initiate organizing; rather it responds to
employees request for assistance in organizing
Emphasize the benefits of collective bargaining and
grievance procedures to relieve employee
dissatisfaction and fears
Roles of Union Organizers
Educator: union benefits/protections, labor traditions
Persuader: encourage voting for unionization
Supporter: support workers collective actions
Union Strategy and Courses of Action to Achieve
Employee Goals and Resolve Job-Related Concerns
Exhibit 5.3a
Work-Related Problems and Concerns
Relations between employees and management are poor.
Employees do not trust their employers promises.
Employees prefer to deal with management as a group.
Employees want to have more influence in workplace
decisions.
Employees feel that productivity improvement would be
more effective if employees had more say in how programs
are run.
Employees question the effectiveness of the companys
system for resolving employee problems and grievances.
Union Strategy and Courses of Action to Achieve
Employee Goals and Resolve Job-Related Concerns
Exhibit 5.3b
Union Actions to Encourage Union Membership
Union will represent the interests of employees to management.
Union will negotiate a contract requiring management to abide by its
agreements.
Union provides an opportunity for individual employees to deal as a
group with the employer.
Union provides a mechanism for influence by collective bargaining
and administering the agreement.
Union provides a mechanism in which employees can provide input
into those Issues that affect the workplace.
Unions typically negotiate a grievance procedure that provides
representation of employees at each step and hearings before an
outside arbitrator.
Exhibit 5.4
Components of Rank-and-File Intensive Strategy That
Are Associated with Higher Union Win Rates
1. Use of representative committees to be more in touch with concerns of the
bargaining unit as a whole, to have better access to employees at the
workplace and to demonstrate to the employees that the union Is a
democratic and inclusive organization
2. Person-to-person contact, house calls, and small group meetings
3. Conducting union bargaining surveys, selection of the bargaining committee,
and working with rank and file to develop proposals before election
4. Focus on issues such as dignity, justice, discrimination, fairness, or service
quality
5. Serious commitment of staff and financial resources to organizing,
involvement of the international in local campaigns, and training, recruitment,
and effective utilization of rank and file volunteers from already organized
bargaining units
6. Use of solidarity days (designated days to wear union buttons, hats, T-shirts,
arm bands, etc.)
SOURCE Kate Bronfenbrenner, The Role of Union Strategies in NLRB Elections, Industrial and Labor Relations Review 50 (January 1997)
pp. 195211; Kate Bronfenbrenner and Tom Juravich, It Takes More Than House Calls: Organizing to Win with a Comprehensive Union-
Building Strategy, Organizing to Win, eds. Kate Bronfenbrenner, et al. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press,1999), pp. 3334.
Activities of the Company in Union
Organizing
Advantages of the Company:
Has full access to its employees
Can offer possibility of improvement without
additional cost of unionization for employees
Can benefit from employees fear of change
Lengthy time between successful organization and
issuance of the bargaining order (contract)
Organizing (contd)
Effective Campaign Tactics
Hiring labor lawyers and management consultants
Spreading rumors about potential job losses
Spreading rumors about plant or store closings
Ineffective Campaign Tactics
Intentionally delaying the representation election
Shifting work and jobs to other facilities
Testing applicants to identify union sympathizers
Organizing (contd)
Employer Effects on Elections
Influencing the composition of the bargaining unit
Setting the date for the election
Illegal Campaign Tactics (Unfair Labor
Practices)
Making captive audience speeches
Illegally discharging union supporters and activists
Threatening employees about the consequences of
unionization
Methods for Organizing Unions
Voluntary Recognition
The employer pledges to remain neutral and not to
oppose or interfere with the organization campaign
The employer agrees to a card check for union
majority status, allowing the union to forego the
NLRB representation election process
Increasing the Success of Organizing Drives
Employers provision of lists of employees to the
union
An agreement to place time limits on the organizing
campaigns
Basic Union Representation Procedures
Exhibit 5.5
Interest
1. Internal: Employees contact union organizer
2. External: Union organizer contacts employees
Ways for union
to obtain
recognition
Voluntary
Recognition
NLRB Directive
(Gissel Doctrine)
Secret-Ballot
Election
Consent
Election
Contested
Election
Union
Wins
Union
Loses
Union
Certified
12 Month
Election Bar
Union Obligation:
Duty to bargain with company in good faith and represent all bargaining unit employees fairly
Company Obligation:
Duty to bargain with union in good faith and recognize union as the exclusive bargaining representative for all
bargaining unit employees
Methods for Organizing Unions (contd)
NLRB Directive
NLRB directs the employer to recognize the union
because the employers unfair labor practices tainted
the organizing campaign and/or election processes
Bases for Issuing Gissel Bargaining Orders:
A fair, impartial election is not possible due to the
employers ULPs
Authorization card wording is clear and unambiguous
Employees signatures were voluntarily obtained
A majority of bargaining unit employees signed
authorization cards
Example of a Union Authorization Card
Exhibit 5.6 SOURCE: Courtesy of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
NLRB Secret Ballot Election Process
Pre-NLRB-Election Union Campaigns
Contacting employees
Determining interest
Setting up and organizing committee
Building interest by soliciting authorization cards
Costs versus Returns for Organizing
Extra compensation gained by bargaining
Additional dues and fees paid by new members
Enhanced political influence
Social benefits and satisfaction of membership
NLRB Election Process(contd)
Filing a Petition for Election
Employer refuses unions recognition request.
Employer can petition for an election once the union seeks
recognition
Union files an election petition with the NLRB
Union has signed authorization cards to show substantial
employee support (at least 30%) for the union
NLRB determines its jurisdiction and the union petitions
validity
Filing a Petition for Election (contd)
NLRB, employer, and union discuss appropriate
bargaining unit composition, voter eligibility, ballot,
and the date, and time and place for election
Consent election: both sides agree on all election
issues
Contested election: the NLRB holds a hearing to
resolve election issue differences between the two
parties
Determining the Appropriate Bargaining Unit
Basis for NLRB decision is community of interest
Interest of the employees
Commonality of wages, working conditions, training, and
skills
Prior history of collective bargaining
Transfers of employees among facilities
Geography and physical proximity of the workplaces
Employers administrative or territorial divisions
Degree of separation (distinctiveness) or integration
(interrelatedness) of the employees work
NLRB Election Processcontd
Determining the Appropriate Bargaining Unit
Restrictions on community of interest
Nonprofessional and professional employees must be in
placed in separate bargaining units
Craft units can elect to be placed in a separate bargaining
unit (Globe election)
Plant guards must be in a separate bargaining unit
Supervisors and members of management are excluded
Agricultural workers, most public employees, and
independent contractors (not covered by the LMRA) are
excluded from the bargaining unit
Confidential employees and family members of owners are
excluded
Bargaining Units in the Health Industry
Registered nurses
Physicians
Other professional employees
Technical employees
Skilled maintenance employees
Business office clericals
Guards
Other nonprofessional employees
Eligibility to Vote in the Election Requires:
Employment in a bargaining unit job
Employment during the eligibility period
Employment on the date of the election
If on strike, striking employee must be within 12
months of the beginning of an economic strike
Untimely Petitions Are Void If:
A representation election was held within the
previous 12 months
Employees are already in a certified union and
covered by a contract
Contract Bar Doctrine
A valid multi-year contract protects the union by
barring representation elections for up to three years
Excelsior Rule
An employer must provide the NLRB regional director
with the names and addresses of eligible voters
within 7 days of a consent or directed election order
Factors Affecting Election Outcomes:
High (90%) voter turnout
Length of time before election occurs
Longer times worsen the unions chances of winning
Size of the election unit
The union wins more in smaller units
The union supporting the organizing effort
Negative big labor image hurts unions chance of winning
Whether the supporting union is independent or
affiliated with the AFL-CIO
Independents do better
The Election
Secret ballots with union or no union choice are used
If two unions are on the ballot, there are three choices:
Union A, Union B, or Neither
Election held at workplace during working hours on a payday
Election Outcome
Simple majority decision: those who vote decide for everyone
in the bargaining unit
Runoffs are held if necessary
If a union wins, the NLRB certifies it as the exclusive
bargaining agent
Election conduct and votes can be challenged for 7 days
Examples of Secret Ballots for Union
Representation Elections
Exhibit 5.7
DO NOT SIGN THIS BALLOT. Fold and drop in ballot box. If you
spoil this ballot return it to the Board Agent for a new one.
DO NOT SIGN THIS BALLOT. Fold and drop in ballot box. If you
spoil this ballot return it to the Board Agent for a new one.
Trends in Union Representation Elections
The yearly number of elections has fallen sharply
The union success rate (wins) has steadily declined
Unions are less likely to win NLRB-sponsored
elections in bargaining units (over 100 employees)
After the Election
One-third of newly elected unions fail to successfully
secure a initial labor agreement
Factors favoring securing a first contract:
Preexisting high wages in the firm
The presence of other bargaining units in the firm
Large election victories
Active participation by international union representatives
Duties of the Exclusive Bargaining Agent
To represent equitably and fairly all members of the
bargaining unit
To bargain in good faith with the employer
Duties of the Employer
To bargain in good faith with the elected union
To refuse to bargain with any other union or
employee
Conduct of Representation Election
Campaigns and NLRB Policies
Totality of Conduct Doctrine
The NLRB considers isolated incidents within the
entire context of conduct during a campaign in
determining unfair labor practices
Campaigning parties cannot use forged documents
Captive Audience24 hour rule
Employers cannot make speeches to workers on
company time within 24 hours of an election
Employers may not threaten reprisal or promise
benefits during a campaign speech
Conduct of Campaigns and NLRB Policies
Polling or Questioning Employees
Employers cannot ask employees about their union
sentiments
Distribution of Union Literature and Solicitation
by Employees on Company Property
Literature distribution is permitted during nonworking
times and in nonworking (non-customer) areas
Company confidential material cannot be distributed
Lechmere decision allows employers to ban non-
employee organizers if there are other reasonable
means of access to employees
Examples of Handbills Distributed During
Representation Election Campaigns
Exhibit 5.9
Showing Films during Election Campaigns
Films may be used during campaigns
Use of E-Mail
An employers e-mail usage policy can ban all non-
business use of e-mail, but not solely union-related e-
mail
New Union Strategies
Using the Internet to distribute organizing information
Salting: Employers hire organizers who then solicit for
union membership as employees of that organization
Organizing an employers suppliers to overcome the
effects of outsourcing
Creating videos explaining the unions position
Holding public rallies and marches to draw attention
to union causes
Funding more organizing efforts
Decertification Procedure
Decertification
When a majority of the bargaining unit vote to
remove the unions certification as the units exclusive
representative
The support of 30% of the unit is required to petition
the NLRB for a decertification election
Reasons for Decertification
Fair treatment of employees by employers
Poor job by unions of providing services to members
Inability to gain an initial labor contract
Hiring of replacement workers
Examples of Objective Evidence of a Unions
Lack of Majority Status
Exhibit 5.11
1. Unsolicited communications from employees expressing a desire to become
unrepresented
2. Any material change in the size or composition of the unit, such as a reduction in the
number of employees
3. Date of union certification
4. Failure of the union to appoint a shop steward or committee
5. Failure of the union to process grievances
6. Failure of the union to actively represent employees on matters arising under the
contract
7. Failure of the union to hold meetings that could be attended by the employees
8. Failure of the employees to attend union meetings
9. Failure of a majority of employees to authorize a dues checkoff if the contract provides
for one
10. Whether the union has communicated a lack of interest regarding representation to
either the company or the employees
11. Whether employees have filed or attempted to file a decertification petition of their own
SOURCE: Clyde Scott, Kim Hester, and Edwin Arnold, Employer-Initiated
Elections, 19681992, Journal of Labor Research 18 (Spring 1997), p. 317.
*Objective evidence is defined as reasonable grounds to believe that an incumbent union no longer represents a majority of bargaining unit employees.

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