Labor and Union Studies Define

Labor and Union Studies

Define and discuss the term "collective bargaining." Include and discuss [showing relevance or applicability] a current web-based news item/magazine article about a real life example of a collective bargaining action. Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you've provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research.

Collective Bargaining consists of the meeting of employees with their employer for the purposes of arriving at a formal agreement on working conditions. In many cases, the workers are represented by a union or a group of elected representatives. Issues discussed generally include rates of pay, type of work performed, hours worked, and various other possible conditions such as provision of healthcare, vacation pay, the physical conditions under which work may be performed, promotions, etc. Collective bargaining groups operate according to the principle if "strength in numbers," and can threaten to withhold workers' services i.e. To strike if their demands are not met. Similarly, collective bargaining affords employers the opportunity to deal with employees as a group, thus avoiding lengthy individual negotiations. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 guaranteed workers' rights to unionize and to engage in collective bargaining. Further amendments to the Act allowed unions to, in effect, collect dues from non-union members in the same shop as these workers likewise benefited from union collective bargaining (Oswalt). In the late Twentieth Century, in fact, notions of collective bargaining were increasingly expanded to include non-unionized workers, like janitors in many places, organizing and reaching out the wider community on issues of employment that were framed as larger considerations of basic social justice (Oswalt, 2007).

In March 2009, an arbitrations panel ruled that the management of Spirit Airlines must be bound by collective bargaining agreement reached with its pilots. According to the online news site, Airline Industry Information, pilots at Spirit Airlines are to be permitted five days off and no fewer than four days between scheduled trips ("Arbitration Panel Rules," Airline Industry Information, 18 March 2009). This barebones version of events is further expanded upon in an online publication that describes the same issue from the point-of-view of the employees. According to Professional Pilot News, the decision of the arbitration panel was based on Spirit Airlines willful infraction of the existing agreement. The pilots were represented by the Airline Pilot Association. As stated in the article, the airline reneged on the 5/4 time off rule, specifically declaring, in August 2008, that it would not abode by the collective bargaining agreement ( "Spirit Airline Pilots," Professional Pilot News, 16 March 2009). A spokesman for the Airline Pilot Association, Capt. Sean Creed, stated that workers had struggled for more than two and half years to "get back what is ours," having fought against "violation after violation" on the part of Spirit Airlines management ( "Spirit Airline Pilots," Professional Pilot News, 16 March 2009). Binding arbitration is a common way of settling disputes between the two sides of a collective bargaining agreement. Neutral arbitrators arrive at a decision that must be accepted by both parties.

2. Identify three laws that support collective bargaining. Include and discuss [showing relevance or applicability] a current web-based news item/magazine article about each. Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you've provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research.

Collective Bargaining is supported by a range of federal regulation. As stated above, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 enshrined the principles of union organizing and collective bargaining. The principles of the National Labor Relations Act promote "social integration, intergroup solidarity, and democratic deliberation; yet they [unions] also do much more, for they are more voluntary, more egalitarian, more autonomous, and more deeply animated by common interests and goals" (Estlund 17, 2003). Collective bargaining advances a social agenda, the organizing of workers permitting them to fight for what is right, and to force employers to place human interests above purely economic ones. The Federal Arbitration Act, first passed in 1925, and modified numerous times afterwards, including as recently as 1990, sets the standards for arbitration agreements. It also preempts any other state, local, or private agreements, a feature of the Act that has been the source of considerable litigation. In the 1984 case of Southland Corp. v. Keating, the United States Supreme Court noted that Federal Arbitration Act preemption interfered with state law decisional law, and limited the meaningful choices of drafters of adhesion contracts, some lesser courts even taking the line that general contracts could be overruled if they conflicted with the specific arbitration arrangements of the Federal Arbitration Act (Schwartz, 2003). Ultimately, the court ruled that, "an arbitration clause is merely a form of forum-selection clause, with no impact on substantive rights" (Schwartz, 2003). Arbitration is a means to an end, but not the end in and of itself. The fact that the Federal act was incomplete in the remedies it provided is shown by the adoption of the provisions of the 1956 Uniform Arbitration Act as state law by forty-nine of the fifty states. Importantly, this act permits courts to nullify arbiters' interpretations of collective bargaining agreements if "they fail to make a good faith effort to apply nonwaivable law" (Scodro). Once again, collective bargaining is seen as something operating for the good of the larger society, a good that is served by the best interests of workers and employers as represented in the general corpus of federal and state law.

3. List four issues that are potential components of a collective bargaining agreement. Pick any two of the four issues you've listed and include and discuss [showing relevance or applicability] a current web-based news item/magazine article about each of those [two] collective bargaining issues in action. Write succinct and complete summaries on the contents of each of the articles you've provided along with your critical comments about each article. Support your findings with referenced research.

Collective Bargaining Agreements tend to focus on issues of time off, rates of pay, general conditions of work, and employee healthcare, that is to say, how much of those healthcare costs will be paid by the employer vs. The employee, and to what extent such benefits will apply to family members and dependents. In the case of the pilots at Spirit Air, a 2008 article in Professional Pilot News informs us that, in the opinion of pilots, Spirit Airlines had unilaterally imposed changed in rates of pay and modified working conditions without recourse to the original collective bargaining agreement ("Pilots' Union Files Suit," Professional Pilot News, 8 September 2008). In a clear violation of its agreement with the Airline Pilots Association, the company changed the rules by simply furloughing workers while making no attempt to reduce the number of flights. As described in a statement by the Airline Pilots Association this evidently violates contract stipulations in regard to the number of pilots required to be employed based on the number of flights operated by the airline ("Pilots' Union Files Suit," Professional Pilot News, 8 September 2008). In its own defense, Spirit Airlines claimed that these changes were permitted by the contract, though oddly, it also declared that it was in the process of negotiating these changes through arbitration -- an apparent admission that these matters did not lie simply within the discretion of Spirit Airlines management ("Pilots' Union Files Suit," Professional Pilot News, 8 September 2008). A similar instance of employers refusing to play by the rules is noted by a Newsreview.com article about a dispute between educators in the Chico Unified School District in California. In this case, school district authorities have taken it upon themselves to be the final arbiters of the rightness or wrongness of any decisions based on existing contracts. Say district employees, this is an instance of the "fox guarding the henhouse" (Ginger McGuire, 27 November 2008). District officials refuse to permit binding arbitration. Among the issues are the district's passing on the cost of healthcare to employees despite existing agreements that mandate that the district pay the entire cost of that healthcare (Ginger McGuire, 27 November 2008). District employees have considered filing an unfair practice charge against the district. Like the pilots at Spirit Airlines, these employees feel that they have not been dealt with in good faith. The district claims arbitration will cost them money -- another example of employers putting profits -- or in this case, lower costs -- over social responsibility.

4. Describe the process of establishing a bargaining unit. Include and discuss [showing relevance or applicability] a current web-based news item/magazine article about any part of the process of establishing a bargaining unit. Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you've provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research.

Bargaining units can be divided broadly into two types -- vertical and horizontal. A vertical bargaining unit would consist of all employees who perform work in the same area, or as part of the same operation. All of the employees on an airplane, for example, could form themselves into a vertical bargaining unit if they chose, the unit including stewards and stewardesses, as well as pilots. Similarly, in a school, teachers, janitors, and office staff could all form a vertical unit. In contrast a horizontal bargaining unit unites all those who perform similar work. The fact that the pilots at Spirit Airlines belong to a pilots union that includes pilots from other airlines means that they constitute a horizontal bargaining unit. As well, teachers in the Chico school could form a horizontal bargaining unit if they joined with other teachers at different schools, and even in different districts. Members of a bargaining unit agree to work together because they share common interests and goals. Bargaining units appear either as elements of unions or as workers uniting for a common purpose. An entire union is also frequently a bargaining unit, as are the various locals that represent specific subgroups. Members of a unit will elect persons to speak for them, and in the case of unions, specific officers to plead their cause, and watch over their interests. Slate's recent article on the federal proposal to eliminate the secret ballot for workers forming unions, discusses the pros and cons of removing anonymity from the process of creating potential bargaining units (Beam, 10 March 2009). According to the Slate article, from the point-of-view of business, much of the argument hinges on the larger issue of whether the elimination of secret ballots for union formation affects the idea of secret ballots in general. Secret ballots are considered a centerpiece of American democracy, as they permit individuals to exercise their right of choice free of coercion. Unions prefer a process called card check, in which employees simply check a card showing their preference for unionization. Labor organizers say this method prevents excessive employer intimidation and permits more rapid organization of bargaining units . The faster these units are organized, the quicker bargaining units can get down to the business of settling grievances (Beam, 10 March 2009). From a business perspective, it can also be argued that by accepting the fait accompli of unions, the companies will be better able to enlist the support of unions in their own economic ends, including the pursuing of legislative agendas designed to maximize profits (Gely and Chandler).

5. List three examples of unfair labor practices. Include and discuss [showing relevance or applicability] two current web-based news item/magazine articles, each pertaining to at least one of the three examples of unfair labor practices you've cited. Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of each of the articles you've provided along with your critical comments about each article. Support your findings with referenced research.

Unfair labor practices can include almost any breach of law or contractual agreement that relates to work and the workplace. Statute requires the payment of a specific minimum wage that is mandatory for all workers in the United States. Payments beneath this amount -- or certain other specifically stipulated amounts -- are one notable example of unfair labor practice. Another would include the employment of underage workers in various classifications of employment. Still another form of unfair labor practice encompasses not permitting workers to take family leave in accordance with applicable laws. The minimum wage laws are among the most frequently flouted of labor regulations. An article on the site Progressive States Network, discusses the signing by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson of a law that permits underpaid workers to collect their back wages plus twice that amount as a penalty. The idea is to force employers to comply with minimum wage laws ("New Mexico Enacts Wage Law Enforcement, Progressive States Network, 9 April 2009). The piece continues with examples that reveal the New Mexico law to be the latest example in a series of enactments by various states to enforce fair labor standards. The State of California created a Public Work Fund and appropriated monies to that fund specifically for the purpose of guaranteeing the minimum wage in such state projects ("New Mexico Enacts Wage Law Enforcement, Progressive States Network, 9 April 2009). Maryland and North Carolina passed similar measures enforcing the prevailing wage, while Rhode Island banned the misclassification of employees as private contractors -- another attempt to avoid payment of appropriate wages and benefits ("New Mexico Enacts Wage Law Enforcement, Progressive States Network, 9 April 2009). Iowa focused its wage measures specifically on the problem of child labor, dramatically increasing penalties ("New Mexico Enacts Wage Law Enforcement, Progressive States Network, 9 April 2009). In a similar vein, an article on the same site focuses on minimum wage enforcement as a means of controlling unlawful immigration. Industries with large numbers of undocumented workers, garment manufacturers and nursing homes, for example, are notorious for paying unlawfully low wages to the many undocumented workers they employ. ("Promoting Wage Enforcement Laws, Progressive States Network, 22 September 2008). The Progressive States Network is working with legislators and other immigration reform groups to see that minimum wage laws are enforced to prevent these workers from being abused ("Promoting Wage Enforcement Laws, Progressive States Network, 22 September 2008). As stated in the article, only a minority of underpaid workers are actually undocumented. Measures designed to enforce the law help all workers ("Promoting Wage Enforcement Laws, Progressive States Network, 22 September 2008). The campaign to ensure enforcement of minimum wage laws thus represents an attempt to guarantee the fair treatment of all people living and working within the United States.

6. Describe the role and function of an arbitrator. Include and discuss a current web-based news item/magazine article about an arbitrator or a labor relations-related arbitration action. Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you've provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research.

An arbitrator is an individual employed as the neutral mediator between two parties. In the case of a labor arbitrator, it is she or he makes the final decision in any dispute between labor and management. Binding arbitration means that both parties are legally bound -- within the limits of the law -- by the decision of the arbitrator. Contract disputes do not need to be put to an arbitrator, but such mediation is often necessary when the two sides cannot come to an agreement. The process is similar to having a referee, with arbitrator also using her expertise to and knowledge of events to settle the issues at hand. In the case of the pilots at Spirit Airlines, an arbitration panel rendered the final decision in the pilots' case against the company. Though the choice to employ arbitration was voluntary in this case, there are those who look forward to the use of mandatory arbitration in matter so of labor disputes. An article in the Washington Times, makes reference to the use of arbitration by the Department of Labor in cases where disputes cannot be resolved. The Department of Labor will select the arbitration panel and also draft detailed contracts and appendices on documents that may run as long as one thousand pages or more (Epstein, 24 March 2009), thus effectively setting labor policy at the level of individual companies. The proposals for mandatory government arbitration are being offered in place of the possible failure of the Free Choice Act, or card check rule of union organization. The article further states that such a form of detailed, or "interest arbitration," has never actually been used before, and that the process would amount to uniformed bureaucrats writing commercial policy (Epstein, 24 March 2009). Further government organizations have little to no knowledge of procedures used by various industries, let alone procedures followed by different companies within the same field. They do not manufacture components, nor do they need to make decisions about mergers (Epstein, 24 March 2009). In short, Epstein faults the additional fallback proposals of the Employee Freedom of Choice Act for extending too far and imposing controls that are too inflexible. It is an argument against excessive government interference and of permitting employers and employees to deal with what they know best and settle matters themselves.

7. Outline the process of administering a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). What are the issues, and how are they handled? Include and discuss [showing relevance or applicability] a current web-based news item/magazine article about a CBA being implemented. Write a succinct and complete summary on the contents of the article you've provided along with your critical comments about that article. Support your findings with referenced research.

Collective bargaining agreements are administered by all parties involved in the final decision. Ideally, management and labor agree to abide by their sides of the deal. If need be the arbitration panel, or even a court, may issue orders to guarantee enforcement. Points of contention will be specifically named in the decision of the arbitrators or judge, and remedies described. Failure to take action on arbitrators' decisions can lead directly to a formal court case. Ultimately, the arbitrators' decisions are enforced by the two parties agreeing to keep good faith and put the decision into practice. Individuals might be appointed to superintend specific aspects of a program, or boards created. A union might win recognition for a board that hears employee grievances, or examines wage disputes. In some cases, as that outline at the NBA in an on article on Slate.com, powerful personalities can make relations between labor and management appear to work smoothly. The head of the NBA, Larry O'Brien reached agreements on drug usage and salary caps that created an atmosphere of almost ideal partnership between management and labor (Craggs, 19 February 2009). The piece compares the management style of recently-retired