Collective bargaining rights and labor disputes in contemporary America

Collective bargaining is the process by which workers organize among themselves to negotiate with their employers over work conditions -- including salary, hours, benefits, etc. The result of the process of collective bargaining is almost always a written contract that covers everyone in a job class, including non-union as well as union members (Nyland, 1987, p. 24).

A current example of collective bargaining exists in the negotiations between major league soccer players (MLS) and their management. (the current state of negotiations is addressed at the following blog: http://www.sportsagentblog.com/2010/02/01/mls-collective-bargaining-agreement / and in this article from Sports Illustrated: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/soccer_america/08/05/MLS.forecast/index.html ).In some ways this is a typical negotiation given that the two sides are each trying to get the best deal for themselves. In this case, as in many others, what is best for each side is also in large measure best for both, as Roberts writes in his blog:

Neither side feels like it can give in, but neither side can afford to miss the season. The league needs fans in the seats and the players need to get paid, especially those that are already strapping for cash because they make the minimum league salary of $34,000.

This set of negotiations may seem very different from the kinds carried on by firefighters or nurses because many of the workers (the soccer players) are very high profile and very well paid. But the fundamental dynamics remain the same: The workers are using their ultimate threat of striking to get better working conditions.

Question Two

In this first case (described at http://www.uri.edu/union/gau/viewnews.php?ID=17

graduate students at New York University were trying to preserve their right to unionize and to affiliate with other unions of their choice. The legal point at issue (also described at http://www.uri.edu/union/gau/viewnews.php?ID=17

http://www.2110uaw.org/gsoc/

) is whether graduate student employees at private universities have the right to unionize. Such efforts have long been fought by universities, who received support from the Bush Administration. A call is currently being made for the enactment of the Teaching and Research Assistants Collective Bargaining Rights Act, a law that if passed would amend the National Labor Relations Act "to restore collective bargaining rights to teaching and research assistants at private universities and colleges" (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ta_rights/

Another current issue involving collective bargaining involves TSA workers, who are allowed to unionize but not permitted to bargain collectively. The result (described at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103716.html

is exceedingly low morale amongst TSA workers. The purport of the law that denies them collective bargaining rights is that they have a job that is essential to national security.

In the third case, unions are seeking to change the law (part of the National Labor Relations Board Act) that would allow for unions to sign up members in a much simpler election process. The Employee Free Choice Act (also called "card-check") would in all likelihood greatly increase union strength and is thus almost universally vilified by companies http://dailyreporter.com/blog/2009/09/23/federal-card-check-bill-clings-to-life / http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ta_rights/

Four issues that are potential components of a collective bargaining agreement are salary, work hours, health insurance, and pension benefits. Currently the state employees in California are engaged in bargaining with the state (that is, with the executive power of the state in the form of Governor Arnold Scharzeneggar) over a number of issues that had been agreed to in their union contract but that the governor is now attempting to throw out because of the state's current budget crisis. The complexities of this negotiation are summarized by the Legislative Analyst's Office at:

http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2010/stadm/employee_comp/employee_comp_012710.aspx http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ta_rights/

The current negotiations involve all of the above issues. For example, the governor is asking state employees to contribute an additional five percent of their own pay to their pensions. This Analyst -- which is a non-partisan office -- has recommended that this su http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ta_rights/

would save the state $724 million but would substantially impact state workers, many of whom feel that lower salaries in the public sector are compensated for by a good pension program. The Legislative

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ta_rights/

State employees are also currently in negotiation over their health benefits. The governor has proposed moving all state workers' health insurance to a different insurance company. The result of this would be savings to the state, but lower quality and more expensive insurance for state workers.

Question Four

The process of establishing a bargaining unit consists of organizing a group of workers who wish to negotiate as a unit with their employers. Professional and nonprofessional workers must be in separate units and craft units cannot be subsumed in another unit without the permission of the craft workers. When the workers have agreed to bargain together and have either chosen to begin a new union or join an established one they petition to be recognized -- "certified" -- by the National Labor Relations Board. Members of a bargaining unit have similar interests with other members in their unit.

A current example of an attempt to establish a bargaining unit is underway as the United Food and Commercial Workers union is attempting to unionize workers at Wal-Mart. There would be different bargaining units if the corporation were unionized -- with drivers perhaps joining the teamsters and clerks joining the UFCW. Unionizing different categories of workers at Wal-Mart has high stakes for both unions and corporations, as noted in this story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123992564986427357.html

Wal-Mart remains one of labor's staunchest opponents, arguing that a union would lead to higher operating costs and less flexibility in managing workers. It also represents labor's biggest prize, because its jobs can't be shipped overseas and it sets standards in the retail and grocery industries. Union officials believe they would have an easier time organizing Wal-Mart competitors if the retailer were represented by unions.

Clerical workers are one of the most important groups of workers for unions to focus on organizing since more and more American workers are clerical workers. One of the reasons that union strength has diminished in recent decades is that there are fewer and fewer of the blue-collar workers who were the mainstay of union workers.

Question Seven

The process of administering a collective bargaining unit includes two primary tasks. The first of these is to negotiate the contract that determines the conditions to which both workers and managers have to agree. (This process is repeated whenever the contract has to be renegotiated: How long a contract is in place is determined at the time that each contract is finalized.)

The second major function of the union and management leaders who administer a collective bargaining agreement is to file and address grievance is a complaint filed by a worker who is a member of the bargaining unit who believes that either an element of the union contract has been violated or that a law (such as an overtime law or one addressing workplace safety) has been violated.

An example of a grievance occurred last year when the Professional Engineers in California Government filed a grievance with the Department of Personnel Administration over the issue of forced furlough days that the state's governor had put into place because of state budgetary limitations. The union argued in its grievance that the move violated the Memorandum of Understanding between its members and the state concerning both wages and working hours. (the case is described at http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/the_state_worker/2009/07/engineers-file-furlough-grieva.html)

Question Eight

The decertification of a union is basically the ending of a union in a particular workplace and the suspension of the contract that had been negotiated by the union and the loss of collective bargaining rights. In other words, it is the mirror image of the process of certification. Here is a description (with great apparent glee) of the decertification process -- which can only be initiated by the workers, not the management:

The right of employees to unionize -- to join together as a unit for collective bargaining with their employer -- is specifically authorized by law. But that same law not only permits employees to refuse to unionize initially, but goes one step beyond to provide a framework for "deunionization" -- the process by which a union, once it has become the elected representative of the employees, may later be removed from that position if the employees so wish. http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2002_2nd/Apr02_Decertifying.html

Decertification can also occur when a group of workers wishes to switch from one union to another. In this case, the existing union must be decertified before a new union can be certified. This is happening in the following case as workers try to shift unions. What is especially interesting about this case, described below, is that some workers are using this process to try to break free of both unions:

We are writing to demand that you immediately withdraw your decertification petition at our nursing homes. It was only a matter of time before your decision to file election petitions put our union and our future at risk. Now, some employers are looking to take advantage of the situation by trying to bust our union altogether. Managers and outside paid union-busters are holding mandatory group meetings and individually pressuring our union brothers and sisters to vote "no union." (http://www.seiu-uhw.org / )