Labor Relations
Unions give lots of credit to workers who have seniority because unions are known for their wiliness to repay loyalty, for one thing. If a worker has been in a union for a lengthy period of time that shows dedication to the union and the company; and also it shows respect for the union leadership. According to journalist Gregory Hamel, gaining seniority in a union takes a long time, so workers may be "reluctant to quit their jobs because doing so might erase their seniority" (Hamel, 2012). A new hire in a union will receive a certain base pay rate, and a worker who has been in the union for five years would also receive that base pay rate "plus an additional amount based upon years of service" (Hamel, p. 1). Union workers with seniority may get more vacation time, and in the event of a layoff, new workers would be laid off before those with seniority. In a non-union shop, workers often are paid based on how well they perform on the job, or what their training is coming into the job; this is the main difference between union shops and non-union shops.
Discussion ONE (continued): I am not totally confident that managers can always make a judgment as to differences...
Performance management systems must first identify the tasks and "deliverables to be completed, expected results and & #8230; standards that will be used to evaluate performance" of all employees (HR Council). The employee must be trained, evaluated, and frequently assessed as to how well he or she is completed expected tasks (in comparison to another's performance). "Continuous coaching" should give a worker all the tools he or she needs. If the manager can provide frequent feedback to the employee about what he is doing right and what he needs work on, that can be helpful to the worker (HR Council). But there are always more important things for managers to do apart from constant evaluation of workers. Human bias and personality preferences can easily enter into the evaluation process, so I believe it is highly unlikely that management can consistently, effectively judge legitimate differences between 2 employees.
Discussion TWO: The work schedule I would prefer would be the compressed work week. There are two types of compressed work weeks presented by the University of California at Merced (UC Merced). One is working 10 hours…
