This paper examines labor unions and labor relations in the United States, covering the hierarchical structure of unions from international bodies down to local chapters, and defining labor relations as the activities governing union-management interactions. The paper explores how union-management relationships affect organizational performance, distinguishing between cooperative arrangements that boost productivity and adversarial ones that generate absenteeism, grievances, and turnover. It also assesses the declining relevance of labor unions in a knowledge-driven U.S. economy, noting the shift toward technical and managerial jobs, the challenges unions face in delivering gains to members, and why unions remain more prevalent in the public sector than in private industry.
Labor unions are organizations whose membership is drawn from the labor force of a particular economy. They are charged with the responsibility of representing the interests of their members in labor-management issues within the work environment. Labor unions can also be occupation-specific, representing workers employed in particular trades such as communications workers (for instance, journalists), healthcare professionals (including nurses and doctors), stage and theatrical employees (including actors), and employees in the hospitality industry (including chefs and waiters, among others).
Labor unions are hierarchically organized, starting with the international union at the highest level of the organization. This is followed, at a lower level, by district councils found in every state in the United States. These councils' jurisdictions cover areas such as towns and cities. It is important to note that union locals represent workers at their individual workplaces.
Labor relations — a term used interchangeably with "labor-management" — defines the relationship and activities that exist between unions and the employers of union members. Well-established organizations have labor relations or employee relations specialists in place, charged with the responsibility of intervening between the labor union and management. In smaller organizations, this relationship is most likely handled by a knowledgeable human resource manager or even an attorney.
Labor relations activities include contract negotiations, a process that determines a final agreement between employees and management (Stim, 2013). Employee grievances are also an important issue handled as part of labor relations by unions. As Hirschman (1970) suggests, many worker, workplace, and market factors influence the likelihood of grievance filing, some of which include lack of compensation and benefits, lack of recognition and reward, poor working conditions, and low wages and remuneration. Nonetheless, Bin Daud, Yahya, Mohd, and Mohd Noor (2011) reveal that extraversion negatively and significantly impacts the choice of handling grievances.
Labor unions have an impact on the operations of organizations, and this impact varies according to the nature of the relationship between union officials and the management of different organizations. In firms that employ tradespeople and skilled labor, there is most likely to be a conducive relationship between labor and management, since workers have been accustomed to union officials within the trade. Moreover, these firms are also more likely to be competitive as they continually evaluate their labor relations strategies. Such firms are concerned about the impact of "union organizing and bargaining on their productivity, profits, and stock performance" (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2011). Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright (2011) further explain that there is most likely to be a positive influence on productivity through skillful labor management, as seen in the relationship between Harley-Davidson and the International Association of Machinists as well as the Aerospace Workers, a relationship responsible for sustained high productivity.
In other organizations, there appears to be a contentious relationship between management and labor unions, particularly during contract negotiations. Byrnes (2012) explains that an adversarial relationship between labor unions and an organization's management — one that lacks motivation and the necessary skills for restoration into a cooperative relationship — is most likely to result in low organizational productivity. Employee tension, absenteeism, heightened employee grievances, increased employee turnover, and diminished loyalty to the organization are among the issues such an organization is most likely to face (Byrnes, 2012).
"Two-sided effects of union-management cooperation or conflict"
"Union decline in a knowledge-driven modern economy"
"Why unions persist mainly in government workplaces"
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