Bargaining Essays (Examples)

The issue of continuity of operations is an example. Kaiser could have stated this as a position - no strikes. However, their interest is not "no strikes" but rather a continuity of operations. The union could have responded to a position of "no strikes" by finding other means of protest, or by taking offense to the suggestion that they surrender one of their core rights. Rather, the union expressed their own interest and the two sides were able to agree on a framework whereby these key interests of both sides were met.

3) Kaiser's had a couple of key entering and exiting points. The first key entering point was when adoption of the initial proposal from DeCicco. The next was the creation of the framework for differentiating national and local issues. In the case of the former, the step was key because it recognized that not only did they have…

(Hanley, December, 5, 2001, p. D5) (Hanley, December, 8, 2001, p. D 1) Mediation is in fact not a last resort, even though it often seems so in public representations of these sorts of conflicts, it is actually a rather effective and logical step in a chain of reconciliation.

One long time teacher mentioned to the reporter covering the strike that in all the time she had been a teacher there had never been a peaceful resolution to contract negotiations. (Hanley, December 6, 2001, p. D1) Understanding the full scope of the problem is unlikely as few people understand what it is like to go to work in limbo, as teachers frequently do. They frequently go to work not knowing if and what or sometimes even when they will receive a paycheck. Many mistakes were made on both sides of this bargaining table. The first of which was timing.

The…

Europe in the early 20th century was experiencing unprecedented change. The country was in the midst of technological revolution that was second only to the United States. The country was also flourishing due to intellectual capital being spread throughout the region. The industrial revolution was beginning to set root within the economy. New industries and methods of transportation arose from the industrial revolution. Trade was expanding as goods were able to be shipped more seamlessly than ever before. The overall economy also experience long periods of over 5% GDP growth through the early 20th century. Unfortunately, even with this great amount of prosperity, conflicts still arose. In particular, 1914 was a period of strong international conflicts between rival nations. In 1914 war broke out that would threaten citizens of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas (Fromkin, pg. 5). In many instances, it was the economic prosperity of the…

Negotiation is a critical component of human communications. Even the most mundane interactions we have in our daily lives can involve negotiation, such as where to eat dinner and what to order. Usually in these simple situations we do not think about the strategies of negotiation because the outcomes are relatively unimportant. Yet when it comes to higher stakes negotiation, it becomes important to recognize the various types of strategies that can be used, to choose strategies that are generally more effective and can create win-win results.

Distributive negotiation does not tend to create results of maximum benefit to all parties. What distributive negotiation can do is provide the semblance of fairness through the principle of equal distribution. Distributive negotiation lives up to its name because it typically entails taking a mutually desired outcome and dividing it among stakeholder parties. Sometimes, distributive justice can seem like it results in a…

Collective bargaining is made up of negotiations between an employer and a group of workers that decide the conditions of employment. Frequently workers are represented in the bargaining by a union or other labor association. The outcome of collective bargaining procedure comes in the form of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Collective agreements may be in the shape of procedural agreements or substantive agreements. Procedural agreements have to do with the association between workers and management and the procedures to be put into place for settling individual or group disagreements. This generally includes procedures in regards to individual grievances, disputes and discipline. Commonly, procedural agreements are put into the businesses rule book which supplies information as to the general terms and conditions of employment and rules of behavior that apply (Collective Bargaining Process, 2007).

For many months, the Department of Education, Board of Education, and the State of Hawaii underwent…

Integrative and Distributive Bargaining.

Integrative bargaining. When the parties in negotiation are not in direct conflict and both can potentially benefit from good faith bargaining, an interest-based, or integrative form of bargaining can often lead to good outcomes. The basis for integrative bargaining is that each party willingly seeks to understand the presenting issues from the perspective of the other party. In this way, emerging interests are identified and acknowledged, and the negotiation takes on a decidedly win-win flavor. The goal of integrative bargaining is that both parties will achieve benefits in the form of their interests being met, and both parties will attain a better understanding of the challenges and objectives of their negotiating partners, The key to making integrative bargaining work is to ensure that at least one party understands how to "enlist the other in a mutual discovery of interests" (Honeyman, 2010). Until and unless this happens,…

As a result, financial planners need to advise clients who receive these payments and make large cash investments to do so as soon as possible. The study concluded that dollar-cost averaging would be unlikely to topple the superior results of lump-sum investing at this time (Williams and acon).

Profit-sharing allows employees to earn bonuses according to company performance (GoSmalliz 2008). A certain percentage is set aside by the firm and paid to the employees if certain annual profit goals are met or exceeded. onuses are paid in cash or as a contribution to the retirement fund, or else partly in cash and partly as contribution to the retirement fund. The advantage for employees is that they share in the company's profits. The disadvantage is that they receive the share even if their performance does not improve or they do not receive it even if their performance improves (GoSmalliz 2008).

A…

In other words, the contemporary environment and push towards accontability and increased test scores has ensured that labor-management relations must also imrove. While unions must perform the function they were engendered -- to promote the best interests of the teachers whom they represent. Therein, though, lies a conundrum -- with greater transparency between administrators and teachers is essential in modern times, and both sides need a broader social and political process if anything is going to be done, the simple fact remains -- the reason for the school system is the education of our future leaders. Fairness must exist on all ends -- and often times it does seem like the teacher contingent is asked to give up more than the administrative side.

Still, what the authors seem to be saying is that teacher unions have, over the past few decades the atmosphere has professionalized to the point that collective…

It would be in the best interest of everyone if the union and the employer would work together (Johnson & Donaldson, 2006). When these two sides work together and in good faith, much more is accomplished in the way of helping teachers be successful and ensuring that the most qualified teachers remain in the classrooms. Otherwise, some of the best teachers move on because they are able to get what they want and need elsewhere (Pynes & Lafferty, 1993). Even in a tight economy, there is a need for teachers in many school systems. Why should they remain where they are not appreciated, when there are other unions and other employers who will clearly take better care of them?

The duty to bargain is highly significant. When an employer hires union employees, he or she should realize that there will be negotiations with that union at some point in the…

Paul E. Pynes and Joan M. Lafferty assess the issue of labor relations and unions from a different stand -- that of the safety concerns. The two authors found out that most of the labor unions request some sort of membership fee and that the explanation forwarded by the unions to explain these fees is represented by the fact that they require financial resources to efficiently address the needs of the individuals they represent.

Pynes and Lafferty took a rather distant approach of the topic and focused on the objective presentation of the various types and contracts of union security provisions. These included the closed shops -- which are the most rigid type of union security in the private sector --, the union shop, the agency shop, the fair share arrangement and the maintenance of membership (highly rare). Aside from the actual forms of union security provisions, the two authors…

Purpose of Interest Based Bargaining

The collective bargaining process is hardly ever dull or unexciting. Every now and then, there is significant tension as one of the participating parties or the other comes to the realization that it will fail to reach the expectations of its constituents. From time to time, there is significant eagerness and passion as resourceful options emanate with the potential to render mutual gains. In different occasions, apparently negligible or routine issues of contract terminology or working state of affairs have the potential to be fiery and tense on the basis of how they are addressed (Kochan and Lipsky, 2003). Interest based bargaining is founded on the ascertainment and determination of mutual interests instead of the resolution of specific bargaining demands. Interest based bargaining can be delineated as a process of solving problems that is conducted in a moral manner that generates efficacious solutions and at…

Union Presidents

Collective Bargaining - Labor relations Topic: explain duties national union president executive board members Essay Question: List explain duties national union president executive board members, illustrate remuneration considered "fair compensation" compared CEO-counterpart U.

List and explain the various duties of the national union president and executive board members, and illustrate how their remuneration is not always considered "fair compensation" as compared with their CEO-counterpart in the U.S. corporations.

The national union president administers the union constitution and enforces the union's official policies (Sloane & Witney 2010: 167). Union presidents act as the public voice of the organization, appearing as public speakers at union conventions and before the public. They also testify before congressional committees on pertinent issues. They may act as advocates for unionization in non-union shops, strive to protect pro-union policies and laws and deal with management when contentious issues arise such as wildcat strikes or closed…

Realm of Legal Negotiation

DISTRIBUTIVE VS. INTEGRATIVE

Negotiation involves a dialogue of two or more parties or people with the intention to reach a favorable outcome. This favorable result can be for just one party or both parties involved. The integrative approach to negotiation tries to expand the "pie" to make sure everyone gets something. However, the distributive approach ensures one side "wins" and the other, "loses." The legal landscape of practicing lawyers today asks for a further analysis of what is effective and what is not. Meaning, the distributive method greatly outweighs the integrative method in terms of its utilization in lawyer-to-lawyer negotiations because of how it can be used to help one side get what it wants. That is what lawyers do, they try to get the best outcome for their client, not for both parties involved.

Negotiation is a difficult activity to learn and master. ADR or…

Abstract
This paper provides a summary of the Illinois Policy Institute’s Bargaining for Better Schools: An Introduction to Collective Bargaining in Illinois Public Education. The policy paper discusses how teachers unions take advantage of the collective bargaining process in Illinois by working with school boards. The school board members are elected thanks in part to the campaign funds provided by the unions. When it comes time to negotiate teachers’ salaries and benefits, the boards are thus in the pockets of the unions, as they feel compelled to reciprocate by giving the unions what they want. Taxpayers are left in the dark about much of this because of the misleading communications provided them by the unions.
Keywords: Illinois public schools, Illinois teacher unions, Illinois collective bargaining
Introduction
This paper examines the Illinois Policy Institute’s (n.d.) Bargaining for Better Schools: An Introduction to Collective Bargaining in Illinois Public Education. It will provide…

Successful Collective Bargaining

The following is labor relations interaction between one of the supervisors, Dr. Gael and me, Nordic. The interaction touches on the idea called collective bargaining processes.

Me: As we have learned in the past six weeks, collective bargaining is the simple process of taking bargains between the employees and employers. The main aim of carrying out a collective bargaining in an organization is to determine the working conditions and the terms fixed in the employment process. Moreover, it serves to regulate the nature of relations between employers, workers, and the representatives of them. The process of collective interaction includes the interactions that take place parties participating in the collection of the bargaining process agreement. Tomal & Schilling, (2013) state that collective bargaining includes a collection of all the communications and correspondences that take place during, before, and after negotiations. If I may ask you a question, Dr.…

Union Negotiations

In the 1990s, America was undergoing a major transformation. What was happening, is globalization (i.e. free trade agreements) made is possible to have access to numerous markets around the world without having to worry about tariffs. This created a transformation in the way many firms are operating by giving them the ability to: increase their profits and lower their labor costs. (Watcher, 2007, pp. 23 -- 29)

In the case of Caterpillar (i.e. Cat), they were dealing with similar challenges during this time. This is because, the firm was trying to lower its labor costs and increase their profit margins. However, a major challenge existed with the contract that the firm had in place with the United Auto Workers (UAW). In this situation, Cat wanted to move away from its traditional business structure to one that is more focused on: specific products lines and geographic locations. This created…

Elliott, H. (2013, January 6). NHL, players reach tentative deal on new collective bargaining agreement. LA Times [Los Angeles], pp. 1-3.

Collective bargaining can occur in a variety of fields, from sports, to politics. It enables settlement of disputes that can benefit both parties as well as produce a result that isn't too one-sided. Collective bargaining is "the negotiation of wages and other conditions of employment by an organized body of employees" (Beal, Wickersham, & Kienast, 1972, p. 5). In an article by LA Times, collective bargaining arises in contract disputes of the NHL.

The collective bargaining dispute stems from the NHL players Association and their laor dispute with the NHL. "Kings fans had waited 45 years for their beloved team to win the Stanley Cup last June, so it seemed cruel that a labor dispute between the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Assn. delayed their chance to…

Labor elations and Collective Bargaining

What is European Union's Social Charter

The Social Charter of Europe is a treaty by the European Council which guarantees fundamental economic and social freedoms. It is an equivalent of the European Human ights Convention, which deals with political and civil freedoms. It guards a wide range of day-to-day freedoms of human beings that have to do with education, housing, social welfare and protection, employment and health. The Charter is particularly focused on protecting minority people like children, the disabled, the aged as well as migrants. The Charter emphasizes on the granting of the freedoms stated above, free from discrimination. The Charter is the only Pan-European legal instrument that has the power to give such complete and extensive social rights protection. It is also used as reference in the laws of the EU. In fact, the Fundamental ights Charter of the EU came up with…

Labor elations/Collective Bargaining

The discussion below is a review of the case between Mach Mining and EEOC

A close look at the sex discrimination case against March Mining LLC, EEOC, and the respondent decided that there was enough ground to believe that the company engaged in hiring malpractices. Mach Mining LLC and the complainant were requested to attend conciliatory proceedings. They were also notified that an appointed representative would contact them to start the meetings. After one year, Mach Mining was sent a letter notifying them that the conciliation process had hit a deadlock and, thus, failed. The commission formally sued Mach Mining in the federal court. Mach Mining on its part claimed that the commission had not made the conciliatory efforts in good faith. The commission sought to demonstrate that it had fulfilled its judicial responsibility, and pointed out the act of sending Mach Mining the letters (MACH MINING,…

Right to Contract Out

The notion that by raising the janitor job from $13.89 to $14.38 the Company would cease "to be successful" says enough about the "good faith" of the Company to know that it is dubious at best. Yet this 80 cent raise was maintained as the reason for denial of the grievance (Schwartz 516). Moreover, during the job evaluation, the Company "tipped its hand" by announcing that it did not really want to evaluate the job because after a wage survey it had found that the "janitors were the highest paid in the area" (p. 518). At the same time, the Company broke with its traditional or normative manner of evaluating by not requesting for a lowering of points, as it had in the past, when pay was an issue. Instead, the Company showed its hand again when one representative stated, "These jobs are probably gone" (Schwartz…

executives practice win-win negotiations. While positional bargaining encourages parties to compete, win-win fosters collaboration. The outcome is a solution that optimizes results, rather than makes one party the loser. Specifically win-win negotiations encourages:

Critical thinking skills: A satisfactory negotiation depends on quality inputs and an understanding of the overall impact. Critical thinking is enhanced when both parties work toward the same goal.

Mutuality: SC is positioned to set the standard for future computer generations. However, due to cash constraints, I recognized that the company could not pay my market value. Because the VP, in turn, expressed his concern for my needs, which are to be part of a start-up venture and to extend the business internationally, we could reach an agreement that allowed for a deferred salary increase.

Empathetic listening: Because we were seeking common ground and not looking to be right, listening skills were greatly improved. Each party listened…

Black Women in White Male Industries

evise and esubmit

You have chosen in this paper a topic that has both national and international significance. How indeed inclusive, fair, and just are so called "inclusion or set-aside" initiatives? How open and accessible are the programs to new immigrants and minorities? These are all very interesting questions that your paper raises.

But you don't fully address whether or not the rational approach considers such programs to be either fair, effective, and even legitimate. Are these programs acceptable or legitimate in the eyes of a policy analyst or maker who subscribes to the rational choice perspective? Why and why not? Your paper also seems to contain a few sentences at the end that are not properly paraphrased but yet are not under quotation marks. This needs to be paraphrased or removed or quoted to avoid plagiarism.

Please find below your Paper 1 Grade…

Bargaining Power

When speaking about unions and the leverage they do or do not have at any given time, a pertinent question can easily become whether the unions are in a better position to bargain when the company is doing well or when it is doing poor. Also relevant is how the wider economy is, how the cost of living is changing (or not changing) and so forth. While it may seem like an easy answer to give, there can be factors that lean one way or another even if the overall picture is gloomy. While unions will generally have a better position to bargain when the economy, in both its current and projected future states, are good, there is more than one factor that matters and which way they all fall can vary from factor to factor.

Analysis

There are two different scenarios posed for the author of this…

Australia began shifting to a limited Welfare State at the end of the Second World War (1945) and has continually supported privatization and deregulation. The 1904 Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act and 1988 Industrial Relations Act (IRA) both have set a strong precedent for workers' rights and the right to create and form unions. From an ER standpoint these laws and compliance requirements are also constrictive as they are one-size-fits-all in approach.

Role of Stakeholders- the Government, Unions, Workers,

Both Australia and Germany are comparable in the depth and sophistication of systems, processes and procedures to support stakeholders. Of the two, Germany ahs been architecture far more to support and protect the unionized work. The German Trade Union Confederation, combined with the German series of laws to protect the worker has lead to protectionist approaches when it comes to allowing new businesses into Germany. MNCs looking t expand into Germany…

Diverse Policing

Criminal Profiling

While this opinion might be considered unpopular, the reality is that these repetitive stops are reasonable. These repetitive stops represent a phenomenon known as criminal profiling. Criminal profiling is done simply because it does catch criminals. For example, criminal profiling was precisely what helped police investigators catch a criminal known as George Metesky, a bomber who had eluded the police for over 15 years. The frustrated police force asked investigator James Brussel (the assistant commissioner of mental hygiene) to come up with a detail description of the subject based on crime scene photos, notes, and other details provided. Brussel came up with the following description of the subject: "He would be unmarried, foreign, self-educated, in his 50s, living in Connecticut, paranoid and with a vendetta against Con Edison -- the first bomb had targeted the power company's 67th street headquarters" (Winerman, 2004). As experts do admit,…

Collective Bargaining Dispute

Seattle's $15 Minimum Wage Agreement: Collective Bargaining eborn?

The article covers the negotiation process that was held over a number of weeks in Seattle between the business class, the labor movement and the concerned task force. It was a classic example of the tradition of collective bargaining as it was used in the case of the Seattle workers to negotiate for the increment of the pay rise from $9.32 per hour to $15 per hour. The mayor spearheaded the entire process and it came to be adopted by the business community, labor and the task force that were involved in the entire process of negotiation and bargaining. This model of bargaining has been hailed as a unique one since it is like none other experienced in the U.S. Indeed of the 24 members who were involved in the collective bargaining, 21 of them endorsed the proposal and…

Social Psychology Studies: Explaining Irrational Individual Behavior by Understanding Group Dynamics

Social psychology is, as its name suggests, a science that blends the fields of psychology, which is the study of the individual, and sociology, which is the study of groups. Social psychology examines how the individual is influenced by the group. It looks at the influence of group or cultural norms on individual behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. However, because group norms are believed to change behavior, social psychology can be very difficult to document; the presence of the observer is believed to change behavior. As a result, social psychologists have developed a number of different studies aimed at investigating the interaction between group expectations and individual behavior. These studies offer insight into human social behavior, particularly into those social behaviors that seem to defy expectations and well-established social norms.

While there have been numerous social psychology studies since the…

Collective argaining and Civil Rights

Postal Service (USPS) entered into a Collective argaining Agreement (CA) with the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) in November of 2000. This CA addressed issues such as wage increase and promotion procedure, reassignment and reduction in force protection, as well as accommodation for deaf and hard of hearing postal employees. Specific measures for accommodating deaf and hard of hearing employees were established. Instituting the use of training videos with captions and using sign language interpreters during meetings, especially safety meetings, are a couple of measures outlined in the 2000 CA.

With the events that occurred on September 11th, 2001, and subsequent mailings of the potentially deadly biochemical Anthrax, safety of our U.S. Postal Service workers became a top priority. Numerous meetings were held to inform and instruct employees of potential hazards and proper handling procedure for packages suspected of containing anthrax. Vital information and procedures…

Since smaller class size has been shown to positively affect student learning, at least in the early grades, one might also infer that this affects teachers' work positively. Further, researchers have found a positive relationship between collective bargaining and increased preparation time for teachers, which many educators believe is essential for good teaching and collaborative work among colleagues within a school.

Collective Bargaining, Unions and Teacher/Educational Quality

In a March 1999 study of Texas Schools, teacher salaries were shown to have a modest impact on teacher mobility and upon student performance. The authors of the study found that teacher mobility was more affected by the characteristics of the students, including income, achievement and race.

Salaries are also more weakly related to performance on teacher certification tests. This appears to be relevant only in districts where there are high levels of hiring (ibid., 30). The study found that certification tests were…

Case Study 6.3 - "Unilateral Work Rule Changes"

The deceptively simple zipper clause included in the labor contract is profoundly powerful in its effects, or would be so if the legal exceptions of such a clause were not so prohibitive of its seeming intent. The clause is not especially complex, and means exactly what it says -- except for instances explicitly specified by he contract, no further bargaining is needed or can be required until the termination/expiration of the contract as "all the bargainable issues for the term thereof" have been definitively addressed by the contract. When both parties (i.e. labor and management) sign this contract, it is intended to mean that both parties are agreeing that all bargainable issues have been dealt with, and that therefore no more bargaining is necessary.

In reality, however, the full scope of the clauses' stated powers cannot be enforced due to existing legal…

Faith Bargaining

The company's unilateral implementation of the two new work rules without providing the union with prior notice or an opportunity to bargain did constitute a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith under the LMA, as amended, because at least one of the two new rules -- that regarding bonus pay for perfect attendance -- was a mandatory subject of bargaining (Fecteau). Management attempted to circumvent the LMA by applying a zipper clause, the language of which is neither clear nor unmistakable in terms of waving all bargaining rights. The Union could sue by claiming that the zipper clause only appears to be concerning material already stated in the contract and not new additions.

The purpose of the zipper clause is to effectively put an end to all bargaining between Union and company (Nakamura). Essentially it relieves both the Union and the company from engaging in…

delete them, please note where the information came from. THANKS!

Define and discuss the term "collective bargaining." The term "collective bargaining" refers to a process in which employers and employees (or their representatives, like trade unions, etc.) come together and voluntarily negotiate working conditions. Typically, these discussions come up at the end of a contractual period and focus on things like wages, work hours, benefits, safety of the workplace, overtime procedures, grievance and mediation procedures, and the level at which owners and management will allow workers to participate in the operation and strategic mission of the company.

In order for there to be collective bargarining, however, there needed to be a philosophy of labor; the term itself was first used in 1891 but the concept of unions and labor vs. management and owners, of course, harkens back to Karl Marx and even labor issues prior. Collective bargaining in the contemporary,…

multiple elements of the perceived prescriptive nature of collective bargaining agreements and analyze the arguments to the contrary.

The various elements of a collective bargaining agreement include: a signed contract and the terms / conditions that must be followed. Inside the document there will be a number of provisions that will be spelled out such as: employee rights / responsibilities, the authority of management and how any kind of changes can be made to the labor agreement. The combination of these factors is important, because they are creating a foundation for protecting the employees. While at the same time, they are establishing provisions to ensure that the staff is able to meet the objectives of the organization. This is the point that the agreement is addressing the needs of both sides.

However, some will argue that collective bargaining hurts the ability of an employer to adapt to changes. In some…

Collective Bargain

Some of the differences found in state governments and how they treat their employees can be discerned by how many or how few collective bargaining rights those employees are afforded. For example, West Virginia allows their employees the right to join unions and have exclusive bargaining while Arizona and Arkansas; while allowing employees the right to join unions, do not offer exclusive bargaining. Although these three states do not offer collective bargaining policies per se, they differ from other states that are in the same category by offering their employees the right to join unions and have the unions bargain for them. Some states, such as Virginia and North Carolina, have passed laws against public employees joining unions at all.

Those states that do not allow for collective bargaining are oftentimes able to accomplish the goals and objectives of collective bargaining by offering local governments the right to…

Striking is not deemed to be an acceptable method of dispute resolution under the Taylor Law. According to Section 209, an impasse is deemed to exist if the parties fail to achieve agreement at least one hundred twenty days prior to the end of the fiscal year of the public employer. Specific provisions of Section 209 pertain to certain, select public employment bodies, such as police and fire unions, which must submit directly to binding arbitration because of the vital nature of the services they provide. The PERB can assist resolution by appointing mediators, and if this fails, it can create a fact-finding board with the power to make recommendations. If an impasse is still manifest the dispute is shifted to the chief executive officer of the government involved and to the employee organization involved.

Union security

Public employees are allowed to unionize by law (and, indeed, it could be…

" (Rouillard, 1987) There was a desire to "humanize the economy" based on the value of work being "more important than capital since the individual had to take priority over the accumulation of goods." (Rouillard, 1987)

VIII. LIERAL HUMANISM & ECONOMIC PLANNING

In 1958 this liberal humanism of the CTCC "manifested itself in a new theme that appeared...economic planning." (Rouillard, 1987) Abuses of the system were corrected by the intervention of the state even though it was symbolic intervention only and it even "further directed the economy toward satisfying the real needs of individuals." (Rouillard, 1987) the CTCC gradually became nondenominational over the years and finally in 1960 the CTCC dropped 'Catholic' from its title and "all direct references to the Church's social doctrine." (Rouillard, 1987)

IX. ETHNICALLY SUMERGED SPLIT LAOUR MARKET

The work of Calliste entitled: "Sleeping Car Porters in Canada: An Ethnically Submerged Split Labour Market" (1987) states…

Wage Issues and Economic Supplements

The interview for this assignment was conducted with the human resources manager of Ford Motor Company. The company has prolonged its partnership with the United Automobile Workers union. The interview questions and their answers are listed below.

How do you rate the wage level in your company in relation to the minim wage?

Ford Motor is a company that attributes its success on the quality of its manufactured vehicles. These high quality standards can only be achieved with the quality input of our workers. Therefore, their performance becomes connected with their job satisfaction, which relies on the wages they receive for their work. We want high quality work, and we pay higher than average wages.

Q2: Are there any types of jobs within your company where you pay minimum wages?

A2: There most certainly are. We have positions where unskilled workers are required. For such…

Sociology Take Home Final

Unequal Power Relationships and Laborers

The unequal power relationship that characterizes many employment relationships is characteristic of industrialized capitalism. Capitalism itself is defined by the manufacturing division of labor, which systematically divides the work of economic production into limited operations. The result is that no one man in the Capitalist system would know how to produce a good from start to finish, destroying the traditional notion of occupations, e.g. artisans or craftsmen.

ecause each worker is only qualified to perform a particular, often narrow, task which creates no value in itself but must be combined with the fruits of other tasks by the Capitalist, the worker is at the mercy of the Capitalist who owns the means of production. The dominant mode of employment arising from the manufacturing division of labor is wage labor. In wage labor, a worker does not work to improve his own…

Role of Labor Unions in Industrial Relations

In their definition, labor unions have always been known as organizations that have always aimed at getting their members both financial and non-financial benefits. The role of labor unions is however bigger than that and they have been known to aid in helping employers improve the productivity and discipline of their workers. Labor unions respond to issues differently. This is explained by the differences in industrial relations contexts and also policies of different states as well as strategies of the various employers around the country.

Employees come together to form a labor union to achieve a common goal. Labor unions have several goals. Some of the goals include agitating for higher retirement benefits as well as other benefits for its members. They also seek to increase the number of workers assigned for specific job tasks. They ensure that employees work under good and…

But when it just recently occurred in 2004 at a store in Jonquiere, British Columbia, the reader must appreciate that a real battle had been won. The original efforts of that particular store for example had the local labor Commission reject certification by a margin of 74 to 65. When the union announced that it won the coveted certification at Quebec, it was quite a blow to the retailer. The Quebec Labour elations Commission issued the order certifying the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) as the bargaining agent of employees in Wal-Mart's store in Jonquiere. As noted, the reason a victory of this magnitude is huge is because of the policies and tactics used by Wal-Mart. The retailer works diligently to prevent its workforce from engaging in any collective action and they have consistently shown that they are willing to cross the line to guarantee their position.

Wal-Mart…

Another surprising feature of our negotiations was the lack of back-and-forth collaboration and dialogue. In short, we did not engage in integrative bargaining or dynamic negotiation. I simply spat out my asking price based on what I had expected to receive based on the BATNA. Forgetting the condition of the engine and the other possible features my partner valued when he did spend time looking under the hood, I failed to probe my partner for his needs. I should have asked, for example, what he wanted to use the car for, if he has owned a similar automobile, and whether or not he was a collector. Had I gleaned some extra information about my partner, the two of us could have worked harder on "creating" value than on "claiming value." As the case progressed I realized that I had succeeded at neither.

The brevity and lackluster nature of the negotiations…

As the negotiations became aggressive, Marlee countered Fitch's aggressiveness by unilaterally raising the price, setting deadlines ('the deal should be finalized the next time I call'), and threatening to sway the verdict against Fitch.

Marlee also proved to be an adept negotiator when dealing with ohr. She skillfully defined the value set by digging into ohr's true motivation, and then appealed to his sense of greater achievement by offering him a scenario of 'Greater gun control'. She, however, underestimates ohr's sense of righteousness, as he refuses to go through with the deal, based on his conscience. The difference between the Marlee-Fitch negotiation and the Marlee-ohr negotiation is starkly evident, as the former is conducted in an aggressive environment with plenty of hidden motives, withholding of information, and threats, while the former, despite the initial threat of mistrial by ohr, is conducted in a much more open and honest environment.

As…

Negotiation Scene

The Rock, a 1996 thrilling, high paced movie release, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, demonstrated a series of intense and riveting scenes in which negotiation, and the negotiation process with accompanying successful attitudes, are played out in a violent and thrilling tale. Luckily for us, these negotiation scenes not only highlight the necessary skills and mind frames for successful marketing and business skills, but are also highly entertaining and artistically relevant. This suspenseful movie delivered high paced action scenes starring superstars Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage and Ed Harris. This movie artfully and demonstrably examined the use of negotiation skills in a high-stakes environment while simultaneously providing us with an opportunity to learn and understand the graceful and sometimes confusing task of information-based bargaining.

In order to fully understand and learn the useful applications presented in this film dealing with the techniques of information-based bargaining…

Professional Issues in Nursing

Things that surprised me

The chapter on collective bargaining has some surprising aspects with respect to nursing. Collective bargaining has a number of difficulties while being implemented at nursing profession. Nurses have a number of predicaments that can easily bar them from accessing and delivering quality services to patients. In order to arrive at an equitable ground where success is determined and assessed by use of collective bargaining, nurses and any other worker should exist in groups of palatable ground of service.

As indicted in chapter 17 of the book, nurses and many people working in organizations have difficulties in accessing policies that demonstrate their capabilities. Nurses encounter difficulties, which are often directed to their organizations. Nursing is a difficult activity that deserves a lot of sacrifice and affection from the people involved. Moreover, it is surprising to know that there are no direct segments within…

Hotels such as Starwood will often deal with major institutional suppliers in order to ensure that they have access to supplies, but also this allows them to enjoy economies of scale in purchasing. There are parts of the world where construction costs have soared at times due to a shortage of key labor in the construction industry, or of building materials. As a result, the hotel industry might have lower bargaining power at times over the cost of new hotels. ith the focus on growth being in emerging markets, hotels usually have good bargaining power over labor because of the good jobs that the hotels and resorts provide to the local populace.

The intensity of rivalry within the industry is high. There are a handful of major players, like Starwood, Accor and Hilton that have multiple brands across different price points in the industry. These companies tend to compete globally.…

For this reason, they have stepped out to pursue alternatives, especially foreign cars. On the contrary, as consumers become price oriented, they have minimal purchasing power because they are not buyers of large volume automobiles (Porter, 1985).

3.3 Threat of New Entrants

It is extremely difficult for new entrants penetrate the auto industry because of the existing high level of brand loyalty. Nevertheless, the few popular overseas firms and entered the American auto industry easily. For example, Honda Motors entered Ohio by opening a new office. This marked the beginning of a major stiff competition in the industry. Foreign entrants have expanded leading to decreased markets for American auto companies (ubenstein, 2011).

3.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers

In the current marketplace, consumers have been given various options, models, and brands to make their selection. However, various factors affect the buying decisions of consumers. They include price, appearance, and effect on…

Labor Negotiating Practices

The issue of labor negotiating practices is one of the most important issues that companies must address. This is because the sensitiveness of labor problems is reflected in their legal implications. The battle between employers and employees becomes more and more difficult and requires advanced negotiation skills.

Company's Stance towards Labor Issues

The company that is analyzed in this case is represented by the companies that joined their forces in order to purchase Twinkies and other important brands from Hostess in their attempt to invest in their revival. These companies are represented by Metropoulos and Co. And Apollo Global Management. The potential of these brands has been acknowledged by the two companies that are interested in opening up new production plants. This means that they will hire a large number of employees. However, the issue in this case is that these companies are not interested in allowing…

5. How have the trade unions in the industry responded to the changes in employment relations in the industry?

Since 1991, both Labor and Liberal-National governments have encouraged enterprise bargaining, marking a major shift away from a more centralized approach to employment relations. On the other hand, there is still an aspect of external regulation in the automotive sector and more generally, across the industrial relations system. The AIC, a tribunal established by the Commonwealth Government at the turn of the twentieth century continues to have the power to settle disputes through conciliation and arbitration, to certify enterprise agreements and to establish minimum standards across the workforce. The ongoing role of the AIC has meant that the legacy of external directive continues to have an influence in the automotive assembly division, as do other third parties such as trade unions (Lansbury, Wright and Bairdi, 2006).

Over the last two decades,…

Missouri's Civil War

In the early 1980's, the University of Missouri's Columbia campus was facing a bleak economic future as a poor economy and the state's tax-based appropriations system were projected to be sharply curtailed. The university's newly appointed Provost, on Bunn, was assigned the task of finding a solution to the looming financial disaster. When the Board of Curators and faculty gave Bunn their full support for him to single-handedly come up with a solution, they then became outraged at the solution he proposed to the problem. As reported in the New York Times, Bunn had "proposed abolishing two of the university's 14 schools and colleges and sharply reducing the operations of seven others.." (Maeroff, 1982) In response to these budget cuts, the university's faculty and Board of Curators attacked both Bunn and his solution.

Integrative bargaining is founded on the principle that at the end of negotiations, both…

It would help for me to have some understanding of the LP and EP of the employer side of the negotiations, therefore, I would consult with any available experts who might be better able to explain to me the position that the employers take.

One of the main components of the preparation process would be to rehearse negotiations with the female representatives of the working women. Women at almost every skill level of employment indicate a lack of faith in the bargaining process; so that they do not feel that they can meaningfully impact their employment situations through bargaining, which leads them to settle for the award rates in pay scenarios. Even in a negotiation where they do not actual negotiating, I am very concerned that this attitude could make our position seem weaker and make it less likely for the bargaining session to be successful. Therefore, any woman who…

Letter Against Unionization

Dear Mr. Hines

Thank you for our recent discussion regarding the American Professionals Union's attempt to organize our nursing staff. The nurses have made their many grievances known and I have listened intently to their rationale about unionizing. With the widespread shortage of nurses, many hospitals have given way to unionization. This is not a new trend. It is a popular way for nurses to resolve challenges and negotiate salaries. The American Nurses Association first endorsed collective bargaining in the later 19040s and at the time, viewed it as the road to improving both wages and working conditions (Carrell & Heavrin, 2007). Today, nurses' attention has shifted from wages, benefits, and work conditions, to also include patient issues. ecent strikes in California, Minnesota and Pennsylvania have focused on nurse to patient ratios in particular, after extensive research revealed a direct correlation between minimum nurse to patient ratios…

.....controversy of establishing a court system at the creation of the U.S. Constitution centered on the power struggle between states and the creation of a federal, central government with its own court and ability to overrule state court decisions. The Constitution pitted Federalists against Anti-Federalists. The former wanted a central government that acted as the top force over all the states; the latter wanted no central government -- because, after all, the Revolutionaries had just fought a war against a king -- why should they turn around and elect a new one? The idea of sovereign states was such that each state was its own master and local citizens could have more say in their government at a localized, grassroots level. The passing of the Constitution essentially tipped the scales towards the centralized federal government having power over all the states (Brutus No. 1, 1787).

UNIT 1 DISCUSSION (2)

Feld's…

The Rise of Collective Bargaining

According to Brody (1993), the collective agreement signed between unions and employers meant that the unions were no longer pushing for activism, but rather they were running the unions as a business. The unions were mostly concerned with ensuring that employees had job security and they worked hard to quell any disturbances that might arise. With employees working as expected and employers willing to pay the employees as agreed, there was a need for the unions to honor their contractual agreements. The contracts removed the unions from management and offered the company managers leeway to run the business as deemed fit. Unions opted to have collective bargaining agreements that in the long run meant that the unions were powerless and the power of workers no longer rested with the unions (Aidt & Tzannatos, 2002). Adopting collective bargaining agreements meant that unions had to adhere to…

Characteristics of Nursing Employment Settings Without Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining, which is what is done by unions, is generally thought by most people to be beneficial, but there are some health care settings where the nurses choose not to be part of collective bargaining agreements or unions. These employment settings are generally characterized by nurses who have an affinity for their job, and who would do that job as a volunteer if they did not get paid. In other words, these nurses believe that they are doing what is right for their patients, and that is what matters to them. Sure, many of them have bills to pay and mouths to feed at home, and they understand the value of their paycheck. However, they want to be paid on the merits of what they are doing, not because a big group of people got together and said that they were…

The union, however, must be part of the process of determining a reasonable accommodation where the reasonable accommodation would cause a material, substantial or significant change in working conditions" to the unionized employees (Johnson, 2007).

However, negotiating reasonable accommodations, "may conflict with the NLRA prohibitions on direct dealing and unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment," which must be established during the collective bargaining process (Johnson, 2007). Thus the provisions of the ADA and NLRA may conflict. Furthermore, unlike Title VII, the "ADA does not contain an exception for collectively bargained seniority systems. Most likely, therefore, an employer can not automatically reject a requested accommodation that conflicts with or affects the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, such as request for a light duty job without the requisite seniority or a request for job restructuring, but must show that the accommodation would be an undue hardship, that is, unduly…

These techniques gather information and create networks of people and they help promote the interests of the unions at the level of policy making.

In terms of the future, this is difficult to foresee. Nonetheless, a feature which gains more and more popularity is the possibility for the No Child Left Behind Act to further increase the bargaining powers of the teacher and their unions. In such a context then, the policy making process would be more influenced by the teachers' unions.

At the same level of impasses which need resolution, Joan E. Pynes and Joan M. Lafferty take a more distant approach. Unlike Paul Manna, who emphasizes on the specifics of the NCLB act, Pynes and Lafferty take a more objective stand to the problems in the public sector and create a list of the means to be used in resolving impasses; their approach is more distant and more…

TWA

We tend to think of labor unions as a thing of the past. Not, of course, that workers no longer need protection. But since the beginning of the first eagan administration, we have become used to workers' rights being chipped - and sometimes hacked - away by the powerful interests of capital. (The same powerful interests, of course, that unions were designed to fight against). The overall percentage of workers who belong to unions has been falling for generations, in part because of eagan-era legal decisions that lessened the power of unions and in part because of globalization and a shift away (in the United States and in othe First World countries) from the heavy-industrial jobs that have tended to be the most heavily unionized, as Boeri (2001) notes.

But even as heavy industry is losing jobs and unions are losing those same workers, in other parts of the…

Punishment: Too Much or Not Enough

The purpose of the punitive measures effected by the criminal justice system has changed over time, especially as that system operates in America. There are several ideological stances to consider in regards to such punishment, which largely incorporate criminal, sociological, and moral viewpoints. The ebbing and swaying of various tenets espoused at different times and with varying popularity have largely resulted in today's criminal justice system in which punishment is largely viewed as a means of retribution. As such, punishment levied upon those convicted of criminal offenses is decidedly lengthy, resulting in a climate in which there appears to be a surfeit of punishment resulting in a system in which authors argue that "we are indeed ill" (ose, no date, p. 978). Certain other factors intrinsically related to the criminal justice system, such as the imminence of plea bargaining and the lucrative business of…

Economics

Sources of Information for a Porters Five Forces Analysis on Kraft Foods

To undertake a Porters Five Forces analysis it is necessary to identify potential sources of information that will give the required information. The Five Forces analysis will require an assessment of the five areas; degree of rivalry among competitors, threat of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, and availability of substitutes. This process can be examined by looking at the sources which may be used for a Porters Five Forces analysis of Kraft Foods, a firm that competes in the food industry. Each of the forces will be considered separately.

Degree of rivalry among competitors

Source 1; CSI Market; UL is http://csimarket.com/stocks/competitionSEG2.php?code=KFT

This is a very useful web site which has the primary aim of providing information to potential investors. The page on Kraft Foods is particularly useful in assessing the firm's position…

The union, as the filer and continued impetus behind the grievance, has the burden of proving that the company in some way violated its labor contract in so doing. The level of proof needed is fairly basic; the contract can be carefully read by the arbitrator, and any actions that were illegal according to the terms of the contract could be identified. The burden of proof must lie with the union just as an alleged criminal is supposedly "presumed innocent until proven guilty" -- it is a basic logical necessity. The company can no more prove that it has not violated the contract and more than a suspect can prove he did not rob a bank (for exmple); it is impossible to prove a negative. If the contract had been violated, there would be clear evidence of this for the union to point to.

Instead, the union's accusation is full…