Research Proposal 731
Teachers Union Satisfaction
Professor Scott Adams
Industrial Relations 731
February 21, 2012
I.
Executive Summary
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As laws and the political climate change, national Union membership has remained on a
steady decline. Union’s need to be more focused now than ever on maintaining member
satisfaction. The public teachers unionized to bring equality and justice to all teachers alike. We
have created this survey to evaluate our member’s current satisfaction with the Union on various
levels and identify areas for improvement.
As the union we will be looking at several different variables that affect our main goal.
The survey will be given to assess the overall satisfaction of teachers with our union. This survey
defines overall satisfaction as the communication between union officials and constituents;
satisfaction with wages/benefits; ramifications of the new collective bargaining agreement; and
general workload. Specifically, we indent to examine satisfaction as a function of
demographics, wages and benefits, the quality of service provided by union officials, and
employee’s union activity and identity.
When the information is compiled we will be able to see which members are being
underserved, if there is a disparate impact against any protected class, how satisfaction with
wages and benefits affects overall satisfaction, how satisfaction with the grievance procedure and
service provided by union officials affects overall satisfaction, and how employee’s satisfaction
and involvement with the union affects overall satisfaction. By analyzing the directionality and
strength of given independent variables we will better understand whether to target specific
employee groups, services provided by the union and/or aspects of the employment relationship.
II.
Problem Statement
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As a union, our primary goal is to advance and protect the employment rights of our
members. Our objective is simple - we exist to bargain for competitive benefits, safe working
conditions and sustainable wages.
As we look to find creative ways to support our members, it’s incumbent upon us to
understand the issues impacting our members. To effectively bargain in their best interests, we
need to understand the issues and challenges facing our union members.
To that end, our research design will explore the overall satisfaction our members have
with this union. We will specifically attempt to answer the following questions:
1) Communication: Determine the overall satisfaction our members have when
communicating with the union (both at the steward level as well as senior union
officials);
2) Benefits/Wages: Determine the overall satisfaction our members have with the union
when it comes to collective bargaining issues (compensation, benefits, safety etc.);
3) Ramifications of new collective bargaining reforms: Determine if the newly promulgated
restrictions on collective bargaining rights is affecting our members
(positively/negatively/no impact);
4) Work-load: Determine if our members feel adequately compensated -when considering
work load
As we compile the data vis-a-vie written survey to all members, we hope to identify
strengths and/or weakness with regard to our member’s perception of the union’s
performance. In doing so, we hope to better understand how the union is performing and
what changes/trends are affecting our ability to protect our members.
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In essence, this survey will perform a SWOT (Strength/Weakness/Opportunity/Threat)
analysis of critical issues facing our member constituents. By undertaking this analysis, we
hope to enhance our service levels and performance results with our members. In the end,
our ability to more effectively bargain for our members will strengthen our union.
Ultimately, we want to collectively strengthen the “voice” of all our members.
Armed with the results of this survey, we will be able to advance our agenda while
“reengineering” areas of perceived or actual “underperformance”. As the political
environment in Wisconsin is ever-changing, we are challenged to continually understanding
our members and the issues important to them. From a strategic standpoint, this survey
should allow us to analyze the results – ensuring we support the issues most impactful to our
members. Our continued success will be based, in part, on our ability to understand the heart,
pulse and critical issues facing our membership. We need to identify the issues before we
can bargain for the results.
Last, we want this survey to act both as a “watermark” for where we are today, as well as
a “benchmark” for future surveys. Using the data collected in this survey will allow us to
establish a “benchmark of results”. This will allow us to perform future surveys and gauge
our success or need to continued improvement.
III.
Research Design
Each teacher that is in our union will be provided a copy of this survey with a
preaddressed and postmarked return envelope. The teacher will be allowed one month to
complete the survey. Upon completion each teacher may anonymously mail the completed
survey directly to our union offices where the information will be analyzed. If any teacher does
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not return the survey by the close of the month they will be sent a reminder notice requesting the
completed survey be returned.
IV.
Opinion Survey
DEMOGRAPHICS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
What School District
do you teach in?
Which of the
following grade
levels do you teach
the majority of the
time?
How many years
have you been a
teacher?
How many students
attend the school
where you work?
What is your
Gender?
What is your Race?
What is your Age?
What is your Family
Status?
How many
dependents live in
your home?
How do you identify?
How did you last
vote?
Grade School
Middle School
High School
0-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
20+
Less than 500
600-1000
1000-1500
1500-2000
more than 2000
Male
Female
White
Black
18-24
Single
25-30
Married
n/a
1
Democrat
democra Slightly
t
democrat
Prefer not to answer
Native Hawaiian Pacific
Islander
31-40
Divorced
2
Republican
independent
Asian
41-50
Widowed
Native
American
50-60
Other
3
4
Independent
Slightly
republican
republican
Other
60+
Prefer not to
answer
4+
Other
other
Prefer not to
answer
The UNION
Please select your preference to the following
questions:
1
If a vote were held today, I would support
ratification of a Union.
2
My Union treats me fairly.
3
I regularly attend Union meetings.
4
I am satisfied with recent changes to the our
collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
5
I want our CBA to be restored into it's original
form (prior to the CB reforms)
6
Are you a full-dues paying member?
7
The recent changes by Governor Scott Walker
have affected my satisfaction with my union.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Yes
Positively
neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
NO
No Change
Negatively
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JOB SATISFACTION
Strongly
Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
Disagree
neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
I feel engaged at work.
My union provides adequate job training.
Overall, I am satisfied with my job.
I meet all of my expected deadlines
I am committed to performing quality work.
BENEFITS
Strongly
Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
My union negotiated me satisfactory
benefits.
I am provided adequate vacation time
I am provided adequate personal leave.
I am provided adequate sick leave.
I am satisfied with the overall benefits I
receive from being a union member.
My benefits have been affected by the recent
political changes.
Positively
Strongly
Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7.
I am satisfied with the process used to
determine promotions.
I am satisfied with my overall union salary.
I have received adequate raises from my CBA.
I am satisfied with the amount of bonus and
incentive pay I receive.
I am satisfied with my base salary.
I am satisfied with the process used to
determine annual wage increases.
My wages have been affected by the recent
political changes.
Disagree
SALARY
Disagree
Positively
UNION OFFICIALS
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7.
8
No Change
neutral
No Change
neutral
Negatively
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Negatively
Agree
Strongly
Agree
I have a good working relationship with
my union steward.
My union steward is accessible.
My union steward is approachable when
I have questions/concerns.
My union steward is knowledgeable
about the grievance procedures.
I communicate well with my union
steward.
I want more communication with my
union steward.
I know my union leaders.
My Union’s President is approachable
and accessible.
My Union leaders understand my needs.
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WORK LOAD
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
1
2
3
1
5
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Overall, my work load is commensurate with
my pay?
My workload exceeds my pay scale.
My union negotiated a CBA that does not
compensate sufficiently based on the work I
perform.
Have you ever filed a grievance?
If No, skip questions 2-5.
GRIEVANCE PROCEEDURE
Yes
Strongly
Disagree
2
3
4
Neutral
Disagree
No
neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
I was satisfied with my union steward.
I was satisfied with the grievance process.
I was treated fairly during the processing of
my grievance.
I was satisfied with the outcome of my
grievance.
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