Chapter 5
Why and How Unions are
Organized
Why Unions Are Formed

Work and Job Conditions Explanation
– Alienation Theory
– Scarcity Consciousness Theory
– Employee Backgrounds and Needs
– Wheeler Model of Union Formation
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Wheeler Model of Union
Formation
Second Stage:
Decision to take
collective action
First Stage:
Readiness to
take action
Decision not
to unionize
Love
Frustration of not
being heard
Fear of
punishment
Hope
Fear of
deprivation
Lack of belief
in unions
Saliency
Rational
calculation
Withdrawal
and/or revenge
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Voting Influences
Social Pressure
• Knows union supporters
• Believes unions attract
good
Job Satisfaction/
Dissatisfaction
• Pay or economic benefits
• Supervision
• Work
Union Instrumentality
• Fair treatment
• Better pay
• Better managementemployee relations
Attitudes and Beliefs
about Unions
• General
• Specific
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Employee Vote
• For union
• Against union
Costs versus Returns for Organizing
Additional dues and fees
 Extra compensation gained by
bargaining
 Enhanced political influence
 Social benefits and satisfaction

MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Changes Challenging Union
Organizing Attempts


Workforce
– Temporary employees
– Part-time employees
– Independent
contractors
– Minorities
– Immigrant workers
– Older workers
– Higher-skilled workers
Workplace
– Declines in unions’
stronghold industries
– Increases in service
industries workers
– Increases in
industries with skilled
workers
– Outsourcing
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Organizing Professional Employees

Professional Values
 Issues in collective bargaining:
–
–
–
–
–
Professional standards
Participation in policy making
Regulation of professional work
Training and professional development
Commitment of organizational resources to
professional goals
– Criteria for personnel decisions regarding
professionals
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Activities of the Union in
Organizing Employees

Union Actions
– Responds to request for assistance
– Emphasizes the benefits of collective
bargaining and grievance procedures

Roles of Union Organizers
– Educator
– Persuader
– Supporter
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Union Functions

Represent the interest of employees
 Negotiate a binding contract with
management
 Provide an opportunity to influence
through contract and administration
 Allow members to have input into
workplace decisions
 Grievance procedure typically includes
union representation
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Keys for the Union to Achieve
Representation

Serious commitment to organizing
 Use of representative committees
– More in touch with concerns of the bargaining unit
– Better access to employees at the workplace
– Demonstrate union democracy

Personal contact
 Bargaining due diligence
 Focus on issues of fairness or service quality
 Use of solidarity days
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Activities of the Company in Union
Organizing

Employer Actions
– Campaign tactics
– Unfair Labor Practices

Employer Effects on Elections
– Influencing the composition of the
bargaining unit
– Setting the date for the election
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Advantages of the Company
Full access to its employees
 Can offer possibility of improvement
without additional cost of unionization
for employees
 Can benefit from employees’ fear of
change.
 Lengthy time between successful
organization and issuance of the
bargaining order

MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Methods for Organizing Unions

Costs versus Returns for Organizing
– Additional dues and fees
– Extra compensation gained by bargaining
– Enhanced political influence
– Social benefits and satisfaction

Increasing the Success of Organizing
Drives
– Employers’ provision of lists of employees
– An agreement to place time limits on the
organizing campaigns
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Union Representation Procedure
Interest
Ways for union
to obtain
recognition
1. Internal: Employees contact union organizer
2. External: Union organizer contacts employees
Voluntary
Recognition
NLRB Directive
(Gissel Doctrine)
Secret-Ballot
Election
Consent
Election
Contested
Election
Union
Wins
Union
Loses
Union
Certified
12 Month
Election Bar
Union Obligation:
Duty to bargain with company in good faith and represent all bargaining unit employees fairly
Company Obligation:
Duty to bargain with union in good faith and recognize union as the exclusive bargaining representative for all
bargaining unit employees
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Pre-NLRB-Election Union
Campaigns
Contacting employees
 Determining interest
 Setting up and organizing committee
 Building interest by soliciting
authorization cards

MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Filing a Petition for Election
Employer refuses union’s recognition request
 Union files an election petition with the NLRB
 NLRB, employer, and union discuss:

– Bargaining unit composition
– Voter eligibility
– Ballot, date, time and place for election

Consent election
 Contested election
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Community of Interest







Interest of the employees
Commonality of wages, working conditions,
training, and skills
Prior history of collective bargaining
Transfers of employees among facilities
Geography and proximity of workplaces
Employer’s administrative or territorial
divisions
Degree of separation or integration of the
employees’ work
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Restrictions on Community of
Interest

Separate bargaining units
– Nonprofessional employees
– Professional employees
– Plant guards
– Craft units optional
Those excluded by LMRA
 Confidential employees and family
members of owners

MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Voting Eligibility
Employment in a bargaining unit job
 Employment during the eligibility period
 Employment on the date of the election
 If on strike, striking employee must be
within 12 months of the beginning of an
economic strike

MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
NLRB Election Process

Untimely Petitions
 Contract Bar Doctrine
 Excelsior Rule
 The Election
– Secret ballots with union or no union choice used
– Election held at workplace during working hours
on a payday
– Simple majority decision
– Election conduct and votes can be challenged for
7 days
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Union Success Factors

Organizing
– Employers’ provision of lists of employees
– An agreement to place time limits on the
organizing campaigns

Voting
–
–
–
–
–
High (90%) voter turnout
Short time before election occurs
Smaller election unit
Smaller union supporting the organizing effort
Union independent of the AFL-CIO
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Securing a First Contract
Preexisting high wages in the firm
 The presence of other bargaining units
in the firm
 Large election victories
 Active participation by international
union representatives

MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Trends in Union Representation
Elections
The yearly number of elections has
fallen sharply
 The union success rate (wins) has
steadily declined
 Unions are less likely to win NLRBsponsored elections in bargaining units
(over 100 employees)

MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Conduct of Campaigns and
NLRB Policies
Totality of Conduct Doctrine
 Captive Audience
 Polling or questioning employees
 Distribution of Union literature
 Solicitation by employees on Company
Property
 Showing films
 Use of E-Mail

MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
New Organizing Strategies
Using the Internet
 Salting
 Organizing an employer’s suppliers
 Creating videos
 Holding public rallies and marches
 Funding more organizing efforts

MGMT 523 – Chapter 5
Decertification
A majority of the bargaining unit votes to
remove the union’s certification
 Support of 30% of the unit required
 Reasons for Decertification

– Fair treatment of employees by employers
– Poor job by unions of providing services to
members
– Inability to gain an initial labor contract
MGMT 523 – Chapter 5