Bargaining Unit
Consists of employees
(not necessarily union
members) recognized by
employer or certified by
administrative agency as
appropriate for
representation by labor
organization for purposes
of collective bargaining
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12-1
Steps for Forming a Bargaining Unit
External Environment
Internal Environment
Signing of
Authorization
Cards
Petition
for
Election
Election
Campaign
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Election
and
Certification
12-2
Signing Authorization Cards
• Document indicating employee wants to
be represented by labor organization in
collective bargaining
• Is there sufficient interest on part of
employees to justify unit?
• Evidence of interest when at least 30% of
employees in workgroup sign
authorization cards
• Usually need 50% to proceed
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12-3
Petition for Election
• After authorization
cards have been
signed, petition for
election made to
regional NLRB office
• NLRB will ordinarily
direct that election be
held within 30 days
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12-4
Election Campaign
• Both union and management usually
promote causes actively
• Cannot threaten loss of jobs or benefits
• Cannot misstate important facts
• Illegal to incite racial or religious prejudice
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12-5
Election and Certification
• NLRB monitors secret-ballot election
• Board issues certification of results to
participants
• If majority of employees vote for union,
NLRB will certify
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12-6
Collective Bargaining
• Fundamental to
management-organized
labor relations in United
States
• Process does not require
either party to make
concessions; only
compels them to bargain
in good faith
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12-7
Forms of Bargaining Structures
• One company dealing
with a single union
• Several companies
dealing with single union
• Several unions dealing
with single company
• Several companies
dealing with several
unions
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12-8
Collective Bargaining Process
EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Preparing for Negotiation
Bargaining Issues
Preparing for Negotiation
Negotiation Breakdowns?
Yes
Overcoming Breakdowns
No
Reaching the Agreement
Ratifying the Agreement
Administration of the Agreement
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12-9
Psychological Aspects of
Collective Bargaining
• Difficult because
process is adversarial
situation and must be
dealt with as such
• Psychological aspects
vitally important
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12-10
Bargaining Issues
• Mandatory bargaining issues Wages, hours, etc.
• Permissive bargaining issues May be raised but neither side
may insist that they be
bargained over
• Prohibited bargaining issues Statutorily outlawed
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12-11
Bargaining Issues
Document that results from collective bargaining
process is labor agreement or contract
• Recognition
• Management Rights
• Union Security
• Compensation and Benefits
• Grievance Procedure
• Employee Security
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12-12
Recognition
• Appears at beginning of labor
agreement
• Identifies union that is
recognized as bargaining
representative
• Describes bargaining unit
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12-13
Management Rights
Section that is often
(but not always)
written into labor
agreement which
spells out rights of
management
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12-14
Union Security
• Closed Shop - Arrangement whereby
union membership is prerequisite to
employment
• Union Shop - Requires all employees
become members of union after specified
period
• Maintenance of Membership - Must
continue memberships until termination of
agreement
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12-15
Union Security (Cont.)
• Agency Shop - Nonunion members pay union
equivalent of membership dues as kind of tax
• Exclusive Bargaining Shop - Company must
deal with union that has achieved recognition,
but employees not obligated to join
• Open Shop - Equal terms for union members
and nonmembers
• Dues Checkoff - Company agrees to withhold
union dues
© 2008 by Prentice Hall
12-16