INTER-UNION CONFLICT IN A MULTI-
UNION, NON-EXCLUSIVE BARGAINING
REGIME: LESSONS FROM NEW ZEALAND
Mark Harcourt
University of Waikato
Helen Lam
Athabasca University

majoritarian and exclusive system union decline minority unionism fear
 Implications for Canada union revival inter-union conflict

Problems with Majority and
Exclusive Unionism
 Hard to get certified
Freedom of Association and Freedom of non-association the rights of minority
 Raiding union complacency

Advantages of Minority Unionism principle)
Freedom of Association (an important ILO efficient means of organizing new members springboard of majority representation run in parallel to majority exclusive representation

• Sec. 7. [ § 157.] Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing , and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining ... and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment ...
• Sec. 9 [ § 159.] (a) [Exclusive representatives; employees' adjustment of grievances directly with employer] Representatives designated or selected for the purposes of collective bargaining by the majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for such purposes, shall be the exclusive representatives of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment ...

Potential for Inter-union Conflict under Minority Unionism
 Ideology
 Organising
 Bargaining
 Personalities
 Employer-precipitated

 117 unions
New Zealand (76%)
~96% union workers
 online survey past 3 years

 Frequencies
 Seriousness conflict resolution reform

33 unions (28%) conflict with other unions

 19 unions (16%)

Conflict over Organising/Members
 30 unions (26%)

 32 unions (27%)

 23 unions (20%)

 19 unions (16%)
 17 unions (15%)
 11 unions (9%)

Wasted time/resources coping with/resolving conflict
Loss of members to other unions
Loss of members to individual agreements
Reduced bargaining power with employers
Reduced informal influence over employers
Reduced lobbying impact on government
Bad Public relations
Minor problem
11
(9%)
7
(6%)
4
(3%)
3
(2%)
13
(11%)
14
(12%)
5
(6%)
Mediumsized problem
4
(3%)
1
(1%)
1
(1%)
1
(1%)
4
(3%)
1
(1%)
10
(9%)
4
(3%)
0
(0%)
1
(1%)
1
(1%)
0
(0%)
1
(1%)
1
(1%)
Major problem
One of
Union’s biggest problems
0
(0%)
2
(2%)
1
(1%)
0
(0%)
1
(1%)
1
(1%)
2
(2%)
Total
19
(16%)
10
(8%)
7
(6%)
5
(4%)
18
(15%)
17
(15%)
18
(15%)

Conflict Avoidance and Resolution leader to leader discussions informal understanding federation (NZCTU) protocols

Conflict Resolution Recommendations minimum membership rules banning company union good faith rules informal agreements
NZCTU agreements

 More than 70% of unions did not have any conflict bargaining and organising mainly over

inter-union conflicts considered “minor issues” re-interpret the NLRA to allow minority unions restore democracy revive the union density