Job Site Superintending
BCT 2730
Chapter 9
Labor Relations
MICHAEL KNOTEK
81 LABOR RELATIONS
BASIC POLICIES
Any decision regarding policy or action toward labor requires experience and judgment
A contractor has some or all of the following policies, depending on the circumstances;
Union contract
No union contract
Open-shop
UNION CONTRACTS
UNION CONTRACT
Unions are to provide experience and skilled workers in the construction trades for the
contractor
to draw on and, in addition, to a large degree maintain discipline among their members
A wise contractor always investigates the local labor situation as to:
Union work rules
Hourly wages and overtime
Fringe benefits
Holidays
When a contractor “goes union”, the firm signs a contract with the unions who claim
jurisdiction
over the firm’s work in one of the following ways:
1. The firm, as an individual, may contract directly with the local chapter of a union
The unions prefer this form of contract, as they may strike contractors one at a time,
keeping the men working for other contractors
This causes losses for the contractors, but with comparatively small loss to
the union
For this reason, local contracts are rare
2. The contractors, as an association, may contract with the local unions
If the union strikes, it strikes all contractors
The association is usually formed for the purpose of negotiating union contracts
3. If a contractor works in many areas, he may sign an international agreement
82 This contract is between the international office of the union in Washington and
the contractor
The contractor agrees to conform to the local association’s contract wherever the
work may be, and to use union subcontractors
This is an important concession, since the general contractor often agrees to use
union labor only of the trade with which he signs an agreement and is not
responsible for his subcontractors
In return for the international agreement, the contractor need not contract with
each local where he works and the contractor will not be struck because of
issues
involving the local contractors association
The out of town contractor may continue to work during a local strike
4. Where the area covered by the contract is larger than the jurisdiction of any local, the
agreement is a master agreement
5. On very large jobs, such as Disney World, a project agreement may be made between the
general contractor and the union.
The contractor then requires his subcontractors to comply with the agreement
for
their respective trades
The chief purpose of such an agreement is to:
Avoid disputes between the union and the subcontractors
To assure that wages will remain stable
To avoid travel time which may be required by the union?
To secure prompt handling of jurisdictional disputes
PURPOSE OF UNIONS
They try to protect hourly earnings from being reduced and to equalize pay among workers,
so the qualified
worker with the lowest degree of skill can earn as much as the best worker for the same time
worked
CONTROLLING WORK FORCES
In attempting to control the work force, the union strategies are:
Depriving the employer of a work force and materials by strikes and picketing
Gaining control of the existing work force by organization
Furnishing work to employees through a union hiring hall
Creating skilled workers by training
83 Preventing the entry of open-shop employers into the industry
TACTICS USED
Some of the tactics used in carrying out their strategy are:
Strikes
Picketing
STRIKES AND PICKETING
A strike or stop work is the most obvious and most frequently used tactic
Picketing consists of displaying a sign at entrances to the job, requesting other workers not to
go
to work; that is not to cross the line
FEATHERBEDDING
Featherbedding is any requirement by a labor union that a worker who does no useful work
must
be hired and paid
This had lead to severe open-shop competition
NO UNION CONTRACT
NON UNION CONTRACT
If a contractor chooses not to sign a contract with the union, he may operate under either
union or openshop conditions
If a contractor operates under union conditions,
He hires only workers who are members of the union or who apply for such
membership
Conforms to union pay and working conditions
He may hire men from the union hiring hall or he may not
The advantage of this arrangement for the contractor is that he may change to open shop at
any time, should it be worthwhile to do so
However, it may be held by the National Labor Relations Board that an implied contract exists
in such situations
84 OPEN-SHOP CONTRACTORS
OPEN-SHOP CONTRACTORS
The open-shop contractor is one who does not call on the union for workers and who usually
does not conform to union working rules and wage rates
The common savings is that the contractor can use unskilled labor for work which would
require skilled labor on a union job
For example: A large part of carpentry work consists of driving nails, holding pieces, or
even cutting – work any person can learn in a short time and can do well with
supervision
The open-shop contractor pays workers in accordance with their skills, which means a variety
of wage rates for each occupation
An open-shop contractor may employ both union and open-shop subcontractors
LABOR LEGISLATION
LABOR LEGISLATION
Federal and state laws effecting employer and employees on the construction industry are
numerous and often quite complex
The following are various federal and state legislations:
Taft-Hartley Act (Labor Management Relations Act)
Workers Compensation Laws
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
Norris-LaGuardia Act
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
Davis-Bacon Act, and;
National Environmental Policy Act
LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS ACT
Any contractor, whether dealing with labor unions or on an open shop basis, must be aware
of the unfair labor practices set forth in this act
Interference with, restraint of, or coercion of employees in their exercise rights of selforganization; forming, joining, or assisting labor unions; collective bargaining and
pursuing other “concerted activities”
Domination of or interference with the formation or administration of any labor
organization
85 Discrimination with respect to hire and tenure of employment or any terms or
conditions of employment to encourage or discourage membership in and labor
organization
Refusal to bargain collectively with the employee’s representatives
However, the NLRA will only apply if a “labor dispute,” would tend to burden, obstruct, or in
general affect interstate or foreign commerce
WORKERS COMPENSATION LAWS
The main object is payment of benefits to injured employees or to dependents of those killed
Most states require the employer to carry insurance to cover these situations
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (OSHA)
This act covers construction workers and applies to general contractors, subcontractor,
construction engineer, and architects
Its purpose is to protect the health and safety of workers
NORRIS-LAGUARDIA ACT
This act (1932) defines and limits the powers of the federal courts to issue an injunction in
labor disputes
The courts may issue an injunction in cases involving a labor dispute after hearing
testimony in
open court with opportunity to cross-examine or in cases where irreparable property
damage may
occur if an injunction is not issued and greater injury will result to the complainant
LABOR-MANAGEMENT REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE ACT
This act (1959) requires unions to file with the Secretary of Labor details on their organization,
election of officers, and finances
The purpose of the act was to remedy some of the questionable scruples of internal
activities of some unions
DAVIS-BACON ACT
This act (1931) requires every bidder on federal construction projects, in excess of $2,000, to
pay the “prevailing wage” for similar projects.
It requires the Secretary of Labor to determine prevailing wage rates in the area in
advance for inclusion in advertised contract specifications
86 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT
This act requires an Environmental Impact Statement be prepared for any construction
projects in which federal grants or loans of money or permits of any sort are required
The statement must show the effect the construction will have on such things as land
use, zoning, ground water and geology, surface drainage, erosion, wildlife, real estate
values, agriculture, and social and psychological effect on the population
RIGHT-TO-WORK
RIGHT-TO-WORK
A number of states prohibit union as well as closed-shop contracts, maintaining the right of
any person to work anywhere
These right-to-work laws tend to make unions easier to deal with, as the employer has
the option of hiring new workers and discharging any union members who refuse to
work
These laws make union contracts unenforceable in important respects, but the union
shop is based on custom rather than on contract and union employers in the
construction industry may not, as a practical matter, take advantage of such laws
The right-to-work laws are restraints on the right to contract of both employer and union; the
nonunion worker, not the employer, is to be protected
IN CONCLUSION
Intelligent planning and good organization of a project always open way to optimum output
from the labor force, and these elements are provided by the superintendent
Inefficient supervision will usually result in bad planning accompanied by a drop in
productivity
Only one work rule applies: A man shows up on time, works the full time required, and does
the job efficiently. If he does not, he gets fired
87