Percent of Overall Union Membership 1983-2011
35
30
25
20
20.1%
14.5%
15
11.9%
10
5
0
1983
1996
2010
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf
Public Versus Private Union Membership (2010)
Percent
50
40
36.2
30
20
6.9
10
Public
Private
Sector
Historical Trends Private Sector Union Membership in the U.S.
Percent
50
40
35.1
30.8
30
26.3
20
14.6
10.4
10
1955
1965
1975
Year
1985
1995
6.9
2010
Private Sector Union Membership - 2010
Sector
Transportation
and Utilities
21.8
Telecommunications
15.8
Construction
13.1
Retail
Financial
Activities
4.7
2.0
0
5
10
15
20
25
Percent
30
35
40
50
Public Sector Union Membership - 2010
Sector
Federal
Gov’t
28.0
State
Gov’t
32.2
Local
Gov’t
43.3
0
5
10
15
20
25
Percent
30
35
40
50
Union Membership By State (2010)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics -- http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf
Union Membership of 14 European Countries
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics:
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/01/art3full.pdf#search=%22percent%20union%20membership%20by%20countries%22
Reasons for Decline in Union Membership
• Declining public support (e.g., 42% or so)
• Demise in traditionally-unionized manufacturing jobs
• Conventional union roles being assumed by government regulations (e.g., safety rules)
• Increased organizational resistance to union formation
• Location of plants and factories in "right to work" states.
Illegal to have a Closed Shop: Where a company can only hire members of a union. Employees must be (and
remain) union members to be employed (the workplace is closed to all except union members)
But,
• Legal to require that employees join the union after a certain period of time (Union Shop) or
• Compel employees to pay dues but not join a union (Agency Shop). Dues are a fraction of that paid by regular
union members (e.g., only for bargaining and administration of union contracts)
However, decisions by the Supreme Court have effectively made “union shops” the functional equivalent of “agency
shops.” That is, these decisions have stated that union shops are not legally permitted to compel employees to
join unions.
Right to Work States (Open Shop): Illegal to make union membership or payment of union dues a condition of
employment (currently 22 right to work states in the U.S.)
Selected List of Labor Unions
Change to Win Federation --- approximately 4.7 million members
Formed in 2005 as an option to the AFL-CIO and is comprised of four
sizeable unions:
• United Farm Workers
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
• Service Employees International Union,
• United Food and Commercial Workers.
Other independent unions include the Fraternal Order of Police, Major
League Baseball Players Association, National Education Association,
National Treasury Employees Union, and the United Brotherhood of
Carpenters and Joiners of America.
Reasons for Union Formation
• Economic factors (e.g., pay, promotion opportunity)
• Supervision (behavior, attitude, interpersonal style, unfair
treatment)
• Safety concerns
Union Formation Process
Campaign (sign cards to endorse
an election)
No
Greater 30% vote for
election
No election
Yes
Election (conducted
by the NLRB)
Yes
Union
Majority of members
in bargaining unit
vote “yes” required
for union to be
formed
No
No Union
Typical Bargaining Issues and Positions Taken
By Union and Management
Labor Contract --- A formal, written agreement between union and the company
regarding the conditions of employment (e.g., pay, benefits, grievance process,
performance assessment) over a given period of time
Collective Bargaining
Mediation --- Assist, facilitate an agreement between parties [share
information]. No formal power to impose a decision
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service
Fact-Finding --- More formal process.
1) Review relevant facts on the issues
2) Make formal recommendation
3) Make recommendation public
Not used very often, most successful in private sector
Collective Bargaining (cont.)
Arbitration --- Final decision [American Arbitration Association]
Arbitration types: Type used if determined by law in the public sector, by
agreement in private sector.
• Binding vs. Non-binding
• Voluntary – Agreed upon by both parties (most common in private sector)
• Compulsory – Mandated by law (common in public sector)
• Conventional --- Arbitrator decides on best solution; often a compromise between
opposing positions
• Final Offer -- Choose one position or the other
Total package or Issue by issue
Collective Bargaining
Recent Legal Challenges
• The vast majority of states require collective bargaining, some allow such
bargaining, while a few (5) make it illegal
• In 2010, several states, such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, Arizona, and Ohio,
began efforts to curtail the rights of public employees to collectively bargain
• In 2011, voters in Ohio voted down a law aimed at restricting the collective
bargaining rights of public employees, which included police officers, teachers,
and firefighters
In the private sector, collective bargaining is controlled by the NLRB
*** A basic provision of collective bargaining is that both sides must engage
in “good faith efforts” to agree on a labor contract (not doing so can result in
an unfair labor practice (ULP) allegation
Sample Grievance Procedure
Step
Management
Union
Form
Mgmt.
Answer
Written
20 Days
20 Days
10 Days
Arbitration
5
Union
Appeal
4
Industrial Relations
Manager
Grievance
Committee
Written
10 Days
3
Division Manager
Chief Steward
Written
5 Days
5 Days
2
Industrial Relations
Manager
Shop Steward
Written
5 Days
5 Days
Grievant
Oral
1
Industrial Relations
Manager
Issue in Dispute
Immediate
Immediate
Impasse
(failure of collective bargaining process)
Union options used --
• Work slow down
• Absenteeism (“blue flu”)
• Sabotage
• Strike (legitimate or “wildcat” strike)
Management options used -• Lockout
~ Types of Strikes ~
Most
Common
Mackay Doctrine
NLRB v. Mackay Radio
and Telegraph Company,
(1938).
The hiring of
replacement workers is
legitimate if not
motivated by antiunion sentiment or to
discourage union
membership.
For federal
government employees,
strikes are forbidden.
The ability to strike by
most state and local
public employees (e.g.,
police, firefighters) is
severely limited
Lockouts in Sports
• Lockout by the owners of the National Basketball Association (NBA)
lasted for almost 200 days and led to a 50-game season, versus the
normal 82 games.
• A lockout by the National Hockey League owners resulted in the loss
of the entire 2004-2005 season.
• In 2011, a National Football League lockout lasted for 137 days.
• (2012) A agreement was announced between the owners and players
union in the NBA, possibly ending a lockout lasting almost 150 days.
This lockout has caused the cancellation of at least the initial six weeks
of the season.
NHL Lockout 2012: Labor Talks Resume, Progress Still Limited (11/20/12)
The lockout entered its 66th day Tuesday and already has wiped out 327 games.
More cancellations could be coming soon without a new deal.
The prevailing question is when will one side say something the other really wants
to hear. These negotiations have been going for a while, yet there hasn't been any
kind of breakthrough to pave the way to a new collective bargaining agreement.
Both sides know the lockout has inflicted a lot of damage on the sport that
produced record revenues of over $3 billion last season. Every day of lost time is
hurting everyone, and at some point owners and players will have to decide how
much of the losses each side will have to absorb.
Work Stoppages By Decade
~ Union Impact ~
Selection (e.g., applicant pool, process)
Training (e.g., apprentice programs)
Performance Evaluation (e.g., factors to be evaluated, frequency)
Job Performance (e.g., scheduling of work, speed of production,
type of work allowed)
Contract Language Regarding Performance Appraisal
Annual Evaluations: The performance of faculty, ... will be evaluated at least
once (1) annually, .... Personnel decisions will take such annual evaluations
into account, provided that such decisions need not be based solely on written
faculty performance evaluations.
Sources and Methods of Evaluation. (a) In preparing the annual evaluation,
the person(s) responsible for evaluating the faculty member may consider, where
appropriate, information from the following sources: immediate supervisor,
peers, students, faculty member/self, other University officials who have
responsibility for supervision of the faculty member, ...
Observation/Visitation. The faculty member, if assigned teaching duties, will
be notified at least two (2) weeks in advance of the date, time, and place of
any direct classroom observation or visitation made in connection with the faculty
member’s annual evaluation.
(1) The proposed written annual evaluation, ... will be provided to the faculty
member within thirty (30) days after the end of the academic term
during which such evaluation will be made. The faculty member will be
offered the opportunity to discuss the evaluation with the evaluator prior
to its being finalized and placed in the faculty member’s evaluation file.
Estimated Average Weekly Hours Worked in Manufacturing,
1830-1890
Year
1830
1840
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
Weeks Report
69.1
67.1
65.5
62.0
61.1
60.7
Aldrich Report
68.4
69.0
66.0
63.0
61.8
60.0
Sources: U.S. Department of Interior (1883), U.S. Senate (1893)
Some Key Events in U.S. Labor History
Date
Event
April 27, 1825
First strike for the 10-hour work-day by carpenters in Boston
July 3, 1835
Children at a silk mills company (Paterson, NJ) go on strike for 11 hr. days/6 days week
January 13,1874
Tompkins Square Riot (Demonstration of unemployed workers. Police beat
demonstrators causing over 100 casualties)
June 21, 1877
10 coal miners (The "Molly Maguires") hanged
July 14, 1877
National railroad strike. Federal troops called in to end strike. In Chicago ("Battle of
the Viaduct“) 30 workers killed over 100 injured
September 10,
1897
Lattimer Massacre. Striking coal miners marched in protest of poor mine
conditions. 19 miners killed, 50 or more wounded
May 1886
Haymarket Protests/Riots
Day after police killed 2 protestors, a bomb thrown in Haymarket Square killed 7 police.
Eight people found guilty of murder; 4 executed on 11/11/1887. Impetus for May Day
April 20, 1914
"Ludlow Massacre" State Militia, in response to a strike at the Ludlow Mine Field,
attack a union camp with machine guns and set tents on fire. 5 men, 2 women, and 12
children killed
January 19, 1915
World famous labor leader Joe Hll arrested in Salt Lake City on bogus murder charges;
executed 21 months later
January 25, 1915
Supreme Court upholds "yellow dog" contracts, forbiding membership in labor unions
August 3, 1981
Federal air traffic controllers began nationwide strike. Majority of 13,000 controllers
who ignored back-to-work order fired by Ronald Reagan
October 6, 1986
Female flight attendants (1,700) won an 18-year lawsuit (including $37 million in
damages) against United Airlines, which fired them for getting married
~ Ludloow Massacre ~
Issues:
•
•
•
•
Union recognition
Increased wages
8-hour work day (a state law that was
Hourly pay for dead work (no directly producing
coal)
• A check weigh-man at all mines (to be elected
without interference from company officials)
• The right to trade in any store they chose
• Right to select their own living places and doctors
• Enforcement of Colorado mining laws and the
abolition of the guard system that ran the camps
Striking miners lived in tent cities
The miners were attacked by the Colorado National Guard
Ceasar Chavez,
United Farm Workers
Jimmy Hoffa,
Teamsters Union
Mary Harris (Mother
Jones) Industrial
Workers of the World
John L. Lewis, United Mine
Workers; Congress of
Industrial Organizations
Samuel Gompers,
American Federation of
Labor
Lech Wałęsa, co-founder
of Solidarity, 1st Soviet
bloc trade union
Law
List of Major Labor Laws
Main Feature
Railway Labor Act (RLA),
1926
Required companies to bargain collectively, prohibited discrimination against
unions
Davis-Bacon Act, 1931
Construction contracts with the Federal Gov’t need to specify the minimum
wage to be paid
Norris-LaGuardia Act, 1932
Guaranteed labor unions the right to organize, strike, and use other
economic leverage in negotiations with management
National Labor Relations
Act (NLRA), 1935 (Wagner
Act)
Guaranteed those in private sector the right to organize, join labor
unions, choose representatives, collective bargain, and strike
National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB)
established
Independent Federal agency to enforce violations by organizations: a)
interfering with formation of labor unions, b) hampering employees in
organizing/collective bargaining, c) imposition of employment conditions to
discourage union membership, d) discriminating against employees filing
charges under the NLRA, and e) refusing to submit to collective bargaining
Anti-Strikebreaker Law
(Byrnes Act), 1936
Illegal to employ those to use force/threats against non-violent labor disputes,
organizing, or bargaining
Walsh-Healy Act, 1936
Guaranteed pay of not less than the "prevailing minimum wage" paid in a
locality; restricted regular working hours to 8 hrs./day & 40 hrs./wk., timeand-a-half pay for additional hours; prohibited employment of convicts and
children under 18, established sanitation and safety standards
Fair Labor Standards
Act (FLSA), 1938
Established minimum wages and maximum hours for workers. Established
minimum ages of employment and hours of work for children
Taft-Hartley Act, 1947
Set process to delay/avert "national emergency" strikes; prohibited supervisory
employees from coverage of Wagner Act; prohibited "closed shops"
Child Labor
During the 1800’s and early 1900’s, the use of child labor was relatively
common ---
• An estimated 2 million children between the ages of 10-14 were
employed in 1900
• Long workdays were the norm, and the work was often dangerous
Why was the use of children so common?
• Children were much cheaper to employ
• They were generally easier to control
Child Labor
1836 -- National Trades’ Union Convention make the first formal proposal for
states to establish minimum ages for factory work
1836-- 1st state child labor law. Massachusetts mandates children less than 15
working in factories to attend school at least 3 months a year
1876 -- Working Men’s Party proposes abolishing the employment of children
under the age of 14
1881 -- American Federation of Labor passes a resolution for states to ban
children under 14 from employment
1904 -- National Child Labor Committee forms to campaign for federal child
labor law reform
Bibb Mill, Macon, GA.
1936 -- Walsh-Healey Act passed. U.S. government will not purchase goods
made by underage children
1938 -- Fair Labor Standards Act. Minimum ages of employment and hours of
work for children regulated by federal law
11 year old girl.
Rhodes
Manufacturing
Co. N.C.
Photos by Lewis Hine. See
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/index.
html
Hughestown Borough Coal Co. Pittston, PA