Part 5: Employee Relations
Chapter 15: Union/Management
Relations
Prepared by Linda Eligh, University of Western Ontario
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–1
Learning Objectives
After you have read this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Describe what a union is and explain why employees join unions.
2. Discuss decline in union membership in Canada.
3. Explain the roles of the federal and provincial governments in
labour relations.
4. Discuss the stages of the unionization process.
5. Describe the issues involved in preparing for contract negotiation.
6. Describe the typical collective bargaining process.
7. Explain the grievance procedure and why it is important for
employers.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–2
Nature of Unions
• Union
 A formal association of workers that promotes the
interests of its members through collective action.
• Why Employees Unionize
 They are dissatisfied with how they are treated by
their employers.
 They believe that unions can improve their work
situations.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–3
Factors Leading to Employee Unionization
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
Fig. 15-1
15–4
Typical Division of HR Responsibilities: Labour
Relations Fig. 15-2
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–5
Global Labour Union Issues
• Union membership is falling in advanced
countries.
• High unemployment is creating pressure for
change.
• Child labour is an issue in some countries,
outsourcing is in others.
• Co-determination
 A practice whereby union or worker representatives
are given positions on a company’s board of directors.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–6
Union Membership as a Percentage of the Workforce for
Selected Countries Fig. 15-3
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–7
Unions in Canada
• Union Movement Emphases:
Focused on “bread-and-butter” economic issues—
wages, benefits, job security, and working conditions.
Organized by kind of job and employer.
Seek multi-year collective agreements on economic
issues as “contracts.”
Maintain competitive relations with management.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–8
Union Structure
• Craft Union
 A union whose members do one type of work, often using
specialized skills and training.
• Industrial Union
 A union that includes many persons working in the same industry
or company regardless of jobs held.
• Federation
 A group of autonomous national and international unions.
• Union Mergers
 Trend since the 1990s - unions also find strength in size. Reflects
the mergers of Canadian corporations and demands by members
for more efficient bargaining and administrative services.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–9
Union Structure (cont’d)
• National and International Unions
 Unions that determine broad union policy and offer
services to local union units. May also keep financial
records and provide a base from which an organizing
drive can take place.
• Local Union
 A union centered around either a particular employer
or a particular geographic location.


Business Agent - a full-time union official who operates the union
office and assists union members.
Union Steward - an employee elected to serve as the first-line
representative of unionized employees.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–10
Union Structure (cont’d)
• Alternative Employee Representation Model
 Alternative ways in which workers can achieve nonunion representation without having to go through the
formal unionization process.
 Arrangements that cannot acquire formal labour
relations rights, but can develop group employment
contracts similar to union agreements.
 Substitutes to unions
 Professional organizations
 Non-union staff associations
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–11
Union Membership in Canada
• Union Density
 The proportion of paid workers who are union
members and who have signed union membership
cards.
 A commonly used indicator of the strength and
potential influence of the labour movement in a
country.
 Peaked at 39% in Canada in mid-1980s.
 Though unionization in Canada is much higher
than in the U.S., decline of unionization is a mounting
concern among Canadian union organizers.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–12
Rate of Union Coverage Canada
and Provinces 1999-2003 Fig. 15-4
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–13
Union Membership in Canada
Reasons for Union Membership Decline
 Deregulation, foreign competition, more people looking for jobs
 Firms believe unions increase business costs compared with nonunion alternatives
 Management has taken a more activist stance against unions
than in previous years of union growth
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–14
Reasons for Union Membership Decline
Workforce Changes
Geographic Changes
Declining
Union
Membership
Industrial Changes
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–15
Union Membership by Industry
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
Fig. 15-5
15–16
Union Targets for Membership Growth
Professional
Workers
Union
Organizing
Contingent and
Part-Time Workers
Low-Skill
Workers
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–17
Changes in Union Coverage
between 1997 and 2002 Fig. 15-6
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–18
Union Membership in Canada
• Public Sector Unionism
 Most highly unionized segment of Canadian workforce
 Three largest unions represent all public sector
workers
Public Service Alliance of Canada PSCA (Federal employees)
 National Union of Provincial Government Employees (NUPGE)
 Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

 Teachers, nurses, social workers, professors and
others in government-related jobs are also increasingly
unionized
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–19
Public Sector Unions
No-Strike, Interest
Arbitration Model
Back to Work Legislation
Alternative
Ways to resolve
Impasses
for Public Sector
Employees
Unrestricted
Right-to- Strike Model
Designated or Controlled
Strike Model
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–20
Industrial Relations in Canada
• Fight for unions in Canada fraught with adversity
going back to the 18th century
 Employers strongly opposed to unions
 Questionable anti-union tactics used to suppress
union advancement
Yellow Dog Contracts
 Banning public union meetings
 Hiring strikebreakers and goons
 Blacklisting
 Firing employees
 Putting union activists in jail.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–21
Typical Unionization Process
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
Fig. 15-7
15–22
Unionization Process
• Determining an Appropriate Bargaining Unit
 “Community of Interest”
Wages, hours, and working conditions
 Traditional industry groupings for bargaining purposes
 Physical location and amount of interaction and working
relationships among employee groups
 Supervision by similar levels of management

• Supervisors and Bargaining Units
 Supervisors are excluded from bargaining units

Defined as any individual with the authority to hire, transfer,
discharge, discipline, and who uses independent judgment
with employees
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–23
Legal Do’s and Don’ts for Managers During Unionization
Employer Do’s
Employer Don’ts
• Discharge, suspend, transfer,
layoff or otherwise discipline
an employee for proper cause
• Make a change in the
operation that is reasonably
necessary for the proper
conduct of business
• Express management views
on any matter providing it does
not use intimidation or
coercion
• Engage in threats, coercion or
intimidation
• Interrogate employee about
their voting intentions
• Hire spies or infiltrators to
acquire information or
influence union activities
• Promise or alter the terms of
employment in response to a
union drive
• Shut down any establishment
to avoid or eliminate a union
• And many other activities…
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–24
Unfair Labour Practices: Union
• Bargaining collectively or signing a collective agreement
where another union is known to be the bargaining agent.
• Interfering with or participating in the formation of an
employers’ organization.
• Attempting to organize on the employer’s premises during
working hours without the consent of the employer.
• Using coercion, intimidation, threats, promises, or undue
influence to encourage trade union membership.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–25
Unionization: Key Terms
• Salting
 The practice in which
unions hire and pay people
to apply for jobs at certain
companies.
• Union Authorization Card
 A card signed by an
employee to designate a
union as his or her
collective bargaining agent.
• Bargaining Unit
 Employees eligible to
select a single union to
represent and bargain
collectively for them.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
• Union Certification
 Occurs when a union
becomes the legal
representatives for designated
employees as granted by the
labour relations board.
• Decertification
 The process whereby a union
is removed as the
representative of a group of
employees.
• First Contract Arbitration
 Once a newly formed union
has been certified, the
employer and the union must
negotiate a first contract within
a specified period of time.
15–26
Continuum of Collective
Bargaining Relations Fig. 15-9
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–27
Collective Bargaining
• Collective Bargaining
 The process whereby representatives of management
and workers negotiate a labour agreement covering
wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of
employment.
 How union and management chose to deal with each
other will set the tone for the collective bargaining
process.
 Distributive Bargaining
 Integrative Bargaining (interest based)
 Attitudinal Structuring
 Intraorganizational Bargaining
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–28
Bargaining Structure
• Centralized vs. Decentralized Bargaining
 Canada operates under a decentralized bargaining system, meaning
most certified units are confined to the provincial level.
 Unions may strike at one location but may not be able to shut down
operations entirely since employers can easily transfer production to
another unit.
• Pattern Bargaining
 Comes closest to decentralized concept. Occurs when negotiations in
one industry or local serve as the basis for negotiations in other
industries or localities.
• Concession Bargaining
 Occurs when employers ask unions to concede to reductions in wages
and other benefits in order to ensure longevity of the organization.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–29
Collective Bargaining Issues
• Mandatory Terms
 Also known as articles or clauses which must be
included in a contract agreement in order to comply
with labour relations legislation.
• Voluntary Terms
 The unique issues that come from the employer and
the union.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–30
Collective Agreement Terms
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
Fig. 15-10
15–31
Collective Bargaining Issues
• Management Rights
 Those rights reserved to the employer to manage,
direct, and control the workplace.
• Union Security Provisions
 Contract provisions that aid the union in obtaining and
retaining members.
 Dues Checkoff Provision

A contract provision for the automatic deduction of union
dues from the paycheques of union members.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–32
Collective Bargaining Issues
• Closed Shop
 A firm that requires individuals to join a union before they can be
hired.
• Open Shop
 Workers are not required to join or pay dues to a union.
• Union Shop
 Workers who must join the union after a specified period of time
and pay union dues at that time.
• Maintenance-of-membership Shop
 Workers remain members of the union for the period of the
labour contract.
• Agency Shop
 Employee does not have to join the union but must pay union
dues.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–33
Collective Bargaining Process Figure 15-11
Preparation and Initial
Demands
Negotiations
Settlement or Impasse
Strikes or Lockouts
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–34
The Bargaining Zone
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
Fig. 15-12
15–35
Bargaining Impasse
• Conciliation
 A process by which a third party attempts to keep union and
management negotiators talking so that they can reach a
voluntary settlement.
• Mediation
 A process by which a third party helps the negotiators reach a
settlement.
• Fact-Finding
 A process found in some public sector labour relations statues
whereby an individual helps clarify the issues of disagreement
as an intermediate step between mediation an arbitration.
• Arbitration
 A process that uses a neutral third party to hear evidence form
both parties and who makes a final and binding decision.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–36
Bargaining Power
• Union Bargaining Power
 Strike Vote

Used as leverage to gain position at negotiations.
 Strike

A work stoppage in which union members refuse to work in
order to put pressure on an employer.
• Management Bargaining Power
 Lockout

Shutdown of company operations undertaken by
management to prevent union members from working.
 Replacement of workers on Strike

Use of “striker replacements” can put a union at a complete
disadvantage and increase the potential for violence.
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–37
Types of Strikes
• Economic Strikes
 Strikes over economic issues (e.g., wages)
• Unfair labour practice strikes
 Strikes over illegal employer actions (e.g., refusal to bargain)
• Wildcat strikes
 Strikes not approved by the union
• Jurisdictional strikes
 Strikes in dispute over the ownership of work
• Sympathy strikes
 Expressions of support for other unions
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–38
Union/Management Cooperation
Cooperation and
Joint Efforts
Employee Ownership
Union/
Management
Cooperation
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–39
Grievance Management
• Complaint
 Indication of employee dissatisfaction
• Grievance
 A complaint formally stated in writing
• Grievance Procedures
 Formal channels used to resolve grievances
• Grievance Arbitration
 Means by which a third party settles disputes arising
from different interpretations of a labour contract
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–40
Typical Division of HR Responsibilities:
Grievance Management Fig. 15-14
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
15–41
Steps in a Typical Grievance Procedure
Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited.
Fig. 15-15
15–42