...employees in unionized workplaces, or those who could unionize, and laws that affects the workplace. This includes processes and rules related to collective bargaining. The government provides a fair and balanced framework of labor relations and dispute settlement. With policy development and analysis of trends and issues of labor relations, the government provides facilitation and education, dispute resolution services and information for collective bargaining. The Canadian Labour Congress is releasing this study to show just how much better the union advantage truly is – both nationally and in 30 communities across the country. This study shows that in Canada on an average, unionized workers get almost $5 more an hour than non-union workers. A union is a group of workers who come together for making collective decisions about their work and working conditions. There is a democratic union in which the members elect the leaders through voting process. With the help of collective bargaining, these leaders negotiate with the employer in terms of wages, safety, working conditions, hours, and other benefits, on behalf of the members. The rights of unionized workers may vary extensively depending on the country, region and industry. Also rules, regulations and laws can also be amazingly complex. These rights are constantly evolving, and state governments adopt national laws to defend or diminish the rights of unionized workers. A non-unionized workplace is a workplace where there...
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...in a non-union environment. Rose (2008) identifies that the extent of union derecognition and the general decline in collectivized employment relations in recent years. That is to say, both of them have drawn attention to the growing phenomenon of non-unionism. ‘Non-unionism’ is a common term which is often discussed in the academic literature on human resource management and industrial relations. And it is concerned with a situation where management does not deal with a trade union that collectively represents the interests of workers (Dundon&Rollinson 2004). It is widely known that managing employee relations in a non-union environment is increasingly popular in most of the countries; the non-unionized firm in the UK can be seen as a typical exemplar in the employment relations. To be more specific, the employment relations characteristics of firms without a formal union presence barely featured in studies of employment relations for many years except for some foreign-owned companies operating in the UK (Williams&Smith 2010). Before the 1980s, large companies without union recognition were treated as idiosyncratic and given some brief consideration, and those small companies without union recognition were largely ignored (Williams&Smith 2010). However, the issue of the ‘non-union’ firm has become a dominant role gradually in the UK, it is embodied in a sharp decline in union recognition in Britain from the 1980s to the 1990s, and also, the growing non-union...
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...viewpoint, in operating in a union-free environment vs. a unionized environment. Non-unionized workers are not the individuals that have no membership in a union nor have any type of union representation for them. Workers that have no union, works in an environment that is easily approachable to work with and more flexibility in being able to negotiate their own wages and benefits as an individual. The business owners that operate in non-unionized workplaces have more flexibility and freedom. Being able to have the freedom to negotiate directly from yourself with your manager/supervisor can produce substantial advantages for creating highly productive employees. Working within a non-unionized environment has its perks, but also has its cons in having to deal with the lengthy processes in dealing with individuals. To be able to have more freedom when having to deal with the dismissal process, but also being able to approach your supervisor on issues and negotiation processes. Being able to do at-will dismissal on an individual for violations of policy and contracts, this does avoid the lengthy process that unionized environments deal with. Having the ability to be able to just dismiss or remove employees that are not productive or become disruptive makes the workplace a pleasant working environment and in turn is able to protect the company and its assets and profits as well. Most companies do work with non-unionized environments and have been successful into the future...
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...2007 agencies such as Visser and OECD show that the rates of unionization are 70% in Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Places like the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland have around 30% followed by the United States that just barely at 10% (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, 2009). Although these numbers seem high, the have declined steadily over the years and even as much as 50% in the case of the United States since the 1960’s (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, 2009) . Although these declines are significant, it’s safe to say that unionized workplaces will play a crucial role in the global economy. Management strategies and practices between unionized and non-unionized workplace environments have many differences and has been then focus of many studies. The laws concerning employment and worker’s unions vary from country to country so for these purposes I’ll focus mostly on Canadian and North American practices. Pros and Cons of Unionized Environments The imbalance between employer and employee have always been lopsided. There was a time when employers had all the power when it came to contract negotiations. Not only would they possess the money needed for someone to survive but laws typically favoured the employers and in some cases to the extent of slavery. It was so one-sided that workers could be criminally convicted for not fulfilling a contract, no matter how unfair the terms. This situation caused the creation of a few different employment models including unionization...
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...protection to employees. The key purpose of a labor union is to make sure that its members are fairly treated. Even with this key goal as the intention, unions have faced a number of problems and negatively impacting stigmas during their tenure. Labor Unions conceive that labor is not a commodity that can be bought and sold and that they should have some type of security in any case that they are injured or laid off. A bigger percentage of the population disagrees on how unions assist members or the kinds of agendas they maintain. Initial allegations that have been brought against the unions include unfair deals and intimidation. Historically, Americans prefer individualism. Supposedly, some union associates have threatened company owners and non-union workers, for the reason that some things were not done in a manner the union had wanted. This paper therefore outlines the challenges that unions face in the 21st century and the necessary changes required for unions to uphold, support from their associates, the society and the employers (Fossum, 2008). Challenges that unions face in the 21st century and the necessary changes A lot has changed in the world of employment in the recent years, but the key reasons that have led many employees to form unions still remains. First is that, employees who bargain collaboratively with their boss concerning wages, benefits and rights on the employment are more powerful than...
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...their workers achieve work-life balance. We focus on long workweek, flextime, compressed workweek, variable workweek length and/or variable workweek schedule. Statistics Canada’s 2003 Workplace and Employee Survey data linking employee microdata to workplace (i.e., employer) microdata are used in the analysis. Results show that more than half of the workers covered in this data have at least one of the five specified types of flexible work schedules. Employment status, unionized work, occupation, and sector are factors consistently associated with flexible work schedules. Personal characteristics such as marital status, dependent children, and childcare use are not significantly associated with flexible work schedules, and females are less likely to have a flexible work schedule than are males. Overall, results suggest that flexible work schedules are created for business reasons rather than individual worker interests. KEyWORDS: work schedules, non-standard work, work-life balance This paper examines whether flexible work schedules in Canada are created by employers for business reasons or to assist their workers achieve work-life balance. We first explore the prevalence of different types of flexible work schedules in Canada, and then examine work, personal, human capital, workplace, and sector characteristics that might be associated with flexible work schedules. For flexible work schedules, we focus on having a long workweek, flextime, a compressed workweek...
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...management is a distinct management philosophy which emerged as a perspective to manage the human resources in an effective manner for the benefit of an organization. Last decade it had witnessed a great exploitation towards the employees in terms of the working hours, payment, and working condition which in turn resulted to the development of their representative group as an employee’s union. As per the article ‘The role of Unions or HR in workplace’ “Unions have been in existence since 1935” (Morreaux, 2013, par.4) when the national labor relation law was passed, which was the first labor relation law. Employee unions were primarily formed for the purpose of representing the employment problem before the management and engaged in “collective bargaining” (Morreaux, 2013, par.3) with the employers in order to protect the worker’s interest and prevent it against exploitation. The prime purpose and the most attractive feature of an employee union is the collective bargaining power. As per the article ‘The Role of Unions or HR in Workplace’, collective bargaining is rightly been quoted as “negotiation process” (Morreaux, 2013, par.3) between the representative of management or human resource department with the union representative in the area of matter concerning to the...
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...The case of Janus v. AFSCME deals with union fees, termed agency fees or fair share fees, which are collected under work contracts in unionized shops designed to reimburse the union for the cost of services that result in providing benefit to non-union workers, due to the actions of the union taken on behalf of union members. Under law, unions are required to collectively bargain on behalf of every worker in a unionized shop, once the union becomes the exclusive representative for that workplace regardless of whether all workers employed are union members or...
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...will likely spark interest in the company, as we often hear that when more rights, opportunities and compensation are given to employees, it is likely to result in a happier and more productive work environment. The reason stability is the most effective, is because a union is able to provide a stable workplace, where ones job is secure. Aforementioned, benefits and compensation packages are usually more lucrative then the average worker, working in a non unionized company. Lastly, with increase of stability it is likely that turnover will decrease, and reductions in costs for recruitment and termination packages will occur (Hebdon and brown, 2012). Based on John Godard’s strategies (Hebdon and Brown, 2012) Phil can argue to increase his chances in organizing a union within his company: The improvement of terms and conditions of the workplace * Improvement in wages, benefits and current terms of the workplace * This would be beneficial to the women who are the vast majority of the workplace especially those who have in Canada for less than five years (job security) * Being a garment manufacturing firm this would instill better health and safety within the workplace Protecting employees against arbitrary management action * Organizing a union will protect the employees from arbitrary...
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...Questions often arise about whether an employer can enforce a dress code on employees. And the answer is – there is no simple answer. As with so many legal matters, the answer is influenced by the facts and the circumstances of each particular case. This article will attempt to provide some guidance. Consider first, a workplace with a collective agreement governing a unionized workforce. A dress code is viewed as any other rule which management wishes to implement. It cannot be inconsistent with any provision of the Collective Agreement, it must be reasonable, it must be known to the employees and it must be enforced consistently. In assessing the reasonableness of dress codes, arbitrators balance the rights of employees and the rights of employers. Arbitrators recognize the right of the employer to require dress that is safe for the work being performed and also recognize that employers have the right to protect the image they wish to establish for their companies in order to promote their business interests. The employee also has rights which come into play, especially where the dress or appearance the employer wishes to impose on the employee has an impact beyond the work place. Therefore rules against beards, facial jewelry, tattoos and so on, are often struck down by arbitrators since such rules intrude into employees’ lives outside of work. Arbitrators have required strong business justification, and solid evidence supporting that justification, from employers to support...
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...Labor Laws and Unions HRM/531 September 13, 2011 Professor Michael Weinsenberg, MBA. Labor Laws and Unions At a general level, the purpose of a union is to improve financial and other conditions of employment. Unions have flourished over the years in accomplishing these goals. More recently, they have experienced many challenges leading to membership losses. Currently unions are trying to reverse decline by placing workers in various industries such as casinos, museums, services. Several of positions include white-collar workers, physicians, nuclear engineers’ psychologists, and immigration judges (Cascio, p., 537, 2010). In 1943, TWU organized employees of the former Philadelphia Transit company. Local 234 won their first major victory for TWU outside of New York City. The local union was formed during the time of racial strife and the TWU stood by its record and strong dedication to racial equality to represent African American trolley operators. However, TWU local 234 represents more than 5,000 workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation (SEPTA). Upper Darby Municipal and Eden’s Paratranist employees are included. Local 234 established a name for themselves by getting the job done at contact time. Therefore, the members show pride for the indispensable service they provide to their communities (www.twu234.org). One union that has proven its presence in the City of Philadelphia as well as nationwide branch is the Transport Worker Union...
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...are the implications of the decline in union forms of representation for effective employee voice within workplace? Introduction: Union has been a very important part in employee relations. This was actually the voice of employees towards the management/ employers at workplace. Basically union is “an association, combination, or organization of employees who band together to secure favourable wages, improved working conditions, and better work hours and to resolve grievances against employers” (Bagchi, 2003). Unions always try to protect workers right and maintain a balanced relationship between workers and management. Unions’ existence can be traced from the 18th century, when the rapid growth of industrialisation took place. This industrial growth drew attention of women, children, rural workers and immigrants to the work force in different roles and actions. This unskilled and semi-skilled work force continuously organized them to fit in to the system from the beginning; and later become an important arena for the development of trade unions. In recent age the relationship between employee and employer has changed so does the process of representation process. The relationship between employee and employer should have some sort of equality in it. But as a matter of fact this has rarely be a case when an applicant or employee gets the choice to select the desired workplace or work itself from the employers. It’s rather more driven by employers’ choice and decision (Steve Williams...
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... workers see the most benefit. Friedman’s conclusion is that workers lot will improve most if the influence of union and government is reduced (247). Since 1980, when the book was published, there has been a steady decline in the percentage of workers who are members of labor unions, while the minimum wage has fallen behind inflation, effectively decreasing. Given that situation, it is possible to evaluate Friedman’s main prediction, as well as his component arguments in light of the new evidence. Friedman argues that the term “labor” is used to elide the fundamental conflicts between unionized and non-unionized workers and between members of unions and labor unions as an institution (229). He also argues that labor unions work in two fundamental ways; first they limit the number of workers available for a particular industry or job, and thus raise the wages for unionized workers while increasing unemployment and...
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...Walmart is an organization that is currently non-unionized. This paper will provide brief background information on Walmart organization. Legal issues and obstacles that Walmart could encounter will also be identified. The writer will determine which federal, state, or local laws could be broken because of the legal issues and why. Finally, recommendations to minimize possible litigation will be provided. The second part of the paper will deal with scenario if Walmart joining a union. Effects of the union on Walmart will be discussed next on the paper. Organization’s benefits of joining a union will be analyzed. Process of unionization will be discussed. And ways on how a union bargains and its effects on Walmart will be considered. Walmart’s Background Walmart begins in 1962 along with other retail stores such as Kmart and Target. Walmart has a humble beginning, with its owner Sam Walton put up 95 percent of their money to open the first Walmart stores in Rogers, Arkansas. Walmart finally goes public ten years later in 1972 which brings more capital to the organization. Walmart starts booming in the 1980s, where in the period of 10 years, sales grow from $ 1 billion in 1980s to $26 billion in 1989. In 21st century, Walmart is serving more than 176 million customers a year (Walmart Corporate, 2011). Throughout these years, Walmart as an organization never belong to a union despite many organizations suggested them to be unionized. Legal Issues and Obstacles Walmart could...
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...In this discussion I will provide a synopsis of the article, Complying with U.S. Labor Relations Laws in Non-Union Settings written by Gene Thornton. The article discusses the significance of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or Wagner Act regulated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRA is a federal law that protects employee’s right to organize and engage in concerted activities and bargain with their employers. Furthermore, unions can have a sizeable effect on both unionized and non-unionized employees; in addition, to their pay and employment. The article continues to discuss more about how employees and their rights are protected while in the union. Under the NLRA, all private organizations are prohibited from interfering in unfair labor practices and detail and explain employee rights in section 7. Section 7 states that all employees have the right to join or refrain from joining labor organizations and collectively bargain in the United States (Thornton, 2011). Even if a business crosses state lines the employees are still protected or have the right to join or not join a union; this is covered according to article one, section 8 (commerce clause) of the U.S. Constitution. On the other hand, in non-union settings that include agricultural workers, supervisors, independent contractors, and domestic workers are not cover under the Wagner Act or the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor Management Relations Act - LMRA). The federal workers are not even cover...
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