Industrial Relations in Canada Glossary

Comprehensive glossary of terms from the 4th edition of Industrial Relations in Canada covering unionization, bargaining, and labour laws.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

Resolving disputes without going to court.

Apprenticeship

A process in which trainees learn a trade under the supervision of a senior tradesperson.

Arbitration

A quasi-judicial process whereby a neutral third party makes a final and binding determination on all outstanding issues in dispute.

Article

A larger section of a collective agreement.

Attitudinal structuring

The difficult process of building the mutual respect and trust necessary for an enduring and positive collective bargaining relationship.

Back-to-work legislation

Legislation requiring that strike action cease and employees return to work.

Bargaining unit

The group of employees in an organization that are eligible to be represented by a union.

Base pay

The part of pay that is solely based on time worked.

Bottom line

The minimum position necessary in negotiations to avoid a strike or lockout; it represents for the union the best possible outcome short of strike.

Bumping

A process whereby senior employees pass on their layoff to more junior employees.

Bumping rights

A provision in the collective agreement that permits a senior employee who has been laid off to bump a junior employee out of their job.

Business unionism (or pure-and-simple unionism)

Unionism that focuses on improving wages and the working conditions of its members.

Canada–United States–Mexico agreement (CUSMA)

A trade agreement among Canada, the United States, and Mexico that was signed on $\text{November } 30, 2018$, but not yet ratified by any of the three countries (called USMCA by the US).

Certification

Recognition of a union by a labour board after completion of the procedures under the labour act.

Chilling effect

The lack of bargaining flexibility caused by the parties' fear that a concession made in negotiations will reduce the arbitration outcome.

Clause (or section)

A specific section of an article.

Closed shop

A form of union security in which membership in the union is a condition of employment.

Collective agreement

A written document outlining the terms and conditions of employment in a unionized workplace.

Collective bargaining

The process by which management and labour negotiate the terms and conditions of employment in a unionized workplace.

Collective voice

The ability of a group of workers or a union to express concerns as an alternative to an individual worker resigning out of frustration.

Common law

The legal regime for non-union employment.

Company union

A union that a company helped create or has come to influence to the point of interfering with the democratic process.

Conciliation

A dispute-resolution process in which a neutral third party acts as a facilitator (see mediation).

Contract zone

Exists if each side's bottom line overlaps; in other words, to avoid a strike or lockout, management will offer more and the union will accept less than the point where their negotiating positions intersect.

Conventional interest arbitration

Interest arbitration where the arbitrator can choose among the proposals or fashion one of his or her own.

Conversion mechanisms

tools/processes used to convert the interests of unions, employees, employers, and government into outcomes like collective agreements, policies, or legal decisions.

Corrective action

A warning process designed to improve employee performance or behaviour.

Craft or occupational unionism

Unions that typically allow into membership only trades or occupations that are in the same family of skills.

Crown corporations

Corporations owned by the government.

Culpable

At fault, guilty.

Defined benefit

A type of pension plan that guarantees a specific payout.

Deregulation

A policy designed to create more competition in an industry by allowing prices to be determined by market forces.

Disposable income

Income after taxes and benefits from social programs (e.g., unemployment insurance payments).

Distributive bargaining

A form of negotiations in which two parties compete over the distribution of some fixed resource.

Distributive justice

Employees' perception of fairness in workplace outcomes and decisions.

Dues check-off

A process whereby union dues are deducted automatically from pay.

Duty of fair representation

A legal obligation on the union's part to represent all employees equally and in a non-discriminatory manner.

Elasticity of supply (demand)

The labour responsiveness of supply (demand) caused by a change in the wage rate.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

A counselling service available to employees.

Employee relations

The study of the employment relationship between employers and individual employees, usually in non-union settings.

Employment equity

Equity in employment levels and opportunities between targeted community groups (women, visible minorities, Indigenous persons, and disabled employees) and major employers.

Employment relations

The study of employment relationships and issues in union and non-union workplaces.

Essential services agreement

Used when some workers must remain on the job during a strike to provide key services.

Exchange rate

The value of one country's currency relative to another country's currency.

Exclusive jurisdiction

When a single union represents all workers of a trade or occupational grouping.

Exclusivity principle

Certified union = exclusive legal bargaining agent for everyone in the bargaining unit.

Explicit reference

Equity clause in collective agreements that specifies which groups are covered.

Feedback loop

The mechanism by which outputs of the industrial relations system flow back to the external environment.

Final-offer arbitration

Interest arbitration in which the arbitrator must choose one of the parties' proposals.

First agreement (or first contract) arbitration

Arbitration that determines the first collective agreement.

Gain sharing

A group performance pay that is based on firm productivity gains.

Gig economy

A special form of non-standard work where there are two forms of work: crowdwork and app-based.

Goal

That which a person seeks to obtain or achieve.

Good faith bargaining

An obligation on union and management to make a serious attempt to reach a settlement.

Great Depression

A period of significant economic downturn resulting from the stock market crash of $1929$.

Grievance

A formal complaint that a specific clause in the collective agreement has been violated.

Grievance mediation

A voluntary nonbinding process whereby a neutral third party examines the grievance.

High-performance work practices (HPWPs)

Comprehensive human resources practices designed to improve organizational performance.

Hiring halls

A union-run centre that refers union labour to job sites as requested by firms.

Human relations

A managerial view that believes that effective management practices can minimize the conflict between managers and employees.

Human resources

The study of the employment relationship between employers and individual employees.

Indirect pay (or benefits)

Anything that an employer pays for, to the benefit of the employee, that is not part of base or performance pay.

Industrial dispute

A disagreement arising from entering into, renewing, or revising a collective agreement.

Industrial relations

The study of employment relationships and issues, often in unionized workplaces.

Industrial unionism

A type of inclusive unionism that represents a broad range of skills and occupations.

Industrial unions

Unions that organize all workers of an industry/workplace regardless of trade.

Inflation

The increase in prices over time.

Institutionalists

Those subscribing to the theory that the operation of labour markets requires a knowledge and understanding of such social organizations as unions, non-governmental community organizations, and international institutions.

Integrative bargaining

A form of bargaining in which there is potential for a solution that produces a mutual gain; also called win-win bargaining, principled negotiations, and interest-based bargaining.

Intention to quit

A survey measure assessing the likelihood that an employee will quit.

Interactional justice

Employees' perceptions of the fairness of interpersonal interactions and exchanges.

Interest-based bargaining (IBB)

A cooperative form of bargaining in which the parties focus more on the interests of the parties and not the exaggerated positions.

Interest arbitration

An arbitration that determines terms and conditions of the collective agreement while it is being negotiated.

Interest rate

The rate a bank charges for borrowing money.

International Labour Organization (ILO)

A tripartite agency of the United Nations (including government, management, and labour) with the mandate to establish and enforce global labour standards.

Intra-team (or intra-organizational) bargaining

Bargaining within union and management teams during the collective bargaining process.

Job analysis

A process whereby the key competencies for a job are identified.

Job evaluation

A process whereby the firm determines the value of a job.

Job satisfaction

An employee's assessment of his or her job experience.

Jurisprudence

Past decisions (usually in a legal context).

Labour relations

The study of employment relationships and issues between groups of employees (usually in unions) and management; also known as union-management relations.

Legislative reference

Equity clause in collective agreements that references legislation.

Letter of understanding

Letter between the parties, usually placed at the end of an agreement and describing a specific practice they have agreed to follow.

Lockout

A work stoppage invoked by management.

Macroeconomic policy

A policy that applies to economy-wide goals, such as inflation, unemployment, and growth.

Mandatory retirement

A requirement that employees retire at age $65$.

Mandatory strike vote

A rule stating that a majority of the workers must vote in favour of a strike; union leaders cannot call a strike on their own.

Master–servant relationship

Employment relationship in which employees have few rights; the essence of the common-law employment relationship pertaining to non-union workplaces.

Mediation

A dispute-resolution process in which a neutral third party acts as a facilitator.

Meta-analysis

A statistical technique that looks for trends across many studies.

Mitigation factors

Facts or circumstances considered in discipline cases that may justify reducing a penalty, such as long service, clean record, remorse, lack of intent, inconsistent enforcement, unclear policies, or potential for rehabilitation.

Monopoly effect

The union's ability to raise wages above non-union rates.

Monopsony

Occurs when a firm is the sole market buyer of a good, service, or labour.

Multi-skill training

Training to provide employees with a variety of skills, some of which may not normally be part of their job.

Narcotic or dependency effect

A result of frequent use of arbitration that may cause parties to lose the ability to freely negotiate settlements without third-party assistance.

Neoclassical economics view

A view of industrial relations grounded in economics that sees unions as an artificial barrier to the free market.

New model unionism

The movement to trade (or craft) unions.

New public management (NPM)

A new approach to public administration in which public organizations are to become more decentralized, market-driven, and concerned with financial control.

Non-union employee representation (NER)

Occurs when a group of non-union employees meets with management regarding employment terms and conditions.

Nonstandard work arrangements

Work arrangements that differ from the norm in terms of employment term, location, schedule, hours of work, or pay.