5. Unions: Foundations, Why Organize and Protected Concerted Activity

Employee Relations Exam 1

NLRA (1935)

• Enforced by the NLRB

• Governs how organizing occurs on both sides

• How section 7 sets out employee rights

• And it applies to union and non-union workplaces.

Union

The exclusive representative for the whole bargaining unit, a shift to collective bargaining, and a democratic organization (locals and nationals).

Union Is NOT

• Not automatic pay

• Not a lawsuit factory

• Not only factories

• Not required for Section 7 rights.

Why people organize: the work, the deal, the voice, and the pattern. Pay is rarely the whole story.

Why People Organize

Pay is Rarely the whole story

• The work

• The deal

• The voice

• The pattern

Memebership Picture

• About 10% overall

• About 6% in the private sector

• Public sector often over 30%

• And high public approval.

State Section 7 in Plain English

The right to self-organize, bargain collectively, and engage in concerted activity for mutual aid or protection, with or without a union.

Protected Concerted Activity — The Working Test

• Usually In: Two or more employees discussing hours, pay, safety, or staffing. One employee raising a group complaint or trying to induce group action.

• Usually Out: One person griping about a personal preference. A purely individual grievance with no group aim or dimension

• Can Be Lost: Egregiously offensive or maliciously false statements. Publicly trashing the product with no link to working conditions.

Which Law Governs Which Workplace

• Private sector: NLRA/LMRA, NLRB

• Rail and Air: Railway Labor Act

• Public sector: the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute plus separate state systems

The HRBP Job When Someone Says "Union"

1.) Don't Panic - Manage the Speaker: That is interrogation plus a target, and it proves the culture story that drove the concern in the first place.

2.) Separate the Work Problem from the Label: Hours, safety, and staffing still need to be solved even if a campaign never starts. Fix the problem, not the messenger

3.) Slow the Manager Down: TIPS. No sudden promises. No "who started this?" Call Employee Relations or counsel before anyone writes "attitude" in a coaching note.

4.) Tell the Truth About the Process: You may state facts. You may not threaten or bribe.