Agreements and Disputes

4 Kinds of Workplace Labor Agreements

  • closed shop: employer may hire only workers for a job who are already in the union

    • this is illegal
    • must discharge any employee who terminates his union membership

  • union shop: workers aren’t required to be union members when hired for a job but must join the union within the specified time

    • not allowed in 27 states
    • these are right-to-work states
    • ex: National Education Association

  • agency shop: workers must pay equivalent of union dues, but aren’t required to join the union

    • applies to public-sector teachers in some states
    • prohibited in other states
    • union protected workplaces

  • open shop: workers may choose to join or not to join the union

    • applies in 27 states

Compensation

  • two-tier wage contracts: new employees are paid less or receive lesser benefits than veteran employees
  • cost-of-living adjustment (COLA): a clause during the period of the contract ties future wage increases in the cost of living
  • givebacks: the union agrees to give up previous wage or benefit gains in return for something else
    • ex: no-layoff policy

Settling Labor-Management Disputes

  • grievance: a complaint by an employee that management has violated the terms of the labor-management agreement
  • mediation: process in which a neutral third party, a mediator, listens to both sides in a dispute
    • they make suggestions and encourage them to agree on a solution
    • in political campaigns, many times there will be a mediator between the candidates so things won’t get out of control
  • arbitration: process in which a neutral third party, an arbitrator, listens to both parties in a dispute
    • they make a decision that the parties have agreed will be binding

The Nature of Change in Organizations

  • which supertrends will you be called on to deal with?

  

  1. the marketplace is becoming more segmented; more niche products
  2. more competitors offering targeted products, requiring faster speed-to-market
  3. some traditional companies may not survive radically innovative change-disruptive innovation
  4. china, india, and other offshore suppliers are changing the way we work
  5. knowledge, not information, is becoming the new competitive advantage