Labor Management Relations Example Paper
Title: The effectiveness of the current labor relations system
Course: Labor and Management Relations
The current labor relations system has its strengths and weaknesses. It can work well within the workplace, but the system has barriers that can create issues with resolving disputes within it. Unions and management often are able to negotiate provisions peacefully in the labor agreement to allow such things as medical and dental insurance, shift differential pay, pensions, employee stock purchase or ownership plans, education tuition and child-care assistance, and even pre-paid legal services benefits. Unions often will even request such additional work rules that include benefits outside the Fair Labor Standards Act and National Labor Relations Act. Employers are required to pay time and half for hours worked over 40 hours in one work week; however, there are unions that have not only been granted 4-10 hour day privileges, but time and half for hours worked over 8 hours a day, in addition to if Friday is worked of course. In many non-unionized industries, if there is no work available for the employee, the employee is only paid for the time worked and sent home “no pay-no penalty”, but there are union members receiving ‘reporting pay’ for the entire work day scheduled in these instances, as well as “’call in pay’ which typically guarantees four hours’ pay for employees called in to work during nonscheduled work days” (Text, p.314). Although such employee rights as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are mandatory for any private sector company, unions often use these provisions as an access of gaining more bargaining power and often results in employees gaining more time off. But many things can abrupt win-win negotiations, and although often resolved, can be challenges in keeping peaceful negotiations between labor and management. Such things as technological changes, job security and seniority rankings, employee training, work restructuring, and
Course: Labor and Management Relations
The current labor relations system has its strengths and weaknesses. It can work well within the workplace, but the system has barriers that can create issues with resolving disputes within it. Unions and management often are able to negotiate provisions peacefully in the labor agreement to allow such things as medical and dental insurance, shift differential pay, pensions, employee stock purchase or ownership plans, education tuition and child-care assistance, and even pre-paid legal services benefits. Unions often will even request such additional work rules that include benefits outside the Fair Labor Standards Act and National Labor Relations Act. Employers are required to pay time and half for hours worked over 40 hours in one work week; however, there are unions that have not only been granted 4-10 hour day privileges, but time and half for hours worked over 8 hours a day, in addition to if Friday is worked of course. In many non-unionized industries, if there is no work available for the employee, the employee is only paid for the time worked and sent home “no pay-no penalty”, but there are union members receiving ‘reporting pay’ for the entire work day scheduled in these instances, as well as “’call in pay’ which typically guarantees four hours’ pay for employees called in to work during nonscheduled work days” (Text, p.314). Although such employee rights as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are mandatory for any private sector company, unions often use these provisions as an access of gaining more bargaining power and often results in employees gaining more time off. But many things can abrupt win-win negotiations, and although often resolved, can be challenges in keeping peaceful negotiations between labor and management. Such things as technological changes, job security and seniority rankings, employee training, work restructuring, and
References: Fritts, J.; Friedman, R. (n.d) The NLRB Wants to Review Your Employee Handbook-Should you be worried? Morgan Lewis Together. Retrieved from http://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/LEPG_Webinar_NLRBWantsToReviewYourEmployeeHandbook_13sep12.pdf Course Text: Holley, William H. Jr., Jennings, Kenneth M., and Wolters, Roger S. (2012). The Labor Relations Process, 10th Edition. South-Western Cengage Learning.