The collective bargaining simulation was a good educational experience for me. We were able to apply the concepts we learned throughout the semester to a real life situation. I was assigned the role of Chief Negotiator for the bargaining unit. This role fit me well because I have studied unions prior to this semester and I got to meet with multiple people from different unions last year. This experience helped me get the perspective of the average member and I learned about some of the expectations they have for the union. Members of the union expect their chief negotiator to fight for all of their benefits and never settle for anything that doesn’t benefit the union. I tried my best to get all of the demands we were assigned approved. According to my notes we were able to get most of our demands and we denied the demands of the employer that we didn’t agree with. I enjoyed this role because I was able to stay engage in the activity the whole time. I think it would have been difficult for me to have a different role other than the assistant negotiator, because all of the other positions didn’t have as much responsibility. Being …show more content…
They initially agreed with our demands to not subcontract jobs, reimpliment a cost-of-living adjustment, improvements to the retirement benefits plan, a union shop clause and mandatory overtime not exceeding 10 hours. For the other three of our demands we were able to come to agreements that we felt favored the union. For the employers demands we were able to deny them of their request to have a six year contract, the right to subcontract, force employees to pay 20 percent of healthcare, allow supervisors to accrue seniority, and allow union members to leave the union after a contract. For two of their demands we worked out agreements that we feel favored the union and they had the favorable outcome for our last
Tensions between union supporters and management began mounting in the years preceding the strike. In April of 1994, the International Union led a three-week strike against major tracking companies in the freight hauling industry in attempts to stop management from creating $9 per hour part-time positions. This would only foreshadow battles to come between management and union. Later, in 1995, teamsters mounted an unprecedented national union campaign in attempts to defeat the labor-management “cooperation” scheme that UPS management tried to establish in order to weaken the union before contract talks (Witt, Wilson). This strike was distinguished from other strikes of recent years in that it was an offensive strike, not a defensive one. It was a struggle in which the union was prepared, fought over issues which it defined, and one which relied overwhelmingly on the efforts of the members themselves (http://www.igc.org/dbacon/Strikes/07ups.htm).
To conclude this analysis on the basis of the labor’s extensive history, Sloane & Witney (2010) propose, “it is entirely possible that labor’s remarkable staying power has been because of the simple fact that to many workers, from the nineteenth century to the present, there really has been no acceptable substitute for collective bargaining as a means of maintaining and improving employment conditions” (p.80). In the end, it is important to anticipate unions and employers presently work together to find solutions that will enhance collective bargaining strategies and practices to serve the interest of both parties.
The case study of GMFC provides an example of a company attempting to avoid unionization of its workers. GMFC is expanding by building a new U.S. plant which will manufacture motorized recreational equipment. The company plans to hire about 500 production workers to assemble mechanical components, fabricate fiberglass body parts, and assemble the final products. In order to avoid the expected union campaign by the United Automobile Workers (UAW) to organize its workers, GMFC must implement specific strategies to keep the new plant union-free. GMFC’s planning committee offers suggestions with regards to the plant’s size, location, staffing, wages and benefits, and other employee relations issues in order to defend the company against the negative effects of unionization and increase...
Since the terms and conditions of employment is a broad subject, the NLRB has regulated what subjects are considered mandatory in the collective bargaining process. The court have also general upheld the issue of mandatory subjects in the collective bargaining process be as broad as possible. This allow each individual issue to a violation of unfair practices to be decided on a case by case basis. Employers must also agree to meet with the labor union at a reasonable time as part of its duty to bargain in good faith. If there is a non mandatory or permissive issue determined by the NLRA then employers can refuse to meet and negotiate with the labor about these subjects. Permissive subjects do not have to be in the labor union contract so refusal to negotiate will not be considered an unfair labor practice by management. The Supreme Court has narrow the criteria of whether or not the subject is mandatory or not. The first test is whether or not the issue is obviously significant to the work environment (Petersen & Boller,
The disadvantages of union membership are viewed from the employee and employer perspective. Through the employee lens, the disadvantages manifest in the form of fees, loss of autonomy, and less collaborative work environment. As part of the union, you surrender many of your individual rights in exchange for the organized results that can potentially manifest through the collective bargaining process. Therefore, there isn’t any assurance that your individual concern will even be addressed.
Despite attempting to predict the eventual outcome of the negotiation, I did not anticipate the confrontations between Local H-56 and the management of Hotel Zinnia. Although they initially agreed to engage in integrative bargaining, the union and management subsequently entered an intense negotiation. When Local H-56 presented its proposal of wage increases and health insurance, management immediately responded with a counterproposal that surprised the union. Both the union and management eventually behaved confrontationally, accusing each other of bargaining unreasonably and focusing on the trivial aspects of the negotiation. Moreover, as the union and management felt increasingly frustrated, they suffered from a lack of unity in their teams. The union could not fulfill its objectives because its lead negotiator prevented other team members from contributing to the negotiation. On the other hand, several team members of management struggled to assert their authority as the lead negotiator. After observing these issues, I ultimately believe that the union and management failed to achieve their individual objectives. Moreover, by approaching the negotiation with a zero-sum strategy, I assert that the union and management failed to reach a mutually beneficial contract. At the same time, both sides of the bargaining table lacked cohesive teams and therefore struggled under the pressure of the negotiation.
Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).
I have been involved with labor unions on three occasions throughout my lifetime. The first occasion occurred, when I was a high school teenager and began working as a box-boy at a grocery store. A condition of employment was that I was required to join the stores labor union, which was a state law in California. According to Bernard D. Meltzer, a leading scholar of Labor Law at University of Chicago Law School, “Union security provisions in labor contracts have required membership in, or financial support of, the signatory union by employees, as a condition of employment by the signatory employer”(2277). This is called a closed job which meant that only union members were entitled to work. Therefore, I had no choice but to join the store union. I immediately noticed that the union would collect membership dues every month, but I never received any benefits from being a union member. According to the union’s work rules, management was supposed to give its employees a minimum of six hours notice if the employee was scheduled to work. In my case this would rarely happen. I was constantly told at the last minute that I needed to work, and if I did not come to work I would be fired. I would protest to the union shop steward (who was my union representative), but nothing ever changed. I complained to the union management and I was ignored and dismissed. I became frustrated and angered with the union’s propaganda claiming that they fought for all workers rights, when I knew for a fact that they did not. This was about the time that I began to question whether unions really cared about its members or whether they only cared about themselves and its member’s dues, and if unions were still needed in today’s society.
During this course, I have learned a lot about negotiating. We learned about almost every negotiating technique there is. We learned about cross-cultural negotiations, body language, Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), variables in negotiating, and many more. Before this course, I did not know that much about negotiating. I thought that negotiating was just about trading or convincing someone to give you what you want and you did not care about the other side, resulting in a win-lose. I now know that negotiating is about getting what you want, but also giving the other side what they want as well to result in a win-win. This paper is about how I am going to improve my negotiating skills over the next six months. In order for me to improve my negotiating skills, I believe I need to improve the following skills- my body language, communication, planning, and my interpersonal communications. By improving those skills, I can become an effective negotiator.
The topic for my real world negotiation is to come to an agreement with my supervisor for a promotion as well as an increased salary. I currently work as a student assistant at the student services Planning, Enrollment Management, and Student Affairs (PEMSA) department. My goal is to increase my hourly pay from $10.15 to $12.70, a 25% increase. Having worked in this department for three years, I have taken on tasks not part of my job description such as processing return mail, data entry, and supervision.
BUSI 2465 is an interesting course. I participated in numerous ways. I thought of this course as a bargaining process in which bargaining was used among two different business people in order to close a deal or come to an agreement. Before the first class I wondered if negotiations was only consist of winning over each other rather than for mutual gains. I only thought it would be distributive where both the parties keep their information and interests hidden and moreover it is one time relationship. But, I never thought it would be integrative where both the parties share information and interest with each other and continue the long term relationship. Another question comes into my mind was that what are the necessary skills behind winning
Negotiation is an important strategy and plays an indispensable role for people to solve the problem in our lives. It is a good way to make both parties find acceptable solution by each parties use tactics to persuade another party to approve his or her viewpoint. The application of the advanced negotiation skills definitely not only brings success in our daily life but also improve people’s work ability. This essay will show my natural preferences for different types of influence tactics which have been utilized in in-class, the understanding of the negotiation and analyze how to use proper tactics at different situations which are based on the role-play activity in tutorial.
The laws and regulations surrounding Industrial Relations since the 1900’s have, at each reform, placed tighter constraints on the amount of power unions are able to exert. The reforms have also radically increased managerial prerogative, through an increased use of individual bargaining, contracts and restrictions imposed on unions (Bray and Waring, 2006). Bray and W...
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements to regulate working conditions. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. The collective agreements reached by these negotiations usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.
Collective bargaining may happen in several kinds of fields, ranging politics to sports. It allows appropriate settlement of disputes and issues that benefit both parties involved, producing a result that is not one-sided. Collective bargaining is “the negotiation of wages and other conditions of employment by an organized body of employees” (Beal, Wickersham, & Kienast 5). Four issues that are probable components of a collective bargaining agreement are: