GMFC Case Study

GMFC is hoping to open a new plant within the United States that would specialize in recreation vehicles. Management would like to open the factory of 500 employees as a nonunion plant but they are worried that the United Automobile Workers (UAW) and other unions will attempt to unionize. There are many benefits to keeping the plant union-free such as, higher profits, flexible policies to better serve employees, and higher productivity. This paper will look at specific recommendations GMFC can do to prevent unionization at the new plant and still be competitive in the industry.

Size

Hiring about 500 employees for the new plant raises some concerns. Considered a medium-sized plant, it is important for management to implement human resource

It is also the one of the hardest components for management to fulfill. GMFC needs to be an industry leader in pay as well as implement a merit pay policy for employees. Leading the industry in pay and awarding employees pay increases equal to or better than what the union can negotiate is instrumental to keeping the plant union-free (Fossum, 2012). Also basing pay increases on performance and skills learned is a great incentive to boost productivity and employee motivation. As an example, Volkswagen starts their employees the base rate the union would be able to negotiate keeping employees content (Greenhouse, 2014).

Benefits

Commonly associated with pay for employees, benefits is the second biggest obstacle for management. Like Volkswagen starts employees off at the basic pay the unions would achieve, a similar benefits program should be implemented (Greenhouse, 2014). The passing of the Affordable Health Care Act has made it possible for many citizens to receive coverage but it is basic at best. GMFC should create a plan based off of the Health Care Act and unionized plans and allow for extras to be added on. This allows for employees to pick the benefits package that works best for them.

Other Employee Relations

From the UAW website, being in a union allows for all disciplinary infractions are subject to grievance procedures and arbitration, depending on the contract (United Auto Workers, 2015). GMFC should create a discipline and termination policy where if employees feel the anything is unjust they can voice their concerns and go through a process where both sides are heard and considered (Colvin, 2013). If times do become tough and there needs to be an employment reduction, GMFC needs to have a policy in place to try and redistribute employees to other facilities or cross train employees so that they can share jobs and split