In the case study I am asked the major differences between public and private sector labor relations. Throughout my research I will use the text along with outside sources to help in finding the significant differences between the two. Furthermore as outlined in the text of (Holley, Jennings, & Wolters, 2012) have indicated some of the major differences between public and private sector including the market economy such as the relationship between the budget and the bargaining process, employee rights and obligations, and collective bargaining structures and decision making processes. Furthermore, we must consider the differences within dispute resolution between private and public sector labor relations.
As stated in (State Budget Solutions,
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In particular public sector grievances are generally not settled at the first step but tend to be settled at the second and third step unlike the private sector (Holley, Jennings, & Wolters, 2012). In private sector labor relations, the right to strike is considered a fundamental bargaining tool in aiding the union to gain leverage for management to break to their demands. In the public sector, in most states strikes are illegal (Holley, Jennings, & Wolters, 2012). In addition prohibit employees from striking when their demands are rejected. Employee recourse is solely through the political process where their demands for higher pay are pitted against the voters ' resistance to increased taxes (Summers, C. 2003). Although private and public sector employees may be disciplined or discharged for events that have happened off duty. To further explain both private and public sector employees retain the right to conduct their private lives the way see they fit and an employer can only discipline employees if there is a nexus between the off duty conduct and the employment. Therefore, public employees are generally under heightened scrutiny for reasons for being in the public eye as being trusted by the public for services such as teacher, fire fighter, police officer, or postal
The paper will discuss minicases on ‘The White-Collar Union Organizer’ and ‘The Frustrated Labor Historians’ by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney (2010), to understand the issues unions undergo in the marketplace. There is no predetermined statistical number reported of union memberships in this country. However, “the United Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) excludes almost 2 million U.S wages and salary employees, over half of whom are employed in the public sector, who are represented at their workplaces by a union but are not union members. Not being required to join a union as a condition of continued employment, these employees have for a variety of reasons chosen not to do so. Nor do the BLS estimates include union members who are currently unemployed” (Sloane & Witney, 2010, p.5). Given this important information, the examination of these minicases will provide answers to the problems unions face in organizational settings.
Holley, Jr., W., Jennings, K. & Wolters, R. (2012). The labor relations process. (10th ed.). Fort
against their employers, employees were able to go on strike and prove a point. Some
Across the United States there has been a decline in union membership. Looking back as far to 1954 the union work force had peaked at 34.7% but has since been in decline. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total number of union members fell by 400,000 in 2012 to 14.3 million even though the nation’s overall employment rose by 2.4 million (Greenhouse, 2013). In 2011 the percentage of union workers was 11.8% and in 2012 dropped to 11.3%, which is the lowest union membership has been since 1916. The percentage of private sector unions in 2012 was down to 6.6%, which left many labor specialists questioning whether private sector unions were sinking towards irrelevance (Greenhouse, 2013). What are the reasons for this decline? And what does this mean for the future of private sector unions? This essay will take a lot closer look at these two questions.
Unions have an extensive history of standing up for workers. They have advocated rights of steelworkers, coal miners, clothing factory employees, teachers, health care workers, and many others. The labor movement is based on the idea that organized workers as a group have more power than individuals would have on their own. The key purpose of any union is to negotiate contracts, making sure workers are respected and fairly compensated for their work. “In theory” unions are democratic organizations, resulting in varying inner authority. Workers look for security within a job a...
You can see by these two cases that there is a difference between employee and non-employee union organizers. The main difference being in where they ...
History shows that there has been conflict of power within the workforce between union and management. This essay will discuss if management should have the right to determine whether a union should operate within their workplace. It is necessary first to discuss the roles of unions and management in the workplace and discuss both points of view on the power distribution between unions and management in the workplace.
Union efforts to improve the lives of workers consistently met with resistance, oftentimes violent, from businesses, police and the government throughout their turbulent history; and yet unions have persevered and were able to improve working conditions. The National Labor...
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). (2011). The impact of collective bargaining. Retrieved from http://www.afscme.org/publications/2202.cfm
... (Piven & Cloward, 18) Workers protest by striking against their employer, it is easier for employees to protest because they are all located and working together under one roof and are fighting for one thing, and that one thing is related to the workplace. While it is easier for employees to protest, it is not that easy for lower class employees to protest because they have little ability to protect themselves against their institutional managers. When the lower class workers have an informal organizational protest the government is eventually stepping in to disarm the protestors and make efforts to conciliate, “…mobs of unemployed were granted relief in the 1930s…” (Piven & Cloward, 29) The protests cause disruption and sometimes that disruption can make a change but when people are protesting blindly they are more prone to social injustice then making a change.
Traditional literature in the field of labor relations has focused immensely on its benefit towards the employer and in the process equating it to working rules. This has been so despite the field being expected to cover the process of, labor management, union formation, and collective bargain; all which are anticipated to create a positive employer-employee relationship. This relationship is said to be positive if there exist a balance between employment functions and the rights of the laborer. Also important to note, is that this relation is equally important to the public sector as it is to the private one. Therefore, to ensure a mutually conducive labor environment exists, effective labor management process and inclusive negotiation program should be adopted (Mulve 2006; Walton, 2008).
Wages and benefits are the key motivation that people go to their jobs every day; besides their hourly wage or annual salary, majority of employees have access to employer-sponsored health care coverage, paid vacation, and other benefits (Findlaw.com, n.d.). So, when it comes to negotiations, wage disputes are by far the most prominent causes of strikes when labor unions and employers reach a stalemate during these talks (Sloane & Witney, 2010). Over the past decade, wage-related issues have accounted for approximately 40 percent of all such work stoppages (Gorman, 2004). Since employee wages are normally their only source of income, we can see why they play such a significant and contentious part in labor unions and management relationships (Gorman, 2004). That is why basic wage rate, overtime, differentials, and adjustments are the most significant issue...
Holley, William H, Kenneth M. Jennings, and Roger S. Wolters. The Labor Relations Process. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Colvin, A. S. (2013). Participation versus procedures in non-union dispute resolution. Industrial Relations, 52(S1), 259-283.
The role of the government on industrial relations is very important as it sets the legal framework that industrial relations operates in. Appropriate industrial relations legislation should recognize the requirements of both employers and employee’s. Both the employee and the employer want to profit from each other but are also reliant on each other. This means that the equal bargaining power of employers and workers must be recognized (Peetz, David. 2006). Appropriate industrial relations laws should address any imbalance of power and give both groups an equal degree of control. Appropriate industrial relations should not only allow a mixture of both collective and individual bargaining but also facilitate employee participation in day to day workplace decisions. After all it’s the structure and framework of the employment relationship, which is governed by legislation that leads to good Industrial Relations.