Expert answer:2 Reading ?’s
Solved by verified expert:READING 12.1: A Big Chill on a “Big Hurt”: Genuine Interest in Employment of Salts in Assessing Protection Under the National Labor Relations ActREADING 12.2: Social Media, Employee Privacy and Concerted Activity: Brave New World or Big Brother?Does union diversification make unions stronger or weaker? How would you feel as an auto worker to see the UAW representing employees outside the auto industry? (Critical Thinking Question 6, page 550 in the textbook.) Prepare a 600 word paper.
READING 13.1: Retaining Talent: Replacing Misconceptions with Evidence-Based StrategiesREADING 13.2: Knowledge Management Among the Older WorkforceWhat costs are associated with turnover? What benefits can be derived from turnover? (Critical Thinking Question 4, page 582, in the textbook). Prepare a 600 word paper.Reference:Mello, J. A. (2015). Strategic human resource management (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
https___vcampbethel.blob.core.windows.net_public_courses_hrm_548_unit_7_read.pdf
reading_7.docx
Unformatted Attachment Preview
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
540 | Part 2
Implementation of Strategic Human Resource Management
L
abor relations is a key strategic issue for organizations because the nature of the relationship
between the employer and employees can have a significant impact on morale, motivation, and
productivity. Workers who feel that the terms and conditions of their employment are
less than advantageous will not be as committed to perform and to remain with an employer.
Consequently, how organizations manage the day-to-day aspects of the employment relationship
can be a key variable affecting their ability to achieve strategic objectives.
Workers who have unionized create special challenges for human resource (HR) management.
When workers form unions, the employment relationship becomes more formal through a union
contract and is subject to special provisions of the National Labor Relations Act. This Act allows
unions to be formed and exist as employee organizations that have the legal right to bargain with
management over various terms and conditions of employment. Unions provide membership solely
for employees; managers are prohibited by law from joining employee unions or from forming their
own unions.
Organized labor in the United States has had a cyclical history, generally consisting of short
D
periods of sharp growth in union membership
and activity followed by extended periods of
2
decline. In the early part of the twentieth
A century, employee-centered management practices were
eroding interest in unionization. The Great Depression then ignited strong interest in unions with
the resultant creation by John Lewis ofI the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). At that
time, both the CIO and the AmericanLFederation of Labor (AFL) were able to unionize large
segments of the workforce. These organizing efforts were largely focused on second-generation
Y and Jews, as unions attempted to provide these
immigrants, particularly Catholics, Italians,
individuals with the full benefits of working in the WASP-dominated economy.
,
Unions continued to enjoy increased membership until World War II. Interest in unions
declined post-War until the mid-1960s, when unions began to reach out to African Americans
during the drive for civil rights and subsequently enjoyed a renewed popularity. Also at that time,
R Workers Association, drawing attention to the plight of
Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm
Latino and Filipino farm workers who Y
had been forced to endure deplorable working conditions
and substandard wages. Chavez’s efforts led to a grape boycott that was observed by more than
A resulted in widespread awareness and distrust of
17 million Americans and, more generally,
exploitation of workers by employers. These successes also led to a flurry of union organization
N
among public sector employees that continued until the early 1980s.
August 3, 1981, is considered to be a significant day in the history of American labor. On that
date, more than 12,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who were
2 Controllers (PATCO) union walked off of their jobs.
members of the Professional Air Traffic
When President Reagan ordered them back
6 to work within 48 hours, 11,325 of them refused and
were fired immediately, as the FAA commenced hiring permanent replacements. Since the
7 nearly disappeared in the United States. During the
unsuccessful PATCO strike, strikes have
1950s, organized labor successfully orchestrated an average of 344 work stoppages annually.3
5
However, post-PATCO, that number had continuously been in decline and by 2008 had dipped to
just 15, with 9 of these 15 lasting for 10Bdays or less.4 The PATCO strike greatly influenced public
perceptions against organized labor stoppages and affirmed the right for employers to hire
U This shift has turned the strike into a present-day
permanent replacements for striking workers.
near-suicide tactic for unions.
Union membership in the United States has been steadily declining for a number of years. In
1970, approximately 30 percent of the private workforce was unionized, in addition to a majority of
public sector employees. By 1999, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that only 13.9 percent of
the workforce was unionized. By 2013 union membership had dropped further to 11.3 percent of the
workforce. Public sector employees were more than five times more likely to be union members
than private sector employees (36 percent versus 6.6 percent), and more than 50 percent of union
members lived in seven states (California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey,
and Ohio).5 These numbers represented declines in overall union membership as well as in both
the public and private sector union density.6
The decline in union membership can be attributed to a number of factors. First, many
workers have become disenfranchised from their unions. Allegations of union corruption and
9781305234758, Strategic Human Resource Management, Fourth Edition, Mello – © Cengage Learning All rights reserved No distribution allowed without express authorization
Chapter 12
Labor Relations | 541
misuse of funds—combined with the fact that workers sometimes feel that the costs of union
membership outweigh the benefits—have eroded union membership. Second, many
organizations have moved their manufacturing and assembly operations outside the United
States. Unions have traditionally had their strongest bases of support among these blue-collar
workers, and the movement of those jobs overseas has hurt unions. Third, changes in the
nature of work and technology have eliminated many of the traditional manual labor jobs in
which union members were employed. Finally, many unions have refused to be flexible enough
to allow organizations to grow and adapt in relation to the changes taking place in their
industries, markets, and the technological, economic, and sociocultural environments. The
traditional model of American labor unions, which guard employee rights by attempting to
maintain the status quo, no longer benefits employers or employees. Unions of the future will
have to be based on a different model and have different relationships with the organizations
whose workers they represent—if they continue to exist.
Although overall union membership is declining, it is important to understand organized labor
D First, in many industries, unionization is the norm. Many public
relations for at least three reasons.
sector workplaces are unionized.
A In the private sector, industries such as transportation,
construction, hospitality, publishing, education, and healthcare are usually highly unionized. In
I has the highest level of private sector union membership, at
fact, the transportation industry
25.5 percent.7 Managers and business
owners in these industries have no choice but to be well
L
versed on the laws that regulate the relationship with union employees. Second, competitors may be
Y organizations may impact HR practices, programs, and policies
unionized, and settlements in those
needed to remain competitive in recruiting and retaining productive employees. Arguably, the most
,
important reason for employers to have a sense of the labor relations landscape is that the National
Labor Relations Act provides all employees—rather than just those who have unionized—with
specific rights. Consequently, many employers who operate in nonunion environments may be
R and conditions of employment outlined in the Act. Section 7 of
unfamiliar with some of the terms
the Act grants all employees, including
Y those who are not members of unions, the right to engage in
activities that support their “mutual aid or protection.” There are six notable provisions under this
A to avoid violations of the Act.8
section that employers must know
First is the right of employees to discuss employment terms. In order for employees to
N
consider whether they wish to organize, they must be able to discuss the terms and conditions
of employment, including compensation, harassment, and discrimination. This right, however,
does not extend to the disclosure of confidential information, such as salaries, to which an
2 part of his or her job. Second, employees reserve the right to
employee might have access as
complain to third parties, such6as customers, clients, and the media, about their treatment by
the employer. Again, however, the employer retains the right to prohibit disclosure of any
7
confidential or proprietary information.
Third, employees have the right to engage in a work
stoppage or collective walkout to protest working conditions without fear of retaliation. Any
5
employee who is disciplined or discharged for engaging in such behavior has a valid claim
against the employer under theBNational Labor Relations Act. Fourth, employees have the right
to honor picket lines without fear of retaliation. This is considered protected activity regardless
U of the picketing union or merely sympathetic to the cause
of whether the employee is a member
and plight of the workers on the picket line. Fifth, employees have the conditional right to solicit
and distribute union literature. Such behavior can be restricted but not fully prohibited, as will
be discussed shortly. Finally, employers cannot unilaterally ban employees’ access to the worksite
while off duty. Restrictions may be imposed that limit access to the interior of the facility if
applied consistently to all employees for all purposes, but employees still retain the right to be
present on company property, such as the employee parking lot, after working hours to engage
in behaviors protected under the Act.
It cannot be emphasized enough that nonunion employees enjoy significant protection against
arbitrary, capricious, or harassing conduct by employers. This standard was established by the
Supreme Court in the 1962 case of NLRB v. Washington Aluminum Co.,9 where the Court found
that employee activity that was concerted for mutual aid or protection (in this case, walking off the
job in protest of poor working conditions) was lawful. As long as the employee’s or group of
9781305234758, Strategic Human Resource Management, Fourth Edition, Mello – © Cengage Learning All rights reserved No distribution allowed without express authorization
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
548 | Part 2
Implementation of Strategic Human Resource Management
Brotherhood of Teamsters, established in 1903 to represent drivers in the freight-moving industry,
now includes flight attendants, public defenders, and nursing home employees. There is no consensus regarding the value of such diversification by unions. Some argue that it provides more
power to unions and their members by strengthening their numbers and preventing their dependence on one particular industry. On the other hand, critics argue that this prevents unions from
being very influential in setting wages and policy in a particular industry, given the need to spread
time and resources across multiple industries. However, given the demise of traditional
manufacturing jobs from which unions originated and relied on for their support and power,
unions have little choice but to reach out to new industries. The critical issue is whether this diversification is really strategic for the union or merely opportunistic.
Another new development in how unions operate is their reliance on technology. Unions have
been using the Internet effectively to recruit new members, particularly those in technology-based
industries, and to gain support from others in their organizing efforts. The South Bay Central
Labor Council, based in California’s Silicon Valley, consists of 110 affiliated unions that represent
D The Council is using the Internet to communicate with
more than 100,000 employees in the area.
and, it is hoped, organize contingent A
workers.15 Similarly, the Service Employees International
Union undertook a campaign to organize janitorial workers in the Silicon Valley. The union successI against Apple Computer, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard
fully used the Internet to publicize its case
worldwide via electronic bulletin boards L
that informed engineers and programmers about the wages
and working conditions of those who cleaned their offices at night.16 Finally, the Oakland-based
Y
Local 2850 of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant
Employees International Union used the Internet
in a campaign against software giant PeopleSoft. In attempting to organize workers from a hotel
,
used extensively by PeopleSoft and its corporate partners and unable to gain the support of PeopleSoft, the union launched an Internet campaign that caused PeopleSoft’s stock value to decline by
more than $63 million, according to the company’s own estimates.17
The NLRB has also considered theR
role of technology as it relates to worker rights under the
NLRA. Given its charge to ensure that Y
employees are able to communicate freely with each other
about wages and all other conditions and terms of employment, the NLRB has endorsed e-mail
communication between employees asAa means of safeguarding those rights. Only when an
employee’s behavior is disruptive does NLRA protection cease. As a result, employer policies that
N
ban all nonbusiness and/or personal use of e-mail may interfere with the right to self-organize and
therefore constitute a violation of the NLRA. A key issue here is the extent to which employees
normally use the employer’s computer system for their regular work and communication with
2 a computer system in carrying out their regular job
coworkers. Employees who normally use
responsibilities are considered differently
6 from employees who generally do not use computers or
e-mail to carry out their regular job responsibilities. In addition, the more e-mail is normally used
7 an employer can implement that regulates communiin the workplace, the less restrictive a policy
cation that might be considered protected concerted activity under the NLRA.18
5
In recent years, the proliferation of social media has greatly altered the means by which
employees communicate with each other,
B both inside and outside of the workplace. The National
Labor Relations Board has provided protection to some employees who have had adverse action
taken against them by their employersU
due to their social media communications and postings.
Reading 12.2, “Social Media, Employee Privacy and Concerted Activity: Brave New World or Big
Brother?,” discusses issues surrounding employee privacy and how social media posting by
employees may fall with NLRA protection.
Broader employer policies regarding employee electronic communications have also been targeted by the National Labor Relations Board. Warehouse retailer Costco had a policy which prohibited employees from making defamatory statement deemed unlawful by the NLRB. Specifically,
the policy stated, “Employees should be aware that statements posted electronically (such as to
online message boards or discussion groups) that damage the company, defame any individual or
damage any person’s reputation or violate policies outlined in the Costco Employee Agreement,
may be subject to discipline, up to and including termination of employment.” The NLRB found
the prohibition to be too broad and designed to squelch employee concerted communications with
each other.19 As part of the same decision, the NLRB also struck down Costco rules that
9781305234758, Strategic Human Resource Management, Fourth Edition, Mello – © Cengage Learning All rights reserved No distribution allowed without express authorization
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
D
A
I
L
Y
,
R
Y
A
N
2
6
7
5
B
U
Chapter 12
cases, subsequent management reactions to curtail salting
activity and the judgments on the legality of such activities
under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA; 29 U.S.C.
§ 151 et. seq.). These decisions have significant implications
not only for unions as they attempt to maintain their viability
but also for employers in ensuring that their management
practices and actions do not run afoul of the NLRA.
Supreme Court Provides Protection to Salts
Under the National Labor Relations Act
The Supreme Court first addressed salting in NLRB v. Town
and Country Electric, Inc. (116 S. Ct. 459, 1995) where it
found that paid union representatives who attempt to gain
D
employment with a specific employer whose workers they
A
are trying to organize cannot be discriminated against solely
on the basis of their status as “salts.” Even though a salt may
I
have no intention of remaining with the employer subseL
quent to a successful organizing drive, the Court found that
union salts are considered “employees” under the NLRA and
Y
hence, are entitled to the full range of rights expressly pro,
vided to employees under the statute. As a result, any failure
to consider or hire otherwise qualified salts, as well as the
decision to terminate a salt once the salt’s intentions are
made known or union organizing activities begin, solely
R
based on salt status, is unlawful under the NLRA. While an
Y
employer has no per se obligation to hire a salt, no job applicant can be denied employment solely based on her or his
A
status as a salt.
Town and Country constituted what was described as N
a
“chess match” between employers and union organizers as
each attempted to assert their rights under the NLRA
(Mello 1998). A previous Supreme Court ruling, Lechmere,
2
Inc. v. NLRB (112 S. Ct. 841, 1992), had strengthened man6
agement rights in resisting organizing activity by disallowing
the practice of union organizers approaching employees on
7
the employer’s property; in this case, the employer-owned
5
employee parking lot. Salting served as a union response to
the restrictions placed on union organizer access to employB
ees in Lechmere and the Town and Country decision validated the use of salting as a tactic to organize workers.
U
While Town and Country was a significant victory for organized labor in prohibiting employers from refusing to hire an
applicant or subsequently terminate an employee who is
attempting to organize its workers, the decision didn’t
address the question of whether a salt can intentionally lie
as part of her or his employment application process about
his or her status as a salt and/or the intention to organize the
workplace. More so, to the extent that Town and Country
gave unions the upper hand in the “chess match,” the decision certainly gave employers incentive to respond by monitoring more closely the specific activities of union organizing
efforts.
Labor Relations | 553
Intentional Misrepresentation in the
Employment Application Process
In 2002 the Seventh Circuit addressed the extent to which a
salt may lie about organizing intentions in Hartman Bros.
Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. v. NLRB (280 F.3d 1110,
2002). Hartman Bros., an Indiana-based heating and airconditioning contractor, hired Starnes, who had stated on
his employment application that he had been laid off from
his previous job which paid him $11 per hour. The truth was
that Starnes had taken a formal leave of absence from his
position so that he might work for a union to assist with its
organizing efforts. As the position at Hartman for which
Starnes had applied paid only $8.50 per hour, suspicions
might have been aroused if Starnes stated that he was still
employed at a job which paid $11 per hour. Immediately
upon being hired, Starnes informed Hartman Bros. that he
was a union salt who intended to organize the company.
Hartman responded by telling Starnes to leave the workplace
without formally terminating him.
The job for which Starnes had applied and been hired
required driv …
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
How it works
- Paste your instructions in the instructions box. You can also attach an instructions file
- Select the writer category, deadline, education level and review the instructions
- Make a payment for the order to be assignment to a writer
- Download the paper after the writer uploads it
Will the writer plagiarize my essay?
You will get a plagiarism-free paper and you can get an originality report upon request.
Is this service safe?
All the personal information is confidential and we have 100% safe payment methods. We also guarantee good grades