Employees' interests to management on such issues as wages

Employees' interests to management on such issues as wages

Union

 

·         An organization that represents employees' interests to management on such issues as wages, work hours, and working conditions

 

Labor relations specialist

 

·         Someone, often a member of the HR department, who is knowledgeable about labor relations and can represent management's interests to a union

 

Wagner Act/National Labor Relations Act (1935)

 

·         A federal law designed to protect employees' rights to form and join unions and to engage in such activities as strikes, picketing, and collective bargaining

 

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

 

·         The independent federal agency created by the Wagner Act to administer U.S. labor law

 

Taft-Hartley Act (1947)

 

·         A federal law designed to limit some of the power acquired by unions under the Wagner Act by adjusting the regulation of labor-management relations to ensure a level playing field for both parties

 

Union Shop Clause

 

·         A union arrangement that requires new employees to join the union 30 to 60 days after their date of hire

 

Right-To-Work Law

 

·         A state law that makes it illegal within that state for a union to include a union shop clause in its contract

 

Landrum-Griffin Act (1959)

 

·         A law designed to protect union members and their participation in union affairs

 

Railway Labor Act

 

·         A law designed to regulate labor relations in the transportation industry

 

Business Unionism

 

·         A form of unionism that focuses on improving workers' economic well-being

 

Collective Bargaining

 

·         A system in which unions and management negotiate with each other to develop the work rules under which union members will work for a stipulated period of time

 

Work Rules

 

·         Any terms or conditions of employment, including pay, work breaks and lunch periods, vacation, work assignments, and grievance procedures

 

Labor Contract

 

·         A union contract that spells out the conditions of employment and work rules that affect employees in the unit represented by the union

 

Works Council

 

·         A committee composed of both worker representatives and managers who have responsibility for governing the workplace; used in Germany

 

Codetermination

 

·         The representation of workers on a corporation's board of directors; used in Germany

 

Enterprise Union

 

·         A labor union that represents workers in only one large company rather than in a particular industry; used in Japan

 

Labor Relations Strategy

 

·         A company's overall plan for dealing with labor unions

 

Union Acceptance Strategy

 

·         A labor relations strategy in which management chooses to view the union as its employees' legitimate representative and accepts collective bargaining as an appropriate mechanism for establishing workplace rules

 

Union Avoidance Strategy

 

·         A labor relations strategy in which management tries to prevent its employees from joining a union, either by removing the incentive to unionize or by using hardball tactics

 

Union Substitution/Proactive Human Resource Management

 

·         A union avoidance strategy in which management becomes so responsive to employees' needs that it removes the incentives for unionization

 

Union Suppression

 

·         A union avoidance strategy in which management uses hardball tactics to prevent a union from organizing its workers or to get rid of a union

 

Distributive Bargaining

 

·         Bargaining that focuses on convincing the other party that the cost of disagreeing with the proposed terms would be very high

 

Integrative Bargaining

 

·         Bargaining that focuses on convincing the other party that the benefits of agreeing with the proposed terms would be very high

 

Economic Strike

 

·         A strike that takes place when an agreement is not reached during collective bargaining

 

Wildcat Strike

 

·         A spontaneous work stoppage that happens under a valid contract and is usually not supported by union leadership

 

Lockout

 

·         Occurs when an employer shuts down its operations before or during a labor dispute

 

Grievance Procedure

 

·         A systematic, step-by-step process designed to settle disputes regarding the interpretation of a labor contract

 

Union Steward

 

·         An advocate dedicated to representing an employee's case to management in a grievance procedure

 

Arbitration

 

·         The last step in a grievance procedure. The decision of the arbitrator, who is a neutral individual selected from outside the firm, is binding on both parties

 

Seniority

 

·         The length of time a person works for an employer

 

Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA)

 

·         A pay raises, usually made across the board, that is tied to such inflation indicators as the consumer price index