Labor Relations

Introduction

Labor relations is the study of how unionized employment situations can be managed and practiced as it is relevant to industrial relations and many researchers discussed it with relation to many areas such as economics, sociology, history, law, and political science in addition to the study of labor unions and labor different movements and it is related also to human resource management as a sub area. Courses in labor relations field is covering labor history, labor law, union organizing, bargaining, contract administration, and important contemporary topics. In the United States, labor relations in the private sector is regulated by the National Labor Relations Act. Public sector labor relations is regulated by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 and various pieces of state legislation. In other countries, labor relations might be regulated by law or tradition. Industrial relations is a multidisciplinary field that studies into the employment relationship and it is being called employment relations or employee relations due to the importance of non-industrial employment relationships as this is regarded especially in the human resource management field. Some researchers nowadays provide definitions for human resource management such as synonymous related to employee relations. Other authors regard employee relations as only targeted non-unionized workers but labor relations is seen as dealing with unionized workers. Industrial relations studies examine different employment situations, not only ones with a unionized workforce. Many researchers see that trade unionism, collective bargaining and labor-management relations as well as the national labor policy and different labor laws. (Brito, Galin and Novick, 2001)

Why employees join unions

Employees join unions for many reasons such as Employees usually join unions in order to be safe from the bad practices of employers and ensure their rights in many areas especially when the employers are not giving employees enough interest such as letting them work in bad work environments without regard to safety or security measurements in addition to the shortage of employers in providing employees with greater job security regarding their contracts, limits of them and time periods, insurance systems, hiring rules and promotion as unions can provide many solutions for these problems, resolving employee concerns, showing favoritism, and making employment decisions are suitable for employees' concern. Unions are most successful where employers send the message that they "don't care" about their employees. Allowing employees to work in unsafe conditions, not addressing or resolving employee concerns, showing favoritism, and making employment decisions that are perceived as unfair can leave your company susceptible to an organizing campaign.

Unions are useful to be used when there are big numbers of employees' complaints and when employers don't regard and consider employee complaints especially those claims of discrimination and payroll concerns, or fail to find solutions for them quickly and efficiently. Some employers give employees orders without explanations, or ask them to do jobs that they are not assigned or prepared for doing them and this can affect the productivity of employees and may increase their turnover. Ignoring the complaints of employees is a very serious problem as it can lead to more complications. Then union campaigns are set for providing employees with strength in the work place that can enable them claim for their needs, rights and demands. Unions can provide effective complaint handling systems for discussing employees complaints and trying to find suitable solutions for them. Compulsory memberships are also effective within unions in order to provide employees with their rights and they include union shops that are important to include hired employees within the union and the agency shops that are important for making nonunion employees pay an equal fee. Employees who also suffer lack of respect are in need for unions as many employers try to use inhuman punishment methods and embarrass employees by insults and blaming methods that make employees complain and ask for the help of the unions.

Then unions can deal with these matters of lacking respect by ensuring the effective communication among employers and employees and helping managers be good leaders who are able to manage such matters and address employees properly as unions can guide employers be caretakers of their employees and reduce employee vulnerability to the traditional union sales pitch. Another reason is the lack of safety measurements in the work environment as employees need safety training, special appropriate equipment with a certain quality level, and clear guidelines and procedures for responding to and reporting workplace accidents and protecting employees from them. Higher wages, salaries and benefits are other reasons for making employees ask for unions help as employees who don't get enough money pay for their efforts are the most suffering ones and are in need for unions help. (Mitchell and Simpson, 2009)

Labor Legislations

The Wagner Act

The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 which is known as the Wagner Act after New York Senator Robert F. Wagner who has founded the statute of United States labor law which guarantees the main rights of the employees of the private sector for organizing into trade unions, engaging incollective bargaining for better terms and conditions at work, and to take collective action including strike when needed. The act was the bases of creation the National Labor Relations Board, which conducts elections that can require employers to enter into collective bargaining with labor unions (also known as trade unions). The Act isn't suitable for workers who are under supervision of the Railway Labor Act including agricultural employees, domestic employees, supervisors, federal, state or local government workers, independent contractors and some close relatives of individual employers. (Britania, 2015)

National Labor Relations Board

The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 which is known as the Wagner Act after New York Senator Robert F. Wagner who has founded the statute of United States labor law which guarantees the main rights of the employees of the private sector for organizing into trade unions, engaging incollective bargaining for better terms and conditions at work, and to take collective action including strike when needed. The act was the bases of creation the National Labor Relations Board, which conducts elections that can require employers to enter into collective bargaining with labor unions (also known as trade unions). The Act isn't suitable for workers who are under supervision of the Railway Labor Act including agricultural employees, domestic employees, supervisors, federal, state or local government workers, independent contractors and some close relatives of individual employers.

Taft Hartley Act

The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, sponsored by U.S. Senator Robert A. Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, was designed to amend much of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (the Wagner Act) and discontinued parts of the Federal Anti-Injunction Act of 1932.

The Taft-Hartley Act was the first major revision to the Wagner Act, and after much resistance from labor leaders and a veto from President Harry S. Truman, was passed on June 23, 1947.

The Taft-Hartley Act provides for the following:

• It allows the president to appoint a board of inquiry to investigate union disputes when he believes a strike would endanger national health or safety, and obtain an 80-day injunction to stop the continuation of a strike.
• It declares all closed shops illegal.
• It permits union shops only after a majority of the employees vote for them.
• It forbids jurisdictional strikes and secondary boycotts.
• It ends the check-off system whereby the employer collects union dues.
• It forbids unions from contributing to political campaigns.

The act also required union leaders to take an oath stating that they were not communists. Although many people tried to repeal the act, the Taft-Hartley Act stayed in effect until 1959 when the Landrum-Griffin Act amended some of its features. (nirb, 2016)

Unionizing employees

Unionizing employees is a process of organizing employees in a business organization into one union that can work as an intermediary between employees and their employer and when the company establish the union, then employees are called unionized. Unionizing employees have a great effect on employees as it makes them feel safe and secured and that their rights can be gained by authorized.

Organizing a union has main steps as follows:

1. Building an organizing committee: the committee consist of a group of leaders who are well identified and representing all the organization's departments with information gathered about employees and employers.
2. Adopting an issue programs: the program is developed by the committee for the demands of employees.
3. Signing up majority on union cards: workers who join the union should have a card campaign.
4. Winning the union election:  by the cards, elections start by the federal board for weeks.
5. Negotiating a contract: this means the contract signed between the union and the organization for ensuring terms that can specify employees' rights and demands. (ueunion, 2015)