There will be 4 Discussion Board Forums throughout the course. The purpose of Discussion
Board Forums is to generate interaction among students in regard to relevant, current course
topics. You are required to post 1 thread of at least 500 words. The thread must include a
Scripture reference and at least 2 scholarly sources, plus the text—all in current APA format.
You will then post replies of at least 300 words to 2 other students’ threads. Each reply must
include a Scripture reference and at least 1 scholarly source, plus the text—all in current APA
format.
Topic: You are the Human Resources manager for large distribution site. Your recent employee
opinion survey indicated that overall, employees felt that this was a good place to work.
However, recent downturns in the economy have resulted in the loss of large contracts, which
provided a significant portion of the company’s revenue. One of the impacts from this loss in
revenue is that the company will be unable to provide annual COLA or merit increases for the
first time in more than 15 years. You have heard rumors from employees close to you that there
is talk about efforts to unionize. What guidelines will you develop for supervisors to successfully
respond to employee questions about unionization? What can your supervisors say or do that is
legally permissible in this situation?
Response to >> The purpose of this discussion board post is to present my personal
opinion backed with research on the hypothetical situation given in the above statement
with the intention of creating more dialogue between classmates for the betterment of
our course activities. In this particular week’s coursework we are faced with the situation
of what we as HR managers can legally do or not do about the rumor of disgruntled
employees possibly attempting to unionize.
First of all, to further understand the situation at hand we need to understand
what a union actually is. Then we also need to understand why they are needed or not
needed as the topic is rather controversial in nature. Once a thorough understanding of
this part of the topic is made then the rest of the discussion board post questions can be
answered. As our text for this class states, “A union is a formal association of workers
that promotes the interest of its members through collective action.” (Mathis pg. 560)
The concept of unionization came around in the late 1700’s as a way to help employee’s
gain better pay and working conditions by legally forcing employers to comply with their
interests. On the surface unionization may sound like a good concept whereby
employees are given higher wages and better/safer working conditions via collective
negotiations between their representatives and the politicians they support. This type of
behavior drastically influences the various labor laws that our federal and state
governments have passed over the years. However, many people don’t see unions as a
good thing. “In their economic function, unions resemble a cartel where the goal is to
set a uniform above-market price for a coalition of agents selling a common good or
service (e.g., labor). Unions do this through collective bargaining. Protecting a
reasonable level of wages and employment conditions from the downward pressure of
cost competition via a market-wide common rule is critical.” (Kaufman 2012) In other
words unions attempt for force business to pay wages that are higher than the market
naturally demands and therefore decreases the efficiency of the business. In fact union
membership has dropped significantly in the U.S in recent years. “Union membership
has declined steadily since 1983, the first year statistics were available. That year, 20.1
percent of the work force belonged to a union, and there were 17.7 million union
workers. In 2009, union members represented 12.3 percent of the work force.” (U.S.
Bureau 2009)
With these kind of statistics the evidence suggests two things we may already
know. First of all the economic downturn has caused businesses to become more
efficient and reduce overhead, employee payroll being one of the major overhead
factors. Secondly, as a result of the increased pressure to stay in business and remain
profitable everyone is doing more with less for less pay and employees are becoming
frustrated with their work conditions. This is the dichotomy that has fostered the
concept of unionization and the various labor laws that later came about as a result.
As the HR rep of this hypothetical company I would advise my supervisors to
respond to these rumors in a number of ways. First, the Wagner act of 1935 prohibits
the employer by law from interfering with the organization and bargaining efforts of the
employee’s and their representatives. (Mathis pg. 570) Furthermore the Taft-Hartley act
of 1947 allows for states to pass laws which prohibit the employer from forcing
employees to join a union as a condition of employment. (Mathis pg. 571). Essentially
what this means in terms of answering the above questions is simple. The employer
cannot legally stop this the employee’s discussions about unionization nor can they do
anything to promote or hinder their discussions. However, it’s worth noting that it is
totally legal for an employer to enact a “No Solicitation” policy thereby making it illegal to
distribute literature or solicit union membership on company property. (Mathis pg. 575.)
As a HR rep, I would advise my supervisors to take a neutral stance on the subject
unless the company had a no solicitation policy. I would also ask them to look for ways
to improve the employee experience and find positive solutions that address their
concerns that brought about the union discussions in the first place.
On a biblical note, I stand firm on what I have remarked on in my other posts. I
think Colossians 3:33 says it best. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Regardless of whether you are pro-union
or anti-union, it should not influence the way you carry yourself at work. Do whatever
your chosen profession is to the best of your ability before the eyes of God and leave
the rest up to him.
Good luck everyone in your future classes!
References
Kaufman, B. E. (2012), An Institutional Economic Analysis of Labor Unions. Industrial
Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 51: 438–471. doi: 10.1111/j.1468232X.2012.00686.x
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Union membership drops during 2009. (2010, January
25). The Colorado Springs Business Journal. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login?
url=http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:20 48/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA217986699&sid=summon&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=G
RGM&sw=w&asid=36523354cfe54b2a667a545d14943fb5
Valentine, S., Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2014). Human resource management.
Stamford,
CT: Cengage Learning.
