Organizational Government and Contract Administration

1
Organizational Government and Contract
Administration

• A principle function of management is to direct
  the workforce.Employee welfare is not their
  primary concern.
• Remaining solvent and making a profit is..people
  are one of the many means to that end.

2
Organizational Government and Contract
Administration

• Unions represent the presence of a force capable
  of preventing management from disregarding the
  interests of its workers.

3
Organizational Government and Contract
Administration

• Many people feel it is pointless to live in
  political democracy if the conditions of their
  work life (in which they spend the largest
  portion of their adult waking hours) are
  dictatorial and deny freedom and dignity.

4
Organizational Government and Contract
Administration

• Enlightened policies by management, a
  counter-force in the form of a union, or both,
  can keep management from destroying important
  human values in the plant.

5
The Concept of Industrial or Organizational
Jurisprudence

• The underlying idea is similar to that of public
  government in a democracy in that it is a
  government of laws not of men.

6
The Concept of Industrial or Organizational
Jurisprudence

• In particular, in the firm an employee may be
  punished only for proved violations of known
  rules or standards, not at the discretion of a
  supervisor.

7
The Concept of Industrial or Organizational
Jurisprudence

• Such conditions of law can exist without a union,
  and where management has established them the
  urge of employees to unionize is usually low.

8
The Concept of Industrial or Organizational
Jurisprudence

• It is worth noting that many plants have a better
  system of Industrial Jurisprudence for
  non-supervisory employees than for members of
  management.
• Managers - at all levels - often have little
  protection against arbitrary treatment.

9
The Concept of Industrial or Organizational
Jurisprudence

• A significant difference between union and
  non-union jobs is access to Industrial
  Jurisprudence (due process).
• This distinction is important because of a
  common-law doctrine called
• Employment-at-Will

10
The Concept of Industrial or Organizational
Jurisprudence

• In the broadest sense, organizational
  jurisprudence includes both the establishment of
  workplace regulations (contract negotiation) and
  their interpretation and application (contract
  administration).

11
Contract Administration

• A contract consists mainly of things that
  management commits itself to do for employees,
  and it may contain rules limiting managements
  freedom with respect to employees.

12
Contract Administration

• For the most part, if management satisfies the
  terms of the contract, no further action is
  required until contract expiration.

13
Contract Administration

• The aspect that requires attention comes into
  focus when an employee and the union claim that
  the employer has not followed the contract, and
  they institute action to remedy the situation.

14
The Process of Continuous Negotiation

• The entire concept of plant governance and
  contract administration can also be thought of as
  one in which union and management continue to
  negotiate during the life of the agreement.

15
The Process of Continuous Negotiation

• There are times when parties agree in principle
  in formal negotiations and leave the negotiation
  of the details of implementation to later.

16
The Process of Continuous Negotiation

• On other occasions, changing conditions might
  suggest some timely modifications to the existing
  agreement.

17
The Process of Continuous Negotiation

• With the period between negotiations being used
  to identify and promote meaningful dialogue
  around important work place topics of mutual
  interest.

18
Grievance Procedures

• The specifics of a grievance procedure are
  established by the parties when they negotiate
  their collective bargaining agreement.
• Few procedures are identical.

19
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• A study of 400 union grievance procedures in all
  industries showed 91 of all agreements had
  between two (2) and four (4) steps, with the
  final step being Arbitration.

20
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• Of the contracts specifying how the grievance was
  to be presented (first step), about half required
  that it be in writing.

21
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• The amount of time allowed for bringing or
  appealing a grievance varied, as did the time
  allowed management to respond, but most contracts
  specified time limits.

22
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• Union failure to comply with any of the time
  limits will usually result in dismissal of the
  grievance without any rights of appeal.

23
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• Managements failure to observe time limits
  usually is equated with grievance denial giving
  the union the right to appeal to the next higher
  step.

24
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• In most states, arbitrators decisions are
  enforceable in court.
• It is the sense of organizational jurisprudence
  that no decision by an arbitrator may add to,
  modify, or subtract from the contract.

25
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• Otherwise the arbitrator has a wide range of
  discretion at his or her disposal.
• Arbitrators decisions are intended to be final
  and binding but on rare occasions they are
  appealed (federal courts).

26
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• What is a Grievance ?????
• a complaint by an employee, a group of
  employees, the union, or the employer, involving
  an alleged violation or interpretation of any
  provision of the agreement.

27
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• In virtually all contracts containing grievance
  procedures, individual employees are the ones who
  have the right to file grievances.

28
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• When management is dissatisfied with an employee
  it exercises its authority and acts..the
  appropriate employee reaction is the grievance.

29
Grievance ProceduresStructure

• Arbitrators have found that only certain types of
  cases tend to occur frequently.
• Those concerning
• Discipline, seniority rights, drug and alcohol
  problems, subcontracting, scheduling (overtime),
  job classification, and work methods.

30
A Method of Final Resolution Arbitration

• The vast majority of all grievances are settled
  in the early stages of the procedure.

31
A Method of Final Resolution Arbitration

• However, when the parties are unable to resolve
  their differences, they are likely to end up in
  arbitration.
• This is made more likely when you consider that
  ninety-eight percent of all union-management
  grievance procedures contain arbitration clauses.

32
A Method of Final Resolution Arbitration

• Management is able to extract a No-Strike
  commitment from the union because it is willing
  to guarantee to the employee that all disputes
  arising in the workplace are resolvable through a
  grievance procedure that provides for final and
  binding arbitration.

33
A Method of Final Resolution Arbitration

• This process was further strengthened in 1957
  when the Supreme Court decided that labor
  agreements were binding contracts and agreements
  to take disputes to arbitration could be enforced.

34
A Method of Final Resolution Arbitration

• In 1960 that same court made three additional
  decisions, the so-called Steelworks Trilogy
  cases, that established the circumstances under
  which the courts could compel arbitration, and
  established the limited basis upon which an
  arbitrators decision could be appealed.

35
A Method of Final Resolution Arbitration

• The NLRB also has a strong bias toward the use of
  arbitration in the resolution of disputes.
• Even in cases where both the contract and the Act
  may have been violated the Board tends to defer
  to arbitration as the best method of resolution.

36
Arbitrator Selection

• By prior agreement most unions and management
  will use one of two services
• FMCS
• American Arbitration Association

37
Arbitrator Selection

• List of arbitrators is requested (5-7)
• Each party strikes names
• Arbitrator selected / hearing date set
• Evidence and arguments presented at hearing
• The tone of hearing is set by arbitrator /
  parties
• Arbitrator charged with rendering an award
• Post hearing briefs required from each party
• Award is given in writing usually within 30 days
• The award is final and binding (limited appeal)

38
Common Law in Organizational Jurisprudence

• As case after case is processed within a
  company, the accumulated decisions can constitute
  a common law, establishing precedents for the
  detailed provision that cannot be spelled out in
  contract.
• Two distinct attitudes have arisen toward such
  common law.

39
Arbital Decision Making

• Arbitrators are called upon to make two
• kinds of judgements
• Just Cause for discipline and
• discharge. (Assumes Due Process)
• Contract Interpretation

40
The Rules for Due Process

• Employee should know the rules and the
  consequence of their violations.
• Employers responses to rule violations should be
  consistent and predictable.
• Employee discipline should be based on the facts.
• Employees should be given an opportunity to
  question the facts and present evidence on their
  side of the story.

41
The Rules for Due Process

• Employees should be able to appeal the
  disciplinary decision.
• Employees should be given progressive discipline.
• Each employee should be considered as an
  individual.

42
Standard for Interpreting Contract Language

• The primary function of the arbitrator is to
  carry out the mutual intent of the parties as
  expressed in the agreement.
• If the language is not clear the arbitrator may
  infer intent based on bargaining history,
  discussions during negotiations, and past
  practices.

43
Standard for Interpreting Contract Language

• If specific meanings are not given in the
  contract, meanings may be derived from general
  and specialized legal dictionaries, and decisions
  of other arbitrators.
• Where the contract contains both general and
  specific language, the specific tends to govern.

44
Standard for Interpreting Contract Language

• Where there is room for interpretation and
  flexibility, arbitrators will take into account
  reasonableness and fairness when arriving at
  decisions.

45
Duty of Fair Representation
In exchange for exclusive recognition, an
accompanying duty is placed upon the unions to
provide representation for all employees in the
bargaining unit equally and fairly without regard
to their membership status.
46
Duty of Fair Representation
As long as unions do not violate the standards of
fair representation they are not legally bound
to bring every case to arbitration. However,
when the union ignores its duty to fairly
represent a bargaining unit employee the
aggrieved employee can seek redress through the
courts.
47
Grievance Procedures Non-Union Settings
In evaluating a grievance system, it is important
not to equate absence of complaints with worker
satisfaction. The grievance process provides
every employee access to senior management when
they have serious complaints about their
treatment and/or general conditions of employment.
48
Grievance Procedures Non-Union Settings
A grievance procedure in which employees have
full confidence is difficult to create without a
union. Unless the process contains a third party
arbitration provision the employee is ultimately
faced with asking the company to adjudicate his
or her complaint against the company.
49
Grievance Procedures Non-Union Settings

• Non-union grievance procedures are established
  for at least two reasons
• To inhibit the desire among
• workers for union representation.
• To improve employee performance
• and in due course improve
• productivity and efficiency.

50
Grievance Mediation
An alternative to the standard grievance- arbitrat
ion model is the introduction of a mediation
step into the procedure. Mediation is used as
the last step prior to arbitration in which an
interest based resolution is sought hoping to
find a more effective resolution. If it fails
arbitration is still an option.