Union Management Relations

    A labor union is an organization or workers who act together to negotiate wages and working conditions with their employers. Labor relations are the dealings between labor unions and business management,

     The first major union in the United States was the Knights of Labor, formed in 1869. The Knights were followed in 1886 by the American Federation of Labor and in 1905 by the radical Industrial Workers of the World. Of these three, only the AFL remained when the Congress of Industrial Organizations was founded as an organization of industrial unions between World War I and World War 11. After years of competing, the AFL and CIO merged in 1955. The largest union not affiliated with the AFL&-CIO is the Teamsters' union.

     At present, union membership accounts for less than one&-fifth of the American work force, and it seems to be decreasing for various reasons. Nonetheless, unions wield considerable power in many industries&-those in which their members comprise a large proportion of the work force.

     Important laws that affect union power are the Norris&-LaGuardia Act (which limits management's ability to obtain injunctions against unions), the Wagner Act (which forbids certain unfair labor practices by management), the Fair Labor Standards Act (which allows the federal government to set a minimum wage and to mandate overtime rates), the Taft&-Hartley Act (which forbids certain unfair practices by unions), and the Landrum&-Griffin Act (which regulates the internal functioning of labor unions). The National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency that oversees union&-management relations, was created by the Wagner Act.

     Employees start or join unions for a variety of reasons, including alienation, concern about job security&-and dissatisfaction with their jobs. Attempts to form a union begin with an organizing campaign and end with a formal election in which employees decide whether they want a union. The entire process is supervised by the NLRB, which also certifies the results of the election.

     Once a union is established, it may negotiate a labor contract with management through the process of collective bargaining. Contract issues include employee pay and benefits, working hours, job and union security, management rights, and grievance procedures. As the expiration date of an existing contract approaches, management and the union begin to negotiate a new contract.

     When contract negotiations do not run smoothly&-unions may apply pressure on management through strikes, slowdowns, or boycotts Management may counter by imposing lockouts or hiring strikebreakers. Less drastic techniques for breaking contract dead&-locks are mediation and arbitration. In both, a neutral third party is involved in the negotiations.