Case Study: Employee and Labour Relations in a US-Based Company

This case study examines the employee and labour relations of a US-based company operating convenience stores, focusing on a specific incident where a sales assistant was murdered, leading to employee complaints about security. The study details the union's involvement after employees requested unionization, the company's response including meetings, the formation of an Employee Management Committee, and the resolution of employee grievances. The analysis explores the definition of unfair labour practices under the NLRA, the union's actions in filing a complaint, and the company's defense strategies. It also highlights the role of the union in collective bargaining and employment terms. The case study concludes by referencing the importance of union-employer relations and the impact of the Employee Management Committee on resolving workplace issues and improving employee benefits.

Running Head: Employee And Labour Relations
EMPLOYEE AND LABOUR RELATIONS

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Introduction
The current study is conducted for shedding light on a case study based on employee and
labour relation of a US-based company. For the purpose of the current study, the definition of
unfair labour practice is stated here along with an analysis of unfair labour practice claims and
position of Union in a company.
Description of the case
According to the given case study, a US-based company uses to operate through 700
convenience stores around the county. In one of these stores, an on-duty sales assistant was
murdered. This news was publicized widely, and employees of the company raised complaints
against it for the absence of proper security measures. Due to a phone call made by 15 sales
assistants to the union with a request of unionisation, the union sent its representatives to sixty
stores of the and left cards for union authorization.
After two days, the company notified the union about its injunction it has made during
the prior union campaign which has prohibited solicitation on the company’s property. On the
next working day, a meeting held by the company with its store managers regarding the
improvement of workplace security for employees. In the later week, the company has conducted
another meeting where 200 sales assistant took part, and the officials of the company told them
to raise the complaints against the management and to retrieve their union authorization cards.
Employees raised their voice in the following areas –
 to get less than 40 hours to work/week
 not having breaks
 not getting payments for overtime work

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 working alone at night
 poor lighting at the stores
All the complaints made by the employees resolved by the regional personnel of the
company and has posted "no solicitation" signs and enforced the same in every store. If any
employee fails to enforce the sign, then his/her work will be terminated. In the following month,
the company has conducted another meeting with the sales assistants and asked them to select
representatives amongst them to found an Employee Management Committee to help them
consult with the management for discussing their complaints.
In that time, the union has filed a petition with the National Labour Relation Board
(NLRB) seeking for an election among the sales assistants in the company’s Ohio unit.
Meanwhile, the ten priorities listed by Employee Management Committee and all are granted by
the company except three out of the ten. Later, the company by sending an additional memo has
announced about other improvements of employee’s life, insurance plans for major medical and
accident cases. In addition to that, a family and death benefits along with a revised system of
disciplinary appeal (Kavya & Saraswathi, 2017).
Definition of an unfair labour practice
An unfair labour practice (s) refers to the actions taken by the employers or the unions, as
per the National Labour Relations Act 1935 (NLRA) and other labour laws, those are illegal.
Some of these rules apply to the interactions between the employer and the union; others protect
individual workers from unfair treatment by an employer or union.

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Analysis
Unfair labour practices are listed out by the NLRB of the U.S which restricts employers
as well as the unions to conduct unfair practices in an organisation. The union that wants to file a
complaint against the company is performing an unfair labour practice under the unfair labour
practice of “Refusing to engage in good-faith collective bargaining” (nolo.com, 2018).
NLRB uses to prevent unfair labour practices, in terms of protecting the right of the
workers in the organisation (thebalancecareers.com, 2018). For the context of the current study,
the company has already resolved its complaints, and with the foundation of Employee
Management Committee within the organisation, it also has granted the priorities the committee
has risen on behalf of the sales assistants. Here, the practice of the union of filing complaint
against the company to NLRB is unfair. For defending such complaint raised by the union, the
company could submit details about the Employee Management Committee it has founded and
the complaints it has resolved for keeping employee interest and their priorities (Strecker, 2016).
The position of the union in a company
In an organisation, the contract with the union, or the agreement of collective bargaining,
contains the terms and condition of employment and other working conditions. Union used to act
as a bridge between employer and employees by setting out wages, pension contributions,
employee benefits and every employment-related matters, such as timely pay, bidding on
working shifts, workplace security and more.

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Reference List
Thebalancecareers.com (2018). List of U.S. Employment Laws. Retrieved on 15th May from
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/list-of-employment-laws-2062282
Nolo.com. (2018). Unfair Labor Practices. Retrieved on 15th May from
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/unfair-labor-practices.html
Strecker, D. E. (2016). Labor Law: A Basic Guide to the National Labor Relations Act. CRC
Press.
Kavya, P. L., & Saraswathi, A. (2017). A Preliminary Review on Automation Of Employee
Engagement. Journal on Management, 12(3).