Collective Bargaining Assignment: Unions, Laws, and Impacts

This homework assignment examines the concept of collective bargaining, the role of labor unions, and the legal framework governing labor relations. The assignment addresses the reasons why workers join unions, the pros and cons of unionization, and different types of labor unions such as craft, industrial, and public sector unions. It explores the relationship between labor unions and labor relations, including the processes of union organization, negotiation of labor agreements, and administration of these agreements. Additionally, the assignment analyzes the impact of labor unions on various industries and provides an overview of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), including its purpose, administration by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and jurisdictional standards. The document concludes with a list of references used in the analysis.

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Contents
Question 6...................................................................................................................................................2
Question 7...................................................................................................................................................4
Question 8...................................................................................................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................8

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Question 6
Trade unions are groups that are developed to protect the rights of workers and labor and
work for their interest. Several reasons are there cause of which a worker joins the union. Some
of such reasons are mentioned hereunder:-
 It is obvious that an individual employee does not have much bargaining power. By
joining the union, the bargaining power of an employee get enhances (Manasseh, 2014).
The union uses tools such as strike, which forces an employer to consider and fulfill the
demands of a worker.
 In the presence of the trade union, there are fewer chances of discrimination. Trade
unions compel the management to develop the effective policies, which develops the
focus of equal treatment of workers at the workplace.
 Being a part of the union gives a sense of security to workers. Many of the incidents such
as illness, injury, unemployment, and accident are there where a worker needs support
while dealing with the employer. In such a situation, unions help out the worker.
 Many of the times, an employee joins a union because of the reason that his/her co-
worker joined the same. This is one of the major reason cause of which a worker join a
union as if they do not do so then they may face difficulty during job
(Whatishumanresource.com, 2019).
Pros and Cons of Unions:- This would be wrong to state that union only bring positive results
but the same also have certain disadvantages. Some major pros and cons of the unions are
mentioned below:-

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Pros
 Unions provide better working conditions as well as better wages to the workers. In such
a manner union, improve their standard of living.
 Unions decide the disciplinary actions such as termination. It provides job security to
workers.
 Unions provide the balance in power (Fernie and Metcalf, 2013). The same makes the
workers as powerful and eligible as the employer is.
Cons
 In order to fulfill the demands of the unions, employers sometimes have to raise the
prices of final products or they are forced to outsource the labor work. Such situations are
neither good for the employees or for the employer.
 Unions limit the rights of employers and they cannot freely terminate or even promote the
employees.
 The combative nature of the relationship between unions and employers promotes
workplace hospitality instead of workplace collaboration and cooperation (Weinlick,
2015).
After reviewing the pros and cons, this is to conclude that I had a choice then I would
suggest the union formation. Although many cons are there, for this reason, the importance
cannot be ignored. In the world full of economics where the main motive of organizations are
profit maximization, the formation of unions is necessary in order to provide basic support and
equal rights.

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Question 7
Different types of labor unions are there and the same is described as below:-
 Craft Union:- As the name implies, the unions consist the people that have the same
skilled crafts. The unions mainly present in the traditional occupations such as
blacksmith, bakers, electricians and so on where trainees learn the skills from their
masters. If to talk about the craft unions of US, the United Auto Workers, the
International Association of Machinists, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers are there (Hak, 2011).
 Industrial unions: - This can be understood as the collective bargaining system, which is
open for all the workers of an industry irrespective job responsibility, functions, and
skills. International Brotherhood of Teamsters is one of the largest industrial union of US.
 Public Sector unions:- These unions represent and secure the interest of workers within
government organizations/ public sector regardless of their occupation. Two of the largest
labor unions of US are public sector unions.
How labor relations are related to labor unions: - Development of labor unions is one of
the important steps of labor relationship process. Labor unions and labor relations are closely
connected with each other and the same can be understood by looking after the labor relations
process. The process is divided into three phases namely the organization of union, negotiation
of labor agreements and the administration of such agreements (Opentextbc.ca, 2019).
Development of labor union strengthens the labor relations in an organization. These unions
further negotiate the labor agreement with the management of the organization and administer

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the same on daily basis. This may be right to state that the main objective behind the
development of a labor union is to maintain and increase the labor relationship within the
organization as well as within industry.
Impact of labor unions: - Different industries face the different impact of the labor
unions. Nevertheless, this is to state that in the service and construction industries, the unions
have a huge impact as the same maintain the workers by fulfilling their requirement on time. On
the other side, the manufacturing and mining industries that are more dependent on machinery,
labor unions do not have much effect, as employee retention is not a significant issue. In an
overall view labor union understand and fulfill the requirement of employees and develop the
labor relations with the employer. In addition to this, the industries where experienced and
skilled workers are required, labor unions play a vital role. These unions retain the old talent in
the organization and contribute towards high production in this manner.
Question 8
National Labor Relations Act is the legislation of Unites state that has been developed by
Congress in the year 1935 in the sector of labor laws. The main purpose of the act is to secure the
right and entitlements of employees and employers, to promote collective bargaining, and to
prevent that private sector management and labor practices that can make a bad to business, US
economy and general welfare of workers (Nlrb.gov, 2019a). The act governs the relationship
between employers and labor unions. The focus of this act was on collective bargaining. Further,
the act aims to manage and resolve the issue of inequality of bargaining power between

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employers of an organization and employees who do not possess liberty of contract and freedom
of association.
To administer the National Labor Relations Act, Congress has developed an individual
body named National Labor Relation Board (NLRB). The board is a federal organization and the
lead objective of the same is to check the establishment in addition to the conduct of unions and
businesses, which are involved with unions. Further, the board conducts the election and decides
the remedies against of unfair labor practices of the management of the organizations. In
conjunction with this, the other purpose of the board was to check and decide that whether
during a union-management bargaining session or election campaign, inappropriate labor
practice occurred or not. NLRB is the organization which is equitable and do not take a side or
either management or the unions.
If to talk about the jurisdiction of NLBR, this is to say that the board has broad
jurisdiction and covers many of non-government employers of unites states and also includes
non-union business, nonprofit business, labor organizations, employee-owned business and
business of the states that have right to work laws. The board has jurisdiction over private sector
employer whose working exceeds minimal level in interstate commerce. Certain limits are
prescribed there that are required to be check and if to fulfill then only NLBR is empowered to
act in those cases. The limits are mentioned below:-

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(Nlrb.gov, 2019b)
The following does not come in the jurisdiction of NLB:-
All the three governments’ i.e. federal as well state and local government and
corporations that are wholly owned by the government.
An employer that only gives employment to agricultural laborers subject to certain more
subcategories
Employers according and subject to the Railway Labor Act. For instance airlines and
interstate railroads.

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References
Fernie, S. and Metcalf, D. (2013). Trade Unions: Resurgence or Demise? Oxon: Routledge.
Hak, G. (2011). Capital and Labour in the British Columbia Forest Industry, 1934-74.
Vancpuver: UBC Press.
Manasseh, L. (2014). Five reasons why public servants should join a union. Retrieved From:
https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/sep/09/trade-union-why-join-
public-servants
Nlrb.gov. (2019a). National Labor Relations Act. Retrieved From: https://www.nlrb.gov/how-
we-work/national-labor-relations-act
Nlrb.gov. (2019b). Jurisdictional Standards. Retrieved From: https://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-
protect/law/jurisdictional-standards
Opentextbc.ca. (2019). Managing Human Resources and Labor Relations. Retrieved From:
https://opentextbc.ca/businessopenstax/chapter/the-labor-relations-process/
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 29 U.S.C
Weinlick, J. (2015). Pros and Cons of Unions. Retrieved From:
https://www.nexxt.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-unions-16881-article.html
Whatishumanresource.com. (2019). Reasons For Joining Trade Unions. Retrieved From:
http://www.whatishumanresource.com/reasons-for-joining-trade-unions