Employee and Labor Relations: Analyzing Bargaining Power in Scenarios

This assignment analyzes three scenarios related to employee and labor relations, specifically focusing on the bargaining power dynamics between employers and unions. The first scenario involves Grocery-Right, a grocery chain operating in a highly competitive market, where the union demands wage increases. The second scenario examines PowerCo, a company with multiple unionized plants, and assesses the bargaining power in this context. The third scenario focuses on Chemical Corp, a multinational company with several plants and various labor unions, where the unions are calling for strikes. The analysis considers the external and internal inputs shaping the bargaining relationship, including market competition, wage parity policies, and the potential for strikes to impact the companies' operations. The assignment concludes by determining which party (employer or union) possesses greater bargaining power in each scenario and provides justifications based on the provided information and knowledge of the industries.

Running head: EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
Employee and Labor Relations
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
Scenario number one
The bargaining powers between the unions and the employers have been discussed in the
first scenario. The contract negotiations between the employers and the unions lies in the hands
of both the unions and the employer agencies. The contract negotiations of the companies can
hamper the market shares of the companies. In the context of the contract negotiations, the
income of the employees has been considered as a very crucial factor from several viewpoints.
As per the scenario in the first case it can be said that the market of the Grocery-Right is full of
competition. This is why the risk factor is always very high for them. The employers have
always kept this fact in their minds (Addison, Portugal & Vilares, 2015).
In this case the price factor is considered as the main factor for differentiating the product
values. As the production cost is very high the management needs to produce the best products
as per the likes of the customers. Then only they can be able to survive in the market. However,
the production cost has become very high for the company as they have to meet the demands of
the customers. In this situation the employees have come up with the demands of increasing their
wages (Fairbrother & Griffin, 2013). It seems almost impossible for the company to increase the
wages of the employees. The rise of the production costs is preventing the company from
increasing the ages. The decision of the labor unions to call the strike will not be much beneficial
for the profits of the company since their competitors will be glad to receive this kind of news.
The problem is that the company will run in loss if this strike continues for a longer period of
time. The customers might get shifted to other competitor companies and might not come back
after the strike is over. The union seems to have bargaining power in this scenario indeed. This
strike will definitely be harmful for their profit increase v(Addison, Portugal & Vilares, 2015).

2EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
The highly competitive market of the Grocery-Rights will be very much challenging
since the issue of coping up with this kind of strike should be dealt with. The employers are not
even sure if they would get enough number of replacement labors in this scenario. The labors
also might get shifted to other companies. The grocery industry job market in Alberta is also
highly competitive from several aspects as well (Fairbrother & Griffin, 2013). The employees
will only like to work for a company where they can higher wages with fewer complications in
the job. The challenge is from the both side or the company. They simply do not want to let go of
their employees neither they want to lose their customer base. In this situation, the employee
union simply has the upper hand from all the aspects. If the contract negotiation results in the
wage increase the union will simply be victorious (Harrod & O'Brien, 2012). The employers
might have to increase the wages of the workforce so that they can retain them for future.
Scenario number two
The issue of the collective bargaining in this second scenario concerns with that of the
labor union and the plants of PowerCo. There are more than one plant of the company and the
labor unions will have to deal with these issues in the different manners. As per the information
of the case scenario, there are 12 unionized plants all across Canada. The labor unions will have
to manage the situations properly. These 12 plants have the responsibility of maintaining the
production of the company. As the case is detailed, the employers definitely have the upper hand
or the better bargaining power. It is because they do not give much importance to the strikes that
are called by the employee union since they know that the other plant will surely compensate for
those losses (Harrod & O'Brien, 2012). The competitive market for PowerCo is not high and this
is the reason they are very sure of retaining their customers or their employees. In this scenario it
can be said that the company definitely has a very strong potential for improving their business.

3EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
The workforce or the manpower of the company is very high and they can deal with the
operational issues properly.
As they do not face much pressure from their competitors, they can also deal with the
different operational difficulties and strikes called by the unions very easily as well. They are
pretty sure that the other plants of the companies would make up for the losses due to the strikes
in one plant (Hayter, 2015). The company follows the horizontal integration process. This
process is indeed very much helpful for the organization to gain the profits. The employees can
also gain a better cooperation among themselves in several ways. The wage parity policy has
been implemented within the organization that helps the company to keep the positive
motivation among the employees. This motivation boosting process benefits the company. This
is why the labor unions do not get the chances to speak against the employers. This ensures the
smooth operation among the employees of the different plants (Richardson, 2013).
The collective bargaining process can be done between the employers and the labor
unions after making a thorough scrutiny on the competition within the market and the condition
of the jobs. The wage parity policy works as a very important factor for the betterment of the
situation since the labor unions will not be able to raise their voices against the policies of the
company (Hayter, 2015). One of the biggest reasons in this matter lies in the fact that the
demands of the employees are already fulfilled. The employees have definitely understood that
the different terms and conditions o the employment have already satisfied the needs of the
customers (Hoffman, Casnocha & Yeh, 2013). The employers apply the unified wages to their
employees rather than the local market wages. The employee demands have already been met
and the relationship between the employees and the employers is always very positive. The
policy of compensating for the losses by the other plants is also very beneficial for the company.

4EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
Scenario number three
The name of the company in this scenario is he Chemical Corp. The company mainly
operates within the chemical industry. There are numerous plants across Canada for the
company. In each plant, the company has around 50 to 600 workers. The collective bargaining
between the employers and the labor union is a very crucial factor. So, there are numerous
employees who work under this company. As per the case scenario, the labor union seems to call
the strikes at different point of times (Hoffman, Casnocha & Yeh, 2013). There are around 12
unions for the company and the company has to deal with these issues that can rise up to 25
contracts. A multinational chemical company is the owner of this company Chemical Corp. The
labor unions have called the strikes and this is why it has led some negative impacts on the
company (Richardson, 2013).
It has been said that the company got completely unionized after end of the Second
World War. Around two-thirds of the company has been influenced by the unions. The prior
demand that the labor union has made is to set up a age parity policy for the employees of all
levels within the organization (Jimeno & Thomas, 2013). However, the employers have not
agreed to the fact since they fin the industry market very competitive and their aim is to relocate
their business location. The company has the high capital intensity under their bag but this has
also caused some difficulties in the path of their smooth operations. As per the labor unions,
these employees will feel a sense o security (Levinson, 2013). The labor unions called the
strikes at a time when the company was running in profit. However, the employers have claimed
the strikes have let them down in several ways. However, the union has always wanted to secure
the side of the employees. The company’s current intention is to get rid of the influence of the
labor union so they can control the wishes and decisions of th employees.

5EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
The competition in the market of the company is getting higher and they have to drop
down their costs to survive in this industry. They have not agreed to pay high amount of wages
to the employees (Jimeno & Thomas, 2013). In this situation, it can be said that the employees
will go to the other competitor companies where they can get higher wages. They feel this might
work as a security for thir future. This union factor can also pose several problems in front of
them when they will relocate their business to Mexico. The highly skilled employee can also
look for the better opportunities where they would get better opportunities aligning with their
skills. So, this seems that the labor unions will have the better bargaining power.

6EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
References and Bibliography
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the great recession.
Fairbrother, P., & Griffin, G. (2013). Changing prospects for trade unionism. Routledge.
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labour in the global political economy. Routledge.
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building just societies in the 21st century, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 95-
122.
Hoffman, R., Casnocha, B., & Yeh, C. (2013). Tours of duty: The new employer-employee
compact. Harvard Business Review, 91(6), 49-58.
Jimeno, J. F., & Thomas, C. (2013). Collective bargaining, firm heterogeneity and
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Levinson, C. (2013). International Trade Unionism (Routledge Revivals). Routledge.
Richardson, J. (2013). Collective Bargaining. In An Introduction to the Study of Industrial
Relations (pp. 231-258). Routledge.
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Journal of Business and Management, 4(18), 164-173.

7EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
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