Union Shop: A form of union security under which an employer may hire a
nonunion employee, but the employee must become a union member within a
specified period of time and remain a member in good standing as a condition of
employment. Agency Shop: A union contract provision requiring that nonunion
employees pay to the union the equivalent of union dues in order to retain their
employment. Closed Shop: A union security agreement by which only union members
may be hired. Now generally prohibited under federal labor statutes. Maintenance
of Membership: A mild form of union security that imposes no obligation on an
employee to join a union but merely the obligation to remain a member in good
standing for the duration of the collective bargaining agreement if an employee
has already joined a union. Checkoff: A system by which an employer deducts
union dues from the employees’ paychecks and transfers the funds to the union.
Wages and Benefits The amount of compensation, its forms, and the processes by
which it is determined are vital issues to both employers and employees.
Ordinarily one may think of pay as wages or salaries, which are, in fact, the
most important forms of compensation. But there are additional forms of
compensation. Employee benefits, such as pensions and health insurance, paid
holidays, vacations and sick leave.
Traditionally, increased wages have been the primary economic goal of unions.
In order to protect the purchasing power of employees from price inflation, many
collective bargaining agreements include a provision that wage rates be
periodically adjusted in an amount determined by the rate of increase in
consumer prices. Such a clause is called a cost-of-living escalator clause, or a
COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) clause. Most escalator clauses use the national
consumer price index (CPI) prepared by the federal government’s Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Some escalator clauses provide a limitation on the size of
cost-of-living adjustments in wages. These limits are called “caps.” Such items
as the specific terms of an escalator clause, its frequency, and whether or not
it has a cap are subjects of collective bargaining between management and labor.
Most union contracts contain clauses providing health, accident, and life
insurance benefits. Many union contracts also contain major medical insurance,
accidental death and dismemberment benefits, dental insurance, and coverage for
miscellaneous medical expenses such as prescription drugs. Individual Security
(Seniority) Rights One of the most fundamental issues in labor relations is how
advantages and disadvantages are to be divided among employees. Unions are
vitally interested in the basis for the decision as to which employees gain
benefits and which endure losses. Employers ordinarily utilize a series of
standards by which to allocate benefits or losses. Among these standards are
length of service with the company, job performance, and perhaps personal
loyalty to the company. Unions, however, usually advance length of service
(i.e., seniority) as the most important, and often the only, criterion for
making distinctions among employees. Seniority is an objective standard and
seems to conform to a basic sense of fair dealing.
The following is a list of matters wherein application of competitive status
seniority may apply. Layoffs Recalls Transfers Job Assignments Work
Assignments Shift Preferences Selection of Days Off Overtime Assignments
Vacation Privileges Parking Privileges Health and Pension Benefits Since
seniority systems are designed to benefit employees with greater length of
service, women and minorities, generally the most recently hired employees, can
be adversely affected by a seniority system. Section 703(a) of the 1964 Civil
Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
or national origin. However, Section 703(h) exempts bona fide seniority systems
from the mandate of Section 703(a). Section 703(h) suggests that bona fide
seniority may have a disproportionate impact on a certain class of people and
still be deemed valid. However, such a system may not be the result of intent to
discriminate against a class of individuals. Dispute Resolution Disputes over
wages and working conditions are by far the major causes of work stoppages.
Inevitably, disputes arise during the life of a contact. As a result, most
contracts contain specific clauses describing how disputes are to be resolved. A
“no-strike” clause is a contract provision in which the union agrees not to call
a work stoppage during the term of the collective bargaining agreement. In
return for a no-strike pledge, the union normally asks for a provision on the
part of the company not to engage in lockouts during the term of the contract. A
lockout is an economic pressure tactic of an employer during negotiations which
consists of the withholding of work. Lockouts may also be an illegal attempt to
discourage union activity. Strikes and lockouts are probably the most visible
evidence of labor disputes and are forms of economic warfare.
