Labor Relations in the Public Sector, Fourth Edition

by Kearney; Richard C.

• ISBN13: 9781420063141
• ISBN10: 1420063146
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-11-21
• Publisher: CRC Press

Summary

That we are participants in a global economy may no longer be news, but its impact continues to shape the field of labor relations. This is certainly true in the public sector where union membership is stagnant and outsourcing is becoming more and more prevalent.   Further impacting current trends are local and state movements to restructure public organizations and the processes they use to conduct their activities and provide services. These include the mechanisms of collective bargaining and contract administration.Reflecting these and many other trends and changes, this fourth edition of the perennially bestselling Labor Relations in the Public Sectoris now completely updated. The fundamental reader-friendly organization of the book remains the same, and it continues to address the many facets that must be considered today, as unions still represent 40 percent of public sector workers. However in keeping up with the formative events of recent times, this text'”· Accounts for emerging trends in  scholarly and professional literature as well as in practice· Features several new case studies that provide readers with experiential learning opportunities across a range of contemporary situations· Places greater emphasis on ways to develop and use interest-based ('œwin'win') negotiations during bargaining processes and throughout the administration of contractsThis volume recognizes the key role played by unions in the federal government and in a large proportion of state and local jurisdictions, but it also recognizes that much is changing. Fiscal realities and strategic challenges are changing the role of the labor union in the public sector. This is a trend that must be understood if its consequences are to be anticipated and met for the mutual good.

Table of Contents

List of Case Studies	p. xvii
Preface	p. xix
History and Background	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Early American Unionism	p. 2
Factors Contributing to Private Sector Union Decline	p. 7
Structural Elements	p. 10
Unfavorable Legal and Policy Environment	p. 11
Management Opposition	p. 11
Strategic Factors	p. 12
Unions in Government - The Early Years	p. 13
Why Government Employees Did (and Did Not) Unionize	p. 16
The Growth of Unions in Government	p. 17
The Growth of Government	p. 17
The Private Sector Experience	p. 19
Changes in the Legal Environment	p. 20
An Era of Social Change and Turmoil	p. 20
Why Government Workers Join Unions - The Individual Perspective	p. 21
Future Prospects	p. 22
The Unions Today	p. 25
Introduction	p. 25
The Federal Government	p. 25
Nonprofit Organizations	p. 29
State and Local Government	p. 30
The Determinants of State and Local Unionization	p. 30
Employee Organizations in State and Local Government	p. 36
General-Purpose Unions	p. 37
Functionally Specific Organizations	p. 39
Prospects for Future Growth	p. 44
The Legal Environment of Public Sector Labor Relations	p. 47
Introduction	p. 47
The Right to Form and Join Unions	p. 48
Labor Relations in Federal Employment: The Legal Basis	p. 50
The Executive Orders	p. 51
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978	p. 54
Recent Exceptions from CSRA Coverage	p. 55
The FLRA	p. 56
The Legal Basis of Labor Relations in State and Local Government	p. 57
Federal Legislation for State and Local Government	p. 58
State and Local Government Policies	p. 59
States without Collective Bargaining Policies	p. 64
States with Noncomprehensive Policies	p. 68
States with Comprehensive Collective Bargaining	p. 69
Employee Rights	p. 71
Employer Rights	p. 72
Administrative Agency	p. 72
Unit Determination	p. 72
Recognition Procedures	p. 73
Scope of Bargaining	p. 73
Impasse Resolution Procedures	p. 73
Union Security	p. 74
Unfair Labor Practices	p. 77
The Initiative and Referendum	p. 78
Labor Relations in Nonprofit Organizations	p. 79
Summary and Conclusions	p. 80
Fundamentals of the Bargaining Process	p. 83
Introduction	p. 83
Public-Private Sector Differences	p. 83
The Environment	p. 84
Financial Setting and Incentives	p. 84
The Nature of Work	p. 85
The Role of Politics	p. 85
The Parties	p. 86
The Process	p. 87
Electing a Union and Getting a Contract: The Elements of Collective Bargaining	p. 88
Bargaining Unit Determination	p. 88
Community of Interest	p. 90
Bargaining History	p. 90
The Extent of Prior Union Organization	p. 90
Efficiency of Agency Operations	p. 90
Fragmentation of Bargaining Units	p. 90
Exclusion of Supervisory and Confidential Employees	p. 92
The Representation Election or Show of Majority Support	p. 93
Certification of the Bargaining Representative	p. 95
Negotiating the Contract	p. 95
Summary and Conclusions	p. 109
The Process and Politics of Public Sector Collective Bargaining	p. 115
Introduction	p. 115
Internal Process and Politics	p. 115
Identifying Proposals	p. 116
Preparation for Bargaining	p. 117
The Duty to Bargain	p. 118
The Script	p. 119
Concession Bargaining	p. 121
External Politics	p. 125
Lobbying	p. 125
Electoral Activities	p. 126
Public Opinion	p. 129
Restrictions on Public Employee Political Activity	p. 129
From Traditional to Interest-Based Bargaining	p. 130
Traditional Negotiations	p. 131
Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB)	p. 134
Bargaining in the Future	p. 138
Summary and Conclusions	p. 140
Financial Impacts of Unions and Collective Bargaining	p. 143
Introduction	p. 143
Budget Making and Unions	p. 144
The Budgetary Process	p. 145
Budgetary Outcomes	p. 148
Unions, Wages, and Benefits	p. 149
Socioeconomic Factors	p. 149
Political Factors	p. 151
Politics and Decision Rules in the Compensation Decision Process	p. 152
Monetary Impacts of Unions: Approaching the Research Question	p. 157
Are Public Sector Workers Paid More than Private Sector Workers?	p. 158
Comparing the Relative Effects of Unions in the Public and Private Sectors	p. 161
The Effects of Public Employee Unions on Compensation: Methodological Problems	p. 162
The Effects of Public Employee Unions on Compensation: A Review of the Findings	p. 164
Salary and Wages	p. 164
Benefits	p. 166
Evaluating the Union Effect on Wages and Benefits	p. 167
Responding to Public Sector Compensation Cost Increases	p. 168
Productivity Bargaining (Gainsharing)	p. 170
Monetary Impacts of Federal Employee Unions	p. 172
Federal Wage System	p. 173
Classified Civil Service	p. 174
Collective Bargaining System	p. 175
Conclusion	p. 176
Union Impacts: Personnel Processes and Policies	p. 179
Introduction	p. 179
Merit Systems	p. 180
The Interface between Collective Bargaining and the Merit System	p. 183
Accommodating Collective Bargaining and the Merit System	p. 184
Unions and Threats to the Merit Principle	p. 187
Union Security	p. 187
Seniority	p. 187
Affirmative Action and Diversity	p. 189
New Public Management	p. 192
Specific Impacts of Unions on Personnel	p. 193
Functions and Policies	p. 193
Management Rights (Scope of Bargaining)	p. 193
State and Local Government	p. 195
Management Structure	p. 196
Personnel Processes	p. 197
Recruitment, Testing, and Selection	p. 197
Promotions	p. 199
Training and Development	p. 200
Position Classification and Staffing	p. 200
Work Load and Scheduling	p. 202
Grievances	p. 204
Employee Discipline	p. 205
Dismissals and Layoffs	p. 205
Reductions in Force	p. 206
Other Human Resource Management Policies	p. 207
Conclusion	p. 217
Strike!	p. 221
Introduction	p. 221
A Strike by Any Other Name	p. 223
Public Sector Strike Activity	p. 225
The Right to Strike in Public Employment	p. 227
The Sovereignty Argument	p. 227
Distortion of the Political Process	p. 228
Lack of Market Constraints	p. 228
Essential Services	p. 228
Legislation Pertaining to Strikes	p. 231
Public Policy and the Incidence of Strikes	p. 235
Why Public Employees Strike	p. 236
Macro-Level Factors	p. 237
Micro-Level Factors	p. 238
Demographic and Attitudinal Factors	p. 238
Bargaining Power and Disagreement Costs	p. 238
Faulty Negotiations	p. 239
Strike Tactics	p. 243
The Union	p. 243
Management	p. 245
Contingency Planning for the Strike	p. 246
The Injunction	p. 247
Strike Penalties	p. 248
Conclusions and a Look Ahead	p. 252
Resolving Impasses: Alternatives to the Strike	p. 255
Introduction	p. 255
The Private Sector Experience	p. 256
Impasse Resolution in Federal Employment	p. 257
State and Local Government Impasse Procedures	p. 258
Mediation	p. 261
Traits of an Effective Mediator	p. 264
Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation as a Technique for Resolving Impasses	p. 265
Fact Finding	p. 266
The Fact-Finding Process	p. 267
Advantages and Disadvantages of Fact Finding	p. 268
Arbitration	p. 269
The Arbitration Process	p. 271
Advantages and Disadvantages of Arbitration	p. 274
Final Offer Arbitration	p. 278
Other Impasse Resolution Procedures	p. 280
Med-Arb	p. 280
Arb-Med	p. 281
Labor-Management Committees	p. 281
Referenda - Letting the Taxpayers Decide	p. 282
The Unfair Labor Practice	p. 283
The Search for Flexibility	p. 283
Uncertainty: Benefit or Bane?	p. 285
Conclusion: The Benefits of Impasse Procedures	p. 286
Living with the Contract	p. 291
Introduction	p. 291
The Collective Bargaining Agreement	p. 292
Contents of the Agreement	p. 292
Disseminating the Agreement	p. 294
Administering the Agreement	p. 295
Grievance Procedures	p. 296
Causes of Grievances	p. 298
The Grievance Process	p. 300
Representation of the Grievant	p. 303
The Steward	p. 303
Union Duty of Fair Representation	p. 304
Grievance Arbitration	p. 306
Arbitrability	p. 306
Court Review of Arbitrators' Decisions	p. 307
Selection of the Arbitrator	p. 308
Problems in Grievance Arbitration	p. 310
Standards for Arbitrator Decision Making	p. 312
Past Practice	p. 313
Prior Bargaining Record	p. 313
Previous Arbitration Awards	p. 313
Other Considerations	p. 314
Grievance Procedures in Federal Employment	p. 314
New Directions in Grievance Handling	p. 316
Expedited Arbitration	p. 316
Alternative Dispute Resolution	p. 317
Grievance Mediation	p. 317
Conclusion	p. 319
Public Employee Unions in the Future	p. 323
Introduction	p. 323
The Decline of Private Sector Unions	p. 323
Challenges for Public Employee Unions	p. 326
The Continuing Fiscal Squeeze	p. 326
Structural Challenges	p. 327
Public Policy Challenges	p. 329
Strategic Challenges	p. 330
Opportunities	p. 332
Labor-Management Cooperation and Participative Decision Making	p. 335
Advantages of Cooperation	p. 336
Conditions Necessary for Successful Labor-Management Cooperation	p. 338
The Future of Labor-Management Cooperation	p. 340
Public Employee Unions in the 2000s: Conclusion	p. 341
References	p. 343
Index	p. 367
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