[College]
San Diego CA, USA
Abstract
Keywords: collective bargaining agreements, grievance procedure, mediation, arbitration, fact finding, covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
The parties should study all the circumstances and define grievance procedure. Background of the grievances can be of different nature, depending on place, industry, corporate culture etc.
Grievance procedure: Background.
Grievance procedure: Financial Background.
In the market driven world and under condition of the high competition, the companies fight to survive, often facing a need to cut costs by outsourcing the processes or the services. If a company’s CFO took a decision, and the board of director has approved, to outsource production, the company will have the fixed assets on hands for sale and the workers to eliminate. In many cases the qualified workers have the long time contracts with the fixed employment terms. Elimination of such workers can violate the terms of their contracts, is the subject of the principal grievance.
Grievance procedure: Career Background.
A company doesn’t follow a basic contract and promotes the newer pursuer before the senior employee. A company fails to adhere to the contract’s surrounding issues, such as wages and benefits a reason for the principal grievance.
Grievance procedure: Trivial Background.
A company didn’t supply the necessary tools, work wear, or didn’t provide the sufficient training.
Grievance procedure: Legal Background.
According to Lunenburg (2005) the legal background can be: maintenance of standards of quality of produced goods, just cause to punish an employee, management rights under the corporate legislation, a narrow grievance definition that "limits employee complaints to the specific written agreement" (p. 429), no strike provision (mainly for the teachers) (p. 429), zipper clause (p. 429-430) – the waiver right to bargain, reduction in force-to dismiss an employee due to the organizational reorganization (p.430).
Grievance procedure: Face to Face Resolution.
In many cases a discussion between the employee and a manager or HR representative is face-to face can be sufficient to resolve an issue. If the concern still stands out, an employee can write to management a grievance. Such grievances can be filed by the individuals and the groups, the trade union can also put grievance into writing itself.
Grievance procedure: Impasse Resolution.
Still unresolved issues come into impasse; the resolution can be reached through:
Impasse Resolution: Mediation.
According to Associated Press (2011) the players of NFL agreed to mediation of their labor dispute. FMCS is an agency, which provides free mediation services between employers and the union members was chosen to oversee the dispute. FMCS informed the press "Due to the extreme sensitivity of these negotiations and consistent with the FMCS's long-standing practice, the agency will refrain from any public comment concerning the future schedule and/or the status of those negotiations until further notice." (Associated Press, 2011). Earlier Director of an agency promised assistance "in reaching a voluntary, mutually acceptable agreement"(Associated Press, 2011).
Impasse Resolution: Fact-finding.
According to The New York Times (Norimitsu Onishi, 2013) "Mr. Brown appointed a fact-finding panel charged with submitting a report on the dispute, averting a strike at the last minute [] a public hearing showed how far apart the two sides stood on crucial issues" From this article we see, that the 'fact-finding' group was appointed to expertise the disputed case and to evaluate the matter and finally to present a report of the facts. At the same time we can see that the fact finder has no power in resolving the issue.
Impasse Resolution: Arbitration.
Arbitrator is the third party initially included into the contract, arbitrator’s decisions are binding. To be noted, at the large companies, an arbitrator usually resolves the issues to advantage of the company.
Collective Bargaining Agreements: A Two Way Street.
In other words the collective bargaining agreement can be renegotiated and presented to the union body for ratification to pass into effect, or can enter into impasse. Impasse can be resolved through mediation, fact-finding, and arbitration. The collective bargaining agreement is a two way street it can play to advantage of the one or the other party.
On one side, to be more protected, the employees should insist on the collective bargain agreements. To be noted, still the US employer prefers at-will agreements. Moreover employer should act under “covenant of good faith and fair dealing" safe for the employee from breaching the contract in a bad faith. For example, if an employer no longer needs employee still under active contract, employer must renegotiate such a contract in a good faith and to pay the compensation he owes.
On the other side, still the collective bargaining agreement is a good tool to lure and to keep the good trained and qualified employees, udder the notice and penalty, confidentiality, not to compete clauses. However if the employee doesn’t turn out well, how the employer wants, employer still must adhere to the terms of the contract.
References
Associated Press. (2011, Feb. 17 ). In NFL, Union Agree to Mediation. Retrieved Dec. 7, 2013, from http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/NFL-players-union-agree-to-mediation-federal-for-labor-talks-CBA-021711
Collective bargaining agreement. (2002). In Dictionary of Conflict Resolution, Wiley. Retrieved from http://proxy.umpqua.edu/login?qurl=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/wileyconfres/collective_bargaining_agreement
Lunenburg, F. C, & B. Irby. (2005).The Principalship: Vision to Action. Belmont, CA, Thomson/Wadsworth.Начало формы
Конец формы
Onishi, N. (2013, Aug.10). Changing Attitudes on Labor Color Bay Area Transit Dispute. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/us/changing-attitudes-on-labor-color-bay-area-transit-dispute.html
