Collective Bargaining Research Articles

People Have the Right to Be Mad: Wildcat Strikes and Labor Relations in the Post-World War II Auto Industry

Writing on wildcat strikes, which were usually brief and under-reported, has been limited. This is especially the case in the auto industry, where postwar labor relations were supposedly stable and staid, marked by high rates of unionization and collective bargaining. Scholars have stressed the landmark national contracts that the United Auto Workers (UAW) won in the post-World War II era, particularly with the Big Three automakers. Despite these economic gains, rank-and-file workers had many unresolved grievances, especially over non-economic issues such as high workloads, poor safety, and abusive supervisors. This article examines wildcat strikes at two locations; the New Haven Foundry in Michigan (1962 and 1963) and Ford's Chicago Heights Stamping Plant (1963). It argues that these unauthorized walkouts were symptomatic of rank-and file disaffection over non-economic issues, including failure to get safety and workload grievances resolved. The industry suffered hundreds of wildcat strikes in the 1950s and 1960s, especially at Ford, where resistance to union influence continued. In 1951 alone, there were 56 wildcats at Ford alone, involving over 16,000 workers, with further wildcat surges in 1953 and 1958. The article uses worker testimony before the UAW's international executive board to provide unexpected insights into grievances of postwar autoworkers. These records show that despite the gains of the national contracts, many local issues persisted, complicating images of postwar labor relations in a key industry.

THE IMPACT OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ON ACADEMIC STAFF WELFARE IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH WEST, NIGERIA

Objective: This study aims to investigate the impact of collective bargaining on the welfare of academic staff in federal universities located in South West Nigeria, focusing on six selected institutions. Theoretical Framework: The research is framed within the context of labour relations theory, exploring how collective bargaining as a mechanism influences various welfare dimensions of academic staff. Method: A quantitative research approach was adopted, utilizing a descriptive research design. The study's population comprised academic staff from the six universities, with a sample size of 377 participants determined through the Taro Yamane formula. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using statistical techniques to assess the relationship between collective bargaining and staff welfare. Results and Discussion: The results indicate a significant negative impact of collective bargaining on academic staff welfare (β=-0.494, p<0.05). Contrary to its purpose, collective bargaining has not adequately addressed welfare issues, potentially worsening existing challenges faced by academic staff in the studied universities. The discussion emphasizes the need for improved bargaining strategies to promote staff well-being. Research Implications: The study's findings highlight the importance of developing more effective and collaborative collective bargaining processes. These are critical for enhancing welfare outcomes and addressing systemic challenges within federal universities. Originality/Value: This research contributes to the literature on collective bargaining by providing empirical evidence from the Nigerian higher education sector, revealing its counterproductive effects on academic staff welfare. It offers practical insights for policymakers and unions in designing more strategic negotiation frameworks.

Struggles for co-determination: Anti-unionism, obstruction of works councils and employees’ counterstrategies in Germany

In recent years, there has been growing evidence in Germany of efforts by employers to obstruct works councils, trade unions and individual employees in the exercise of their participation rights. When such situations arise, the asymmetry of power intrinsic to the employment relationship will put the employee side at a structural disadvantage. Nonetheless, employees have strategic options to regain their legal rights to co-determination. The article examines, firstly, how employers obstruct works councils, trade union representation and collective bargaining. Secondly, it analyses the strategies and practices the employee side uses in response. Based on 28 case studies from various sectors and a total of 87 interviews, the study identifies two broad types of obstruction of co-determination by employers and six key dimensions that characterize employee resistance. The analysis of successful and failed conflicts points to a wide range of the diverse options available to employees.

Firms' margins of adjustment to wage growth: the case of Italian collective bargaining

Firms' margins of adjustment to wage growth: the case of Italian collective bargaining

Why We Need Minimum Wages: Pay, Recognition, and Economic Citizenship

Statutory minimum wages have become an important tool for regulating labor markets. One major reason is the decline in collective wage bargaining. But how can minimum wages be justified? We show that their best justification does not lie in their economic effects but in the respect for social contributors that they express. The article takes an innovative interdisciplinary approach, bridging political philosophy and comparative political economy. We first discuss existing justifications in political practice and theory. We then show how a distinctive and robust justification should regard minimum wages as paying necessary respect to those who fulfill their obligation to contribute to social cooperation. Our justification thus suggests a new concept of economic citizenship and advances recognition theory applied to work. We outline further implications of the argument, such as the desirability of setting minimum wages through collective bargaining, and a tentative case for a maximum income.

Unpaid overtime and non-standard employment among young people in Europe: do national context and institutions matter?

ABSTRACT This article presents a multilevel analysis of unpaid overtime among young people (aged 15–34) across EU-28 member states. It finds that non-standard employment and the specific characteristics and institutions of Europe’s labour markets are related to unpaid overtime. Use has been made of the European Union Labour Force Survey database for 2019. The econometric analysis shows that a national level and a greater scope of collective bargaining agreements, a higher rate of involuntary part-time employment and lower levels of unemployment expenditure increase the probability of unpaid overtime among young people. Furthermore, our results reveal that how flexibility is boosted in European countries drives unpaid overtime. Temporary employment, working from home and a higher number of hours worked are positively related to unpaid overtime, while part-time employment and temporary work agencies are negatively related. Finally, the older and higher educated young workers have a greater propensity towards unpaid overtime, while there is a negative effect of shift work and no significant one in terms of gender and the degree of protection against dismissal. Policy implications for the implementation of flexibility policies and working time regulations are also discussed.

Tennessee Tussle: The Struggle Over Tennessee's Collective Bargaining Curtailment and Its Potential Future Impact

Tennessee Tussle: The Struggle Over Tennessee's Collective Bargaining Curtailment and Its Potential Future Impact

Workers with few hours – who secures their social rights? – The role of social dialogue and collective bargaining

This special issue looks at the contributions of social dialogue and collective bargaining to creating, maintaining or reducing the risks associated with employment contracts of few hours, such as marginal part-time work, temporary agency work and zero-hour contracts. It additionally considers changes in welfare institutions with regard to the protection of these groups of workers. In this paper, we introduce the arguments on why and how working in marginal part-time jobs involves vulnerability, and on the differential roles collective bargaining and social protection may have on these jobs, depending in particular on which status (employees, workers or self-employed) they are associated to.

The potential for a union default to convert nonunion workers into union members: The effects of beliefs about unions' consequences, free‐riding and social customs

AbstractUnion density has fallen dramatically in many western European countries over recent decades, with grave implications for unions' strength and legitimacy regarding collective bargaining. Free‐riding remains an ongoing challenge in maintaining union membership levels, as covered nonunion workers generally receive the same collectively bargained terms as union members. To help resolve this problem, we propose a union default that would, as a legal requirement, automatically enrol all workers under coverage as union members in the first instance, but with a subsequent right to opt‐out. We use survey evidence from New Zealand to suggest that nearly half these nonunion workers working for unionised employers would retain membership if defaulted. A default would be effective at converting nonunion workers into union members partly because it would shift the norms of the workplace from nonunion to union, as per social custom theory.

Decent Work Practices Incorporated in the Collective Bargaining Agreements of Unionized Firms

We investigated the decent work practices related to employment at work, rights at work, social protection, and social dialogue incorporated in the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) of unionized firms. We analyzed qualitatively the various provisions of each of the 20 CBAs of unionized firms from diverse industries in the Philippines that come from manufacturing, hotels, resorts, health, education, telecommunication, and public utilities. Findings revealed that the CBAs' provisions articulate many significant provisions on decent work practices. Specifically, the employment-at-work provisions revealed 14 main themes related to benefits, employee classification, wages, work hours, and opportunities for advancement. Eight key themes were identified on rights at work provisions: employee development, protection against discrimination, safeguards against company closure, sale, lease, transfer, or merger, protection against lay-offs and retrenchment, shared social responsibility, and the ban on labor contracting. On social protection provisions, twelve main themes emerged: maternity benefits, other social security benefits, job security, extended financial assistance and loan benefits, and medical/health care incentive programs. On social dialogue provisions, 11 main themes evolved about union-management communication, acknowledging the current labor union as the sole bargaining representative, the institution of grievance machinery, the union's right to information and consultation, as well as the presence of the Labor-Management Committee. The overall results underscored the important role of the union through its collective bargaining power in ensuring that decent work thrives in the workplace. We recommend implementing the “one union one industry policy” as stipulated in the Labor Code; strengthening the conceptual, technical, and behavioral skills of the union leaders; treating unions as social partners; and undertaking research studies that can benefit both the union and management during their CBA negotiations. These efforts can open more opportunities for unions and those workers covered by CBAs to actualize the ILO conventions of guaranteeing decent work that will transform people and organizations toward a sustainable mindset that includes justice, peace, and equality for the common good of the future generation of working people.

Unionization of Graduate Medical Education Trainees: Perspectives from Designated Institutional Officials.

Labor unions represent an increasing number of graduate medical education (GME) trainees in the United States. Most GME and other leaders at academic medical centers lack familiarity with resident/fellow unions, including what to expect, what decisions need to be made, and the processes involved in a unionization effort. It is important for designated institutional officials (DIOs), GME program directors, teaching faculty, and other institutional leaders to understand the drivers of resident/fellow unionization, the union organizing campaign and election process, and what follows a vote to unionize, including collective bargaining. Careful consideration of the role of educational and other institutional leaders during the unionization process is important to prevent any loss of trust between residents/fellows and those they view as their advocates. In this Commentary, the authors describe these considerations from their perspective as DIOs and GME leaders.

Collective bargaining about corporate social responsibility

Collective bargaining about corporate social responsibility

Social dialogue as a contractual tool for regulating the right to work

The essence of social dialogue as a legal phenomenon has been analysed, with one of its main objectives being the implementation of contractual legal regulation of labour and social rights through reconciliation and compromises. Attention is drawn to international interest in the application of social dialogue procedures within the legal mechanism for ensuring the labour and social rights of workers. Focus is given to the form of social dialogue involving collective bargaining for the conclusion of collective agreements and contracts. The study provides a detailed analysis of certain conclusions made by the European Committee of Social Rights regarding reports from the member states of the European Social Charter (revised) on the compliance of their national legislation with the provisions of this Charter. Certain aspects of the implementation of the right to collective bargaining, enshrined in Article 6 §2 of this international treaty, are highlighted. Attention is drawn to the fact that if an industry agreement includes provisions allowing for the non-application of some of its clauses - thereby initiating a mechanism that restricts the right to work for individuals covered by this agreement or complicates the procedures for exercising the right to work - clear contractual legal conditions for applying these norms must be established. The parties to the industry agreement must define the conditions and procedures under which such a non-application clause may be invoked. The article examines the limitations of this right within the context of wage regulation. It is noted that if a collective agreement or contract has been duly concluded by the subjects of contractual regulation, any unilateral interference with its provisions can only be justified by the need to protect the rights of other workers or safeguard public interests, national security, public health, etc. The importance of improving collective contractual regulation of labour relations through mechanisms of social dialogue is emphasized, as the anticipated reform of labour legislation foresees an expansion of labour and social rights, which will need to be defined in collective agreements and contracts. The issue of the representativeness of the parties involved in social dialogue is addressed through an analysis of innovations in Ukrainian labour legislation.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Managing Workplace Conflict Management in Nigerian Universities

This study assesses the effectiveness of managing workplace conflicts in Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria. A mixed-methods approach and survey design was employed, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods. The main objective of the study is to assess the effect of collective bargaining on workplace conflict management in Nigeria Universities, focusing on Kogi State University Anyigba The population considered for this study is the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) members, the Non-academic staff union (NASU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) from the Kogi State University Anyigba. Summing them up therefore the total number of these individuals is 4013. Hence 4013 constituted the total population of this study. This study employed the “Modern Management Theory," theory propounded by Mary Parker Follet who believed that management was "the art of getting things done through people. The result of hypothesis one shows that the p-value is 0.000 at 5% significance level; this means that the Null Hypothesis is rejected and the study concludes that Collective bargaining has a significant effect on conflict management in Kogi State University Anyigba. The result of hypothesis two shows that the p-value is 0.000 at 5% significance level this means that the Null Hypothesis is accepted and the study concludes that the collective bargaining strategy is not effective in workplace conflict management at Kogi State University Anyigba. The study recommends that the University should re-evaluate its current collective bargaining strategies to ensure they are more effective in managing workplace conflicts. This might include involving more diverse stakeholder groups in the bargaining process to improve effectiveness. The University should implement conflict resolution training programs for both academic and non-academic staff to enhance their capacity to engage in constructive bargaining and negotiations.

Collective Bargaining for the 'New' Working Class: Putting Personal Work Relations to Work for Street Vendors

Abstract Robert Hale’s famous proposition is that the propertyless man needs to eat and in order to eat, he exchanges his labour for access to property. Indeed, labour law is constituted by these property relations. Historically, most of the workforce (in the global North) has accessed property for livelihood purposes through an employment contract. However, in developing countries, most of the workforce is structurally unable to access property for livelihood purposes by means of an employment contract. These worker-citizens nevertheless need access to property to eat; street vendors need access to public space to trade. The question is whether the scope of labour law, particularly the institution of collective bargaining, can expand to include informal self-employed workers? The article discusses the capability, regulatory, human rights and personal work relations theories; it shows that Freedland and Kountouris’ theory of ‘labour law as personal work relations’ could incorporate informal self-employed workers and illustrates how it might be operationalized to realise collective bargaining laws for street vendors. Informal self-employed workers challenge labour law to examine its assumptions of how property relations are constituted; and to re-theorise property relations to account for workers accessing property by means of an employment contract as well as accessing property based on worker-citizens making rights-based claims.

Generic and site-specific social life cycle assessment of municipal wastewater treatment systems in Spain: challenges and limitations of the method when applied to resource recovery systems

Abstract Purpose This work aims to provide insights on the application of social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) in evaluating the social impacts associated with municipal wastewater treatment (WWT). The study assesses the social risks and social performance of two municipal WWT systems in Catalonia, Spain: a conventional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) (Reference System) and a novel system that recovers water and other valuable resources (Novel System). Methods S-LCA was conducted at Generic and Site-Specific levels using 1 m3 of wastewater treatment as the functional unit (FU). The Generic assessment was conducted via the Product Social Impact Life Cycle Assessment (PSILCA) database, while the Site-Specific assessment employed the Subcategory Assessment Method (SAM) with four-level reference scales to assess the social performance of the WWTP operator and its first-tier suppliers. Furthermore, activity variables were calculated based on organizations’ shares in the total costs per FU, and the Novel System’s multifunctionality was solved through economic allocation. Results were aggregated by (i) assigning equal weights to organizations and (ii) factoring in organizations’ weights and the allocation factor, leading to results per FU. Results and discussion The Generic analysis results indicated that the Novel System entailed fewer social risks than the Reference System. Most social risks in both systems occurred in the subcategories “Access to material resources,” “Fair salary,” “Freedom of association and collective bargaining,” “Contribution to economic development,” and “Corruption.” In the Site-Specific assessment, the Novel System presented better social performance than the Reference System per 1 m3 of wastewater treatment. The latter’s performance per FU did not meet the basic requirement in four out of eleven subcategories, mainly due to the performance and weight of a chemical supplier. Allocation greatly benefitted the Novel System’s results per FU compared to the results obtained when equal weights were applied. Conclusions Activity variables were used to connect organizations’ conduct with particular WWT systems, and multifunctionality was solved. This approach allowed for obtaining results per FU at both assessment levels. However, social performance was also evaluated by calculating the average social performance of each system without considering activity variables and the FU, leading to different results. The social performance of the Novel System per FU was satisfactory across all subcategories but required improvement in four subcategories based on the average results. Given the limitations of using activity variables and allocation in S-LCA, further research is necessary to appropriately evaluate and compare the social effects of novel resource recovery systems.

Artificial Intelligence and the Labour Market: Impacts and Issues

The authoress examines the impacts and issues that artificial intelligence produces on the labour market characterised by an increasing hybridisation of both the workplace and work performance. The European AI Act Regulation is analysed for issues of interest. Issues concerning monitoring systems to avoid discrimination (especially for women) as well as issues related to algorithms are reviewed. The authoress also analyses issues concerning redistributive and fiscal policies and the type of employment that AI will produce in the labour market. Finally, reflections are posed on the relationship between demographic decline and new technologies and the need for participatory industrial relations, with a central role played by collective bargaining. Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Labour market; Discrimination; Industrial relation; Collective bargaining

Collision Between Collective Bargaining and Competition Law - Focusing on the American Professional Sports Labor Market -

Collision Between Collective Bargaining and Competition Law - Focusing on the American Professional Sports Labor Market -

REFORMA TRABALHISTA: UM OLHAR SOB A ÓTICA DA NEGOCIAÇÃO COLETIVA

The concept of labor reform has long been intertwined with the dynamics of collective bargaining, a process by which workers, organized in unions, negotiate with their employers to secure better employment conditions. Over the decades, collective bargaining has evolved from a nascent concept to a cornerstone of labor rights, shaping the landscape of working conditions, fair wages, and employee benefits. This article explores the historical context of collective bargaining in labor reform, the critical role it plays in improving working conditions, and its broader impact on economic stability. By examining the evolution of labor rights, the bargaining outcomes that improve the workplace, and the economic ramifications of collective bargaining, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of its importance in contemporary discussions of labor reform. The role of collective bargaining in improving working conditions cannot be overstated. Through negotiations, unions have been instrumental in securing fair wages and comprehensive benefits for workers, which are crucial to promoting economic well-being and job satisfaction.

RETURNING TO THE PUBLICATION OF DOCTOR OF JURIDICAL SCIENCES, PROFESSOR M.A. SARSEMBAYEV «THE NEED TO IMPROVE STANDARDS OF ILO CONVENTIONS AND THE KAZAKHSTAN LABOR LAW»

This article analyzes the article by Professor M.A. Sarsembayev on the topic «The need to improve standards of ILO conventions and the Kazakhstan labor law», which was published in the Bulletin of the Institute of Legislation and Legal Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 2 (47) in 2017. In the article Professor M.A. Sarsembayev focuses on the International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions, including the e Convention on Equal treatment and equal opportunities for men and women workers: workers with family responsibilities, adopted in Geneva on the 67-th session of the ILO General Conference on 23 June 1981, the Convention on the Protection of Wages, adopted in Geneva on 32-th session of the General conference of the ILO 1 July 1949, and the ILO Convention on the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery by 16 June 1928, which are ratified by the Republic of Kazakhstan, with the aim of improving the norms of national labor legislation. The author also identifies shortcomings in these conventions and provides recommendations (translations, new formulations, additional articles, and terms) for their improvement, emphasizing that Kazakhstan, as a party to these conventions, can make proposals for their enhancement through the ILO’s Bureau of Labor Administration. The article also addresses the issue of accession to conventions such as the Convention on Minimum Standards of Social Security (No. 102), the Convention on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture (No. 11), the Convention on Compensation for Workmen in Agriculture (No. 12), and the Convention on Medical Care and Sickness Benefits for Workmen in Agriculture (No. 25), considering their significance for the national legal system of Kazakhstan.