Collective Bargaining Research Articles

Covert politics of competing leadership: Antonio Orendain, Cesar Chavez, and union politics in the Rio Grande Valley, 1965-1982

ABSTRACT This life history account illustrates the covert politics of sabotage, purging, and the defeat of defecting and rival factions that occurred within the United Farm Workers in Texas. I draw on Robert Michels’ framework of competing leadership to illustrate the mechanisms established leadership can use to sabotage, purge, and the eliminate rival leaders, in particular maverick and threatening leaders. This case study draws on the history of the Texas Farm Workers Union, led by Antonio Orendain in the 1970s, and its conflict with the United Farm Workers led by Cesar Chavez. I argue that Orendain’s maverick leadership and independent union activity led the UFW leadership to 1) actively block resources such as money and supplies to Orendain, 2) leverage political connections to blacklist Orendain’s campaign for collective bargaining, and 3) write Orendain out of the UFW narrative and memory in Texas. These moments provide an opportunity to reveal the covert and complex politics of controlling the direction, resources, and objectives of labour movements. Moreover, this paper also seeks to document the organizing career of one of the founders of the UFW who earned the moniker ‘The Cesar Chavez of Texas’.

The era of the “golden workers” and the collective bargaining challenges for the age management in companies

The ageing of the population is a fact, and also a worldwide social concern. There are two underlying problems in the business world that must be connected: On one hand, the need for older people to remain in the labour market and, on the other hand, the prejudices that exist in the business world in relation to older people. The plans known as generational diversity plans are essential for keeping older people in the labour market but, taking into account previous experiences, these plans should be developed in the field of the collective bargaining, preferably in a mandatory manner, which is not currently the case.

Stopping the Spying: US Labor Unions’ Responses to Electronic Surveillance at Work

The use of electronic surveillance by employers has become increasingly common in recent years and can take many forms, including video surveillance, keystroke logging, and GPS tracking. While employers often claim that this surveillance is necessary to protect their property and increase productivity, it can also have negative consequences for workers, including work intensification and loss of a sense of autonomy at work. This paper examines the concerns, responses, and limitations of US labor unions in limiting electronic surveillance and its harms to workers. Expert interviews conducted with seven union leaders in 2023 reveal that US unions are aware of and concerned about electronic surveillance of members. Through political advocacy and collective bargaining, unions have a vital role to play in protecting workers’ privacy rights, though limitations to union's capacity exist due to low union membership density and high workloads.

Collective Voice without Collective Bargaining: Pandemic Induced Wage Theft Claims and Worker Responses in Apparel Supply Chains

AbstractConcentrated corporate power and failures to manage the distribution of risk mean that workers bear the heaviest burden in globalised apparel supply chains. Law and associated normative frameworks seek to strengthen collective worker voice and other worker rights to tip the scales of unequal bargaining power to benefit the workers. However, some of the traditional tools of labour law such as unionising and collective bargaining have weakened over the years and exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a conceptual framework based on regulatory theory, feminist insights, and semi-autonomous social fields, this article examines the law-practice gap for regulating just wages within the apparel supply chain, responses, and how workers fight wage theft and carve out pathways to demand just wage standards. Drawing from the case of Sri Lanka, the article discusses how alternative forms of worker voice seek to fill in the implementation gaps. The findings of this study demonstrate worker initiatives to shape the regulation of just wages and how networked labour activism, especially by women workers, prompts to re-imagine structures of actor accountability on wage rights.

Mental Health, Psychosocial Risks, and the Right to Digital Disconnection from Work: The Role of Collective Bargaining with a Focus on Spanish Social Dialogue

Mental Health, Psychosocial Risks, and the Right to Digital Disconnection from Work: The Role of Collective Bargaining with a Focus on Spanish Social Dialogue

Call for papers: IR Berkeley special issue on “Collective bargaining: Its causes and consequences for workers and employers”

Call for papers: <scp>IR</scp> Berkeley special issue on “Collective bargaining: Its causes and consequences for workers and employers”

Collective bargaining, police pay, and racial differences in police lethality rates

ABSTRACT This study examines the interaction effects of police collective bargaining authorization and police pay on racial differences in police-related fatalities. Using data from Fatal Encounters, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and other publicly available databases, we applied entropy-weighted regressions to a balanced panel of 282 local police departments from 2000 to 2013 in the United States. We found that collective bargaining authorization is not directly associated with police-caused deaths. However, results indicate that higher median salaries for city police officers directly and meaningfully contribute to fewer people killed by police actions. When considering interactive effects, our findings suggest that police unionization offsets the life-saving benefits of higher relative pay, leading to more Black citizens dying from police intervention as salaries increase in agencies with collective bargaining authorization. Our findings demonstrate authorities should consider the potentially fatal and inequitable consequences for citizens during collective bargaining and salary-setting negotiations.

Unraveling opportunism in platform-mediated work within the Nordic working life model: An institutional complexity perspective

The Nordic working life model (NWLM) promotes ‘good work’ on societal and workplace levels. However, this model is now challenged by emerging business models in the platform economy. This study investigates how digital labor platforms respond to conflicting institutional logics and how platform-mediated work intervenes with the inherent logic of the NWLM. The authors examine platform business strategies and their implications for working environment regulations, co-determination, and collective bargaining. Empirical data comprising 50 interviews with food delivery workers, platform managers, union representatives, employer association representatives, and occupational health and safety regulators from the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority were analyzed by applying institutional complexity as a theoretical framework. The findings illustrate that a high degree of institutional complexity provides companies with discretionary space, which they utilize to achieve legitimacy and competitive advantages. The authors introduce the term institutional opportunism to describe how adaptation is performed. The study reveals that the platform economy, characterized by workers with limited experience of and knowledge about working life and strong market pressures, poses a challenge to the NWLM.

Collective Bargaining in Technology-Based Employment

Abstract New technology has profoundly influenced the world of work. The use of technology brings advantages for all – employers, workers and their representatives – but also some risks and hazards for working people. Despite technological development, workers still need effective protection that will ensure safety and sustainable development. The legal framework for this protection, both at European and national levels, is still under construction. An important role in filling the regulatory gap may be also played by collective bargaining. Moreover, modern technologies open up new possibilities for social partners to build their capacity and organize the process of negotiations. However, collective bargaining in the area of tech-based work remains in statu nascendi. This article analyses the need for and the advantages of collective protection in tech-based employment, its role in improving working standards and the influence of new technology on industrial relations.

The Digitalisation of Tools for Workers’ Representation in Europe and Spain: A First Approach

Abstract The unstoppable digitalisation of work also brings with it alterations at the collective level of labour relations. On the one hand, the dispersal of the workforce entails the breaking of traditional ties of proximity, which engendered solidarity among workers. On the other hand, however, new technologies can contribute decisively to the development of representation activity, also being a fruitful field for collective bargaining. Through a synthetic examination of comparative law, several of these possibilities are presented, and how they fit with Spanish law is analysed. Among the subjects addressed are digital tools that can favour tasks in representation. In addition to the legislative dimension, the study takes into account the latest developments in jurisprudence and collective bargaining.

Additional Measures to Support Families with Disabled Children

The article presents an analysis of certain legislative norms aimed at maintaining the stability of the legal status of workers with disabled children. Based on statistical data, some positive results of state policy in the field of social support for families with a disabled child are noted, a conclusion is made about the stabilization of the growth rate of child disability at the present stage in comparison with indicators of previous years, the importance of additional benefits and guarantees provided to employees with disabilities is emphasized. a disabled child, both at the federal, regional and collective bargaining levels of legal regulation of labor. The author substantiates proposals for improving certain norms of labor legislation regarding the procedure for providing additional days off to working parents with disabled children, which will strengthen the emerging trend of stabilizing the social situation of these subjects.

EU social dialogue revitalisation: Between rhetoric, new rights, political commitments and historical caution

The Council Recommendation on strengthening social dialogue is a positive recognition of the key role of social dialogue in the EU's social market economy. At the same time, episodes of institutional disfavour of the social partners’ co-determination role and resistance to robust sectoral collective bargaining warrant a cautious assessment. This article looks at the current state of EU social dialogue, examining its primary dimensions: the involvement of social partners in policymaking and the scope of collective bargaining. It assesses the Council Recommendation, along with other measures adopted during the Von der Leyen presidency, to ascertain their collective contribution in realigning EU social dialogue with the principles of the EU Treaties. Overall, the analysis reveals a nuanced picture, with both positive and challenging aspects. While collective bargaining has been given a new (albeit partial) boost, the same cannot be said for the social partners’ participation in EU policymaking. Notably, the Council Recommendation reaffirmed the Court of Justice's decision in the EPSU case, solidifying the Commission's discretionary authority to decide on the legislative implementation of framework agreements, to the detriment of the social partners’ regulatory agency. Finally, the article proposes a blueprint for further advancing the EU's aspiration for social dialogue, seeking to reconciling it with the social objectives that, constitutionally, the Union aspires to achieve.

Factors Affecting Utilization of Employee Assistance Program: A Case Study of ABSA Bank Zambia

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are programs implemented in the workplace to support individual employees in dealing with personal and work-related problems, with the goal of improving their well-being and contributing to organizational performance (Masi, 2010). An EAP is a program sponsored by an employer, a collective bargaining group, or an association of professionals, and is designed to help identify and resolve productivity issues that may arise from employees experiencing personal problems (EACC, 1991). ABSA bank implemented an EAP as a staff wellness initiative to assist employees. However, according to management reports, less than 5% of employees are utilizing the wellness program, which falls short of management's expectation of more than 50% participation. Therefore, this study aims to determine the reasons for the underutilization of EAPs. To achieve the research objectives, the study employed both descriptive and causal research designs, and logistic regression analysis was used to statistically identify the factors that influence the use of EAPs. A survey was conducted with employees at ABSA bank, with 100 employees selected as respondents through simple random sampling. Primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire. The study revealed that employees still value EAPs and consider them important. Through logistic regression analysis, the study identified lack of information, stigma, confidentiality, trust, and peer influence as factors that affect the utilization of EAPs, as reported by the respondents. All the results were statistically significant at p &lt; 0.05. Therefore, the study recommends that ABSA management should implement measures to ensure the confidentiality of information shared during EAPs, provide more information to employees about the content and benefits of EAPs to encourage greater participation, clearly communicate the purpose of EAPs to employees, and select a dedicated team for EAPs who understand and uphold ethical standards.

Predictability and transparency of working conditions for food delivery platform workers across selected EU countries

AbstractWhile prior research has demonstrated the poor and unpredictable working conditions and ambiguous working arrangements characteristic of platform‐based food delivery, we lack research on the question of how well these workers are informed about essential aspects of their work, including protection of their rights, working time and schedules, and earnings. Comprehensive and transparent information on working conditions at an early stage is indispensable if workers are to be able to make informed decisions on taking up work and, where relevant, investing in equipment and exercising rights linked to a specific job. Drawing on the multi‐dimensional job quality literature, this article focuses on digital labour platforms in the food delivery sector across four countries: Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. We exploit firm‐level variations, including with regard to the types of work arrangements used and the application—or not—of collective agreements. We draw on information provided to riders during the application process prior to the start of employment, including via websites and FAQs, as well as scrutiny of contracts, service agreements and collective bargaining agreements, where relevant. This information is complemented with interviews with trade union representatives. Our findings point to the relationship between a firm's choice of employment status and form of contract, on one hand, and the predictability and transparency of information provided to workers, on the other. Differences and similarities in such information seem to be more strongly bound to firm‐level decisions than to the welfare and industrial relations regimes in which the platform companies operate.

The European Participation Index (EPI) and inequality: a multi-dimensional cross-national comparative measure of worker participation

Is worker participation becoming more prominent or less? Furthermore, what is the impact of worker participation on economic performance? This article introduces a tool designed by researchers at the ETUI to help answer these questions: the European Participation Index (EPI), a country-level summary measure of the strength of workers’ voice in companies. The EPI is based on (i) union density and collective bargaining coverage, (ii) workplace representation and (iii) board-level representation. This multi-level index provides an alternative to existing cross-national measures by taking into consideration two levels at which worker participation can take place: the workplace and the board. The article shows first that worker participation has become less prevalent in the EU over the past decade; and second that the EPI is robust and has superior explanatory power in relation to income inequality compared with traditional measures of collective bargaining.

Competitive balance in professional sports: A multi-dimensional perspective

What constitutes competitive balance is a contentious issue in professional sports. We contribute to this debate with a simple framework encapsulating multiple viewpoints of competitive balance and highlight how this framework suggests that there could be an inherent tradeoff along two common dimensions. Using the framework as a lens for comparing North American professional sports leagues, we then demonstrate how important changes over time in the collective bargaining process have influenced the competitive balance of these leagues in different ways. Finally, we discuss and provide descriptive evidence for the influence of differences in non-gate revenue growth across leagues and how it might have affected their competitive balance in recent years. (JEL L83, D63, C23).

Works councils as gatekeepers: Codetermination, management practices, and job satisfaction

This paper analyzes the role of works councils as gatekeepers safeguarding employee's interests in the adoption of management practices to monitor employee performance and provide feedback. We first introduce a formal model predicting that (i) the introduction of such management practices leads to a stronger increase (or weaker decrease) in job satisfaction when a works council is in place, (ii) that this effect should be larger the lower the prior level of employee participation and (iii) that works councils increase the likelihood of the implementation of these practices at the level of individual employees. We provide evidence in line with these hypotheses, using linked-employer-employee panel data from Germany. We indeed find that the adoption of formal performance appraisals and feedback interviews is associated with a significantly larger increase in job satisfaction when there is a works council. This pattern is driven by establishments without collective bargaining agreements. The evidence also suggests that works councils indeed facilitate the implementation of such management practices, as codetermined firms have a higher likelihood that a practice implemented on the firm level is actually applied by middle management.

From the Recognition of ‘Psychiatric Disorder Caused by Asbestos Exposure’ to the Mobilisation of Dignity in Labour Law: A Comparison of France and Sweden

Abstract In two rulings on 8 February 2023, the French Court of Cassation invoked the notion of ‘dignity’ in labour law to support claims for ‘damage due to anxiety’ (‘préjudice d’anxiété’). The concept of ‘damage due to anxiety’, which might in English be translated more functionally as ‘psychiatric disorder caused by asbestos exposure’, is based on loss arising from the fear of developing a future disease due to occupational exposure to a toxic and hazardous substance, such as asbestos. Based on a reading of these two cases, the aim of this article is to analyse the approach developed in the French legal system, and to discuss it from the standpoint of Swedish law. The concept of ‘psychiatric disorder caused by asbestos exposure’ is not currently recognised in Swedish law. However, the idea that physical work environment factors can cause psychological injury is not entirely unfamiliar. It touches upon the ideas of a holistic approach to the work environment and a broad and inclusive concept of health and illness, which are important foundations for Swedish work environment law. By studying this specific occupational health and safety issue it is possible to illuminate not only how this topical and important issue is regulated in France and Sweden, but also on a broader level how these two legal systems—the French one based on the individual responsibility of the employer and the Swedish one on collective bargaining—are functioning when it comes to systems of prevention of and compensation for ill health.

“Mutated Sumangali Scheme”: challenges in enforcement of labour laws in spinning mills of Tamil Nadu

ABSTRACT During the 1990s, the Sumangali (Tamil for “happily married women”) Scheme was in practice at spinning mills in various districts of Tamil Nadu. Considering its highly exploitative characteristics, the Sumangali Scheme was generally viewed as “modern slavery”. Interventions by the government and non-governmental organizations have curbed these typical characteristics of the Sumangali Scheme. In this context, this article finds that the Sumangali Scheme has not been eradicated. Rather, it has been mutated into another form. Under this “Mutated Sumangali Scheme”, female labour rights violations still continue. This article analyses the reasons for these labour rights violations, including absence of collective bargaining, ineffective proactive enforcement by government agencies, inherent loopholes in substantive laws, and slack in interventions by government and non-governmental agencies. Finally, the article recommends appropriate measures to curb these violations and eradicate the Mutated Sumangali Scheme.

Study on the Implementation of ILO Convention No. 98 in Indonesia and Its Comparison with Developed and Developing Countries

Law No. 11 of 2020 on Job Creation has been reported by ITUC, KSPI, and KSBSI for violating ILO Convention No. 98. The Indonesian government is considered not involving Trade Unions/Labor Unions in terms of collective bargaining when drafting the Job Creation Law and the substance of the Job Creation Law which is considered to limit the role of Trade Unions/Labor Unions. The United States Government, the United States Labor Association, the Belgium Labor Association, Netherlands Labor Association, Republic of Korean Labor Association, and the Brazil Labor Association provide different views from Indonesia on the report. This study uses a qualitative approach supported by a literature study with FGD discussions. Based on the results of the study, reports by Trade Unions to the ILO regarding violations of ILO Convention No. 98 are generally still conjectural and do not depart from cases or violations of the law that have occurred. The government can report data on labor practices in Indonesia to show that there are no efforts to limit the role of Trade Unions/Labor Unions as evidence that the Government of Indonesia has implemented the principles in the ILO Convention. The government of Indonesia has an important role in increasing the provision of training and improving work competencies, increasing labor placement and expanding employment opportunities, as well as continuing to oversee the implementation of this Job Creation Law in companies and continuing to protect workers by providing legal protection and social security. The Government of Indonesia is currently receiving ILO Technical Assistance, and can propose to continue implementing the Job Creation Law regulations and continue to provide regular reports to the ILO. If this provision in practice is detrimental to workers and trade unions, then this provision can be challenged procedurally with the support of valid evidence.