Labor Relations

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Labor relations has tended to be one of the more volatile issues in personnel management. Positive labor relations are possible for the administrator who is willing to research labor relations and exercise professionalism and understanding of others' frames of reference in dealing with workers.

With or without a union or a written contract there exists an implied labor contract. It may take the form of verbal agreements, traditional practices, the implementation of relevant federal, state, and local legislation, or supervisor and employee handbooks or a combination of two or more of the preceding.

A basic understanding of labor relations is critical to successful personnel management. Labor Relations in Volunteer and

Nonunionized Departments

The concept of labor relations tends to bring to mind "unions." That is unfortunate. As suggested above, "labor relations" exist in all types of organizations, be they public or private entities. For example in emergency services, "labor relations" exist in those with all-volunteer members, in combination departments, and in nonunionized career departments. Sometimes, full-time, career members of combination departments may be unionized, and follow typical contract agreements. Union affiliation is not offered to volunteer or paid-call firefighters. Non-unionized emergency service personnel may work under the same type of agreement or formal understanding, but may not have the impact of the larger affiliation on labor activity that unionized employees have.

In many volunteer and part-paid departments and other emergency service agencies, the grievance procedures, negotiation processes, and other personnel policies and procedures may be less formalized than in most union-supported agencies but they tend to be amazingly similar in practice.

Combination organizations present special managerial challenges regarding labor relations. In some combination departments, where the career presence is strong, managers may unknowingly create a climate that is negative toward the volunteers. The opposite may exist if the agency is predominantly volunteer.

When department officers believe that both career and volunteer members are highly valuable resources, and they all share a mutual respect for each other's contributions, then the labor relations climate will be satisfying and mutually supportive between volunteer and career members.

Unionization

According to Barney Waldrop, " Unions don't create problems; problems create unions" (Waldrop, n.d.). And there is substantial literature in support of this statement.

As employees become abused or perceived they are being abused by poor management, outdated leadership practices, and/or the existence of a wanton lack of respect for workers, there is likely to be change. If the progressive manager/leader recognizes and acknowledges the poor climate and moves the organization toward professionalism, the climate and the employee's perception of the quality of work life will improve. Without the recognition and without positive change, the employees may well organize and force the issues collectively. There are enough labor laws at the state and federal level to support an organized group of employees who can prove unprofessional, abusive, and poorly designed and/or improperly administered personnel policies.

So, other than negative perceptions alluded to above, why are people interested in joining a union? The reasons are many and varied. Among the more common ones are the following:

• The belief that management is treating the worker unfairly and "taking advantage of him/her"
• Poor relationships between supervisors and their subordinates
• Favoritism
• Unfair and inappropriate discipline
• Lack of recognition for good performance
• Unfairly administered compensation
• Lack of communication
• Displeasure with the quality of work life (Mondy & Noe, 1999).

Before we talk about collective bargaining per se, the next section will look at the background of labor–management relations and some of the key pieces of legislation .

References

Mondy, W. & Noe, R. Human Resource Management. 7th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1999.

Stated by Barney Waldrop, WSU HR Director, verbal communication in Employee and Labor Relations training.

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