Read the \"HR Strategy: Responding to a Union Organizing Drive\" in the Budd tex

Question

Read the "HR Strategy: Responding to a Union Organizing Drive" in the Budd textbook. Then, in your thread, select 1 of the scenarios and assume that the union wins recognition. As a HR Manager, consider your options, and provide some analysis on how to prepare for negotiations. Integrate the type(s) of information important in your preparation and planning for negotiations. Evaluate and explain the types of bargaining priorities and strategies you would develop. Finally, how would your preparation change if you were a union representative? THE ZINNIA The Zinnia is a 300-room hotel in the central business district of a major Midwestern metropolitan area. This is a full-service hotel—a hotel providing a wide variety of services including food and beverage facilities and meeting rooms—that caters to individual business travelers, convention attendees, and local businesspeople who need meeting space. The Zinnia emphasizes outstanding service and amenities and is owned by a prominent local real estate magnate, Ms. Lucy Balder-cash, who closely monitors the management and financial performance of her diversified properties. Many of this city’s major hotels are unionized, and the Zinnia’s wage rates are equal to the local union wage scale. You feel that while the Zinnia’s employee benefit package is modest compared to what the union has been able to extract from your unionized competitors, it is competitive with other low-skilled occupations in the area—and is particularly generous for the undocumented immigrants that you have quietly hired to fill the dishwashing and room cleaning positions. You also feel that your unionized competitors are saddled with myriad work rules that restrict flexibility. The local union organizes aggressively and isn’t afraid to have public marches and demonstrations in support of its goal of social justice. But you thought your workers were content, and you were astonished to learn this morning that Zinnia workers have been quietly signing authorization cards. You received notice from the NLRB that a petition was filed by the local hotel union requesting an election covering back-of-the-house workers (kitchen, laundry, and room cleaning employees—not front-of-the-house employees like bellhops, bartenders, and waitresses) and that this petition was supported by signed authorization cards from 40 percent of the workers.

Explanation / Answer

Collective bargaining negotiation between labor union and corporate HR constitutes a specialized area in the field of general negotiations, but the underlying legal and negotiation aspect makes them different. Employees have the rights to organize and select bargaining agents to collective agreement defining below points:

* wages

* working hours

* condition of working

They may engage in concerted activity for mutual aid and protection. Labor unions is select by majority of workers and have right to demand barganig over the wages, working hours and working condition of affected employees.

A factor which makes collective bargaining interactions relatively unique entails the many issues that have to be addressed. Many types of compensation have to be discussed, including

* hourly wages,

* piecework rates

* fringe benefits such as pensions and health care, and similar issues.

* What hours will the employees have to work, when will breaks and meal periods be scheduled?

To discuss the above issues, the union leaders and the HR`s sits together and negotiate on their issues. This results both parties to a win win result that satisfy the underlying interest of both the parties.

Integrated bargaining situation occurs when it`s possible to produce a greater outcome together than either to reach its own. There are multiple issues to discuss and the negotiation can be complex and ongoing.

Determine the list of priorities and guess list of priorities of other party, share the information with each other and find out a solution for both the parties.  Remember that you will be in other negotiation situations with the other side in the future, and be willing to compromise when needed to build goodwill for later.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse R
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.