Federal Labor Relations Statutes: An Overview

[Excerpt] Congress has enacted three major laws that govern labor-management relations. The first law, the Railway Labor Act (RLA), was enacted in 1926. The RLA applies to railway and airline carriers. In 1935, Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which applies to private sector employers other than railroad and airline carriers, and in 1978, Congress enacted the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS), which applies to most federal employees. This report provides an overview of these three labor relations laws by giving a brief history of each law and discussing how each statute operates and is administered

The Potential of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in Labor Adjustment Policy

[Excerpt] Through labor-management policy, the management is responsible for establishing mutually beneficial relations between workers and employers. Establishing proper relations from the perspective of the worker refers to protecting workers’ rights by guaranteeing their quality of life. Areas of labor-management policy set by management include those that appropriate wages and labor conditions; stipulate and settle collective relations between management and workers; and establish industrial safety and workers’ compensation. Management also sets employment policies related to labor welfare, vocational training, employment security, maintenance of employment agencies, and other policies that push forward human resource development. When setting these policies, management seeks to find a solution that is mutually beneficial for workers and employers. However, in the case of downsizing, there are not sufficient guidelines specific or objective enough for both workers and employers to agree on. Therefore, it is difficult to resolve differences when it comes to labor settlements. The following case study hypothetically illustrates ways in which the management could resolve labor settlements that are jointly accepted by workers and employers

Facilitating Conflict Resolution in Union-Management Relations: A Guide for Neutrals

Over fifty years ago George Taylor, one of the most highly respected labor-management neutrals of his time, called for third parties to take on what he termed a mantle of responsibility for labor-management relations. Today, wide ranges of practitioners are assuming this responsibility. They are playing a variety of internal and external roles, as labor arbitrators, mediators, consultants, facilitators, dispute system designers, leaders serving on joint committees, and countless others. These individuals strive to rise above the partisan pressures that are found in any union-management relationship by helping to resolve disputes, foster problem solving, and build new institutional relations. In doing so, they are helping the institution of collective bargaining adapt in ways necessary for it to continue to be a key societal element into the next century. As dispute resolution professionals, we need to understand the range of practices now found in different relationships, the types of roles neutrals might play, and the principles that should guide neutrals as they carry out these roles. The purpose of this report, therefore, is to outline principles for SPIDR members, other neutrals, and the parties who utilize the services of third party neutrals in contemporary labor-management relations. Specifically, we have three target audiences in mind: labor relations neutrals, steeped in the institutional nuances of industrial relations (primarily arbitrators and mediators), who are being challenged to help parties adapt to new circumstances; third-party neutrals experienced in settings outside of labor relations who are or will be working with parties in unionized settings; internal facilitator sand change agents (from labor or management) who are helping to solve problems and resolve disputes in the workplace. Some points in this report may be completely obvious to one part of the target audience but an essential caution to another. Some of the recommendations will be controversial since they reflect an activist view of third-party roles. Importantly, this is not an overall guide to best practice for labor-management relations; instead, it is a guide to the role of dispute resolution professionals in the labor-management context. We hope that it stimulates further constructive dialogue in the profession

U.S. Government Manual 2008-2009 Edition: Federal Labor Relations Authority

[Excerpt] The Federal Labor Relations Authority oversees the Federal service labor-management relations program. It administers the law that protects the right of employees of the Federal Government to organize, bargain collectively, and participate through labor organizations of their own choosing in decisions affecting them. The Authority also ensures compliance with the statutory rights and obligations of Federal employees and the labor organizations that represent them in their dealings with Federal agencies

The Role of the Economic, Technological, and Demographic Environments

[Excerpt] This chapter examines how various forces in the environment influence labor relations in emerging countries. We focus in particular on how factors in the economic, technological, and demographic environments influence the bargaining power of both labor and management. In doing so we are moving downward in our three-tiered framework by examining how external environmental factors influence the functional level of labor relations

2006 Annual Report

[Excerpt] This past August, FMCS’ 13th National Labor-Management Conference brought more than 1,500 people representing labor and management interests together in Chicago. In addition to providing 60-plus workshops over three days, FMCS gave attendees the opportunity to hear the thoughts of some of today’s most important players in labor-management relations, including Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, UNITE/HERE Hospitality Industry President John Wilhelm, NLRB General Counsel Ronald Meisburg, and The Permanente Company President and CEO Francis Crosson. The success of our conference illustrates precisely what FMCS does best: providing opportunities for labor and management to come together and discuss their common issues

Rights, Not Interests: Resolving Value Clashes under the National Labor Relations Act

[Excerpt] This provocative book by the leading historian of the National Labor Relations Board offers a reexamination of the NLRB and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by applying internationally accepted human rights principles as standards for judgment. These new standards challenge every orthodoxy in U.S. labor law and labor relations. James A. Gross argues that the NLRA was and remains at its core a workers’ rights statute. Gross shows how value clashes and choices between those who interpret the NLRA as a workers’ rights statute and those who contend that the NLRA seeks only a balance between the economic interests of labor and management have been major influences in the evolution of the board and the law. Gross contends, contrary to many who would write its obituary, that the NLRA is not dead. Instead he concludes with a call for visionary thinking, which would include, for example, considering the U.S. Constitution as a source of workers’ rights. Rights, Not Interests will appeal to labor activists and those who are trying to reform our labor laws as well as scholars and students of management, human resources, and industrial relation

Indonesian labor legislation in a comparative perspective : a study of six APEC countries

The author compares Indonesian labor legislations with labor policies in five other APEC countries: Chile, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, and the United States. The report focuses on legislation affecting union regulation, minimum wages, nonwage compensation, and working conditions. Current legislation in Indonesia is a mixed bag of laws protecting workers'welfare but controlling organized labor. Indonesian laws restrict the ability of labor organizations to effectively represent workers to management at the plant level. In this, they are similar to Malaysian laws and, to a lesser extent, new Korean legislation. They provide a stark contrast to current legislation in Chile and the United States. But Indonesia legislation governing minimum wages, mandated nonwage benefits, and other labor standards, appear to be at least as generous as legislation in the five other countries. Indonesia is under pressure to ease restrictions on unions. The author suggests that allowing effective plant-level bargaining could give workers more of a voice at the workplace, but that improving industrial relations will require more than legislative changes. Careful changes in legislation and industrial relations could help unions play a more positive role, while downplaying labor's more negative role. The author cautions against centrally mandating labor standards, instead of letting workers and their employers negotiate them at local plants.Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Labor Management and Relations,Labor Standards,Work&Working Conditions,Work&Working Conditions,Banks&Banking Reform,Labor Management and Relations,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Standards

Labor Guide to Labor Law

[Excerpt] This book is a practical guide to labor law in the private sector. The first 8 chapters present a discussion of legal principles primarily based on the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), 1947, as amended, commonly referred to as the “Act.” The remaining chapters discuss principles based on the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, as well as on the LMRA

UARCO Inc. - Decision of the NLRB

Discusses employee coersion by management prior to the NLRB election. Labor Relations Reference Manual (Volume 88): 1103-1105