This research examines the issue of managing in a union environment. The findings of this examination are presented in discussions of (1) the role of a labor union, (2) managing in a union versus a non-union environment, (3) applicable laws, and the role of human resources management in a union environment.
While the impact on the process of determining wage levels remains an important factor with respect to labor union activity, it may no longer be the central factor with respect to these organizations. Further, the ability of labor unions to affect the wage determination process will not be the only factor that ultimately determines whether or not organized labor will continue to exert a formidable presence in the American economy (Gilmour 514). In general, labor unions are organizations of employees that are established to bargain collectively with employers over matters of wages, hours, and the conditions of employment (Feller 539). Unions are, in theory (and most often in practice) democratic institutions whose central purpose is the improvement of the economic conditions of their members, with a secondary purpose of improving societal conditions.
Labor unions gain improvements for their members in wages and working conditions through the process of bargaining collectively with the employers of their members (Walters and Langdon 585). When the collective bargaining process does not result in a mutually agreed upon contract, workers may (collectively) strike in order to enforce their demands. Collective bargaining by labor unions is concerned with factors other than wages. It is also concerned with issues of union security, and working conditions. Through the collective bargaining process, labor unions have played major roles in the United States in the pursuit of economically related social goals, such as the elimination of racial discrimination in employment hiring, firing, and promotion, and pay equity between the ...