Advantages And Disadvantages Of Agency Shop Agreement

Wages: The act determines methods of wage payment and establishes the right for you to not suffer from unauthorised wage reductions.

In 1947 it was revised to help better protect employees as well as employers. The revision stated that employees and managers must bargain “in good faith” with each other, and illegalized wild cat strikes, (refusing to work under a valid contract). These rights help employees as well as employers to be treated fairly. Forcing employees and employers to work together as a team can increase their understanding of where each side is coming from, as well as making it easier to compromise. The act also prevented businesses from becoming “closed shops,” (places where only union members were hired.) and prevented members from forcing others to join a union. Employees were also given the option to hold elections to certify and decertify unions. Employers were given the freedom to voice any concerns they had over unions so long as they did not interfere with the organization of unions. The revised act also gives the president the power to call off strikes in the event that it becomes a national emergency. A board may be hired to examine the situation of the strike so that the president may better understand why the situation has not been resolved. The president can then put an injunction on the strike; if a decision is not reached, the injunction can be extended.

The first step in order to become unionized, an organizing committee needs to be formed that represents all the workers that want to be unionized. The committee needs to be educated enough to share the about the union and possible anti-union campaigns set by management. The organizing committee also has to know the different structures in the workplace, basic employee information and the employers’ information (UE 1). Step two, the organizing committee has to set up campaigns in which they will collectively determine what the “issues” are and what employees demand from the union (Carrell 136). Step three, is without a doubt the most crucial step, it determines whether a union can even come in to bargain with an employer. The employees are asked to join the union and support the union with a union recognition strategy. This is usually done with card-check also known as a card- campaign is held in which more than 50% (sizable majority) have to sign agreeing to the union being their legal bargaining unit (Carrell 136, UE 1). Step four, the union bargains with management and hopefully a union contract is

Members of management of a company whose employees are attempting to organize cannot, by law, join a union. Once preliminary organizing begins and during the election campaign, employers have certain rights and responsibilities, as mandated by the NLRB. The employer may lawfully limit campaign activities that occur on company property, if it has a legitimate reason to do so. Employers may also limit places where solicitation may occur, limit time during which solicitation may take place, and limit access to the workplace by any outsider. Employers may limit distribution of union

Local Unions promote strong unions and local leaders. They negotiate contracts and provide services to the members. They elect their own officers, coordinate their own structure and vote on their own bylaws. Joint Councils are set up with three local unions to help coordinate Teamster activities, solve problems and decide jurisdictional and judicial matters. Trade Divisions and Conferences provide information

HMRC, Salary Sacrifice: An Overview for Employers.[internet]. Available at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/payroll/special-pay/salary-sacrifice.htm [last accessed 26th November 2010]

Employees: the Company’s non-management employees are unionized and are divided into two departments; the bag-making and maintenance departments.

(a) An agency head may place an employee on administrative review leave with pay for a

They are various employer tactics that interfere with employee’s “freedom of choice in being represented by their chosen advocates”. Unions may not try to influence management to discipline employees who did not join the union or refuse to represent employees because they are not union members. Some differences include that unions may not demand or require that an employer take action against an employer for any reason. A failure to pay union dues is an exception to this rule. Unions are also not allowed to force individuals to pay excessive initiation fees for union membership. In management, employers and unions may negotiate contract clauses requiring union membership as a condition of continued employment, also known as a union shop agreement. Also, employers may not refuse to bargain with an union over issues of pay, hours or other terms and conditions of employment. Furthermore, unions may not influence employees in the exercise of Section 7 rights. Meanwhile, in management an employer may not interfere with an employee engaging in any activity protected by Section 7. (Fossum,

All the proposed tests are necessarily vague and only designed as guides, with definite mandatory subjects being determined only on a case by case approach. However, when a subject has been determined to be a mandatory one, it is agreed that it may be bargained to an impasse so long as the bargaining is in good faith. Whether the subject of dues check-off is a “condition of employment” under the Act and thus a mandatory subject of bargaining has often been before the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) and the courts. The NLRB is given a great deal of flexibility in interpreting the Act in order to effectuate its policies as evidenced by congressional intent and the courts will normally interfere only if the Board abuses its discretionary

Being part of a union gives members the benefit of negotiating with their employer collectively, as part of a group; giving them more power than if they were to negotiate as individuals (Silverman, n.d.). Overall, unions demand fairness which can lead to the unions influencing and changing ‘managerial decision-making at the workplace level’ for decisions in which employees are affected (Verma 2005). Unions are also beneficial to have present in the workplace because their bargaining of better condition will often benefit non-members as the conditions negotiated with management are implemented across the organization with no regard to membership status. Management is also able to avoid union disagreement by benchmarking conditions to that of an already unionized workplace.

There have been substantial changes to modern awards over the years that employer associations have historically and are currently advocating. In this regard, issues such as penalty rates and flexibility stemming from employer association submissions have been researched and examined by (Sheldon & Thornthwaite 2013) portraying evidence that employer associations relatively prefer cost cutting and enhanced managerial prerogative as oppose to productivity. Entailed within this essay the key concepts such as penalty rates, managerial prerogative, flexibility and productivity will be discussed with particular focus the modern award reviews combined with an overview of Sheldon and Thornthwaite’s argument in summary and concurrence.

From this perspective, trade union is perceived not necessary and the role of it is creating conflict, and it is seen an unwelcome intrusion into the organization from outside competing with management for the loyalty of employees (Rose, 2004). Trade unions exist either as the result of wickedness or perverseness of individual employees, or because of a failure of management to anticipate and incorporate worker needs and concerns (Bray, Deery, Walsh and Waring, 2005).

This means they are entitled to the same basic terms and conditions as ‘comparable workers’ - employees doing the same job in the same workplace.” (https://www.gov.uk/agency-workers-your-rights/overview, 10th March 2015)

A union steward is actually an employee of the organization that is elected by the union members to represent them and investigate complaints and help them file grievances if an employee feels that his/her union contract was violated in any way. Union stewards will fight to avoid disciplinary action for the employee's behavior. Union officials and union stewards are voted in by the union members.