Employee Grievance Arbitration

A union is an organization of workers who join together in order to have a voice in improving their jobs and the quality of work within the organization. In many occasions, unions help employees of an organization negotiate pay, benefits, flexible hours and other work conditions that may arise. Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management (Noe, 2003). In this paper, I will be discussing the impact of unions and labor relations within an organization.

After watching the video entitled “24 days in Brooks”, it is apparent that if a First Contract Arbitration had been in place; this emotionally charged situation may have been avoided. This paper is to examine the merits of having a First Contract Arbitration to be put in place within the Alberta Labour Code. Also, I will discuss the background of the Lakeside Packers dispute, my perspective on what employee, employer and state believe are their stances on First Contract Arbitration and how they would be affected. Also, some

There has always been a need for conflict resolution on the job. The grievance and arbitration process is one way for employees to be heard when conflict on the job arises. The grievance and arbitration process is also a way for employees to obtain some type of satisfaction at the end of the grievance process. Having representation by the union often guarantees an employee a fair, just, and timely grievance process. However, not all employees feel that way when they are not a represented the union. The grievance process can mean different things to each individual employee and usually no two complaints are normally about the same type of issue.

Two years ago the United Steel Workers organized the 400 workers at Maple Grove Foods, a food processing company in Western Ontario. Previously the company had been in operation for over thirty years as a non-union shop. Management had tried to convince employees not to join the union. The employees were paid quite well, in the view of the company.

Employers have to be extremely careful in the way that they handle grievances. . If problems arise, the procedure that the employer adopted may be subject to close scrutiny by the employment tribunal.

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.

During 2011 employer associations in Australia conducted an active lobbying campaign to introduce legislative changes with respect to industrial relations. Predominantly they were seeking to diminish the power of collective bargaining and increase managerial control under the

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).

On 24th October 2012, the employee Mrs Smith reported a grievance against Mr Hamilton on the grounds of age discrimination. The act of discrimination was reported to be on the 10th October 2012. Mrs Smith reported this grievance verbally to Mrs Tool (manager) on the 10th October 2012. However Mrs Smith felt the outcome of the verbal report had not resolved the matter and therefore reported the grievance formally in writing on the 24th October 2012. Mrs Smith wanted her grievance to be discussed formally and resolved. The grievance report was received and dealt with by

“Collective voice achieves what a lone voice could never do”. Collective representation is also the foundation of a partnership relationship between employers, employees and unions that bring positive benefits for the business (Prosser, 2001).

With globalization,many changes have been brought up in the workplaces that are leading towards more flexibility and enrollment of the employees (Tong Fay and Anil Verma,2002). “According to a survey -unionized workers across Canada earned$5- 28/hour more than non-union workers; Women with unions earned more too and got paid more fairly (Why unions? ,2015)”. Thus ,it gives us an idea what changes are being brought about by the unions in comparison to non-union when it comes to the wage sector. The union workplaces give a chance to the members to bargain for their benefits which includes not only social well being but also the say,the right to speak up about their own views therefore giving them the chance to talk about their problems. The union have been progressed to give a fair wage

3. How valid is the company’s argument that the labor agreement with maintenance employees is “beyond the scope of this grievance”?

Document1THE GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURE OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE 1.docxTHE GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURE

David Brody argues that the rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships during the post WWII era formalized the relationship between employers and unions. The use of collective bargaining agreements to resolve workplace disputes weakened unions and the power of workers. Other actions, such as using collection bargaining as a form of substitution for direct action and using it instead of the strike for grievance and arbitration procedure served , also has weakened the unions and the power of workers. The rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships changed the dynamic of the workplace, shifting the power from the union side to towards the employers. The perspective could best be argued suing Weber’s theory and

Whether a healthcare organization is supports unions or is against them, it should have a policy on unionism, and this policy should be communicated to its employees. Fried and Fottler (2015) explain that a positive labor-management relationship begins with this policy. A unionization policy will often include policies concerning wages, benefits, hours and conditions of employment, which Gamble (2011) says are the most common reasons for unionization. With clear policies and procedures regarding unionization, an employee can find the information they need regarding the most common reasons for unionization and proceed through the correct channels for change. A policy also shows that management understands that each employee is important and deserves respect and that time and thought goes into employee relations (Fried and Fottler, 2015). An employee can also see and understand the implications of unionization with a clearly outlined unionization policy (Gamble, 2011).