In the public services professions it can be challenging for workers to uphold their commitment of service while exercising their rights as union workers. In 2013 the union members at a large transits system in greater bay area of California know as BART were faced with this very dilemma. Union workers exercised their collective bargaining rights and compiled a list of demands need by the workers to continue working with uninterrupted service to the public. Union workers were adamant about their request which included things like safer work spaces, raises, benefits and employee schedules. With daily ridership roughly around 400,000 people, there was plenty of pressure from the public for the BART board of directors and the union leadership
The Map is continuously informed by research and feedback from HR professionals and academics. In our recent
It is not unheard of to see workers protesting against the executives of their company; whether it is for better working conditions, a higher salary, or new policies that they don’t agree with. In fact, throughout American history, specifically with beginning with the Industrial Revolution, employees have protested for their rights to be acknowledged and for their voices to be heard. However, the Market Basket protest that took place during the summer of 2014 is an exception to this norm. Not unlike traditional protests, Market Basket employees left the New England grocery stores vacant with only a few essential employees remained to keep the stores opened for their beloved customers. What sets the Market Basket protest apart from previous
public employees to have the right to exercise collective bargaining as it provides an excellent
My family has an extensive history in the U.S. Postal Service therefore the appeal of the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO was irresistible. My grandfather, godfather, aunt, brother-in-law and even I have worked for the USPS in one capacity or the other. As a student worker during my college days I found out why unions are important, and a necessity in the USPS. I was a scab (non-union worker) unwanted, unappreciated and over worked not to mention easily
An organization of individuals dedicated to improving and protecting working conditions and wages is known as a union. Unions run like a democracy; thousands of similar people stand together to collectively make decisions. Being in unity with others provides strength towards workplace dissatisfaction, and also a voice on the job to help employment for all. However, since the 1980’s, the participation in unionization has declined significantly. This decline has corresponded with an increase in workplace inequality and discrimination. Through unions and other organizations, society can address the problems constructed by precarious work (Kalleberg). Unions are needed now more than ever to collectively countermove social and cultural structures that reinforce insecure work. Strong political and economic actions from democratic unions are vital to help America feel secure. Without collective action, working Americans will continue to confront bigotry and unstable work settings. However, the reality of how powerful class actions are in society today is vague.
Employees have demanded for a unionization this issue had always raised concern and fear to Wilso who has his hands full managing employee’s affairs. In fact, Wilson belief that ‘’ It never ends up once employees contradict sets in”. Hence, Wilson knew there was still a calling for unionization, so he had concerns of any cost-cutting will turn the undercurrent to a landslide.
The government and the public administration career clusters are crucial to the way that we live everyday life. Without a respectable and secure government, America’s morals would be much more burdensome to obtain. Chaos could envelop the country, and incessant crime could run rampant, unpunished and unrecognized by any major source of bureaucracy. Even if circumstances didn't get as bad as this, life would still be completely different. The people who choose a career under this cluster can go into work in planning, revenue and taxation, and governance. Because dealing with other countries in a civilized matter is important to carrying out the duties of holding a place in the government, the Foreign Service is also a pathway found in the government and the public administration career cluster. Also included in this list are national security and regulation. Since jobs in these pathways are all concerned with the governing of our country, it is easy to see why they are all in this cluster. Yes, these are difficult jobs to manage, but they are essential in a well-run community.
The back-to-work legislation angered union members and perpetuated allegations that government intervention favours employers (Krahn & Lowe, 2005). However, strikes in the public and essential services sector often require government intervention to end strikes swiftly therefore not all union demands will be met. Essential services and government organizations possess a different dynamic when it comes to labour dispute. Unlike large companies, the managers of these companies do not experience direct losses if workers strike. The role of government in industrial relations ought to be guide the hand of union-management cooperation, rather than acting as a collective bargaining referee. The key to union-management harmony lies in collective bargaining where both sides come to mutually beneficial agreements (Davis & Sullivan, 1993). Government legislation that declares a winner and losers of strikes is counter-productive in the strive for workplace satisfaction.
Employees have traditionally sought to join or form unions in workplaces where they feel frustrated or dissatisfied that their collective voice is not being heard, their wants and needs on issues such as wages or benefits are not being met (i.e utility) or their political or ideological views towards their work or workplace (Hebdon & Brown, 2016). However, there are also reasons that management resists unionization efforts, such as the belief that unions restrict operational flexibility, limit innovation, and reduce performance and productivity (Sullivan, 2011). In turn, employees’ unionization efforts can be jeopardized by management through union busting. Union busting, also known as union removal, is a management strategy designed to remove unions from workplaces or prevent them from forming (Hebdon & Brown, 2016). This can consist of different activities that may be initiated by employers, their proxies, and governments (USLegal, 2016). This strategy may have a negative effect on morale and in the level of value added per worker compared to employers who take a cooperative approach with unions (Bernstein, 1991). Recently, employees belonging to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have accused the government of Newfoundland & Labrador of union busting after it was decided to replace paid library positions with volunteers in order to keep as many libraries open as possible as budget cuts are causing 54 closures by 2017 (Power, 2016). This has caused significant
This article relates to my current position at AT&T since I am in a union. As a result, I have a clearer understanding about how the union and employer negotiate and bargain to create a fair contract. Most recently, the union that represents AT&T employees’ called for a strike that lasted for four days since both parties were at a stalemate. Prior to the strike,
1. In your own words, what is a psychological contract? Why is this concept important to studying human resources? Explain. Give an example of a psychological contract you had with an employer and what, if anything, happened when it was broken.
Union membership and representation is often needed when employees are dissatisfied with the conditions of the workplace or negotiation of compensation to bring change through collective bargaining. However dealing with administrators is not always effective; so the need for union representation come into place. The four strategies the government must address to sustain union membership and representation among public employees is:
In recent years, public sector organizations increasingly leverage collaboration as a means of overcoming resource constraints and solving complex problems such as natural disaster preparation. Collaboration offers a means of achieving synergy among the public sector, private sector, and non-governmental organizations when strategizing, preparing, and responding during times of impending disasters. When faced with such a complex challenge, various federal, state and local agencies unite to develop and implement an emergency response plan, outlining essential responsibilities (Perry & Nigg, 1985). This paper describes the need for stakeholders along the west coast of the United States to conduct disaster response planning collaboration to
Partisanship is often a pitfall for many public servants, as it can present itself in a variety of dilemmas (Inwood, 2012). In many instances, public servants are influenced by the politics-administration dichotomy, a democratic phenomenon in which politics and administration are to remain separate from one another but work together for the benefit of the taxpaying citizen (Drysdale, 2010). Partisanship influences the issues inherent to this dichotomy because politicians often make the rules that public servants are trusted to implement. This dilemma raises the questions the presence of merit, patronage, and loyalty, writes Inwood (2012), all of which can have an effect on a public servant maintaining their tenure in a bureaucracy.
Therefore, the public service is aware of issues with routine and having employees do the same tasks for years as well as the results such as repetition and the discouraging environment. In fact, rotational jobs have been created to address the issue and more employees have shown interest in joining the ranks of rotational jobs.