Introduction
The concept of collective bargaining allows employees to negotiate with their employers to arrive at agreements regarding such issues as working hours, conditions, and contract. The current case revolves around a workers’ union that is focusing on a new negotiation with an athletic organization. This paper provides a detailed summary of the pertinent issues that are worth considering before drafting the final collective bargaining agreement (CBA) document.
Mandatory vs. Permissive Issues
The success of the negotiation process will depend on the parties’ ability to identify what ought to be permissive and mandatory. The athletic organization hires and employs workers who can support its goals and meet the demands of all key stakeholders. The nature of the intended agreement provides room for subjects that are mandatory. For instance, issues revolving around working conditions, terms of employment, and wages are worth discussing before arriving at a consensus. The leading subjects for the union to take seriously under this category will include salaries, overtime compensation, holidays, work schedules, workloads, probationary period, health insurance, promotions, and employee safety.
The union is focusing on permissive issues that are worth bargaining. However, such subjects are not related directly to the assigned duties and responsibilities. Some of the key ones are pensions for workers who retire, internal matters for the union, interest arbitration, and the team constitution for bargaining purposes. During the negotiation process, it will be necessary to present these issues even if they might not have to be bargained to a deadlock (Onguso et al., 2016). The consideration of these aspects will support the creation of desirable conditions that resonate with the overall demands of both the employer and the targeted workers.
Comparing and Contrasting
A criterion exists for determining whether the intended issues are permissive or mandatory. The first category includes subjects that are capable of impacting the formulated terms and conditions for employment. The involved parties can arrive at a consensus and ensure that a sense of satisfaction is recorded (Keller, 2020). However, the stakeholders do not have to arrive at an agreement. All deliberations need to be in good faith if positive results are to be achieved. Permissive subjects, on the other hand, include the ones that do not affect work. Individuals in such bargaining processes need to understand that such issues are not governed by law. Employees should be aware that it is wrong to strike over issues that are permissive in nature. Another unique aspect is that such elements have little or no implication on the established relationship between the workers and the employer.
Organizing and Striking
The question of allowing public employees to organize and strike remains divisive in many jurisdictions across the globe. Over the years, any states and countries have supported the enactment of laws that allow such professionals to gather and ask for better working conditions. This trend has encouraged more employees to unionize and engage in collective bargaining (Vogt, 2016). This strategy is essential since it has the potential to transform labor relations and allow more people to achieve their goals. With this kind of information, it is agreeable that governments and state departments should have clauses allowing public employees to organize and strike.
Several arguments and ideas explain why this practice should become the universal standard. First, public workers are servants whose involvement support the welfare of more citizens. Consequently, they need to enjoy better perks, benefits, and working conditions to deliver high-quality services (Hagedorn et al., 2016). Second, the right to strike is critical since it allows workers to challenge inhumane conditions and uncompetitive salaries (Hagedorn et al., 2016). Third, individuals who are capable of pursuing their liberties will be empowered to complete their tasks much faster and eventually transform the overall image of the public sector. These viewpoints explain why labor unions representing public employees should focus on this critical industrial right.
New CBA
Mandatory Subjects
After the expiry of the current CBA within the next six months, a new one is expected that will support the demands of all the union members. The key mandatory subjects of bargaining include hours, terms, conditions of employment, wages, leaves, and medical insurance. These issues are critical because they have the potential to affect the overall performance of the workers and eventually dictate the recorded results (Keller, 2020). The consideration of such aspects will meet the demands of the members and take them closer to their goals. The key definitions of the constructed terms are presented below.
Hours: Employees need to work for not more than eight hours a day, five days a week.
Wages/salaries: Workers are entitled to a weekly income of not less than 900 US dollars. Overtime work should attract payments at a rate of 1,200 US dollars per week.
Terms: Employers should respect workers at all times and provide personal empowerment opportunities.
Conditions of employment: Workers should at all times operate in safe, clean, and conducive environments.
Leaves: Individuals need to get paid leaves when sick depending on the nature of the recorded disease. Workers are entitled to annual leaves of not less than 24 working days (of 8 hours each).
Medical insurance: All union members working for the athletic organization should have active insurance policy plans at the expense of the employer.
Grievance Procedure and Policy
Affected individuals will download the available Grievance Form, fill it, and deliver it to the immediate supervisor. The supervisor will notify the union representative for a detailed review and make the relevant determinations (Keller, 2020). This should be done within 5 working days after the incident in question occurs. The leader of the department will receive the form when no resolution is offered. The next step is for the senior managers to make final determinations while engaging the union representatives.
Similarly, a grievance process will be available when the organization has issues with its workers. The relevant supervisor will file a report with the union office. This will be followed by the engagement of the involved parties to examine whether there is a violation of the established protocols and CBA guidelines (Vogt, 2016). The Union will then be required to make its pronouncements and agree on the organization’s disciplinary strategy. These procedures and policies are critical to ensure that all stakeholders are willing and ready to support the new CBA.
Conclusion
The proposed CBA document is capable of governing the anticipated relationship between the union workers and the athletic organization. The mandatory and permissive subjects outlined in the drafted CBA will meet the demands of both the employer and the employees. In addition, the parties should be willing to support the agreement and minimize chances of strikes that could affect the realization of the organization’s goals.
References
Hagedorn, J., Paras, C. A., Greenwich, H., & Hagopian, A. (2016). The role of labor unions in creating working conditions that promote public health. American Public Health Association, 106(6), 989-995.
Keller, B. (2020). Employment relations without collective bargaining and strikes: The unusual case of civil servants in Germany. Industrial Relations Journal, 51(1-2), 110-133.
Onguso, A. K., Guyo, W., & Otieno, R. O. (2016). Collective bargaining process and its influence on labour relations equilibrium in the public education sector in Kenya. International Journal of Education and Research, 4(4), 31-48.
Vogt, J. S. (2016). The right to strike and the International Labour Organization (ILO). King’s Law Journal, 27(1), 110-131.