July 2011 issue of HR News magazine - IPMA

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■ l a b o r - m a n a g e m e n t c o o p e r a t i o n & n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h u n i o n s ■ Unionism CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 New Jersey is a highly unionized state, it was inevitable that public employees in massive numbers would seize the opportunity to organize and engage in the collective negotiations process. During the past 40 years, both in New Jersey and throughout the nation, there has been an explosion of public employee membership in labor organizations and in the promulgation of collective bargaining laws for federal, state and local employees. While membership in organized labor for all categories of employees diminished to 16.1 percent, a 1999 report by the Public Employee Relations Commission indicated the percentage of public sector employees who are unionized is now estimated at more than 36 percent. New Jersey, with its cultural union tradition, encouraged union representation in the public sector. In 1979, New Jersey passed legislation (the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act, Title 13A), creating an agency to administer its authorized unionmanagement activities as an independent state agency responsible for resolving disputes involving most public employers and employees and the unions that represent those employees. All of these legal changes in the power of unions in the public sector reflected the relative power the union movement as part of the political power-base of the New Deal and Great Society’s coalitions. Party Realignment 1930s Such party alignments usually result from clear, sharp, decisive, & lasting shift in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties as a consequence of a “critical election.” American political scientist V.O. Key claims: “The rise and fall of parties may to some degree be the consequence of trends that perhaps persist over decades and elections may mark only steps in a more or less continuous creation of new loyalties and decay of old.” So it was with the New Deal party alignment. Created by causes emanating from the Great Depression of 1929–39, hope for recovery through governmental action and a powerful labor coalition—southern whites, northern blacks, underrepresented ethnic groups (Catholics and Jews)—political power translated into political action. Led by the recognition of labor unions and collective bargaining, the union movement became a primary actor on the political scene in the New Deal party realignment from 1932–1968. Kevin Phillips and Another Party Realignment, 1960s Kevin Phillips, a former staffer of President Richard Nixon, in 1969, published The Emerging Republican Majority, which claimed, among other things, that there was a new party realignment emerging. Other political theorists predicted a change in American voter habits, with a rise of independents and “alienated” voters. Other theorists add a religious v. secular component to the mix. 2010 Significant Party Realignment Recently, there seems to be another significant party realignment in the United States. The 2010 midterm election saw Congressional Democrats losing its 255–180 majority to the Republicans by a decisive 243–192. In the Senate, six seats moved from the Democratic side to the Republican side. Republicans rode a movement of big government and economic uncertainty resulting in a big shake-up at the state level with 680 legislative seats switching—a possible record. In addition, Republican governors now outnumber Democratic governors. In 2006, the Democrats held 28 governorships; the Republicans, 22. In 2010, the Democrats held only 13 governor posts; Independents, 1; and Republicans, 36. The Tea Party Movement The Tea Party movement gained some traction in 2010. ABC News reported that Tea Party-backed candidates scored major victories in the midterm elections. From South Carolina to Wisconsin, candidates endorsed by Tea Party groups defeated Democrats. Nikki Haley became the first woman and Indian-American governor in South Carolina. One of the biggest Tea Party wins was in Wisconsin, where Republican businessman Ron Johnson defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold. Rand Paul, an ophthalmologist-turned-politician in Kentucky and one of the first major Tea Party candidates, defeated his opponent, Democrat Jack Conway. Although too young to decipher, the Tea Party seems to espouse fiscal conservatism and less government. However, some chapters have ventured into social and religious issues. Legality Although there has been episodic legislation rolling back the labor movement and collective bargaining, there will undoubtedly be numerous court challenges, which will take two to three years to decide. According to the National Council on State Legislatures, there are 15 Democratic controlled legislatures and eight mixed legislatures in which one house is controlled by the Democrats; the other, Republicans. Accordingly, a groundswell movement of union devolution will likely be stymied by simple legislative politics. In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a letter, dated Feb. 16, 2011, that raised the latent issue of a loss of federal transit funds if existing collective bargaining rights were extinguished. The issue, known as “Section 13(c)” established under the Federal Transit Ac,t requires governing bodies to continue “collective bargaining rights” that existed at the time of the initial influx of federal assistance. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) cannot release grant funds until the DOL reviews and approves the protective collective bargaining rights arrangements when federal monies are to be used to “acquire, improve, or operate a transit system.” | 8 | JULY 2011 HR NEWS MAGAZINE
■ l a b o r - m a n a g e m e n t c o o p e r a t i o n & n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h u n i o n s ■ One possible alternative is to utilize the so-called “Memphis Plan,” basically outsourcing the project to a third party. Administrative Equilibrium Theory Continuing American business executive Chester Barnard’s study of organizational theory, American political scientist Herbert Simon posited that a program, once established by an external force, will not be extinguished with the withdrawal of that force. It is endemic of organizations that once establishing an agency, its function will continue to exist. “Head Start” is our best example. A Great Society program, gathering adherents and establishing a constituency, has acted against its termination. And many presidents, including Nixon, Reagan and Bush, have targeted this program. Certainly, technology responds to the Administrative Equilibrium Theory. Although the first commercial railroads began in the 1830s, numerous canal companies continued to transport goods. Indeed, the Pennsylvania railroad convinced the state of New Jersey to purchase the Camden and Amboy Canal (the railroad’s competition). The artillery (tanks) technologically replaced the Calvary (horseback warriors) in 1917 and probably resolved the difficulty with trench warfare. Administrative equilibrium held back the British government from mechanization until 1929. In 1884, the car was invented in Germany. In 1903, the president of the Michigan Savings Bank advised Henry Ford’s lawyer not to invest in Ford Motor Company, saying, “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty, a fad.” However, from 1913 to 1918, Ford mass-produced automobiles, overtaking the administrative lag in most cities. The farms were a different story. Do you believe that workers will abandon union-backed institutions such as workers’ compensation, unemployment benefits, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the minimum wage, overtime regulations, child work safety, hours of work, family leave, military leave, wage garnishment protections, etc.? Do you believe that employees will work with no outlet for their frustrations and perceived violations of work rules (grievance system)? Collective bargaining, also, will avail itself to administrative equilibrium. Some of its parts may go. But most will remain. And it is the human resource manager who has to translate these labile factors to the “factory floor.” Where Do We Go From Here? Given the political tornado of attempts to reduce or eradicate collective bargaining, where do we go from here? Marvin Meade presciently wrote in the 1979 Public Administration Review: [W]e...may do ourselves less than justice by concluding...that collective bargaining is to be accepted as a fact of life and that our concerns ought to focus on the...”how to” of managementlabor dealings… [W]e can ill afford to ignore the complex of causative factors that underlie the bargaining of public unions nor the long- run implications of how we currently respond to the pressures of fast-moving events in the field… Accordingly, our changed internal environment impels us to deal with workplace issues, which will not go away. We also have to pay attention to externalities of the whirlwind global economy that throws us from pillar to post. What the future holds is anyone’s guess. Some Keynesians want the government to play a bigger role in the economy—to prime the pump when the economy weakens up. Some classical economists want to maintain the present markets and allow themselves to correct themselves. Some, like former U.S. politician and businessman David Stockman, want to lower the U.S. debt burden before idle money becomes unavailable. But we do know that the worldwide economy sweeps all of us so that we, the voters, seem to change with the wind. I end this discussion with a quotation from Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” I may add, luck. Designated as an advanced practitioner by the Association for Conflict Resolution, and practicing 30 years in human resources administration, Arthur L. Finkle specializes in labor relations’ mediation. Listed in Marquis’ Who’s Who (2011), Who’s Who in Government, Who’s Who in American Education, and Who’s Who in American Law, he has authored eight books, four book chapters and more than 150 articles on human resources issues. Assistant director for decentralized programs and then director of mediation for the New Jersey Department of Personnel, Finkle also teaches at Kean University and Empire State College. He appears on the N.J. Court Roster as a Mediator and as a Mediator Mentor. In addition, he is rostered by Mediation Works Incorporated (MWI) Panel of Employment Mediators (located in Boston, Mass.). A graduate of The Wharton School, Finkle has taught numerous business and social science undergraduate and graduate courses at Rutgers University, Rider University, Kean University and Mercer County Community College. His recent books focus on human resource management regulations. —N WWW.IPMA-HR.ORG JULY 2011 | 9 |
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July 2011 issue of HR News magazine - IPMA

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