Bargaining and Strikes 7-24 (web).pdf - Valero

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company for better pay and benefits. Three things could happen as a result of good-faith bargaining—pay and benefits could be improved, be reduced, or stay the same. In one well-known case, the National Labor Relations Board explained the risks associated with the collective bargaining process: “Collective bargaining is potentially hazardous for employees and that as a result of such negotiations, employees might possibly wind up with less . . . .” [Coach and Equipment Sales Corp., 228 NLRB 440, 441.] This is exactly what happened at Bridgestone Firestone two years ago where the USW negotiated a contract calling for a 17 percent pay cut for new hires and more employee contributions to the cost of health care insurance. Here’s a copy of the article from the Bureau of National Affairs reporting the contract: 3
5. Question: Answer: You mean a union can’t automatically get employees the things the union organizers had promised? That’s right. The company does not have to make a union’s promises come true. In fact, under the law, a company is not even obligated, under some conditions, to agree to continue presently existing wages or benefits: “There is, of course, no obligation on the part of an employer to contract to continue all existing benefits, nor is it an unfair labor practice to offer reduced benefits.” [Midwestern Instruments, Inc., 133 NLRB 1132, 1138] 6. Question: Answer: The union organizers are telling us that with the union, we’ll get everything we have now, plus more, and no dues until then. Is this true? Regardless of what the organizers may have told you, collective bargaining on a union contract does not start from a guaranteed base of the present wages and benefits. All present wages and benefits are as much a subject of negotiations as are demands for additional wages and benefits. It is not unusual for a union to wind up trading existing employees’ benefits for union benefits, such as automatic checkoff of dues. 7. Question: Answer: What is “dues checkoff”? When a union wins an election and attempts to negotiate a contract, one of the most important parts of the contract to the union is the “dues 4
Page 1 and 2: Bargaining Can Be Risky No One Can
Page 3: THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS
Page 7 and 8: 9. Question: Answer: Can a company
Page 9 and 10: Most telling in this “Union Score
Page 11 and 12: 17. Question: Answer: What happens
Page 13 and 14: 21. Question: Answer: Can peaceful

Bargaining and Strikes 7-24 (web).pdf - Valero

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