As she walked down the hallway, Charlotte noticed several people clustered around the desk of Scott Borowski. From the way they were leaning in, it looked as though they were talking about something juicy. 

Although she had things to do, she pivoted to see what was going on. As the HR specialist, she was expected to stay tuned in to what people were talking about. Plus, it was 2:00 p.m., and she wouldn't mind a minibreak for a little chitchat. Maybe there was some good gossip going around. 

As she neared the group, someone looked up, noticed her coming, and gestured to the rest. Immediately, the conversation stopped. This was puzzling to Charlotte. Usually, she was readily included in whatever conversation was underway. She said, "Hey. What's going on?" Several people muttered, "Nothing." 

They quickly scattered, except for Scott, who smiled at her and said, "What's new with you, Charlotte? Staying out of trouble?" She shrugged and replied, "Oh, you know. Same old. What's going on here? That was kind of weird just now. Why did everyone take off when I came along?" Scott paused for a moment as he looked at her straight on, then he smiled again and said, "Just chatting about things. Guess everyone wants to get back to work so they don't get in trouble." 

Feeling exasperated, Charlotte said, "Oh, Scott. Get real. People won't get in trouble for chatting, and you know it." He turned back to his laptop and opened a program, obviously about to begin working. Over his shoulder, he said, "I don't know if that's true, Charlotte. I've gotten in trouble for less than that." 

Taking a breath, Charlotte refused to take the bait. She murmured a goodbye and began to walk toward her office. Scott had been written up a few times in the previous six months, and he complained about it to Charlotte every chance he got. She was tired of trying to convince him that he had been treated fairly. 

As she walked down the hallway toward her desk, Charlotte had a scary thought. The week before, she had noticed that someone had tacked a union flyer on the lunchroom bulletin board. She had quickly taken it down and had been relieved to see that it was generic and was not specific to her organization. 

After seeing the secretiveness of the people who had been talking to Scott, she wondered if Scott and his friends had connected with a union. There was no doubt that employees worked long, hard hours.

She recalled that prior to joining the organization, Scott had worked at a heavily unionized firm. Someone like Scott might not have too much trouble convincing people that a union was a good idea. She got up to go find her HR manager. Maybe now was the time for Scott to go. 

1. What are the indicators that there may be a union organizing drive happening? 
2. What should the HR team do if they prefer to remain union-free?
3. Assuming the membership drive is successful, what key clauses would the union want included in the collective agreement (and why)? What about management (and why)?
4. Once the collective agreement is finalized, what strategies should management and the union consider to encourage effective labor-management cooperation?

 

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

The scenario provided describes a situation that might hint at the early signs of a union organizing drive within an organization and it raises several questions about how to handle such a scenario fr... View the full answer