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Case

The Pros and Cons of Collective Bargaining

Fewer employees in the private sector are unionized, compared with those who work in the public sector $(15\mathrm{.}2$ vs$.71\mathrm{.}3$ percent in $2014)\mathrm{.}107$ Does being in a labour union make a difference for optimal wages and benefits?

On the positive side, by negotiating as a collective, public$-$sector employees, who are more heavily unionized, can earn, on average, roughly $12$ percent more than employees working in the mostly non$-$unionized private sector. Unions also can protect the rights of workers against capricious actions by employers. Consider the following example:

In a non$-$unionized workplace, Lydia criticized the work of five of her co$-$workers. They were not amused and posted angry messages on a Facebook page. Lydia complained to her supervisor that the postings violated the employer$$s $$zero tolerance$$ policy against $$bullying and harassment.$$ The employer investigated and, agreeing that its policy had been violated, fired the five.

Most of us would probably prefer not to be fired for Facebook posts. This is a protection union can provide. On the negative side, public$-$sector unions at times have been able to negotiate employment arrangements that are hard to sustain. According to the Fraser Institute, almost $89\mathrm{.}3$ percent of those employed by the Canadian government receive pension benefits as part of their total compensation. Only $23\mathrm{.}8$ percent of private$-$sector employees have these benefits. This allowed government employees to retire about $2\mathrm{.}3$ years earlier than private$-$sector employees.

Further, it$$s often more difficult to fire a member of a public$-$sector union, even if performance is exceptionally poor. A recent report by the Fraser Institute indicated that $3\mathrm{.}8$ percent of private$-$sector employees were fired compared to $0\mathrm{.}6$ percent of public$-$sector employees.

Reasonable people can disagree about the pros and cons of unions and whether they help or hinder an organization$$s ability to be successful. There is no dispute, however, that they often figure prominently in the study of workplace conflict and negotiation strategies.

Questions

Labour$$management negotiations might be characterized as more distributive than integrative. Do you agree? Why do you think this is the case? What, if anything, would you do about it$?$

If unions have negotiated unreasonable agreements, what responsibility does management or the administration bear for agreeing to these terms? Why do you think they agree?

If you were advising union and management representatives about how to negotiate an agreement, drawing from the concepts in this chapter, what would you tell them?

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