There will be 4 Discussion Board Forums throughout the course. The purpose of Discussion Board Forums is to generate interaction among students in regard to relevant, current course topics. You are required to post 1 thread of at least 500 words. The thread must include a Scripture reference and at least 2 scholarly sources, plus the textall in current APA format. You will then post replies of at least 300 words to 2 other students' threads. Each reply must include a Scripture reference and at least 1 scholarly source, plus the textall in current APA format. Topic: You are the Human Resources manager for large distribution site. Your recent employee opinion survey indicated that overall, employees felt that this was a good place to work. However, recent downturns in the economy have resulted in the loss of large contracts, which provided a significant portion of the company's revenue. One of the impacts from this loss in revenue is that the company will be unable to provide annual COLA or merit increases for the first time in more than 15 years. You have heard rumors from employees close to you that there is talk about efforts to unionize. What guidelines will you develop for supervisors to successfully respond to employee questions about unionization? What can your supervisors say or do that is legally permissible in this situation? Response to >> The purpose of this discussion board post is to present my personal opinion backed with research on the hypothetical situation given in the above statement with the intention of creating more dialogue between classmates for the betterment of our course activities. In this particular week's coursework we are faced with the situation of what we as HR managers can legally do or not do about the rumor of disgruntled employees possibly attempting to unionize. First of all, to further understand the situation at hand we need to understand what a union actually is. Then we also need to understand why they are needed or not needed as the topic is rather controversial in nature. Once a thorough understanding of this part of the topic is made then the rest of the discussion board post questions can be answered. As our text for this class states, \"A union is a formal association of workers that promotes the interest of its members through collective action.\" (Mathis pg. 560) The concept of unionization came around in the late 1700's as a way to help employee's gain better pay and working conditions by legally forcing employers to comply with their interests. On the surface unionization may sound like a good concept whereby employees are given higher wages and better/safer working conditions via collective negotiations between their representatives and the politicians they support. This type of behavior drastically influences the various labor laws that our federal and state governments have passed over the years. However, many people don't see unions as a good thing. \"In their economic function, unions resemble a cartel where the goal is to set a uniform above-market price for a coalition of agents selling a common good or service (e.g., labor). Unions do this through collective bargaining. Protecting a reasonable level of wages and employment conditions from the downward pressure of cost competition via a market-wide common rule is critical.\" (Kaufman 2012) In other words unions attempt for force business to pay wages that are higher than the market naturally demands and therefore decreases the efficiency of the business. In fact union membership has dropped significantly in the U.S in recent years. \"Union membership has declined steadily since 1983, the first year statistics were available. That year, 20.1 percent of the work force belonged to a union, and there were 17.7 million union workers. In 2009, union members represented 12.3 percent of the work force.\" (U.S. Bureau 2009) With these kind of statistics the evidence suggests two things we may already know. First of all the economic downturn has caused businesses to become more efficient and reduce overhead, employee payroll being one of the major overhead factors. Secondly, as a result of the increased pressure to stay in business and remain profitable everyone is doing more with less for less pay and employees are becoming frustrated with their work conditions. This is the dichotomy that has fostered the concept of unionization and the various labor laws that later came about as a result. As the HR rep of this hypothetical company I would advise my supervisors to respond to these rumors in a number of ways. First, the Wagner act of 1935 prohibits the employer by law from interfering with the organization and bargaining efforts of the employee's and their representatives. (Mathis pg. 570) Furthermore the Taft-Hartley act of 1947 allows for states to pass laws which prohibit the employer from forcing employees to join a union as a condition of employment. (Mathis pg. 571). Essentially what this means in terms of answering the above questions is simple. The employer cannot legally stop this the employee's discussions about unionization nor can they do anything to promote or hinder their discussions. However, it's worth noting that it is totally legal for an employer to enact a \"No Solicitation\" policy thereby making it illegal to distribute literature or solicit union membership on company property. (Mathis pg. 575.) As a HR rep, I would advise my supervisors to take a neutral stance on the subject unless the company had a no solicitation policy. I would also ask them to look for ways to improve the employee experience and find positive solutions that address their concerns that brought about the union discussions in the first place. On a biblical note, I stand firm on what I have remarked on in my other posts. I think Colossians 3:33 says it best. \"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.\" Regardless of whether you are pro-union or anti-union, it should not influence the way you carry yourself at work. Do whatever your chosen profession is to the best of your ability before the eyes of God and leave the rest up to him. Good luck everyone in your future classes! References Kaufman, B. E. (2012), An Institutional Economic Analysis of Labor Unions. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 51: 438-471. doi: 10.1111/j.1468232X.2012.00686.x U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Union membership drops during 2009. (2010, January 25). The Colorado Springs Business Journal. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login? url=http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:20 48/ps/i.do?id=GALE %7CA217986699&sid=summon&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=G RGM&sw=w&asid=36523354cfe54b2a667a545d14943fb5 Valentine, S., Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2014). Human resource management. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning