The process of establishing a collective bargaining unit in the workplace consists of certain steps that should be followed; the organizing time line. The first step in this sequence is initiating; there are three possible initiators: one or more employees, a union, or an employer. Budd states that an employer initiated drive might be odd, but in the “1960s and 1970s some agricultural companies signed contracts with the Teamsters rather than risk having their employees choose the more militant United Farm Workers.” (194)
The second step in this sequence is building and documenting support; this involves meeting interested employees outside …show more content…
Describe the process of administering a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to include the role and function of an arbitrator. What are the issues, and how are they handled?
The process of administering a collective bargaining agreement involves a time line of the negotiation process that consists of deadlines that must be followed. It should be noted that the longest portion of the time line is the preparation stage; this stage can start several months before bargaining begins.
For the employer, the preparation stage consists of them assigning a bargaining team and their responsibilities. The next step is to conduct external benchmarking and data collecting. Reviewing the experience under the current contract and fit with corporate strategies and financial goals is the next step in the process. The employer then prepares strike contingency plans. Next, they develop a bargaining proposal and agenda to discuss; they also try to anticipate the other sides needs and targets. Finally, they notify the union and FMCS of intent to bargain. (Budd …show more content…
The arbitrator is the neutral third party in this process. Their roles are to remain neutral and help the negotiation process be effective and remain on topic. The role and function of an arbitrator is to interpret and confront difficult matter of interpretation in the collective bargaining agreement. The arbitrator helps organizations avoid various expenses of litigation, disputing parties sometimes agree to have a third party decide the merits of the dispute. The arbitrator is disinterested in any financial impact of the decision and neutral regarding the issues presented in the dispute. This third-party provides relatively quick and inexpensive resolution of disputes. Budd gave an example of an arbitrator that was used in an “unable to work” case. Employees were “unable to work” for various reasons; the arbitrator was to “interpret a contract using three elements: contractual language, intent, and past practices” (Budd 323) to determine in favor of the employee or employer. Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Michael Corkery report in “Start-Ups Embrace Arbitration to Settle Workplace Disputes” that Ms. Zoumer started working at a start-up company thinking she had struck gold. However, after working for the company she realized that her salary didn’t match her job duties, which resembled hourly work with a potential for overtime. After this realization, she decided to file a class-action