Chapter 1: Introduction 01/09/2017

Human Resources Management:

The study of the employment relationship between employers and
individual employees (e.g., selection, compensation, and training)

Employee Relations:
The study of the employment relationship between employers and
individual employees, usually in nonunion settings

Industrial Relations:
The study of employment relationships and issues, often in
unionized workplaces

Labour Relations:
The study of employment relationships and issues between groups
of employees (usually in unions) and management; also known as
union-management relations

Employment Relations:
The student of employment relationships and issues in union and
nonunion workplaces encompasses the academic term industrial
relations

Union:
A group of workers recognized by law who collectively bargain
terms and conditions of employment with their employer

Collective Agreement:
o a written document outlining the terms and conditions of
employment in a unionized workplace
 Collective Bargaining:
o The process by which management and labour negotiate the
terms and conditions of employment in a unionized workplace

Dunlops Industrial Relations System Model

Actors
o Specialized government agencies
Role is to develop, implement, and administer
legislation and policies pertinent to the employment
relationship
o Hierarchy of managers and their representatives
Manage the workplace and workers
o Hierarchy of workers and their representatives
The nonmanagement workers in the employment
relationship consist of labour unions representing the
workers
Contexts
o Environmental factors that influence actors include:
Market/budgetary constraints
Two key areas critical to the employment
relationship are product and labour
Unions can impact the wages, as well as final cost
of product or service
Key for actor of management
Technical characteristics of the workplace and work
community
Focuses on how work is structured and performed
E.g., processes used to product goods and
services, stability of workforce, size, job tasks,
hours worked, machinery used
Distribution of power in the larger society
 The actor with the most power will have the
greatest ability to influence the dynamics of
employment relationship and conditions of
employment
Web of rules
o Outlines the rights and responsibilities of the actors which
include:
Procedural
Methods for determining how workplace outcomes
are determined
How are wages determined? Rules concerning
work schedules, or how an employee can use
vacation time.
Substantive
Outcomes of the employment relationship
Employee- compensation, job and
performance expectations, workers rights
and duties
Distributive (Procedures for establishing rules
The process used for making the rules and who
has the authority to make and administer the
rules that govern the workplace
Shared ideology
o Set of ideas and beliefs held by the actors
o Helps to bind or integrate the system as an entity

Criticisms of the Dunlop Model:***** EXAM QUESTION

Descriptive
Lacks ability to predict outcomes/relationships
Underestimates importance of power and conflict in employment
relationship
o Assumes the concept of shared ideology that all actors sees
a legitimate role for each of the three actors
Is static
 o Does not examine how events from one employment
relationship impacts others, or even the same relationship at
a alter time
Cannot explain rapid decrease in unionization especially in the U.S.

Craigs Industrial Relations System Model

Developed to explain the Canadian context for Industrial Relations
A type of systems model
Craigs Industrial Relations System Model External Inputs:
Legal subsystem
o Common law nonunion employment relationships
o Statutory law laws concerning minimum employment
standards and employment discrimination
o Collective bargaining law pertaining to unionized
employment relationships
Economic subsystem
o Product/service markets
o Labour markets
 o Money markets
o Technology
Political subsystem
o Examples include the temporary foreign worker program and
mandatory retirement
Sociocultural subsystem
o Values of the society in which the actors operate influence the
actors, providing a sense of what is fair in terms of the
employment relationship
Ecological subsystem
o Includes the physical environment, climate, and natural
resources that influence actors and the industrial relations
system

Actors:
Labour (employees and their associations)
Employers and their associations
Government and associated agencies
End user of the service/product

Internal Inputs:
Values
Goals
Strategies
Power
Conversion Mechanisms:
Processes actors use to convert internal and external inputs into
outputs:
o Collective bargaining
o Grievances
o Day to day relations communication
o Conflict resolution mechanisms (e.g., grievances)
o Third-party interventions (e.g., arbitration)
o Joint committees
o Strikes/lockouts

Outputs:
Employer outcomes
Labour outcomes
Worker perceptions
Conflict/conflict resolution

Views of Industrial Relations:

An interdisciplinary field
o Economics
o Law
o History
 o Sociology, psychology
o Political science
Results in different views of IR
Neoclassical Economics View:
o Grounded in economics
o Sees unions as an artificial barrier to the free market
Pluralist and Institutional View:
o Sees labour unions as a countervailing force that attempts to
balance the interests of employers and employees
o Traditionally has been the predominant view of industrial
relations in Canada
Human Resources/Strategic Choice
o Movement away from unionization toward nonunionized
employment relationships
o Link human resources strategies and practices to the firms
overall business strategy
Designed to foster cooperation between employees and
employers
Minimizes the need for unionization
Political Economy:
o Based in the fields of sociology and political science
o Stresses inherent conflict between labour and management

Preunionization:

Master-Servant Relationship:
 The employer made the rules that employees were required to
follow
Employees had few rights
Unions, collective bargaining illegal
Little court protection
Power imbalance, coercion
Employees has limited protection or rights as basis of relationship
was common law
o Contract required employees perform the work and employers
pay workers wages

Resulting imbalance of power

o Illegal for employees to:
Form a union
Quit the job
Bargain collectively
o Right of employers to:
Punish is employee left before work was completed
Have workers charged if they refused to follow lawful
orders
Have workers charged if they didn't report to work

The Movement to Unionization:

The Early Years (Pre-1900)

New Model Unionism: movement to trade (or craft unions)
Trade or craft-based union; all members performed the same trade
or specialty
Could restrict access to the trade through apprenticeship
Gave the union control over the supply of labour
Negotiated solutions rather than take strike action
Led to trade unions: organize all workers of a trade regardless of
their industry or workplace

Nine-Hour Movement (1872)

Hamilton workers sought a reduction in the length of the workday,
Toronto printers went on strike which led to the creation of the
Trade Union Act
o First unified protest movement
Trade Union Act (1872) and Amendments the Criminal Law
Amendment Act (1872)
o Changes brought in by government of John A. Macdonald
working mans friend
o No longer conspiracy or a crime to join a union
o Penalties for striking
o Foundation for the birth of a formalized Canadian labour
movement

Early Labour Groups:

AFL:
Formed in 1886
 Skilled workers
Founded on three core values:
o Exclusive jurisdiction
What exists is when a single union represents all
workers of a trade or occupational grouping
o Business unionism (Pure-and-simple unionism)
Focuses on improving wages and the working conditions
of its members
Socialist unionism:
Challenges capitalism and seeks equity for union
and nonunion members
o Political nonpartnership
A belief that unions should not be aligned with any
political party
These values have historically both united and divided labour
movement

Knights of Labor (1969):

Existed for a short period of time
Three factors differentiated it from other labour organizations of the
day:
o It believed in the creation of a single large union for skilled
and unskilled workers
o It was opposed to strikes it led to hardship for workers.
Leadership opposed to strikes, but not the members
o Sought to establish cooperative businesses, which would be
owned and operated by members of the union rather than
employers.

American VS Canadian Unionism

United States: AFL
Exclusive Jurisdiction:
o Unions should be craft (trade) based only and represent
only one craft
Business Unionism:
o The unions primary focus should be the economic well-being
of the membership
Political Nonpartisanship:
o The union should not be aligned with one political party

Canada: CLU
Open Jurisdiction:
o Unions for skilled and unskilled labourers
Social Unionism:
o Priorities went beyond economic welfare and promoted social
change (e.g., end of child labour)
Agitated for Legislative Change

Unionization in Canada

The Years of Struggle

1900-1914
one of the most accelerated phases of economic development in
Canadian history
 14 large, violent strikes; military/militia called in for 11
1902 The Berlin (now Kitchener) Convention
Consistent with AFL
Trade and Labour Congresss convention created a large divide in
the Canadian labour movement which remained for 50 years
Resulted in the TLC becoming composed of unions solely affiliated
with the AFL
1914-1918: World War 1
unionization started to slow down as this was not their main focus

1900-1920
Industrial Disputes Investigation Act (IDIA), 1907:
o Cornerstone of Canadian labour law
o Required the use of third-party intervention prior to a strike
Winnipeg General Strike, 1919
One Big Union and other socialist movements:
o Labour activist go on to win elected office

1930s and 1940s: Decline and Resurrection Domenico Lucano

Great Depression
o Significant economic downturn resulting from 1929 stock
market crash
o 1933: 32% of workers were unemployed
20% of Canadians receiving social assistance
 Wagner Act (1935); also known as National Labor Relations Act
o Independent agency (NLRB) to enforce the rights of
employees to bargain collectively rather than to mediate
disputes
o Employers require to bargain collectively with certified unions
o Defined unfair labour standards and NLRB given ability to
order remedies for employer violations of the NLRA
o Adhered to the doctrine of exclusivity
o Encouraged collective bargaining
Committee of Industrial Organization (1935):
o CIO splits from AFL on craft/industrial
P.C. 1003 (1944):
o Patterned on Wagner Act
o Mechanism for workplace disputes during life of collective
agreement
o Conciliation procedures prior to a strike
Rand Formula (1945):
o Dues check-off (process where union dues are deducted
automatically from pay) this would happen regardless of
whether or not the person chose to be a union member
o Workers in a bargaining unit certified under the Labour
Relations Act would not be required to join the union, but
would have to pay dus

1950s and 1960s: Reconciliation and Expansion into the Public

Sector
Skilled and Unskilled Workers Reunite:
o ALF-CIO Merger, 1955
o Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), 1956
Tasked with formation of a political party (that become
NDP)
 PSSRA, 1967:
o Contrary to United States, law enabled federal government
employees to bargain collectively
o Similar laws were passed in provincial jurisdictions
o Public sector large percentage of unionized workforce

1970s and 1980s: Changing Relationships with Government and

USA
Wage and price controls and legislation (AIB, 6&5 program):
o Restricted labours ability to seek wage increase
Free trade agreements:
o North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)
o Split from U.S. union
Early 1980s
o Spike in inflation rate (12%)

1990s and Beyond: Increased Resistance

Economic restructuring and global markets:
o Sectors of the economy that were traditionally union
strongholds faced severe job losses
Manufacturing sector hardest hit
Government restructuring:
o Privatization
 o Crown corporations
o Layoffs
Back-to-work legislation:
o Strike action ceases
o Employees return to work
o Terms and conditions of new collective agreement set by a
third party

Implications for the Future of Unions:

Movement toward larger unions
o CAW and CEP join to form Unifor (2014)
Social unionism
Global labour movement
The Economic Context
Macroeconomic Policy
A policy that applies to economy-wide goals such as inflation,
unemployment, and growth
Single most important influence on industrial relations

Macroeconomic Policy in Action

Deregulation:
o Create more competition by allowing prices to be determined
by market forces
 Free Trade Agreements (e.g., NAFTA):
o Promote free trade of goods and service between countries or
economic blocs

Privatization:
o Transfer of contracting out of services to the private sector

The Labour Market

The Supply and Demand Framework:

o Labour market forces determine employee compensation and
conditions
o The supply of labour may not meet the demand in the future
as retirements increase, population growth decreases, and
immigration fails to bridge the gap
Elasticity of Labour Supply and Demand
Shape of the Demand Curve is Important:
o Influences union's ability to raise wages without significantly
affecting employment levels
Wage-employment trade-off
o Four conditions impact wage elasticity:
Product market
Substitution effect
Labour intensity
Market for substitutes

Labour Power and Marshall's Conditions

Product Market:
o Unions will have more power when there is less competition in
the firm's product market
o The easier it is to substitute capital for labour, the less power
labour will have to raise wages

Labour Intensity:
o Degree to which labour costs account for production costs
 Market for Substitutes:
o The more competitive the market for substitute factors of
production, the greater the bargaining power of
management
IR Today 3.1 outlines how Sears Canada has reduced
their costs and reduced jobs through the outsourcing of
labour

Demand is more elastic and unions will have more power

when:
Product markets are less competitive
It is harder to substitute labour for capital
Labour costs are a small proportion of total costs
The market for substitutes is less competitive

Noneconomic Sources of Union Power

Unions also derive power from sources other than labour markets
Unions have successfully forged alliances with community groups
to:
o Assist in organizing new members
o Strengthen positions in bargaining
o Support political lobbying campaigns
o Oppose plant closures
o Support strikes and other industrial actions

Supply of Labour
Work-Leisure Decisions
Income Increases, Leisure Increases - substitute leisure for work as
more goods and services per hour of work can be purchased
Income Increases, Leisure Decreases - as income increases, work
may be more attractive because of the higher rate of pay

Supply of Labour
Non-competitive factors that impact on the supply of labour:
o Monopsony
Happens when a firm is dominant in the labour market
such that it has some control over the wages offered

Institutional factors that impact on the supply of labour:

o Institutional Barriers to Supply
Lack of government resources resulting in a lack of
supply of graduates in a certain profession
o Unions and Labour Supply
Apprentice programs and hiring halls
o Demographic factors are important determinants of labour
force patterns
 The postwar baby boom (1947-66) resulted in an
increase in the supply of labour that created a variety of
challenges for organizations

Social Conditions
Public Attitudes to Unions
Have unions outlived their usefulness?
o Factors that may have contributed to the decline of unions
include:
Globalization and pressures to be competitive
Mare individual protection under employment laws
Changes in the nature of work
Improved HR practices

Income Distribution and Poverty

Widening of the income gap between the rich and the poor
o Unions as the protector of the middle class
Child poverty in Canada (2013)
o Canada scored a "C" grade and ranked 15th out of 17 peer
countries

Workforce Changes
Changing workforce composition
o 1965: 70% of workforce was male
o 2005: 46% of workforce was female
o Immigration: main source of population growth since 1993
o 1984: 10% of population was 65+
o 2014: 15.7% of population was 65+

Aging Population
A consequence of the aging population is an increase in poverty for
persons above age 55

Employer Challenges to Workforce Aging

HRSDC (2005) recommendations for employers given the aging of
the general workforce:
o Elimination of age discrimination; adoption of proactive
measures
o Safer workplaces, healthier environments, holistic approach to
wellness
o Flexible work arrangements, job redesign
 o Appropriate training opportunities
o Flexible retirement options

Impact of Compositional Changes on Unions

Labour and Employment Relations Challenges

Collective bargaining was designed for workers in a stable, year-
round employment relationship
New work forms have created a significant change in the balance of
power between labour and management, in favour of management

Work-Life Balance
Economic and social changes have put significant pressure on
individuals in the workplace
Work-life balance (WLB) is the desire on the part of both employees
and employers to achieve a balance between workplace obligations
and personal responsibilities


Economics
Canadian economy undergoing a fundamental shift from
manufacturing-to service-based
Contingent work has grown as a result
A stress point for industrial relations is the pressure on firms for
more flexibility

Social
Individual Concerns:
o Daycare needs
o Increase in workload
o Job insecurity
o Employer's pressure for more flexibility

Organizational Concerns:
o Absenteeism
o Benefit costs
o Reduced productivity

The Political Environment

Political Environment
 Compared to the U.S., Canadian labour movement has maintained
union density
o More, and labour-friendly, laws in Canada
o Parliamentary system of government
o Political support for labour from political parties
Three important social and historical experiences for Canada-U.S.
difference:
o 1982 Canadian Charter protected individual rights but
facilitated collective bargaining
o American firms in Canada more restricted in anti-union
activities
o Canada rejected the U.S. right-to-work approach

Globalization and Politics

Globalization pressures governments to conform to international
policy norms
o Less policy space for provincial governments to experiment
with reforms

Historical Perspective
Unions had legal recognition under the Trade Union Act of 1872
 o However, they encountered hostile employers when they
attempted to organize workers
The Industrial Dispute Investigations Act (IDIA), 1907
o An attempt to provide an orderly mechanism for union
recognition

Key Developments

The Snider Case

1925
A landmark court case that determined labour matter fell under the
purview of the provinces under the British North America Act

P.C. 1003
1944
A Canadian version of the Wagner Act

Union Recognition

Labour Boards
Established by the government
Focus is to ensure labour laws are adhered to by both management
and the union
Key cases the labour boards will hear include:
o Certification and decertification
o Unfair labour practices
o Declaration of illegal strikes or lockouts

Certification
Recognition of a union to be the legal bargaining agent of a group
of employees by the labour board
o Must follow specific process as defined under the appropriate
labour act
Two key elements of the certification process
o Definition of the bargaining unit
o Unfair labour practices

Definition of the Bargaining Unit

Group of employees that are eligible to be represented by a union
 Management employees are excluded from union representation
The group of employee who want to be represented by a union
must have a community of interest
Board takes the desires of employees to be separate from or part of
a defined group into consideration
Employer's structure will be considered in determining an
appropriate bargaining unit

Unfair Labour Practices

Alleged violations of a Labour Relations Act by:
o Employers
o Unions, or
o Employees
An attempt to influence individual workers through the use of
intimidation or coercion
Labour board can enforce remedies if allegations of unfair labour
practices are proven

Duty of Fair Representation

A legal obligation on the union's part to represent all its members
equally and in a non-discriminatory manner

Legislation and Collective Bargaining

Two Key Concepts:

Good faith bargaining
o Obligation on union and management to make a serious
attempt to negotiate a collective agreement
 Dispute Resolution
o Legislation generally provides for government intervention in
collective bargaining

Expanded Role of Government in Collective Bargaining

Industrial Inquiry Commission:
o Investigate the causes and consequences of industrial actions
and strikes
Last-Offer Vote
o Employers have complained that unions call strikes without
putting the last offer in front of their members
o Labour laws have been amended to permit forced votes
First Contract Arbitration
o If the parties are unable to negotiate the first collective
agreement they may request a third-party intervention, called
arbitration

Collective Agreement Administration

Laws Impacting on Collective Agreement Administration

Strikes are illegal during the term of a collective agreement
 o Promote "labour peace"

Role of the Charter

Role of the Charter
Under the Charter, labour continued to be a provincial responsibility
However, the Canadian constitution requires that all laws be
consistent with the Charter
A number of challenges to exiting laws have been made that affect
the labour/management relationship

Challenges
1987 - The Labour Trilogy
o Restrictions on the right to strike in Alberta
o Federal government wage controls
o Back-to-work laws in Saskatchewan
Early trilogy losses resulted in some negative views about the
Charter's ability to protect workers' right to freedom of association

Union Dues
1991 - The use of union dues to support political causes members
did not support
The courts found in favour of the union
The decision demonstrated that unionism includes legitimate social
and political goals

Picketing
2002 - the courts were asked to rule on the practice of picketing at
locations other than the firm's premise
The courts decided that secondary picketing is part of freedom of
expression
Union Recognition
2001 - UFCW challenged the repeal of the Agricultural Labour
Relations Act in Ontario
Supreme Court decision that the legislation was unconstitutional;
Ontario government was required to amend the legislation

Political Activity
1991 - Public Service Employment Act put restrictions on civil
servants' participation in political activities
Supreme Court found the restrictions violated freedom of
expression

Employee Rights vs. Conditions

Employee Rights - rights determined through the collective
bargaining process that build on the minimum employment
conditions
Employment Conditions - established in legislation by minimums
(e.g., hours of work, overtime, minimum wages, vacation, meal
breaks)
Employee Rights
Human rights
Health and safety
Plant closure
Pension
Maternity
Pay equity
Employment equity
Dismissal

International Law
Three Key Conventions:
Convention 87, freedom of assosiation and protection of right to
organize (1948)
o Ratified by Canada in 1972
Convention 98, right to organize and collective bargaining (1949)
o Not ratified by Canada
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998)
o Canada voted for it
o
Why do unions exist?
Economic: efficiency, equity, wealth redistribution
Political: provide a voice for employees; the balance of power
Human rights: labour standards as human rights, ILO

Philosophies
The legal definition of a union includes two key elements:
o Unions must have, as one of their purposes, collective
bargaining with the firm
o Unions must be independent of the employer
 As long as one of the functions of the union is collective bargaining,
unions are free to pursue other goals

Craft or occupational unionism

o Unions that typically allow into membership only trades or
occupations that are in the same family of skills
o Business unionism economic gains through collective
bargaining
o Non-collective bargaining activities are related to promoting
the craft or profession
o Examples: construction trades, firefighting, professional
associations (teachers, nurses)

Industrial or multi-skill unionism

o Represents a broad range of skills and occupations
o Sought to represent all of the production or office workers of
a firm at a given location, or at several locations
o Vision goes beyond collective bargaining and includes
different levels of social reform
o Examples: Unifor, United Food and Commercial Workers
(UFCW)

Public-sector or social justice unionism

o Unions of public-sector employees at all three levels of
government
o Typically advocates a philosophy of social justice
o Examples: Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE),
Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Other union categories

o Pluralist in nature
 Example: Christian Labour Association of Canada
(CLAC)
o Independent or enterprise union
Example: NHL Player's Association (NHLPA)
o Have limited political and social objectives

Organization and Structure

Union Affiliation
o Some unions have joined together in affiliations in order to
increase their ability to advance a broad social agenda
designed to improve the lives of all workers
o Union affiliations are at a number of levels:
International (AFL-CIO)
National (CLC)
Provincial (NLFL)
Union Democracy
o All unions have democratic structures
o Key decisions are made by union members including:
Collective bargaining
Grievances
Policies
Political affiliations
o Members get to express their opinion membership meetings
and through a voting process
o Union democracy is critical for a number of reasons:
 o Unions exist not just to better workers' economic conditions,
but to give them a voice
o Democracy makes unions more effective
o Decisions made by the members are more likely to be
implemented by the members
o Increases the members' identification with their union
o Involves members in the operation of the union and helps to
identify future leaders

Why Employees Join Unions

Collective Voice:
o Employee dissatisfaction with the job or with the employer
increases the desire for union representation
o Seen as a way to remedy the sources of dissatisfaction
through collective representation
Utility:
o Employees will join a union if the union is able to satisfy a
utility function consisting of such economic concerns as wages
and benefits
Ideology
o Employees who have positive attitude about unions are more
likely to join one
o Reasons for the positive attitude could include:
Political
Familital
Communal

Why Employees Leave Unions

Employees will generally seek change if they perceive their current
working environment is not in their best interests
 Some reasons why employees way to leave the union include:
o Were required to join the union as a requirements of
employment
o Dissatisfaction with compensation and benefits
o Failure of the union to provide distributive justice for its
members

Membership Patterns
Measurement of Levels of Participation
o Union Density:
The percentage of the non agricultural workforce who
are members of unions
Union density = union members/labour force *100
o Union Coverage:
A broader measure than union density; includes non
members covered by the collective agreement
Union Security
o Closed Shop:
Membership in the union is a condition of employment
o Union Shop:
New employees must join the union but only after a
probation period
o Rand Formula:
Employees do not have to join the union but all
employees must pay union dues

Labour and the Environment

 Unions have been slow to embrace environment issues out of fear
of job losses
Creating common ground between unions and environmentalists
has increases union participation in environmental issues
Also, language to promote environmental issues has been
introduced into collective agreements through the collective
bargaining process

Summary
Broad range, diversity of:
o Size
o Purpose
o Membership
o Affiliation
o Types of unionism
o Motivations for unionism