Human Resource Managers Working with a Union

HR Manager,

What does it mean when a company has a union? A union is an organization of workers that have banded together to promote better working conditions for employees. When a company has a union, the human resources department must work closely with the union through contract negotiations as well as through day-to-day activities to promote a productive work environment. The following provides the ways in which a union works with HR Manager and its employees:

Unions and Industrial Relations

A union works together to help deal with management problems. They work to provide better wages, better benefits, and better working conditions by negotiating with management. This process is called collective bargaining. Employees that belong to the company union do not negotiate salary or benefits directly with their bosses, but go to the union to get a better pay. Many companies today do not have a union, however companies that do have a union must  recognize its employee’s union and work to negotiate new contracts as it is engaged in a process of industrial relations.

The Bargaining Process

Human resource and the union leadership meet in good faith to discuss hours, wages, and benefit aspects of the employees which is the process of collective bargaining. This process can be very stressful when parties are not willing to compromise. HR managers will need to provide information during the negotiations such as surveys of employee attitudes and financial information that could affect the outcome of the proposal.

Interactions on a Day-to-Day Basis

Human resource managers are expected to work with the union on a daily basis by providing research and data for both sides and reach an agreement. Once an agreement has been made, HR managers must continue to work with the union to provide workers with information about their contracts and answer any questions.

Unions provide a type of mediation between managers and employees that provide a less stressful environment for the employee. Though, it may be more stressful for HR manager, unions can benefit a company as a whole and keep the workplace more like a democracy as opposed to a hierarchy.