Question

GMFC is a charter member of the Material
Handling Equipment Association (MHEA).
The organization was started in the late 1940s
and now includes 30 members producing over
95 percent of all domestic material handling
equipment. Presently, these manufacturers
produce 70 percent of the material handling
equipment sold in the United States. About 80
percent of the association’s total production
is for the domestic market. Primary foreign
markets are in Europe and Latin America,
with increasing marketing emphasis in Eastern
Europe.

All members are unionized, to some extent,
with the proportions of production jobs organized
ranging from 25 to 100 percent. GMFC is
80 percent unionized. Most companies bargain
with the Steelworkers, the Auto Workers, or
the Machinists. Some variations exist between
contracts within employers and across employers
in the association.

Unions have been particularly interested in
negotiating relatively similar contracts across
employers and national-level agreements
within employers.

The MHEA industrial relations executives
recently studied the possibility of industrywide
bargaining. Coincidentally, since they
were proposing a merger, the major unions
representing MHEA employees explored
potential coalition bargaining arrangements

Explain management's role in the bargaining. Explain the union's role. What is the environment for bargaining in this case?

Answer 1

Solution –

This is an interesting case tilting towards coalition bargaining. Now to examine in detail lets view the perspective from both sides –

From the Management Side –

1. The management has to ensure proper representative as per the number of unionized members
2. Care needs to be taken that all issues are recorded
3. There is also a need to set the right expectations within the management so that there is a clear mindset of what is required and what are the walkaway points
4. There is also a need to identify the stakeholders from the union side so that negotiation is happening with the right stakeholders.
5. The management also has to ensure that the non – union members are taken care of.
6. The management must ensure smooth closure and agreement

From the Union Side –

1. Union has to ensure the right representation from all participating unions
2. Union also needs to prepares a charter of its demands so that no union demands specific to a particular participating organization is ignored
3. Union needs to ensure that a holistic view is taken and that unreasonable demands are curbed.
4. The union needs to ensure that no hasty decisions are taken and all members are in agreement.

The above scenario of coalition bargaining environment will require more time and efforts from both ends. The legal aspects of proper representation and closure needs to be followed for covering any malfunctions. The coalition bargaining generally benefits the unions as they get more bargaining power but the management will have to play the role of ensuring the right expectations are driven so as unreasonable demands are cut down.