Reference no: EM133338305

Industrial Relations

Introduction:
In this assignment, you will analyse collective bargaining relationships and document how these relationships are expressed in the terms of collective agreements, grievance/ arbitrations and strikes/outs.

Company - Canada Malting and union is Calgary union - UFCW 401

Instructions:
Working in your established teams, select a Canadian organization where there is an ongoing collective bargaining relationship. The organization can be either public sector or private sector. Then address the following:

1a. Provide a description of each of the employers in terms of:
• A brief history/ background of the company/ organization
• The industry or industrial sector in which the employer is located
• The organizations/institutions size
• The range of products/services provided or produced
• The competitive business environment (this is very important)
• Their record of performance/ success (this is very important)
• The organizational culture
• The management style
• The organizational structure (obtain or construct an organizational chart)
• Anything else you believe to be relevant

1b. Provide a description of the specific employer facility that is a party to the collective agreement in terms of:
• The specific physical location/ address of the employer's place of business
• The range of products/services provided or produced by the employer at this location

2a. Provide a description of the parent union in terms of:
• A brief history/ background of the union
• The type of union
• The type of workers it organizes
• The union's geographic scope of operations
• The union's international linkages if any
• The union's financial strength
• The union's militancy

• The type of leadership in the union
- how are leaders of the union selected?
- how does the union amend its constitution?
- how often are conventions held?
- how are decisions made between conventions?
• The union's organizational structure (please provide an organizational chart)
• The union's linkages with political parties or other political organizations if any
• The union's record of success in organizing and collective bargaining
• Anything else you believe to be relevant

2b. Provide a description of the specific union local that is that is a party to the collective agreement you are studying in terms of:
• The local number
• A brief history/ background of the local
• The composition of the bargaining unit represented in this case
• The type of leadership in the local union
- how are leaders of the local union selected?
- how does the local union amend its by-laws?
- how often are general meetings held?
- how are decisions made between general meetings?

3. Describe the legal framework for collective bargaining
• Is this employer/ industry subject to any special laws or regulations that impact their labour relations?
• If this is the case, identify the relevant laws/ regulations.
• What is the impact of these laws/ regulations on the conduct of labour relations?

4. Describe the bargaining structure
• Is it centralized or decentralized or multi-tiered?

5. Obtain and review the current collective agreements and report your findings and observations on the following items for each agreement:
• The duration of the agreement including the start and end dates
• The bargaining unit identified in the collective agreement
• Management rights
• Provisions on wage rates
• Provisions on seniority
• Provisions on union security (membership requirements, dues, union stewards, time for union business, use of employer facilities etc.)
• Provisions on discipline
• Provisions on arbitration
• Provisions on downsizing/layoffs in general

• Provisions on downsizing/layoffs due to technological changes
• Provisions on downsizing/layoffs due to contracting out
• Any special provisions that you find either interesting or surprising

6. Interview representatives of management and union officials to determine the state of labour relations within the organization. The following key questions should be regarded as a minimum requirement.
• What are the key issues?
• Why are they important?
• Have there been labour conflicts/strikes (major/ minor) within the last ten years?
• If these workers are not allowed to strike, how are interest disputes resolved?
• If there have been labour/ conflicts/strikes (major/ minor) within the last ten years, what were the major issues in these conflicts?
• How common are grievances?
• What types of grievances are the most common?
• Why is this case?
• Anything else about the organization(s) of interest to your group?

7. Assessment: The following key questions should be addressed as a minimum requirement.
• What are the key collective bargaining issues?
• Why do these issues exist?
• Are there discrepancies between what you found/ believe and what you were told?
• What is your overall assessment of labour relations in this organization? You should provide evidence supporting your conclusions.

8. Format:
The report should include and/or meet the following requirements:
• A cover page - indicating report title with appropriate course and author identifiers
• A table of contents
• An introduction - An introduction that clearly states the purpose of your report, what will be presented and why it is important
• The body of the report is organized and presented in a logical sequential order; instructions (1 to 6 inclusive) are followed
• A conclusion - a detailed summary of what you found, your assessment of it and why it matters
• APA citation format is properly used