Reference no: EM133433549

Questions:

• What are the costs and benefits for management of allowing the union to decide how the economic package should be divided?
• What demands would most likely be advocated by union leaders interested in obtaining contract ratification?
• What information would you use to make predictions about he economic demands and probable settlement for a particular union-management negotiation?
• What are the economic benefits of union membership to employees, and to what extent can these benefits be increased before employers face problems?
• What are the trade-offs among increased wages for unions, productivity effects, and profitability effects on organizations?

Case Study:

1. A woman worked part-time as a clerk at a drug store. She worked mostly on weekdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., but was occasionally given other shifts. Because of glaucoma, she eventually lost all sight in her left eye. She had no difficulty performing her job, but she did experience problems getting to work. She asked to be given a day-shifts-only schedule because of the danger of driving home at night and the complete unavailability of public transportation. Her supervisor said that she would not be given the schedule she requested because that would not be fair to the store's other employees. The woman provided a doctor's note recommend-ing that she not drive during evening hours, but the store did not change its position. Her union repre-sentative met with store officials and reported that he "got nowhere." Other attempts to arrange meet-ings involving the woman fell through. She received rides from family members and did not miss any work following the denial of her request. How-ever, it became too difficult to continue to arrange rides and she quit. Did the store fail to reasonably accommodate this employee? Why or why not?

2. A schoolteacher was successful at teaching kin-dergarten for five years. She requested to teach first grade and was then reassigned to a classroom that had no exterior windows. She told the school principal that she suffered from seasonal affec-tive disorder, a form of depression. She made numerous requests to be moved to a classroom with natural light, but the school refused to do so. She also presented the school district with a letter from her psychologist stating that her depres-sion was being exacerbated by the lack of natural light. Another teacher who had been assigned to a classroom with exterior windows had offered to switch rooms. There was also one vacant room with exterior windows, but this room was being reserved for the possible addition of another class section. The woman's health deteriorated. She suffered from significant inability to concentrate, organize her thoughts, retrieve words, make deci-sions, and focus on the needs of her students. She also experienced racing thoughts, panic attacks, uncontrollable crying, inability to eat, and thoughts of suicide. She went on medical leave. Eventually, she quit, went to work elsewhere, and sued. What should the court decide? Why?

3. A photography studio hired a profoundly deaf employee as a "performer." She communicates with hearing individuals by writing notes, ges-turing, pointing, and miming. She can also type, text message, use body language, employ basic American Sign Language signs that most people can understand, and speak some words. However, she cannot read lips effectively and she speaks only a few words. Her written com-munication skills are poor and she scores below average on vocational tests. Performers have four areas of responsibility: customer intake, sales, portrait photography, and laboratory duties. The job description lists "strong verbal com-munication skills" and "strong customer service skills" as job qualifications for performers. Dur-ing peak (holiday) periods, performers mainly work in one area of responsibility, and the deaf employee was assigned to work primarily in the camera room doing photography. However, dur-ing nonpeak periods, only one manager and one performer are scheduled to work at a time. Dur-ing these periods, performers are expected to cover all four areas of responsibility. The woman had the opportunity to shoot photographs on fifteen to twenty occasions with a hearing per-former and she conducted shoots by herself on a couple of occasions. She communicated with photo subjects by writing notes, gesturing, and miming. She experienced some difficulty doing this, particularly because the photo subjects were usually young children. To sell photo packages to customers, she had to write notes, gesture, or get assistance from a coworker. The woman made several requests for an ASL interpreter, including during her initial orientation and then for a sub-sequent training session for performers, but no interpreter was ever provided. After the holiday season, the woman's hours were eliminated and she was eventually terminated. She sued. What should the court decide? Why?