Collective Bargaining Dispute Analysis

Posted on: 17th June 2023

Question

Assignment instructions

Instructions

 

Assignment 1: Collective Bargaining Dispute Analysis 

Locate an article describing a collective bargaining dispute that has arisen within two years prior to the due date of this paper. If there is not already a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) then there cannot be a dispute of the terms and conditions of that CBA. 

A collective bargaining dispute is a disagreement between an employee(s), generally voiced through their union representatives, and employer(s) regarding the terms of employment. Must have a collective bargaining agreement to have a dispute. This could include disputes regarding conditions of employment, benefits, hours of work, wages to be negotiated during collective bargaining or the implementation of an already agreed upon terms. It could further concern the association or representation of those who negotiate or seek to negotiate the terms or conditions of employment. If the negotiations fail, then the parties generally jointly select a mediator.
The article you chose should be from a newspaper, an academic journal, or a credible online news source (try searching “collective bargaining in the news” and “collective bargaining disputes”). You cannot use any articles related to Virginia teachers. For years the teachers’ union has been fighting for a Collective Bargaining Agreement. VA legislature just recently passed a law allowing the VA teachers to collectively bargain. You cannot use the Virginia teachers’ collective bargaining problem for your article. 
The collective bargaining dispute in the article must have occurred in the continental US, Hawaii or Alaska. 

Attach the article or provide the link that can be accessed without me having to pay a fee. If I have to pay to access article in the link provided, or you have provided an inaccessible link, resulting in my having to search for your article, will be a -1pt penalty. 

NOTE: In addition, preview the article and make sure you are able to address each of the 6 questions in the assignment. It is not an acceptable response to state that the question was not addressed in the article or to ignore the question altogether. If a specific question is not addressed in the article, then look for better article. 
Use references from the course materials but also outside research will be needed to fully respond to the questions and support your answers to the questions. 

The paper must be double-spaced, Times New Roman font, cover page, and APA format. [in word document not pdf]. Paper must be in narrative format, not bullets. -1pt if fail to comply with any of my paper requirements. 

A. Identify your collective bargaining dispute article with an accessible link in the first paragraph of your paper:
•    Using APA guidelines state the proper citation for the article. Requires in-text citations.
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper. Make sure you have in-text references for facts stated. Make sure your links for references at the end of your paper are accessible to me. If not -.5pt Paper must be in narrative format, not bullets. [in word document not pdf].

•    You must provide a link to the article that can be accessed, without me paying a price, in your first paragraph of your paper. Or you may attach the entire article in separate submission to the assignment’s folder. If I have to pay for the article -1pt will be deducted. c
B. Respond to each question below in detail, in order provided, and use each question as a separate paragraph heading [You should have 6 separate paragraph headings as well as 6 separate paragraphs, as shown below]: [-2pts if I have to insert the below headings in your paper and or put the questions in the order below.]

1.    What is the nature of the collective bargaining dispute? Be specific. 
[Insert, in this paragraph, the link to article you are using for this paper or you may attach the entire article in separate submission to the assignments folder.]
2.    What are the underlying causes of the dispute? Be specific. 
3.    What economic or ethical pressures has each side attempted to use to prevail in the dispute? Be specific as to the economic pressures and if ethical pressures, why the actions were unethical. 
4.    What role was played by third parties either trying to influence and or resolve this bargaining dispute? What was the identity of the third party? Be specific. 
5.    Was the dispute resolved? If so, how was it resolved specifically? Be specific. 
6.    In retrospect, how could this dispute have been resolved in a more constructive fashion? Be specific. [This question will require research beyond your article.]

  • Requirements include:
    •    Cover Page with Name, Date, and Title of Assignment
    •    No bullet format in the paper. All narrative.  
    •    Required Headings to separate the sections of the paper
    •    In-text citations in APA style
    •    Reference page using APA style

 

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Solution

Collective Bargaining Dispute Analysis 

Collective bargaining is the process where working groups, through their Unions, negotiate contracts with their employers to determine their terms of employment. It is most of the time viewed as the best means the employees can use to solve workplace problems. Therefore, it is significant that through collective bargaining disputes, the working people in unions always get better benefits and higher wages that are effective for their work. Having said so, in this paper, I will discuss the collective bargaining dispute of Federal Firefighters of Hawaii https://www.iaff.org/news/federal-firefighters-of-hawaii-win-collective-bargaining-agreement-dispute. For the past twelve years, Federal Firefighters of Hawaii Local F-263 have been fighting for their rights not only to their employers but also in court with the aim of ensuring that they get paid for overtime working hours (IAFF, 2020). After a long battle over the collective bargaining dispute, the agreement ended up favorable for federal firefighters of Hawaii's local F-263.

From the analysis of the case, it is significant that the collective bargaining dispute was caused by a lack enough payment by the employer. Also, in their bargaining dispute, the group was protesting the measures by concept of operations, which reduced the number of federal fighters' daily staffing from four per Apparatus to three. This move by the concept of operation was a direct violation of the Federal Firefighters contract, which calls for four-person minimum staffing. It is significant that the move to reduce the number of daily staffing to three was adding more work to the group; thus, their protest against the move was fighting for their rights. The federal firefighters took the move as unfair labor practice by their employers, thus needing them to find a significant way that could help them have a way that their rights could be hard amicably. Another significant factor contributing to the dispute is poor working conditions for the Federal Fighters. They protest that they need essential training that will enable them to work effectively.

The Federal Firefighters' action had economic implications for the economy because after months of increased overtime costs Federal Fire Department of Hawaii Navy Region experienced a shortfall of $2million in budget. Although the decision of Hawaii federal firefighters in the dispute was ethical, it exerted economic pressure on its employers, who had to approve for emergency dispute funds to assist in settling the dispute after the arbitrators' decision favored the rights of the federal firefighters. Also, based on the decision made, it is clear that the employer was unethical in his decision that made FF seek help from the arbitration court so that their rights could be hard by the IAFF. To show how the decision was ineffective to the employer's arbitrator of awarded the firefighters' salary step movement, which will see the group salary increases every three years based on their employment anniversaries (IAFF, 2020). Therefore, it is true that Federal firefighters used the concept of operations and unfavorable working conditions to increase their wages which is ethical based on the decision made by the arbitrator (Dayton, 2017). On the other side, the employer was unethical because, based on the concept of operation, the main concern of the employers was to reduce the daily staffing from four firefighters per Apparatus to three but never indicated if they would be a salary increase. Therefore, it is true that both the decision of the two parties in collective bargaining dispute had both economic and ethical pressure because it made IAFF approve emergency dispute funds to assist with a portion of arbitrator fees.

Yes, the collective bargaining dispute involving Federal Firefighters was resolved but not through negotiation between employers and employees. Given that Hawaii Arbitrator decided the dispute is an indication that the Hawaii Federal Firefighters never reached an agreement with their employer, something that led to taking the dispute to court for an amicable solution. Significantly, the decision by the group to take the case to an arbitrator was contributed by a lack of employer agreement to engage in a bargain with good faith, which the firefighters took as a violation of their rights. I think the process was tough for the employer because they never accepted negotiation, which made them dissatisfied, leading to the case being taken to an arbitrator (Dayton, 2017). The dispute was submitted for binding arbitration, which is the process most of the time put in place to settle contract disputes because the firefighters are allowed to strike most of the time. The violation of the agreement by the employer contributed to the solution of the dispute among the FF, and its employers ended up through arbitration, which was not a good decision, but in the end, it helped the employees get their rights.

Although the decision by Federal Fighters was important to them, the constructive way they would have resolved their dispute was through negotiation. Through negotiation, the two parties in dispute could have drawn their argument on the same principles of collaborative negotiation that individuals use most of the time in dealmaking (Shonk, 2021). For instance, the employer should have explored the interest of underlying parties' positions, such as resolving disputes, without having a rigid stand on what needs to be done. Also, they should have been available options that both parties should have relied on to develop a concrete solution. Through structured negotiation, the dispute would have not reached the arbitrator stage, which would have helped to solve without outside parties' aid. 

References

Dayton, K. (2017, April 21). Hawaii firefighters were awarded 2% raises. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/04/20/breaking-news/firefighters-awarded-2-percent-raises

IAFF. (2020, August 18). Federal firefighters of Hawaii Win Collective Bargaining Agreement Dispute. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.iaff.org/news/federal-firefighters-of-hawaii-win-collective-bargaining-agreement-dispute

Shonk. K (2021, December 25). What is conflict resolution, and how does it work? Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/what-is-conflict-resolution-and-how-does-it-work

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