Union security agreement

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A union security agreement is a contractual agreement, usually part of a union collective bargaining agreement, in which an employer and a trade or labor union agree on the extent to which the union may compel employees to join the union, and/or whether the employer will collect dues, fees, and assessments on behalf of the union.[1]

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[edit] Rationale for the union security agreement

Union security agreements occur because of a classic failure in free markets known as the free rider problem. A classic study of the free rider problem is presented in Mancur Olson's 1965 work, The Logic of Collective Action.[2] In labor relations, the free rider problem exists because the costs of organizing a union and negotiating a contract with the employer can be very high, while it is almost impossible to prevent non-union members from enjoying the benefits of the contract because employers will find it too costly to adopt multiple wage and benefit scales.[3] Thus, the incentive is for each individual worker to "ride for free" by not paying the costs, which leads to the collapse of the union and no collective bargaining agreement.[3] If the union collapses, each worker is worse off than if the union had negotiated the agreement.[3] Union security agreements are one way of ensuring that all (or nearly all) workers incur the costs of collective bargaining (e.g., join the union and pay dues) so that everyone is better off.[3][4] There are alternative solutions to the free rider problem in labor relations. One solution is for the state to provide rights (such as the right to administer welfare or pension funds, or to participate in a works council) or benefits (such as unemployment insurance) only to unions or their members.[5][6] Another solution is for unions to engage in members-only collective bargaining, which restricts the benefits of the contract only to union members.[7][8]

[edit] Legal status of the union security agreement

The International Labour Organization's Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 can "in no way be interpreted as authorising or prohibiting union security arrangements, such questions being matters for regulation in accordance with national practice."[9]

Union security agreements are explicitly mentioned in the labor laws of many countries. They are highly regulated by law and court rulings in the United States[1][10] and to a lesser degree in Great Britain.[8] The legal status of the union security agreement varies from province to province in Canada and at the federal level, with a few provinces permitting it (but not requiring it) but the majority (and the federal government) requiring it if the union requests it.[11] In most Western European countries, the closed shop (one form of the union security agreement) is banned, while other forms go unregulated in labor law.[8][12] But this is not a uniform conclusion, and law may vary widely. For example, in Germany both the right to join a union and the right not to join a union are equally protected by law and the courts, and all forms of union security agreements are banned.[6] Belgian law has similar provisions.[8] But since participation in the unemployment insurance system is compulsory and only unions have the right to administer this system, union membership in Belgium remains high.[5] Outside North America and Western Europe, the legal status of union security agreements varies even more widely. In New Zealand, the closed shop is compulsory where a union has organized the workplace.[13] Various types of union security agreements are permitted under Phillipine labor law.[14] The closed shop was mandatory under Mexican labor law until the early 1990s, when a change in federal law permitted the union shop, agency shop, or no agreement at all.[15][16] But because of the political ties between unions and the governing party in Mexico, and other ways in which Mexican law favors established unions, the closed shop is essentially still the norm.[16]

Many countries, however, have not addressed the issue of union security agreements. Neither Indonesian nor Thai labor law addresses the issue, and in both countries collective bargaining, union administrative procedures, and dues collection are so weak that the union security issues rarely arise.[17] The legal status of union security agreements has varied widely across each state and the national government and over time in Australia. Australian labor law does not explicitly regulate union security agreements. However, various forms of the union security agreement have been favored at one time or another by each state, territory, or the national government, effectively regulating the favored type of union security agreement and disadvantaging its other forms.[18]

[edit] Types of union security agreements

Various types of union security agreements exist. Among the more common are:

  • Closed shop—The employer agrees only to hire union members. An employee who resigns from the union must be fired.[1]
  • Union shop—The employer may hire anyone regardless of their union membership status, but the employee must join the union within a set time period (e.g., 30 days). An employee who resigns from the union must be fired.[1]
  • Agency shop—The employer may hire anyone regardless of their union membership status, and the employee need not join the union. However, all non-union employees must pay a fee (known as the "agency fee") to the union to cover the costs of collective bargaining (and, in some countries, other fees as well). An employee who resigns from the union may not be fired, but must pay the agency fee.[1]
  • Fair share provision—The employer may hire anyone regardless of their union membership status, and the employee need not join the union. However, all non-union employees must pay a fee (known as the "fair share fee") to the union to cover the costs of collective bargaining. An employee who resigns from the union may not be fired, but must pay the fair share fee.[1] In public sector collective bargaining, where the agency shop is often outlawed, the fair share provision (almost identical to the agency fee) may be negotiated instead.[19]
  • Dues checkoff—A contract between the employer and union where the employer agrees to collect the dues, fees, assessments, and other monies from union members and/or non-members directly from each worker's paycheck and transmit those funds to the union on a regular basis.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Pynes, Joan. Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations. 2d ed. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Sons, 2004. ISBN 0787970786
  2. ^ Olson, Mancur. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. 18th rev. ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971. ISBN 0674537513
  3. ^ a b c d Towers, Brian. The Representation Gap: Change and Reform in the British and American Workplace. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN 0198293194; Holley, William H.; Jennings, Kenneth M.; and Wolters, Roger S. The Labor Relations Process. 9th ed. Florence, Ky.: Cengage Learning, 2008. ISBN 0324421443; Beatty, David M. Putting the Charter to Work: Designing a Constitutional Labour Code. Toronto: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, 1987. ISBN 0773506012; Bar-Niv, Zvi H. International Labour Law Reports, Volume 8. Leiden, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1990. ISBN 0792304292
  4. ^ Not all scholars agree that a free rider problem exists in labor relations. See: Baird, Charles W. Opportunity or Privilege: Labor Legislation in America. New York: Transaction Publishers, 1984. ISBN 0912051027
  5. ^ a b Rothstein, Bo. "Labour-Market Institutions and Working-Class Strength." In Power Resources Theory and the Welfare State: A Critical Approach: Essays Collected in Honour of Walter Korpi. Julia Sila O'Connor and Gregg Matthew Olsen, eds. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998. ISBN 0802071716
  6. ^ a b Daubler, Wolfgang. "The Individual and the Collective: No Problem for German Labor Law?" Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal. 10:505 (Summer 1989).
  7. ^ Morris, Charles. The Blue Eagle At Work: Reclaiming Democratic Rights In The American Workplace. Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, 2004. ISBN 0801443172.
  8. ^ a b c d Ulman, Lloyd; Eichengreen, Barry J.; and Dickens, William T. Labor and an Integrated Europe. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1993. ISBN 0815786816
  9. ^ "Case(s) No(s). 188, Report No. 34 (Denmark): Complaints against the Government of Denmark presented by Swiss Printing Workers' Union and the Swiss Federation of National Christian Trade Unions." Document No. 031960034188. Cases of the Committee on Freedom of Association. International Labor Organization. March 4, 1959.
  10. ^ Gold, Michael Evan. An Introduction to Labor Law. 2d rev. ed. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1998. ISBN 0801484774
  11. ^ Bennett, James T. and Kaufman, Bruce E. The Future of Private Sector Unionism in the United States. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2002. ISBN 0765608529
  12. ^ Kassalow, Everett M. "The Closed and Union Shop in Western Europe: An American Perspective." Journal of Labor Research. 1:2 (June 1980).
  13. ^ Davidson, Alexander. Two Models of Welfare: The Origins and Development of the Welfare State in Sweden and New Zealand, 1888-1988. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell International, 1989. ISBN 9155424864
  14. ^ Mendoza, Quintin C. The Philippine Labor Relations Law. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store, 2001. ISBN 971230583X
  15. ^ Befort, Stephen F. and Cornett, Virginia E. "Beyond the Rhetoric of the NAFTA Treaty Debate: A Comparative Analysis of Labor and Employment Law in Mexico and the United States." Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal. 17:269 (Winter 1996).
  16. ^ a b LaBotz, Dan. Mask of Democracy: Labor Suppression in Mexico Today. Boston: South End Press, 1992. ISBN 089608437X
  17. ^ Levine, Marvin J. Worker Rights and Labor Standards in Asia's Four New Tigers: A Comparative Perspective. New York: Springer, 1997. ISBN 0306454777
  18. ^ Weeks, Phillipa. Trade Union Security Law: A Study of Preference and Compulsory Unionism. Annandale, NSW, Australia: Federation Press, 1995. ISBN 1862871671
  19. ^ Marczely, Bernadette. Human Resource and Contract Management in the Public School: A Legal Perspective. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. ISBN 081084379X

[edit] External links

Organized Labour portal
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