Labor Relations in the Public Sector pptx

Labor Relations

in the

Public Sector

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY

A Comprehensive Publication Program

Executive Editor

JACK RABIN

Professor of Public Administration and Public Policy

School of Public Affairs

The Capital College

The Pennsylvania State University--Harrisburg

Middletown, Pennsylvania

1. Public Administration as a Developing Disci[91ine (in two parts), Robert

Golembiewski

2. Comparative National Policies on Health Care, Milton I. Roemer, M.D.

3. Exclusionary Injustice: The Problem of Illegally Obtained Evidence, Steven

R. Schlesinger

4. Personnel Management inGovernment: Politics and Process, Jay M.

Shafritz, Walter L. Balk, Albert C. Hyde, and David H. Rosenbloom

5. Organization Development in Public Administration (in two parts), edited

Robert T. Golembiewski and William B. Eddy

6. Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective, Second Edition, Revised

and Expanded, Ferrel Heady

7. Approaches to Planned Change (in two parts), Robert T. Golembiewski

8. Program Evaluation at HEW (in three parts), edited by James G. Abert

9. The States and the Metropolis, Patricia S. Florestano and Vincent L.

Marando

10. Personnel Management in Govemment: Politics and Process, Second Edi￾tion, Revised and Expanded, Jay M. Shafritz, Albert C. Hyde, and David H.

Rosenbloom

11. Changing Bureaucracies: Understanding the Organization Before Selecting

the Approach, William A. Medina

12. Handbook on Public Budgeting and Financial Management, edited by Jack

Rabin and Thomas D. Lynch

13. Encyclopedia of Policy Studies, edited by Stuart S. Nagel

14. Public Administration and Law: Bench v. Bureau in the United States, David

H. Rosenbloom

15. Handbook on Public Personnel Administration and Labor Relations, edited

by Jack Rabin, Thomas Vocino, W. Bartley Hildreth, and Gerald J. Miller

16. Public Budgeting and Finance: Behavioral, Theoretical, and Technical Per￾spectives, Third Edition, edited by Robert T. Golembiewski and Jack Rabin

17. Organizational Behavior and Public Management, Debra W. Stewart and G.

David Garson

18. The Politics of Terrorism: Second Edition, Revised and Expanded, edited by

Michael Stohl

19. Handbook of Organization Management, edited by William B. Eddy

20. Organization Theory and Management, edited by Thomas D. Lynch

21. Labor Relations in the Public Sector, Richard C. Kearney

22. Politics and Administration: Woodrow Wilson and American Public Ad￾ministration, edited by Jack Rabin and James S. Bowman

23. Making and Managing Policy: Formulation, Analysis, Evaluation, edited by G.

Ronald Gilbert

24. Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective, Third Edition, Revised,

Ferrel Heady

25. Decision Making in the Public Sector, edited by Lloyd G. Nigro

26. Managing Administration, edited by Jack Rabin, Samuel Humes, and Brian

S. Morgan

27. Public Personnel Update, edited by Michael Cohen and Robert T. Golem￾biewski

28. State and Local Govemment Administration, edited by Jack Rabin and Don

Dodd

29. Public Administration: A Bibliographic Guide to the Literature, Howard E.

McCurdy

30. Personnel Management in Government: Politics and Process, Third Edition,

Revised and Expanded, Jay M. Shafritz, Albert C. Hyde, and David H.

Rosenbloom

31. Handbook ofInformation Resource Management, edited by Jack Rabin and

Edward M. Jackowski

32. Public Administration in Developed Democracies: AComparative Study,

edited by Donald C. Rowat

33. The Politics of Terrorism: Third Edition, Revised and Expanded, edited by

Michael Stohl

34. Handbook on Human Services Administration, edited by Jack Rabin and

Marcia B. Steinhauer

35. Handbook of Public Administration, edited by Jack Rabin, W. Bartley

Hildreth, and Gerald J. Miller

36. Ethics for Bureaucrats: An Essay on Law and Values, Second Edition,

Revised and Expanded, John A. Rohr

37. The Guide to the Foundations ofPublic Administration, Daniel W. Martin

38. Handbook of Strategic Management, edited by Jack Rabin, Gerald J. Miller,

and W. Bartley Hildreth

39. Terrorism and Emergency Management: Policy and Administration, William

L. Waugh, Jr.

40. Organizational Behavior and Public Management." Second Edition, Revised

and Expanded, Michael L. Vasu, Debra W. Stewart, and G. David Garson

41. Handbook of Comparative and Development Public Administration, edited by

Ali Farazmand

42. Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective, Fourth Edition, Ferrel

Heady

43. Government Financial Management Theory, Gerald J. Miller

44. Personnel Management in Govemment: Pofitics and Process, Fourth Edition,

Revised and Expanded, Jay M. Shafritz, Norma M. Riccucci, David H.

Rosenbloom, and Albert C. Hyde

45. Public Productivity Handbook, edited by Marc Holzer

46. Handbook of Public Budgeting, edited by Jack Rabin

47. Labor Relations in the Public Sectoc Second Edition, Revised and Ex￾panded, Richard C. Kearney

48. Handbook of Organizational Consultation, edited by Robert T. Golembiewski

49. Handbook of Court Administration and Management, edited by Steven W.

Hays and Cole Blease Graham, Jr.

50. Handbook of Comparative Public Budgeting and Financial Management,

edited by Thomas D. Lynch and Lawrence L. Martin

51. Handbookf Organizational Behavior, edited by Robert T. Golembiewski

52. Handbook of Administrative Ethics, edited by Terry L. Cooper

53. Encyclopedia of Policy Studies: Second Edition, Revised and Expanded,

edited by Stuart S. Nagel

54. Handbook of Regulation and Administrative Law, edited by David H.

Rosenbloom and Richard D. Schwartz

55. Handbook ofBureaucracy, edited by Ali Farazmand

56. Handbook ofPublic Sector Labor Relations, edited by Jack Rabin, Thomas

Vocino, W. Bartley Hildreth, and Gerald J. Miller

57. Practical Public Management, Robert T. Golembiewski

58. Handbook of Public Personnel Administration, edited by Jack Rabin, Thomas

Vocino, W. Bartley Hildreth, and Gerald J. Miller

59. Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective, Fifth Edition, Ferrel

Heady

60. Handbook of Debt Management, edited by Gerald J. Miller

61. Public Administration and Law: Second Edition, David H. Rosenbioom and

Rosemary O’Leary

62. Handbook of Local Govemment Administration, edited by John J. Gargan

63. Handbook of Administrative Communication, edited by James L. Garnett and

Alexander Kouzmin

64. Public Budgeting and Finance: Fourth Edition, Revised and Expanded,

edited by Robert T. Golembiewski and Jack Rabin

65. Handbook ofPublic Administration: Second Edition, edited by Jack Rabin,

W. Bartley Hildreth, and Gerald J. Miller

66. Handbook of Organization Theory and Management: The Philosophical

Approach, edited by Thomas D. Lynch and Todd J. Dicker

67. Handbook ofPublic Finance, edited by Fred Thompson ad Mark T. Green

68. Organizational Behavior and Public Management: Third Edition, Revised and

Expanded, Michael L. Vasu, Debra W. Stewart, and G. David Garson

69. Handbook of Economic Development, edited by Kuotsai Tom Liou

70. Handbook of Health Administration and Policy, edited by Anne Osborne Kil￾patrick and James A. Johnson

71. Handbook of Research Methods inPublic Administration, edited by Gerald J.

Miller and Marcia L. Whicker

72. Handbook on Taxation, edited by W. Bartley Hildreth and James A. Richard￾son

73. Handbook of Comparative Public Administration in the Asia-Pacific Basin,

edited by Hoi-kwok Wong and Hon S. Chan

74. Handbook of Global Environmental Policy and Administration, edited by

Dennis L. Soden and Brent S. Steel

75. Handbook of State Govemment Administration, edited by John J. Gargan

76. Handbookf Global Legal Policy, edited by Stuart S. Nagel

77. Handbook of Public Information Systems, edited by G. David Garson

78. Handbook of Global Economic Policy, edited by Stuart S. Nagel

79. Handbook of Strategic Management: Second Edition, Revised and Ex￾panded, edited by Jack Rabin, Gerald J. Miller, and W. Bartley Hildreth

80. Handbook of Global International Policy, edited by Stuart S. Nagel

81. Handbook of Organizational Consultation: Second Edition, Revised and

Expanded, edited by Robert T. Golembiewski

82. Handbook of Global Political Policy, edited by Stuart S. Nagel

83. Handbookf Global Technology Policy, edited by Stuart S. Nagel

84. Handbook of Criminal Justice Administration, edited by Toni DuPont￾Morales, Michael K. Hooper, and Judy H. Schmidt

85. Labor Relations in the Public Sector’. Third Edition, edited by Richard C.

Kearney

Additional Volumes in Preparation

Handbook of Global Social Policy, edited by Stuart S. Nagel and Amy Robb

Handbook of Organizational Behavioc Second Edition, Revised and Ex￾panded, edited by Robert T. Golembiewski

Handbook ofAdministrative Ethics: Second Edition, Revised and Expanded,

edited by Terry L. Cooper

Handbook of Public Quality Management, edited by Ronald J. Stupak and

Peter M. Leitner

Handbook of Crisis and Emergency Management, edited by Ali Farazmand

Handbook of Public Management Practice and Reform, edited by Kuotsai

Tom Liou

Handbook of Comparative and Development Public Administration: Second

Edition, Revised and Expanded, edited by All Farazmand

Principles and Practices of Pubfic Administration [on-line text], edited by Jack

Rabin, Robert Munzenrider, and Sherrie Bartell

Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective, Sixth Edition, Revised

and Expanded, Ferrel Heady

Personnel Management in Govemment: Politics and Process, Fifth Edition,

Jay M. Shafritz, Norma M. Riccucci, David H. Rosenbloom, Katherine C.

Naff, and Albert C. Hyde

ANNALS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

1. Public Administration: History and Theory in Contemporary Perspective,

edited by Joseph A. Uveges, Jr.

2. Public Administration Education in Transition, edited by Thomas Vocino and

Richard Heimovics

3. Centenary Issues of the Pendleton Act of 1883, edited by David Ho Ro￾senbloom with the assistance of Mark A. Emmert

4. Intergovemmental Relations in the 1980s, edited by Richard H. Leach

5. Criminal Justice Administration: Linking Practice and Research, edited by

William A. Jones, Jr.

Labor Relations

in the

Public Sector

Third Edition

Richard C. Kearney

East Carolina University

Greenville, North Carolina

with

David G. Carnevale

University of Oklahoma

Norman, Oklahoma

MARCEL

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Preface

Unions seem to be perpetually at a crossroads. Those in the private sector have

suffered membership declines for more than 45 years and, even under the dy￾namic leadership of AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, they will be hard-pressed

to reverse the powerful tide against unions in the private sector. In government,

union membership has been stagnant since the 1980s. Although there have been

some positive incremental changes in the state legal environment for collective

bargaining, no new comprehensive bargaining laws have been enacted since

1992. Meanwhile, fundamental restructuring of private and public organizations

and the processes they use to conduct their business have been occurring at an

ever-increasing rate. Globalization of labor and markets has profoundly chal￾lenged unions in the business sector. For their counterparts in government, contin￾uing citizen resistance to government taxing and spending, joined with the move￾ment to reinvent government, have posed new challenges that provide both threats

and opportunities. In any event, managing in a union environment is a reality

for approximately 40% of public managers, and unions remain key political ac￾tors in the federal government and in a large proportion of state and local jurisdic￾tions.

The third edition of Labor Relations in the Public Sector has been com￾pletely updated in terms of the scholarly and professional literature and relevant

events. Collective bargaining and labor relations are addressed at all levels of

government, with comparisons to the private and nonprofit sectors. The Rein￾venting Government Movement has been incorporated into several chapters. In￾terest-based ("win-win") negotiation is a prominent theme in discussions of the

bargaining process and contract administration. The third edition features several

iii

iv Preface

new case studies that are intended to provide students with experiential learning

exercises.

There have been two changes in the organization of the book. The initial

chapter on the history and development of unions has been separated into two new

chapters: "History and Background" and "The Unions Today." The chapter in

the previous edition on the bargaining process has also been divided into two:

"Fundamentals of the Bargaining Process" and "The Process and Politics of

Public Sector Collective Bargaining." These modifications facilitate inclusion of

new materials and improve the flow and organization of the book.

The third edition is designed to be more classroom-friendly than earlier

versions. As before, the book is intended for use in graduate and undergraduate

courses in labor relations, collective bargaining, human resource management,

and problems in public administration.

Contributing to the book for the first time is David G. Camevale of the

University of Oklahoma. Dr. Carnevale has extensive experience in labor rela￾tions and collective bargaining. His involvement has significantly strengthened

the third edition by lending the insights of a practitioner.

I appreciate the comments and suggestions of professors and students who

have used earlier editions of the book. Thanks also go to Arevik Saribekyan

and Rodney Rose, MPA students at East Carolina University, who helped gather

information and materials for the third edition. A special thanks to Kathy Morgan,

who prepared the index. As always, I am indebted to Kathy and Joel for their

love and support.

Richard C. Kearney

Contents

Preface

1. History and Background

2. The Unions Today

3. The Legal Environment of Public Sector Labor Relations

4. Fundamentals of the Bargaining Process

5. The Process and Politics of Public Sector Collective Bargaining

6. Financial Impacts of Unions and Collective Bargaining

7. Union Impacts: Personnel Processes and Policies

8. Strike!

9. Resolving Impasses: Alternatives to the Strike

10. Living with the Contract

11. Public Employee Unions in the Future

References

Index

iii

1

23

45

81

113

139

177

221

259

293

325

347

379

Labor Relations

in the

Public Sector

1

History and Background

I. INTRODUCTION

As the industrial revolution dawned in England in the mid-eighteenth century, the

employer’s authority was absolute, and completely free from laws or government

regulations. Employers unilaterally determined wages and the terms and condi￾tions of employment for their workers. As a practical matter, all but the most

skilled workers had to take jobs as they came, with little or no opportunity to

influence compensation levels or the nature of the work. Early efforts to form

trade unions were violently suppressed by laws forbidding organization as a crim￾inal conspiracy in restraint of trade.

It was a long hard struggle for employees in England and Europe to gain

the fights to organize and bargain collectively--and it took nearly 200 years in

the United States. Today these fights are held in nearly all nations. Labor, in this

sense, is triumphant. But unions in the United States today face new sets of

problems and challenges, the outcomes of which could well determine their very

existence in the next few decades.

The intent of this initial chapter is to discuss the history and development

of unionization and collective bargaining in the private sector and in government.

The roots of government unions are traced through an historical examination of

the American trade union movement. The development of public sector unioniza￾tion is examined, including key factors that contributed to the growth of unions

in government.

A. Early American Unionism

Labor organizations have existed in the United States since the earliest days of

the Republic. The environment within which they have been created and grown,

however, has not always been friendly or even tolerant.

The earliest domestic roots of American unionism may be traced to the

self-help organizations formed by workers in the crafts and skilled trades prior

to the Revolutionary War. These organizations were, in a sense, transplants of

2 Chapter 1

the European guilds. Probably the first guild to develop in the United States was

the cordwainers (shoemakers) in 1648 in Boston (Commons 1980). This guild

eventually evolved into what some historians believe to be the first American

trade union--The Society of Master Cordwainers. The guilds were not true

"unions" in that there was no separation of labor between worker and owner.

Nonetheless, workers were united in a common cause of self-protection.

The early American labor organizations were based on handicraft tech￾nologies like shoe making, stone cutting, carpentry, hat finishing, and printing.

Their membership was composed of skilled laborers organized along the lines

of individual crafts. Today, such organizations are known as craft unions. It is not

surprising that organized labor began with highly skilled, strategically situated

workers, as they were the first to enjoy what is referred to today as bargaining

power.

Public policy toward early labor organizations may be characterized as one

of suppression. They had no legal basis for existence and were considered "crimi￾nal conspiracies in restraint of trade" under common law. This criminal conspir￾acy doctrine emerged from a court case involving the cordwainers, in which a

judge ruled it illegal for Philadelphia shoemakers to act collectively in efforts to

raise their wages. Several of the early craft unions were prosecuted for criminal

conspiracy until the doctrine was ended by the Massachusetts court decision of

Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842), which held that such organized union activities

were lawful.

Some local labor organizations entered the political arena during the 1820s

and 1830s through affiliating with "workingmen’s parties." They pressed

Congress and state legislatures for job-related concessions such as the 10-hour

day, and also for broader reforms such as free universal education, an end to the

military draft, abolition of debtor’s prisons, and expansion of suffrage. Many

of these organizations, which were strongest in large cities such as New York

and Philadelphia, even took a short-lived step towards national organization

in 1834 by forming the National Trades Union to coordinate activities of the

locals.

It was during this same time period (1820s to 1830s) that labor organiza￾tions began to penetrate public employment, as public workers in skilled occupa￾tions sought the 10-hour day won in some cities by their private counterparts.

Most of this activity was concentrated in federal naval shipyards in Philadelphia,

Boston, and New York. Later, when agitation for the 8-hour work day began,

the first employer to grant it was the federal government, at the Charleston, South

Carolina, Navy Yard in 1842. According to Spero (1948:87), the drive for the

8-hour day "led to the crystallization of the principle of the state as a model

employer maintaining the highest possible working standards in its services as

an example for others to follow."