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Labor Relations Paper

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Labor Relations Paper
Labor Relations Paper
Carene Anderson Allen
MGT/431
March 23, 2009
Alfred C. MacArthur

Labor Relations Paper In today’s business world organizations are not as concerned with the threats of unions as in the past. Labor unions stretch deep in the American history protecting the early settlers against unfair working conditions. The work environment has changed significantly over the years; and employees’ rights are now protected by different labor laws so much that the purpose of labor unions seems almost insignificant. Organization however; must maintain a level of integrity and professionalism at all times to ensure honest business practices not only for employees, but also for customers. In this paper unions and labor relations and their effects on organizations are defined. The effect of changes in employee relations strategies, policies, and practices on organizational performance are examined; followed by a discussion on if unions are still relevant in the United States.
Union
Unions are organizations formed for the purpose of representing their members interest in dealing with employers (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2004, p. 461). Labor unions represent the best interest of workers and bargain collectively with the organizations to manage conflict. Unions view their roles as always needed; because of the inevitable employee and manager conflict. If an employee believes his or her interests and needs do not receive adequate consideration from management he, or she usually joins a union to have this addressed. A union not only serves to benefit the members, but also at times is beneficial to the organization in which the members are employed.

Labor Relations In the earlier years unionization became common among workers. As a result universities developed a training program called labor relations to streamline the process. Labor relations emphasize the skills managers and union leaders can use to minimize the costly forms of conflict and



References: Noe, R.A, Hollenbeck, J.R, Gerhart, B. Wright (2004). P.M. Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (2nd ed) McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007 New York, NY. ‘/

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