CE 303 Introduction to Construction
Engineering
3/31/2011
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• List and describe the laws that have to do
with labor and management.
• Describe the role of union in the
Construction Industry
Industry.
• Understand the difference among Union
Shop, Open Shop, and Dual Shop
operations
CE303 Introduction to
g
g
Construction Engineering
LABOR LAW & LABOR
RELATIONS
3/31/2011
Labor-Management Relations
Labor-Management Relations
• Early 1900’s, unions were strictly curtailed
and sometimes referred to as “unlawful
conspiracies.”
• Prior to the 1930s,, law of labor relations
was created principally by the courts.
• Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 – applied to
unions per 1908 Supreme Court Ruling
• The depression of the 1930’s caused
government to realize the significant
imbalance in power between labor and
management with labor having little power
power.
• Everything changed with the New Deal in
the early 1930s.
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• Strictly limits the power of
federal courts to issue
injunctions against union
activities in labor disputes
and protects the right of
workers to strike and picket
peaceably.
• Also prohibits “yellow-dog
contracts”
Norris-LaGuardia Act, 1932.
National Labor Relations Act, 1935.
Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947.
Labor-Management Reporting and
Disclosure Act, 1959.
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Norris-LaGuardia Act, 1932
U.S. Labor-Management Policy
•
•
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CE 303 Introduction to Construction
Engineering
3/31/2011
NORRIS-LAGUARDIA PROHIBITED
"YELLOW DOG CONTRACTS"
INJUNCTION
• A judicial remedy awarded for the purpose
of requiring a party to refrain from doing a
particular act or activity.
• Injunctions were used by courts of equity
to restrain parties from conduct contrary to
equity and good conscience.
• Employment contract that provides that a
job applicant will not be hired until he
promises
• not to join a union during his tenure of
employment and
• to renounce any existing membership.
– one injunction issued by a federal court in the 1920s
effectively barred the United Mine Workers of
America from talking to workers who had signed
yellow dog contracts with their employers.
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National Labor Relations Act, 1935
– aka
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National Labor Relations Act, 1935
• Created the concept of unfair labor
practices - actions on the part of
employers that infringe on the workers'
exercise of their rights and are defined as
illegal.
• Enforcement is by the National Labor
Relations Board
• Almost inevitably, however, removal of
restraints result in union excesses
– Protect union-organizing activity, and
– foster collective bargaining as a way of
reducing the power inequity between
labor and management.
• Employers are required to bargain in
good faith with the properly chosen
representative of their employees.
• Employers are prohibited from
discriminating against their
employees on the basis of the
employees' union activities.
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Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947
Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947
aka - The Taft-Hartley Act
The Taft-Hartley Act
• Defined unfair labor practices for both employers
and labor organizations.
• Established the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service
• The first federal statute that imposed
comprehensive controls over the
activities of organized labor.
• Designed to curtail the freedom of
action of unions in specified ways
ways.
• Established the basic right of every
worker to participate in union activities
or to refrain from them, subject to
authorized union security agreements
requiring membership in a union as a
condition of employment.
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The
Wagner Act
The Wagner Act
• Central purpose was to
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• Gave the President of the United States certain
powers regarding labor disputes imperiling
national health or safety.
• Restricted political contributions by labor
organizations and business corporations.
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CE 303 Introduction to Construction
Engineering
3/31/2011
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure
Act, 1959 - aka the Landrum-Griffin Act
National Labor Relations Board
• The principal thrust was to
– safeguard the rights of the individual union
member,
– to ensure democratic elections in unions,
– to combat corruption and racketeering in unions,
and
d
– to protect the public and innocent parties against
unscrupulous union tactics.
• Established a code of conduct for unions, union
officers, employers, and labor relations consultants.
• Amended the National Labor Relations Act and the
Labor-Management Relations Act.
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• Comprised by five members and the general
counsel of the board - appointed by the
President with the consent of the Senate.
• Has two primary functions:
1. to
1
t establish,
t bli h usually
ll b
by secret-ballot
t b ll t elections,
l ti
whether groups of employees wish to be represented
by designated labor organizations for collective
bargaining purposes.
2. to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices.
• Only becomes involved when there is
considerable threat to the nation’s commerce
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An employer commits an UNFAIR
LABOR PRACTICE if it:
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE for a
labor organization or its agents:
• Interferes with, restrains, or coerces
employees in the exercise of their right of self
organization.
• Discriminates against an employee in order to
encourage or discourage union membership.
• Refuse to bargain in good faith about wages,
hours, other conditions of employment
• Discharge an employee because he has filed
charges under the act
• Enters into hot-cargo agreement with a union.
• To coerce employees in their right to join, or
refrain from union activities.
• To cause an employer to discriminate against an
employee
y in regard
g
to wages,
g
hours, or other
conditions of employment for the purpose of
encouraging or discouraging membership in a
labor organization.
• To engage in secondary boycotts
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Charges of Unfair Labor
Practices
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE for a
labor organization or its agents:
• A contractor, union, or an individual worker
can file charges of unfair labor practices
• When a complaint is issued, a public
hearing is held
• If a contractor or a union fails to comply
with an order, the NLRB can petition for a
decree enforcing the order
• To require of employees, covered
by a valid union shop,
membership fees that the NLRB
finds to be excessive or
discriminatory.
discriminatory
• To cause or attempt to cause an
employer to pay or agree to pay
for services that are not
performed or not to be performed.
• To picket or threaten any
employer to force it to recognize
or bargain with a union
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CE 303 Introduction to Construction
Engineering
3/31/2011
Project Labor Agreements
Project Labor Agreements
• Right to work laws: forbid union
membership as a condition of employment
• A comprehensive pre-hire collective bargaining
agreement.
• Closed shop: requires that a worker be a
member
b off th
the appropriate
i t union
i att th
the ti
time
he/she is hired.
• Union shop: a new employee need not be a
union member at the time of employment, but
he/she must join within a stipulated period to
retain his job.
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Union Contractor
Union Contractor
• a contractor who has collective bargaining
agreements with labor unions representing its
workers (typically, a local union)
• Collective bargaining
g
g agreements
g
may
y be
negotiated by the contractor or contractor
associations
• Advantages of being a union contractor:
• Typically, the craftsman is referred to by his
union
• If referred out as a journeyman, worker is
assumed to know his trade
• Receives the same pay as all other workers of
the same classification in his craft - no
differences for abilities or performance
• Supervision is by a foreman - a member of the
union
– access to existing pool of skilled labor
– labor prices and conditions of employment are known
(set by labor agreement)
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Role of the Unions
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Collective Bargaining
• Negotiate collective bargaining agreements
• Administer collective bargaining agreements
- handle grievances
• Administer the hiring hall, where applicable
• Conduct training programs
• Recruit new apprentices
• Organize unorganized contractors
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• Labor contracts between construction
contractors and labor unions
• Establishing wages, hours, and other
essential conditions of employment
employment.
• Multiemployer collective bargaining is the
standard way
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CE 303 Introduction to Construction
Engineering
3/31/2011
Union History
AFL-CIO Facts
• What is the mission of the AFL-CIO?
• In 1886 – American Federation of Labor
(AFL)
• The construction trades were charter
members of the AFL
• 1938 – Congress of Industrial
Organizations (CIO)
• 1955 – the two groups were able to patch
up differences and reassociated
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– The AFL-CIO's mission is to bring social and economic justice to
our nation by enabling working people to have a voice on the
job, in government, in their communities and in a changing
global economy.
• What unions are part of the AFL-CIO?
– Fifty-six unions make up the membership of the AFLCIO.
• How many union members are there in the United
States?
– About 15.4 million, 12.2 million of whom belong to
unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO
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Apprenticeship Programs
Apprenticeship Programs
• Traditionally, have been a joint effort between
union contractors and the respective unions.
• U.S. Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training
(BAT) [National Joint Apprenticeship
Committee] established for each trade that is
responsible for developing training standards.
• Funded by a dollars per hour worked
contribution from employers.
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• In 1971 BAT approved national
apprenticeship standards for the employees of
open-shop contractors.
• Typically a construction trade requires two to
four years of on job training and min144
hours/year of related classroom instruction
• Competency- based training programs.
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Merit-Shop Contractor,
a.k.a. Open Shop
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Merit-Shop Contractor
• Contractor that is not signatory to a labor
agreement with a union
• Establishes its own pay rates and fringe
benefit plans.
• Complete freedom in the management of
its labor force
– Hires workers directly from the open market
rather than through a union hiring hall
• Contracts with subcontractors without
regard to their union status
• Recruits, hires, trains, promotes,
disciplines, and discharges its employees
in accordance with its own company
policies.
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CE 303 Introduction to Construction
Engineering
3/31/2011
Dual Shop Operation
Pre-Hire Agreements
• “Double-breasted” operations:
• A construction employer may sign a labor
agreement with a union prior to the hiring
of any workers or before the union can
show that it represents a majority of the
employees involved.
• May apply to a single project or a
geographic area.
• Unique in construction.
– operation of a union and non-union firm by the
same organization
• There must be two separate and
independent business entities, each of
whose labor policies are conducted
without interference from the other.
• Geographic reasons
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Prefabrication Clauses
Jurisdictional Disputes
• Can ban the contractor’s discretionary use
of prefabricated components
• “Right of Control Test”
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• Problems can arise when
more than one union claim
exclusive jurisdiction over
a work item
• Unions regard its work as
a proprietary right.
• Can be a significant
barrier to modern
workforce strategies.
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Union Membership
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Construction Trades
All Construction
Admin Support
Manager
Roofer
Painter
Drywall
Laborer, helper
Heat A/C mech
Carpenter
C
Concrete
t
Repair
Truck Driver
Bricklayer, mason
Welder
Op Engineer
Plumber
Sheet Metal
Electrical
Ironworker
•
•
•
•
•
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
% in each occupation
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Boilermakers – International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
Masons – International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers
Carpenters – United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
Equipment Operators – International Union of Operating Engineers
Construction Laborers – Laborers’ International Union of North America
(LUNA)
• Concrete
C
t Fi
Finishers
i h
– International
I t
ti
l Union
U i off B
Bricklayers
i kl
and
d Alli
Allied
d
Craftworkers
• Electrician – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
• Instrumentation – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
• Glaziers – International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
• Painters – International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
• Pipefitters and Plumbers – United Association (UA)
• Sheet Metal – Sheet Metal Workers International Association
• Structural and Reinforcing Ironwork – International Associate of
Ironworkers
• Insulator – International Association of Heat and Frost Insulatoirs and
Asbestos Workers
• Millwrights – Union Millwrights
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CE 303 Introduction to Construction
Engineering
3/31/2011
Union Membership in
Construction
Union
Status
Union
Non-union
TOTAL
1970s
(N=252)
Decade
1980s
1990s
(N=346)
(N=127)
38.5%
61.5%
100.0%
24.6%
75.4%
100.0%
Construction Workers
• Construction Projects are of finite (limited)
duration
• Construction Projects require multiple
contractors, multiple
p crafts
• The average construction worker has no fixed
relationship with a contractor; typically works for
more than one contractor in a year
• The Construction worker is hired for a project
and laid off when he is no longer needed
2000s
(N=63)
19.0%
81.0%
18.9%
81.1%
100.0%
100.0%
Source: General Sociological Survey
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Construction Workers
Craft Shortages
• Some workers have a longer term
relationship with a contractor and are
moved from project to project
• Worker identifies with his craft rather than
a contractor
• Viewed as a member of a pool of skilled
labor in an area - hired as needed
• Requires mobility - travel to work
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• 1982 – Business Roundtable forecasts a
severe work force shortage if training not
improved
• 2001 – Construction Users Roundtable
Survey
– 82% of respondents reported experiencing
work force shortages
– 78% reported the work force situation had
worsened
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Construction Real Wages
20.00
18.00
16.00
14.00
12.00
19
98
20
00
19
94
19
96
19
90
19
92
19
82
19
84
19
86
19
88
19
78
19
80
19
70
19
72
19
74
19
76
10.00
19
68
Average Hourly Wage
e (1990$)
22.00
Year
Total Manufacturing
General Contractors
Heavy Construction
Special Trades
Data source: Business Statistics of the United States, 2002
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CE 303 Introduction to Construction
Engineering
3/31/2011
Possible Causes for Work Force
Shortage
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Decline in real wages
Unfavorable perception of industry
Disagreeable and unsafe work environment
Physically demanding work
Lack of job stability/security
Lack of adequate training opportunities
Limited recruitment pool
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Labor Standards Legislation
Davis-Bacon Act, 1931
• Federal law that determines the wage
rates, including fringe benefits, that must
be paid workers on all federal construction
projects.
projects
• Applies to contracts in excess of $2000.
• Designed to provide equal competitive
footing to union and nonunion contractors
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