Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations

339

Y

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

Understand the elements of labor - management relations and

collective bargaining and their importance to strategic human

resources management

Describe what a union is and why employees join unions

Understand the differences in collective bargaining rights for

federal employees, state and local employees, and nonprofi t

employees

Understand trends and issues in labor - management relations

T

he economic, technological, social, cultural, and legal changes affecting
the workplace have provoked changes in labor - management rela-
tions. The current economic distress, leading to threats of downsizing and
privatization, along with the public ’ s concern about waste and ineffi ciency,
requires that unions and employers reexamine their structure and systems
to see how they can provide more effective services. To remain competitive,
management and unions must adopt new approaches and attitudes for
resolving confl icts. Together, they must creatively resolve problems and
develop solutions advantageous to both.

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CHAPTER TWELVE

LABOR - MANAGEMENT RELATIONS

Collective Bargaining in the Public and Nonprofi t

Sectors