GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Agency Shop

Unions that are the bargaining representatives of workers in a company or public agency have the legal obligation to represent all the workers in the bargaining unit regardless of union-membership status. Because of that obligation unions in California have the right to negotiate "agency shop" agreements which require all bargaining unit members to pay full union dues or a fee for the costs of union representation.

Collective Bargaining And Labor Arbitration: An Overview

Collective bargaining consists of negotiations between an employer and a group of employees so as to determine the conditions of employment. The result of collective bargaining procedures is a collective agreement. Employees are represented in bargaining by a union. Collective bargaining is governed by federal and state statutory laws, administrative agency regulations, and judicial decisions. In areas where federal and state law overlap, state laws are preempted.

The main body of law governing collective bargaining is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). It explicitly grants employees the right to collectively bargain and join trade unions. The NLRA was originally enacted by Congress in 1935 under its power to regulate interstate commerce. It applies to most private non-agricultural employees and employers engaged in some aspect of interstate commerce. Decisions and regulations of the National Labor Relations Board, which was established by the NLRA, greatly supplement and define the provisions of the act.

The NLRA establishes procedures for the selection of a labor organization to represent a unit of employees in collective bargaining. The act prohibits employers from interfering with this selection. The NLRA requires the employer to bargain with the appointed representative of its employees. It does not require either side to agree to a proposal or make concessions but does establish procedural guidelines on good faith bargaining. Proposals which would violate the NLRA or other laws may not be subject to collective bargaining. The NLRA also establishes regulations on what tactics (e.g. strikes, lock-outs, picketing) each side may employ to further their bargaining objectives.

State laws further regulate collective bargaining and make collective agreements enforceable under state law. They may also provide guidelines for those employers and employees not covered by the NLRA, such as agricultural laborers.

Arbitration is a method of dispute resolution used as an alternative to litigation. It is commonly designated in collective agreements between employers and employees as the way to resolve disputes. The parties select a neutral third party (an arbiter) to hold a formal or informal hearing on the disagreement. The arbiter then issues a decision binding on the parties. Both federal and state law governs the practice of arbitration. While the Federal Arbitration Act, by its own terms, is not applicable to employment contracts, federal courts are increasingly applying the law in labor disputes. Thirty-five states have adopted the Uniform Arbitration Act as state law. Thus, the arbitration agreement and decision of the arbiter may be enforceable under state and federal law.

Contracting Out

'Contracting out' refers to the process by which public agencies and/or private companies contract with other companies to perform some or all of the functions currently being performed by agency workers. Often the purpose of such contracts is to avoid union contracts or otherwise to drive down labor costs. The common result of contracting out or "privatization" (moving public operations to the private sector) is a loss of public accountability, reduction in the living standards of workers and the community, increased profits of for-profit contractors.

Freedom to Choose a Union

Current labor law places few limits on employer interference with workersÕ efforts to gain a voice in the workplace. The term refers to the principle that all workers should have the right to organize into unions, gain representation at the workplace, and negotiate collective bargaining agreements without any interference or intimidation by their employer.

Living Wage Ordinances

The principle: Workers employed by the City should be fairly compensated and given adequate job protections. Cities should set the standard for what constitutes fair terms of employment. Workers employed by contractors doing business with the city should not be among the ranks of the city's working poor. San Jose's Living Wage Ordinance requires contractors doing business with the City of San Jose to do the following:

a) pay employees a livable wage (above the Santa Clara County Poverty Level)
b) provide employees with health benefits
c) provide employees job security when contracts change hands
d) ensure labor peace

Living Wage Ordinances have been adopted with the support of people of faith, labor and grassroots organizations in over 19 cities across the nation.

Neutrality/Card Check Neutrality

A neutrality agreement is one in which an employer agrees not to indicate support or opposition to the efforts of their employees to organize for union representation. The employer agrees to not hold mandatory meetings, issue campaign literature, hire consultants or in any way interfere with the workers' right to choose a union.

Card Check neutrality agreements include the provision that the employer will recognize the union without a costly and time consuming election if the majority of workers sign a petition or authorization cards indicating their support of the union.

Prequalification / Responsible Bidder

What is a "responsible bidder" on public works projects? A responsible bidder is a seasoned, experienced contractor or other vendor who can document her/his experience with a history of successfully completed projects and satisfied customers. Responsible bidder guidelines, when used properly by awarding bodies, guarantee to the public that public works projects are done by low bidders who can also meet tests such as making deadlines, completing high quality projects, and satisfying customers. A practice of awarding work solely based on low bid is a system likely to fail because it leaves the value added by contractors committed to doing quality work on time completely out of the awarding criteria.

Prevailing Wage

The requirement to pay prevailing wages are an essential part of apprenticeship training and have both pension and health care benefits factored into the overall wage. It is for all these reasons that "Davis ÐBacon" better known as "Prevailing Wage" are necessary to the construction industry for both union and non-union alike. This mandate is one of the few safeguards government provides to prevent contractors from gaining a competitive advantage in the low-bid public works process by eliminating their costs on training, healthcare and retirement programs.

Project Labor Agreements

A Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a type of pre-hire agreement designed to facilitate complex construction projects which puts all workers, regardless of union, under a separate, umbrella contract that applies only to a specific project. A product of collective bargaining, PLAs govern the work rules, pay rates, and dispute resolution processes for every worker on the project.

These agreements do not require employers to sign collective bargaining agreements. These agreements ensure elimination of all work stoppages for the duration of the project, through a project-long no-strike, no-lockout commitment, with binding procedures to resolve all disputes, assuring productive labor relations.

Right to Work Laws

Right to work laws are those prohibiting employers from negotiating an agency shop agreement into a collective bargaining contract with the union that represents their employees. Encourages the use of "free riders" by forcing union members to subsidize the benefits of collective bargaining for people not willing to pay their fair share.

Worker Retention

The well being of employees and their families should not be jeopardized when sub-contractors lose their government contracts. Government officials should be able to enact "retention clauses" that will protect those workers by making a condition for the new company to retain and employ said workers. This will provide security to greater number of workers that otherwise will be unemployed and forced to use government services at the expense of taxpayers.