10.12 Case Study: Dissatisfied Employees and Unionization

As the HR manager for Raggamuffin, a two-hundred-person company, you tend to have a pretty good sense of employee morale. Recently, you are concerned because it seems that morale is low due to pay concerns and the increasing health benefit costs to employees. You discuss these concerns with upper-level management, but due to financial pressures, the company cannot give pay raises this year.

One afternoon, the manager of the marketing department tells you that she has heard talk of employees unionizing. She reaffirms your concerns that the employees are very unhappy and productivity is suffering as a result. She says that employees have already started the unionization process by contacting the Labour Relations Board and are in the process of proving 35 percent worker interest in unionization.

As you mull over this news, you are concerned because the organization has always had a family atmosphere, and a union might change this. You are also concerned about the financial pressures to the organization should the employees unionize and negotiate higher pay rates, which they will surely do. You know that you must take action to see that this does not happen. However, you know that all managers are legally bound by the rules relating to unionization, and you need a refresher on what these rules are. You decide to request a meeting first with the CEO and then with managers to discuss strategy and inform them of the legal implications of this process. You feel confident that a resolution can be developed before the unionization happens.

Questions:

1. What are the legal responsibilities of management during a union campaign?
2. What strategies would you suggest to management related to the union organizing efforts?
3. Should the employees be successful in organizing a union, what is your next step as the HR Manager?