Your Right to Say "NO"

Local Unions are often confronted with an employer's insistence on an employee involvement (El) program of some sort or another. Often these programs are couched in different terms and called different things, but the employer inevitably desires a "team" approach to improving productivity and quality. This, the employer claims, will insure success, job security and economic rewards. These programs must be negotiated. Local Unions should follow the blueprint laid out in OCAW's Convention resolutions and policies adopted by the International Executive Board. Should the company try to implement a program unilaterally, remember the following checklist:

* Unilateral implementation of an El program without agreement from the union is bad faith bargaining. Jafco. 284 N.L.R.B. No. 139, 126 L.R.R.M. 1038 (1987).

* It is illegal for the company to bypass the union to deal with an employee committee. Jafco, 284 N.L.R.B. No. 139, 126 L.R.R.M. 1038 (1987).

* The employer may not discuss mandatory subjects of bargaining with an El committee, even if the labor contract is silent on a particular subject. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 311 N.L.R.B. No. 88, 143 L.R.R.M. 1121,1123(1993).

* Mandatory subjects of bargaining include such subjects as: accomplishment awards, name tags, quiet time, use of electronic mail, providing lab coats, cafeteria improvements, revised entry system for the plant, distribution of technical books, a smoke-free restroom, wages, hours, bonuses, merit wage increases, use of company services and products, pensions, insurance, profit-sharing, stock purchase plans, implementation or revision of drug-testing or alcohol-testing policies, seniority, retirement age, management procedures, safety and health, no strike and no lockout clauses, no discrimination clauses, subcontracting, outsourcing, successorship clauses, certain changes in operations, work standards, work rules, work schedules, work loads, and work assignments. (This is not an all-inclusive list.)

* Serious consideration should be given to having decisions made by a union-approved committee ratified by the bargaining unit. Woodell v. Electrical Workers Local 71, 138 L.R.R.M. 2881 (1991).

* The right to be on a committee is like the right to vote on contracts, which can be restricted to members of the union. Letter Carriers. Branch 6000 v. N.L.R.B., 595 F.2d 808, 100 L.R.R.M. 2346 (1979).

* The union should demand the names of any officers or stewards who have applied for management positions, and consider excluding them from the committee. N.L.R.B. v. U.S. Postal Service. 841 F.2d 141, 127 L.R.R.M. 2807 (1982).

GUIDELINES FOR JOINT COMMITTEES

The following guidelines were adopted by the International Executive Board in 1995, to be operative as a matter of policy whenever the OCAW is confronted with proposals to form joint committees:

1. The chairperson or other co-equal member of the committee is an officer of the Union and/or is chosen by the Union in the manner determined by the Union. The leadership of the Local Union or other designee to the Committee should be fully empowered to act in an equal capacity as management representatives.

2. The Local Union representative(s) reserves the right to veto any issue coming before a joint committee to the same degree as any management official may retain such a right.

3. Union representatives to the Committee report regularly to Union leadership and membership.

4. Clear guidelines for the Committee's work are developed and agreed, to wit:
(a) Agree on a mission statement; that is, a clear statement of the purpose of the Committee. At an absolute minimum, a mission statement must unequivocally state that the company respects the Union's legitimate role in the work place.
(b) Decide on key goals -- what two or three elements are crucial for the Union to achieve in the immediate period of time following implementation, in part, to determine whether continued participation is worthwhile.
(c) The Committee shall not deal with or discuss matters covered under the collective bargaining agreement.

5. The Union would be permitted to bring in its own consultants on the subject matter to be considered by a joint committee. The Union shall be permitted to train the Union representatives on company time. The company will permit representatives of the International Union to attend any meetings at any level of the program at the discretion of the Union.

The foregoing is an attempt to offer guidance to Local Unions and International staff who are often confronted with a desire by employers to engage in the latest fad of "jointness." Whether the issue is diversity training, health and safety training, or the latest gimmick in "quality" programs -- jointness requires just that, a commitment to joint exercise of power in the relationship sought.