Labor Negotiating Practices the Issue of Labor Term Paper

Labor Negotiating Practices

The issue of labor negotiating practices is one of the most important issues that companies must address. This is because the sensitiveness of labor problems is reflected in their legal implications. The battle between employers and employees becomes more and more difficult and requires advanced negotiation skills.

Company's Stance towards Labor Issues

The company that is analyzed in this case is represented by the companies that joined their forces in order to purchase Twinkies and other important brands from Hostess in their attempt to invest in their revival. These companies are represented by Metropoulos and Co. And Apollo Global Management. The potential of these brands has been acknowledged by the two companies that are interested in opening up new production plants. This means that they will hire a large number of employees. However, the issue in this case is that these companies are not interested in allowing employees to develop unions. The company that previously owned Twinkies, Hostess, had difficulties into managing its relationship with the union.

The standoff between the union employees and Hostess Brands was so powerful on several levels that the company's owners decided to sell the business. However, a court of law has ruled that Hostess managers are entitled in receiving bonuses in this case. Therefore, the new owners are interested in reducing such problems by not allowing the development of unions.

This also means that the company is interested in addressing a different approach in negotiating labor relationships. It is likely that the new owners can consider that the direct relationship between the company and its employees, with no unions representing employees can lead to better results.

Labor Agreement Negotiation Strategy

It is difficult for large companies, with numerous employees to directly manage their relationship with employees. The company must be extremely careful in managing this relationship in order to not develop a sense of inequality within the company. This is because this inequality has been identified as an important effect of not developing unions that mediate the relationship between the company and its employees.

Therefore, it is important that the strategy developed by the company is able to address the effects that are determined by workers not organizing themselves in unions. The company's managers expect that the new workers they hire will not be represented by unions. The owners stated that they are interested in hiring employees that are not union members. This is because the previous owners had difficulties in managing their relationship with union members. Therefore, the new owners consider that they can better collaborate with employees that are not union members, and that do not have their opinions corrupted by the interests of union managers.

However, this can be a difficult to reach objective. This is because members of the bakers' union state that they are the only qualified personnel that can use the equipment required by producing Twinkies and other products of the company. This gives the leverage to union members on some point (Feintzeig, 2013). But the new owners are confident that their recruitment and selection process can identify skilled workers that can successfully use this equipment. This mean that the company must develop a recruitment and selection process that can identify skilled workers that can use this equipment, or invest in training programs intended to train unskilled employees into successfully using them. It is difficult to evaluate which is the best alternative.

In addition to this, the company has difficulties in determining whether it is possible to find as many workers as needed by improving production that are not union members. The company's owners have also stated that they are likely to outsource some of the activities and process required by the company. This mostly refers to distribution, transportation, and sales force. It is important to determine the effects of this strategy on the production process.

Therefore, the company's owners must evaluate what the percentage of union members it is likely to hire for its activity. Based on this analysis, they can determine what the best negotiation strategy can be. This strategy must be developed based on what the company is interested in obtaining from this process.

Economic and Administrative Issues during Collective Bargaining

The negotiation process regarding the workforce that the Twinkie owners must hire can be significantly influenced by unions. Given the fact that the company intends to hire non-union members, it is expected that this process will not be disrupted by economic or administrative issues. The collective bargaining process will not take the form of traditional collective bargaining.The fact that employees are not union members can be of great help to the company. This is because unions can put important pressure on labor negotiations.

The fact that there will be no union members hired by Twinkie owners helps them develop a bargaining position. This means that the company does not require to develop other strategies that it can develop this position because it is already developed by the state of fact. In this case, the bargaining process reduces the influence the workers have on the management.

Policies and Procedures on Labor Contracts

The relationship between employer and employees must be defined by policies and procedures that the labor contract is based on. This contract regulates the relationship between employer and employee, establishes the general direction that this relationship is orienting towards, and sets its tone. In addition to this, the labor contract establishes the rights and obligations of each party, and the limits of responsibility.

The importance of the labor contract also relies on the fact that it can serve as a base for other develops that follow the same direction. It can give employees the sense of direction regarding their relationship with the company. In other words, employees know what to expect from their employer because the labor contract can determine such information.

Disputes with employees can be easier managed in the case of non-union employees. This is because employees are non-united, and their interests are not protected by a larger authority. In other words, non-union members cannot become a unitary voice of strength. Their power is fragmented, and they cannot put pressure on employers. Therefore, the company benefits from the lack of a strong union to protect members' interests. However, the company's managers must be careful in addressing disputes with their employees. Although disputes between the company and its employees cannot be augmented by a union, these disputes can determine significant issues with the company.

In the case that managers do not focus on identifying the needs of employees and trying to satisfy them, it is likely that this can develop resistance from these employees towards their employers. If this becomes a frequent situation, the employees can be united by their frustration against company owners. Therefore, this can be reflected in the productivity of these employees. They cannot exert the pressure of unions on the company's managers, but they can influence the activity of the company.

Interest Disputes

The interest disputes between the management and employees must be addressed in their initial stages. This can ensure that the company had advantage and can control the situation. The most important strategy that the company can develop in such cases is represented by leveraging economic pressure (Farrell, 2013). This is intended to help resolve the dispute before it takes proportion. The previous owners of Twinkies have had to deal with numerous such disputes.

The strikes of union members have significantly affected the company's activity. The company that previously owned Twinkies had to file for bankruptcy because of such strikes and the pressure that the unions exert on the management of the company. Therefore, it is obvious that the new owners of the company do not want to have to deal with such disputes. If employees are not union members, they cannot organize themselves in order to exert pressure on the owners.

However, in case such disputes emerge, they can be solved by the company using economic pressure as leverage. This means that the company can use this position of strength and impose its position on employees. But it is also necessary to conduct analyses within the company, and to identify such disputes before they develop.

Labor Management Relationships

It is difficult to determine the next evolutionary step in labor management relationships. This is because these relationships are significantly influenced by numerous factors. The key participants in these relationships are represented by companies, unions, and authorities. Unions are losing their power of influence on companies and authorities. This is because their number is more and more reduced, the number of union members also reduces, determining them to admit that they are having difficulties in addressing relationships with companies.

Authorities have the ability of establishing the rules and regulations that apply to labor relationships. The manner in which authorities approach this issue is significantly affected by companies' pressure. The lobby of these companies is a common manner in which political decision is influenced. The rules and regulations established by authorities can increase the….....