Unionized employees have the legal right to bring a union representative with them into an investigatory interview if they request it (“Weingarten rights”). This study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Unionized employees have the legal right to bring a union representative with them into an investigatory interview if they request it (“Weingarten rights”). This study aims to demonstrate that employers should allow nonunion employees the right to have a co-employee accompany them in a similar type of interview, if the employees make that request.
Design/methodology/approach
Not applicable.
Findings
There will be two benefits to allowing nonunion employees the right to bring a co-employee into an investigatory interview with them. First, this will be a form of organizational justice, and researchers demonstrated the benefits of employees perceiving that they receive organizational justice. Secondly, this will be a form of union substitution which should reduce employees’ desire for unionization.
Originality/value
Whereas most employers seek to avoid the application of Weingarten rights in nonunion workplaces, this article argues that organizations should grant employees this right voluntarily.
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The purposes of this paper are to discuss why firms are resistant to unionization of their employees and to discuss the potential benefits firms derive if their employees are…
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this paper are to discuss why firms are resistant to unionization of their employees and to discuss the potential benefits firms derive if their employees are unionized. There are benefits to firms if their employees are unionized, however, and firms whose workforces are unionized should take advantage of these benefits.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis and discussion of the drawbacks and benefits of unionization to firms.
Findings
Firms benefit in two ways if their workforces are unionized. First, unionization reduces employee turnover. Second, employee involvement programs are generally more effective in unionized firms, while they are often held to be illegal in nonunion firms. Therefore, managers in unionized firms should work with the unions representing their employees to further reduce turnover and make Employee Involvement programs even more effective.
Originality/value
As employees sometimes opt to unionize despite firms’ wishes to the contrary, this paper discusses the benefits of unionized workforces and advocates that management in unionized firms develop positive relations with unions to derive these benefits.
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This paper aims to examine the impact of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). It is expected that returns would have increased in response to the law’s…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). It is expected that returns would have increased in response to the law’s passage, as it imposed a number of restrictions on unions vis-à-vis management and instituted many rules regulating unions’ internal affairs.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses event study methodology, which examines the impact of the law’s passage on the shareholder returns to the firms likely to have been affected by the law. Three different samples are used. Shareholder returns are examined on critical dates associated with the passage of the law to assess whether it benefited the firms in the samples.
Findings
Shareholder returns to firms expected to have been affected by the LMRDA fell in comparison to their competitors’ returns, indicating that the law was viewed by investors as being beneficial for firms. Presumably, the restrictions the law placed on unions were judged to be more important by investors than the improvement in unions’ image that might have resulted from the law, indicating that the law benefitted firms.
Originality/value
This is the first paper that has examined the impact of the LMRDA empirically to assess its impact on firms.
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Saul J. Berman, Steven Abraham, Bill Battino, Louisa Shipnuck and Andreas Neus
The authors perform market trend analysis and to examine the clash between new and traditional media and explore future industry competitive scenarios.
Abstract
Purpose
The authors perform market trend analysis and to examine the clash between new and traditional media and explore future industry competitive scenarios.
Design/methodology/approach
IBM conducted a comprehensive study that included interviews with leaders of media companies and an in‐depth analysis of the factors that are shaping the industry outlook. IBM conducted in‐person interviews with more than 75 senior media executives, industry analysts, economists and technology visionaries and also worked with the Economist Intelligence Unit to survey another 125 industry executives.
Findings
IBM sees four primary business models emerging – traditional media, walled communities, content hyper‐syndication and new platform aggregation. The research also found evidence of another developing conflict that it calls the media divide. It could pit partner against partner in a struggle for growth.
Practical implications
IBM proposes seven industry‐specific recommendations for incumbent media companies as they face the immediate threat from new entrants and eventual collisions with traditional partners: Deliver experiences, not just content. Leverage virtual worlds. Innovate business models. Invest in interactive, measurable advertising services and platforms. Redefine partnerships, while mitigating fallout. Shift investment from traditional business to new models. Create a flexible business design.
Originality/value
The article offers a combination of market evolution analysis, future market scenarios and recommendations for gaining first mover advantage.
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The market’s reactions to six decisions that dealt with the employment‐at‐will doctrine were examined with event study methodology. Three hypotheses were tested, all three of…
Abstract
The market’s reactions to six decisions that dealt with the employment‐at‐will doctrine were examined with event study methodology. Three hypotheses were tested, all three of which were supported clearly by the data. Shareholder returns to a sample of California firms fell in response to the three California decisions that provided at‐will employees with causes of action to challenge their discharges; returns to those same firms rose in response to the Foley decision, which cut back on the employment‐at‐will erosions in California; and, returns to a sample of firms in New York rose in response to the two decisions from New York that affirmed the supremacy of the employment‐at‐will doctrine in New York. These results support the view that employment‐at‐will is beneficial for employers and that erosions to that doctrine are costly to employers.
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Steven E. Abraham and Paula B. Voos
The long-debated impact of right-to-work (RTW) laws took on more urgency with the passage of RTW in additional states in the twenty-first century. The impact of RTW on shareholder…
Abstract
The long-debated impact of right-to-work (RTW) laws took on more urgency with the passage of RTW in additional states in the twenty-first century. The impact of RTW on shareholder wealth of corporations located in four states is evaluated here: Oklahoma (2000), Indiana (2012), Michigan (2012), and Wisconsin (2015). Event study results show that RTW had a positive effect on shareholder wealth in these states, albeit an effect that was lower in Michigan than elsewhere. We argue that this is indirect evidence in support of research indicating that RTW hinders union organizing, raises profits, and reduces nonunion employee compensation.
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As US firms expand into Canada, it becomes necessary for them to be aware of Canadian law governing labour and employment. Unlike what many might think, the laws in the two…
Abstract
As US firms expand into Canada, it becomes necessary for them to be aware of Canadian law governing labour and employment. Unlike what many might think, the laws in the two countries are substantially different. Further, the effects of these differences have been demonstrated empirically. Considers the differences between US and Canadian labour law in seven areas: certification procedures; first contract arbitration; new technologies; strike replacements; successorship; employee participation programmes and union security. Discusses the effects of the laws in these areas.
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Steven E. Abraham, Lisa A. Schur and Paula B. Voos
In 2010, the National Mediation Board (NMB) decided to base Railway Labor Act representation election outcomes on a simple majority of those voting, rather than on the majority of…
Abstract
In 2010, the National Mediation Board (NMB) decided to base Railway Labor Act representation election outcomes on a simple majority of those voting, rather than on the majority of all eligible voters, as had been required earlier. This was widely expected to make it easier for unions to win rights to recognition in the railway and airline industries. We demonstrate that investors expected that this change would favor unions, just as they earlier had expected rule changes that made voting easier (in 2002 and 2007) to be favorable to unions, affecting stock prices of railway and airline corporations. After the 2010 change in election procedure, between 77% and 91% of all eligible employees returned ballots in NMB elections, demonstrating that a significant portion of nonvoters were not opposed to union representation, but simply were unwilling or were unable to vote. We conclude that the current voting process is fairer than the old one. However, it has not resulted in a tide of union success in these representation elections. Apparently scholars, the parties themselves, and investors all over-estimated the practical consequences of changing NMB representation election procedures.
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The purpose of this paper is to compare the market reaction to layoff announcements of union and nonunion employees.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the market reaction to layoff announcements of union and nonunion employees.
Design/methodology/approach
Event study methodology was utilized to assess the effects of layoff announcements of union versus nonunion employees. The union status of the laid‐off employees was determined for 135 layoff announcements reported in the Wall Street Journal in 1993 and 1994 and shareholder returns between the two groups was compared.
Findings
Over each event period tested, the market reaction was more negative when nonunion employees were downsized than when the announcement concerned unionized employees. Over the two days surrounding the announcement, the market reaction to the layoff announcement of unionized employees was actually positive, while the reaction was negative when nonunion employees were the subject of the announcement.
Research limitations/implications
The sample included layoff announcements from 1993 and 1994 only. The market reaction to announcements in different years might be different.
Originality/value
While many papers have examined the market reaction to layoff announcements, this is the first paper that compares the reaction to union versus nonunion employees.
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Steven E. Abraham, Lanny A. Karns, Kenneth Shaw and Manuel A. Mena
Uses survey research to investigate two general questions concerning managerial competencies and performance appraisal: whether a set of managerial competencies currently being…
Abstract
Uses survey research to investigate two general questions concerning managerial competencies and performance appraisal: whether a set of managerial competencies currently being used by organizations to describe successful managers can be identified; and whether organizations are appraising these same competencies as part of their managerial performance appraisal processes. The six competencies most often identified as critical to managerial success appear to be proper choices, given the discussion of the attributes needed for a competency to be effective. The results also show, however, that many of these same organizations are not appraising these competencies in their managerial‐performance appraisal processes. Concludes that failure to appraise the competencies reduces the effectiveness of the competencies and the managerial performance appraisal programs.