As part of my Staff Management course, a group of my classmates and I presented a case study about Ford Motor's relationship with unions in multiple countries.
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Intro to the Case Study
Ford Motor Company
~215,000 employees worldwide
30 countries
56 different unions across countries
Challenge: Variety of Unions
i.e. Australia- subcommittees at a local level versus Germanycentralized negotiations via national employers’ association
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Question 1
What is the nature and role of
bargaining?
To negotiate mutually agreeable terms of
employment including:
Hours
Health and safety policies
Salary and benefits
Leave
Conflict resolution in the workplace
www.aflcio.org/Learn-About-Unions/Collective-Bargaining
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Question 1 -continued
What is the role of government in bargaining?
Regulates employment conditions
Provide benefits i.e. health care, gov’t pensions
Setting bargaining and striking rules
Resolve conflicts via legal system
Government as an employer
Negotiates with employees
Large number of public sector unions
Sets precedent nationwide
http://www.shareyouressays.com/116929/what-is-the-role-of-government-in-collective-bargaining
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Question 2
What problems do you see for MNEs (multi-national
enterprises) that must bargain with unions in multiple
countries?
Economic conditions
Culturally-bound values
Level and logistics of communication
Varying definitions and understanding of contracts
Country-specific legislation and regulations
Language barriers
How do you advise that these be resolved?
Research! (i.e. U.S. Dept of Labor, Int’l Labor Org, etc.)
Communicate!
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Question 3
What do you predict for the future of
unions and union relations in the global
economy and why?
Changing workforce
Growth of private versus public sector unions
Possible trend: decline of unions due to
greater job mobility
More private sector employment more
private unions
Global economic growth=international union
expansion
Possible trend: unions may begin to play a
larger role in historically poorer countries as
economies improve and exploitation is
tolerated less
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Key Takeaways
Union
structures and relations vary by country
Communication
between all involved parties
(employee, employer and government) is essential
Conditions
Future
field
change continually
of unions is unknown, much debate in the
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Sources and Additional Resources
AFL-CIO America’s Unions (2014). Collective Bargaining.
Retrieved from http://www.aflcio.org/Learn-AboutUnions/Collective-Bargaining
Share Your Essays (2014). What is the Role of Government in
Collective Bargaining? Retrieved from
http://www.shareyouressays.com/116929/what-is-the-role-ofgovernment-in-collective-bargaining