Jim’s not working out, he’s got a bad attitude’. ‘We are looking for people with a can-do attitude’. These are common statements I hear, or read regularly from managers about to hire new staff or address performance issues with the current team. Just what is attitude and can you identify it before you hire it?

Let’s start with a simple definition – Attitudes are predispositions to respond in a positive or negative way to someone or something in your environment.

Attitudes are influenced by values, but they focus on specific people or objects, while values have a more general focus. ‘Employees should be allowed to participate’ is a value; your positive or negative feeling about your job because of the participation it allows is an attitude.

As an example, when you say you ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ someone or something, you are expressing an attitude. One important work-related attitude is job satisfaction. This attitude expresses a person’s positive or negative feelings about various aspects of his or her job and/or working environment.

It is important to remember that an attitude, like values, is a hypothetical construct; that is, no one ever sees, touches, or actually isolates an attitude. Rather, attitudes are inferred from the things people say (informally or formally), or do (their behaviour).

The components of attitudes…

The Antecedents of Attitude = Beliefs %26 values

This leads to Attitude development = It creates a feeling that influences a result

The Results = The intended behaviour

For example…

‘My job lacks responsibility’ (leads to) ‘I do not like my job’ (This leads to)’I am going to quit my job’

It’s essential to recognise that one’s attitude (feelings) influences one’s intended behaviour.

So back to the original question, ‘Can attitudes be identified in the job candidate before you hire?’ The answer is yes, with a relative degree of accuracy. I use the word ‘relative’ because the tests used to identify ‘bad attitudes’ are usually only accurate if the beliefs and values of a person, in relation to the attitudes being measured, are strong.

Richard I. Lanyon, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and a consulting psychologist in Scottsdale, AZ. He is a world leader in attitude testing. Lanyon designed the attitudes inventory that is a major component of our JobCLUES assessments. JobCLUES also tests for workplace personality and mental ability. The attitudes measure in JobCLUES tests six key attitudes relating to work. They are:

1. Hostility/Aggression in the workplace — will the candidate exhibit emotion physically — punch the boss’s lights out?

2. Dependability/Conscientiousness — will the candidate lack motivation, persistence and organisation. Be careless and lackadaisical — show up for work on time etc?

3. Integrity/Honesty — will they rob you blind, short change customers, lie on expense sheets, exaggerate job qualifications etc?

4. Substance Abuse — Are they users of illegal drugs, consume alcohol while at work; show up often demonstrating the effects of the ‘night before’?

4. Sexual Harassment — Will they proposition fellow workers, make sexual remarks or tell dirty jokes inappropriately?

6. Computer Misuse — Will they spend all day sending personal emails, surf the web or download pornography etc?

JobCLUES Attitude profile takes about 15 minutes to complete. The personality section takes 10 minutes while the mental abilities section is timed at 6 minutes. All can be used online together or as separate assessments. Reports are generated immediately against anyone of 60 job, and or, industry benchmarks.

Apart from very robust psychometric, jobCLUES is so well priced — you can purchase 5, 10 or 20 assessments (includes all modules and reports) from $39 (plus GST) each. If you are a larger organisation you can have unlimited testing for an annual fee of $1500 for business up to 50 employees – $30 an employee annually thereafter. It really is a ‘no-brainer’ price for such a highly valid pre-screening selection tool.

This instrument combined with a good application form, a behavioural based interview (JobCLUES provides these tailored to the role) and reference/background checking will help you avoid hiring ‘bad attitude’.

Grasp back control and put an end to your hostile workplace this very moment, get Work Laws Exposed right now. You can’t alter a position you don’t like and don’t warrant without having an open mind, believing in yourself, and taking action.

Is My workplace hostile?

I am working for a wholesale club in the food court, I have a co worker who I have really tried to work with and I just cannot do it. She is very hyper, so much so that a customer asked her to calm down because she was making him nervous. We each have tasks for closing the department at the end of the night, she is always jumping in and doing my job then talks to me like I asked her to do it for me?! She has told lies to the manager about me and he is on her side because, as he put it, shes a go getter (he doesn’t seem to see the sloppy jobs she does) and she is a friend of his mother(that’s how she got the job) He told me he is not anyone’s friend but she is the only one who has his home phone number. He also told her that he was going to have to fire another employee and I don’t know the laws in every company, but are managers supposed to talk to one employee about another? This company guarantees 24 hours a week to part time people, which is what I am, and each week I see she always has 26 to 30 hours and I have no more than 25, and also you have to take a lunch at the 5 hour mark, which is mandatory, so he gives me 5 1/2 hour days to make it look like I am getting 24 hours and in reality I am only getting around 22-23 at the most. I have closed with all of the other employees and we always get the job done with plenty of time to spare but every time I close with her we always go over, I can’t really explain why, she gets in my way and is verbally abusive, and lets you know without saying a word if she doesn’t like the job your doing. She was hired at the same time I was, but she has proceeded to tell me from day one what to do, like she knew everything. I have talked to management, and they say I just have to get along with her and that I must just have a bad attitude because she is so nice to them, well they don’t have to work with her either, shes a different animal when they are not around. I am trying to find another job (I actually have an AS in computer engineering) but right now there are few jobs to be had so I don’t want to quit until i have another, but I don’t want to dread going to work. I am getting physically sick thinking about it.

Answer
While unpleasant, the situation does not rise to the level of a ‘hostile work environment” as defined by the EEOC – Equal Employment Occupation Commission. To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people. If you believe that you are being harassed to the degree that your work environment has become ‘hostile’ the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive and is based on discrimination against race, gender, age, religion or disability, you can make a claim against the company with the EEOC. Read more about it at http://www.eeoc.gov/types/harassment.html

Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA).

Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and/or age. Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.

Petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not rise to the level of illegality. To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people.

Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance. Harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following:

The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, an agent of the employer, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
The victim does not have to be the person harassed, but can be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
Unlawful harassment may occur without economic injury to, or discharge of, the victim.
Prevention is the best tool to eliminate harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take appropriate steps to prevent and correct unlawful harassment. They should clearly communicate to employees that unwelcome harassing conduct will not be tolerated. They can do this by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process, providing anti-harassment training to their managers and employees, and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee complains. Employers should strive to create an environment in which employees feel free to raise concerns and are confident that those concerns will be addressed.

Employees are encouraged to inform the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. Employees should also report harassment to management at an early stage to prevent its escalation.

Employer Liability for Harassment
The employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a negative employment action such as termination, failure to promote or hire, and loss of wages. If the supervisor’s harassment results in a hostile work environment, the employer can avoid liability only if it can prove that: 1) it reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the harassing behavior; and 2) the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer.

The employer will be liable for harassment by non-supervisory employees or non-employees over whom it has control (e.g., independent contractors or customers on the premises), if it knew, or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action.

When investigating allegations of harassment, the EEOC looks at the entire record: including the nature of the conduct, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination of whether harassment is severe or pervasive enough to be illegal is made on a case-by-case basis.

If you believe that the harassment you are experiencing or witnessing is of a specifically sexual nature, you may want to see EEOC’s information on sexual harassment.

Daviana Mazzone

Project 1 – 41 Pages

Undergraduate Summary 

Why Unions Matter – M. Yates. Book Summary

 

Preface

 

            The first edition of ‘Why Unions Matter’ was published in 1998.  This first book argued that unions improved the lives of people making the world a more democratic place.  What is the same that was stated 10 years ago is the same in today’s day and age in society.  The numbers in the Second Edition have been updated to be more accurate within this day and age.  Although things are virtually the same as little as ten years ago as they are today, we as people are more able to get ourselves in a host of problems today which include: Employers are more likely to move operations to parts of the United States with lower wages and poorer countries overseas, many of which are factories in China that do the same work people can in the United States but for much less. Employers are also more likely to contract out to lower-wage states and nations such as call centers and higher-wage labor like computer programming and medical service work.  Large numbers of people have come into the United States which gives greater competition in the labor markets, allowing employers to divide their workforces.  During the Bush Administration, government has also changed into an increased supporter of corporate interests.  Our government in our history has been able to establish many things that have help gain control over employers, but let’s not forget that they have also wasted hundreds of billions of dollars waging war.  War spending takes up mostly all of the money for useful public investments and social programs that once were thriving.  On top of this compounding worker insecurity has collapsed.  This collapse can be described as the stock market crash and the real estate market collapse that started in 2007.  When the first book was published people in the United States had high hopes for the ‘New Voice’ movement in 1995, which was going to get the excitement of unions back into the labor force.  Thirteen years later not much has changed. Today there are fewer union members today than there were in 1995.  Labor in general has gotten ‘the short end of the stick’ and many free grade agreements have put an end to most federal aid to the poor, which has worsened health care and made many peoples lives worse off in our country.  Although many things throughout the development of labor unions, the labor force and our government have worsened, there have been some progresses, which have been made. Many unions joined the fight for global justice that have made wages and working conditions decrease throughout the world.  The most famous of these battles was in 1999 in Seattle.  Shortly after September 11, 2001 these events made it difficult for labor movement work together with foreign policy.  In Dan Clawson’s book ‘The Next Upsurge: Labor and the New Social Movements, he describes several important and successful organizing campaigns which are follows:  Unionization by women that focused on nontraditional issues such as child care. Union alliances with community groups to win affordable housing for workers. Campaigns waged by Worker Centers, which provide support to low-wage workers.  Living wage campaigns and anti-sweatshop organizing, which have been successful in forcing many cities to pay workers employed by firms with public contracts a wage that would yield an income.  Clawson’s book shows that there will soon be a labor upsurge and also many important and interesting things happening in the world of organized labor.  Michael Yates also states that the past twenty-eight years he has been a labor educator, teaching union workers and students in unions halls, motel and hotel meeting rooms, in college and university classrooms and throughout the internet.  He states that through his experience unions are needed more then ever in today’s society and that there are thousands of people involved in unions throughout the country trying to get them back on track and not only to employer them but to help people grasp the economics and politics of today’s tough times by using this saying ‘An injury to one is an injury to all’. 

 

Introduction

 

            Yates starts off first by introducing a scenario that took place in Meadville, Pennsylvania.  There was a factory that manufactured plate glass.  In 1994 it employed 330 production workers in rotating shifts making plate glass 24 hours a day 7 days per week.  Most of these people were white men and some consisted even of women.  In the fall of this time Yates received a phone call to speak to the coworkers regarding their legal rights as workers.  When Yates found out that the Aluminum, Brick, and Glass Workers of America (ABG) approved of him speaking he agreed to visit the plant.  He spoke twice to sixty men and women and six months after he did this he was asked to speak again in regards of the national union.  Unfortunately his efforts were not successful in forming a union for this certain plant, although his effort was emotionally an intense experience. Experience of these workers taught them that when you are unorganized trying to start a union you are at the mercy of the company and they will not show you any mercy.  Unions like this can help workers overcome their isolation.  The basic idea for the group is for each team member to be trained to do other members jobs.  Workers that are desperate for change is often extremely excited about teams but then find out that management uses them to increases their labor and profits.  Every years thousands or workers are fired for many different situations in the work force, but if there were a union would have not been fired for without a just cause.  At any time in our work career corporate downsizing, plants closing, outsourcing and off shoring can make people and will make workers jobless.  In Meadville as they were trying to regroup again, at the time of the union election the Meadville plant was about to close one of the tanks in which the glass is made for rebuilding and there would be a thirteen month layoff.  Many workers feared that the tank work was done and there would be no recall rights in 13 months to come back and open the tank.  In the union plants, employees had unlimited recall rights over these type of issues.  During Yates many visits again to get the union to regroup he also overheard the union would get the employer to treat the workers as if they were human and give them the self respect in which they deserved.  The workers then made and wore shirts to show their employers they were serious about their union-organizing efforts.  The working class in the United States has suffered great hardships for the past thirty-five years.  Millions of workers have lost their health insurance and an increasing proportion of new workers don’t have any insurance to begin with at all.  This book will argue that no amount of education and training can do for workers what unions and political organizations can achieve.  This book portrays unions as positive, but also shows the realities of the effort it takes for unions to come together.  For example a majority of the workers at the Meadville glass factory voted against the union.  This book will make a distinction between reasons external to the labor movement and those internal to it.  It will also look at the many obstacles unions deal with, the reasons for low and declining union density in the US, the close alliance between business and government, and the obvious animosity of the media toward organized labor.  This book will also direct its attention to organizing new members aggressively, racism, sexism, and corruption in the labor movement.  The most important idea stated in both books is that unions can only grow when they are a part of a larger social and political movement.  Therefore, the growth of unions must occur together.  In Meadville, employment has fallen since Michael’s last visit fourteen years ago.  As of September 2007, there were 257 workers.  To the best of his knowledge no union drives were attempted after the failed efforts of 1994. 

 

Chapter One: Why Unions?

 

            In chapter one this book states that we do not work for ourselves or for others, we are in the hands of our employers. We as workers are easily replaceable when budgets are low because there is a high replacement of people trying to get a job and some positions my be eliminated completely all together if there is not enough money for wages.  If most people tell their bosses that they will not work without a pay raise, you will most likely not get your raise and will be out of a job because you cannot force your boss to give you the higher earnings.  All in all the first few pages state that employers have a certain power over employees because of money, and that employers have what employees need (work) but employees are replaceable. 

 

           

 

Chapter One: Strength In Numbers

 

            Most employees do not like to believe that their supervisors have control over them because of the obvious; they think they will end up as one of them themselves.  But when this does not happen employees soon realize that alone they cannot stand up to their employers, but with many other employees together they have an impact on business decisions.  People in groups who feel strongly about certain things going on in their workplace stand up to their employers everyday, which causes an uproar in which most cases the boss has to compromise with the employees to keep them somewhat happy.  While the example of the daycare the author gives happens all the time, he states that this is a cycle in every business. Workers quit, retire, and move, so the workers who win a particular struggle may not be there for the next fight.  Secondly, workers will not always have the energy or courage to have direct actions with their boss because of certain circumstances, and third many workers realizing that there are matters that constantly arise and need to come to their employers attention during a certain time bases, which makes sense that a more formal gathering of everyone associated takes place to address certain issues.  This is where labor unions come into play; so that workers can defend themselves in the face of their powerful employers.  In many ways labor unions are like volunteer organizations.  People who feel strongly about a certain topic, for instance their neighborhood street lights, will join together and raise issues and bring them to the attention of the city council so that something is done to fix the problem.  As the volunteer group grows, money may be collected as dues so that the group can establish a working office, phone number, equipment etc., and begins a working business.  The difference between volunteer organizations and labor unions is all workforce related.  When enough people are angry about there work the stopping of all employees willing to work my stop. This is how a labor union is started.  It is when a workforce is in need of a permanent defender of the employee’s rights ready to voice their opinions and fight for what they want in the workplace against their boss’s. 

 

Chapter One: The First U.S. Unions

 

            In 1776 is when the whole concept of labor unions first began.  As people began to see if they organized their businesses and skill shops in a more hierarchical way they could increase the profits they were bringing in.  The journeymen during this time started to organize themselves together to protect themselves from the master’s of their craft.  These early attempts of unionization were the cause of sudden depressions, which was the end of unions all together.  Many politicians condemned the unions as threats to liberty.  By 1880 skilled workers had finally formed a permanent labor organization called the ‘AFL’ or American Federation of Labor. 

 

Chapter One:  Do Unions Work?

 

            Most employers say that unions do not benefit workers, when companies and employers here that their employees want to start a union the employers usually begin a disinformation campaign so this does not happen.  Employers state that the only thing they will get out of a union is ‘monthly dues’ which inevitably will cause a strike to occur losing employee’s paychecks all together.  The media also never represents unions in a favorable way.  Strikes and strike violence is always the first thing to be reported in the media to show the confrontations and fighting.  The good that the employees are trying to fight for (safer workplaces, higher wages and benefits, and a right to a fair hearing) are always ignored when being reported on.  Workers trying to unionize need to be aware of the lies their employees will tell them so a union does not form.  The whole reason behind employers not wanting unions is simple, because every corporation wants more money.  This means that the corporation will have free control over all employees so in turn they do not have to comply with union rules.  But all in all the fact that unions benefit workers makes this argument much more important.  By comparing wages of union workers to non-union workers you can see that union worker’s wages are considerably higher than those who are not involved. Insurance and pensions are also higher with unionized workers that non-union members.  For example, ‘ In the early 2000′s, 71.9% of union workers had pensions, whole only 43.8% of nonunion workers had them’.  Other characteristics may contribute to the fact that union and nonunion wages may be unequal which include union workers may have more education and more experience in the workforce than nonunion workers.  Factors that include the determination of wages in unions and non-unions are as follows: experience, education, region of the country you live in, industry, occupation, and marital status.  On page 40 of ‘Why Unions Matter’ there is a table that shows know matter what the factors are union workers have considerably higher benefits and wages.  Although in the past three decades inequality has risen due to the steady decline in unions throughout the country.  What nonunion workers do not understand that even when a union is present and they do not belong to it a ‘spillover effect’ occurs. This means that when unions are strong, nonunion workers will reap the benefits of the members constituting in higher wages and benefits for all. 

 

 

 

Chapter One: Unions and Dignity

 

            All workers need to know that unions improve the wages and benefits of all, and also that workers make less wages and have less benefits because employee’s are not powerful enough individually to make their employer’s pay them more.  In order to live in today’s society most of the world must sell their ability to work in turn to live.  In our employer’s eyes we are just ‘ costs of production’ they have the right over because we need our job to be able to survive.  The fundamental and main goal of a union is to change the relationship between labor and management.  Without unions, employee’s can be discharged, transferred, for any reason that include, sex, race, disability, and union activity.  A union can and usually will change all of these factors resulting in a fair, respectable and much more enjoyable work environment and overall gives employers a ‘voice’ when it comes to work matters.  Union workers also have the opportunity of grievance pay.  Which in the situation where a worker is hurt or anything else happens a worker can file for this when a union-member and get their full pay reinstated.  Any worker that stands alone is in trouble.  Unions undoubtedly are the result of higher wages and better fringe benefits, and employers actually listening to their employee’s concerns and this is the result of workers standing together as a whole. 

 

Chapter Two:  How Unions Form

 

            Up until the 1930′s unions were nothing but to gain power.  Employers wanted nothing to do with unions and would do anything to keep them away from their companies including union violence on working people.  Most authorities and public figures were often guilty of anti-union violence.  Employers would force their workers into signing ‘yellow dog’ contracts, which said that they would not join a union, and if broken the workers would be fined and have possible imprisonment.  More than a thousand court orders were issued in the 1920′s.  Despite all of the commotion workers ended up being able to organize and come together to protect themselves and their fellow employees interests in the workforce.  Skilled workers during this time were much more able to form together than non-skilled workers and African Americans.  Once organized skilled workers could maintain union wage scales and conditions as long as they took direct action.  National markets, local unions, and different cities and towns would come together with other skilled workers and form national unions.  The United Mine Workers for America was founded in 1890 and is still here today.  Once these national unions formed, union workers began to form umbrella organization that in turn could cause boycotts and strikes.  Last, the federation of union workers tried to build a federation for all national unions which could result in a national newspaper, lobby for political reforms, develop staff and experts in unions, and directly organize new workers into unions around the country.  The (AFL) American Federation of Labor in 1886 was a result of all of these efforts.  The relationship between government and business was an important situation for unions during this time as well.  Unions wanted authority to take place in their movement including the police force, courts and legislatures.  The best quote the political party came out with was, ‘fight for labor-oriented candidates and policies within the major parties’.  The president of AFL, Samuel Gompers put his quote as ‘ reward its friends and punish its enemies’.  It is still the long-standing backbone of today’s unions in society.  The Democratic Party is more closely knitted with unions today.

 

Chapter Two: A Little History

 

            After the civil war the world became dominated with large corporations after 1865.  Most people were forced to become wageworkers, because the ability to own small businesses began to diminish.  Competition between corporations resulted in the diminishing of them because they would force the expansion of their production too much.  This horrible cycle of corporations in turn led to massive unemployment and layoffs throughout the economy.  During this time the competition between workers was too intense that the ability to form unions did not work.  In 1877, The Great Uprising occurred.  B%26O Railroads was the largest company during this time and during the depression they cut wages of the rail workers 10%. This caused workers to walk off their jobs. President Hayes sent troops to West Virginia where this took place to stop the strike, but the troops could not do anything.  The strike spread north and west and became a national insurrection.  Hostile crowds formed and a militia was sent into the city.  This uproar could not stop the strike still.  The workers ended up destroying the railroads property, men, women and children were killed because of the anti-union violence workers restored the order although later were defeated by the troops.  Other strikes of this sort happened throughout the country. When all the commotion died down the media in newspapers reported the union strikers as thugs, tramps and communists, which started the bad union-member reputation.  Rebellions rose in 1886, 1892, 1894, 1919, and during The Great Depression into the 1930′s.  Because of these rebellions police reacted violently, wounding many civilians and labor leaders were arrested and charged with murders they did not commit.  Without evidence that they committed these murders they were still convicted guilty and sentenced to death.  Henry Clay Frick shut down the Carnegie Steel Works and tried to reopen it with nonunion labor.  Workers tried to take over the towns fighting a battle causing them to surrender when the government brought troops in.  Two years after these events the Pullman strike started.  The Pullman railroad cars factory was struck over repeated wage cuts of workers.  This monumental strike was also broken up by troops and injuctions.  After the First World War a massive strike shook the American economy that ended up taking over the workforce. There were so many strikes during the 1930′s. The strike in Chicago in 1932, more than one hundred thousand people participated to protest the murder of several people by police.  There have been no labor uproars since the 1930′s. The reason for this is that mostly white men throughout the years who have acted racist towards people of other color have dominated the labor union.  The challenge of this day and age was to part politics in the labor movement and the basis for the formation of labor political parties.  The result of all of this commotion ended up with a conservative trade unionism, which ended up being considered more of a side-by-side partner to employers.

 

 

 

Chapter Two: How Unions Form

 

            During the Great Depression, unskilled workers relied on the direct action tactics of skilled workers in order to help themselves.  Renewed military led to the formation of national federation unions and (CIO) Congress of Industrial Organizations.  During this time Franklin Roosevelt passed laws that would give workers fundamental rights in their jobs.  The Norris-LaGuardia Act is a result of this. This act limited the ability of employers to obtain injuction in labor disputes. The Fair Labor Act also came into play in 1937 and provided for the payment of a minimum wage and overtime pay for hours in excess of forty per week. After these laws were passed the workers for this time felt as if great victory had been achieved for them.  The (NLRA) National Labor Relations Act was also formed which gives workers the right to form labor unions without employer interference has employers bargain with unions chosen by the employees forming them.  On top of this the (NLRB) National Labor Relations Board was formed to investigate employer violations in terms of these following new rules and guidelines.  The law placed serious blocks against union formation with the use of direct action, this means when you want to form a union you will use the NLRB to do so, or a similar agency.  During the George Bush administration the NLRB was taken over by members that were extremely upset to organized labor.  Several tactics have been used to secure employer recognition without going through normal procedures. These tactics are as follows: Use economic, political, and community pressure to force the employer to recognize the union on the basis of showing major support, another is a strong union (SEIU) to use its bargaining power in one area to get an employer it has organized in that area to agree to remain neutral in a union organization campaign in another area.  The NLRA does not cover farm workers, domestic workers, railroad and airline workers and public employees.  Although these are not covered by the NLRA, Congress passed laws to protect these workers in times of need.  The basic principles of the NLRA are as follows: if a majority of workers in a workplace want a union, the should have a way to one without having to engage in direct action, and also only one union should represent any particular group of workers.  All workers in a particular union must have common interests.  After this first process workers must then convince the NLRB there is definite interest in forming a union in this particular area of work.  30% of the workers must be interested in joining a union for it to go any further.  Great time, consideration, and care must be taken in choosing a union.  Too many unions today do not survive because they don’t recruit new members into joining.  The typical way in which workers show union interest is by signing union authorization cards: these state that each worker authorizes the union to represent them for the purpose of collective bargaining.  Once the union has 30% of the cards they can go to the NLRB, although through past experience no union unit should start bargaining without 50% or more with union authorization cards signed.  A petition is also an excellent and an ever better way to get the votes of potential union members.  Once the union notifies the NLRB and there are enough authorization cards signed the NLRB contacts the employer.  Employers use tactics to delay the outcome of the unions like having hearings.  Employers may also try to convince the NLRB reasons why there should not be a union within their business.  Just recently, the NLRB has made it easier for employers to challenge the bargaining units.  When all of this is said and done and the union successfully states its case the board will set a date for an election.  Employers are allowed to hire consultants and do anything possible to promote their anti-union campaigns.  Under current low it is legal for an employer to: Barrage the workers with anti-union propaganda. Assign supervisors to engage in daily discussions against the union, to union supporters, hold captive audience meetings at the workplace and will pull out all the stops to convince the workers that disaster awaits them if they vote for a union.  Sometimes employers will go further and commit illegal acts during this crucial time. These illegal acts will sometimes be bribes, or firing them in order to defeat the unionization.  Most of the time these tactics come too late and don’t make a difference at all.  On Election Day workers have a secret ballot. The union must win over 50% of the votes to be certified by the NLRB.  If the union loses it then can challenge the results if the employer has violated the law by committing unfair labor practices.  The board then will hold a hearing and has the power to overturn election results if need be.  This does not happen very often, only if the employer seriously has acted against the law. Once a union is certified it notifies the employer that it is now ready to negotiate a contract.

 

Chapter Two: Successful Union Organizing

 

            Over the past 40 years employers have been dealing with labor laws unfairly which has caused in the decline of unions overall. Today the number of elections even held to form unions has dropped significantly as well as the workers who are actually covered by the bargaining agreements.  Studies show that employer’s unlawful tactics these days have a negative impact on unions and their success rates.  Some employer’s however have the recognition from unions.  The National Labor Relations Act sometimes has unions organize outside of it.  This is used for when particular employers are targeted for organization; the union has already built a climate around the employer praising the building of unions. 

 

With The California Nurses’ Association In Texas

 

            In 1903 the CNA was founded as a professional association for nurses.  This turned into a labor union for nurses, similar to public school teachers.  CNA had great success with their union especially in California, where they have better pay, benefits, and bargaining agreements.  The union also wins the hearts of the general public.  When governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suspended the Labor scholar Gordon Lafer law in 2004 the CNA made many appearances and in turn had others unions protest.  Instead of giving up, the governor put together four propositions; two of them were for anti-unions.  The first proposition would make it easier to fire teachers for any reason, and the second required public employees unions to get annual written permission before using any member’s dues for political purposes.  Because of this California’s unions spent over 100 million dollars to defeat this four propositions.  All four unions put together millions of dollars for this reason.  Television commercials, media and radio ads were made to help fight this case.  More than 10,000 people were working to get people to protest these 4 propositions.  The nurses, however, where the ones who really followed the governor and made their presence known.  They staged more than 100 protests in 1 year. At the November 8th proposition all four of Arnold’s propositions were defeated.  To expand the base of the CNA the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) was formed and began to get national recognition.  The NNOC put a lot of their efforts into Texas where there is not a collective bargaining low for public employees, because the majority of nurses work in public hospitals.  Texas is a right to work state so even if a union secures representation rights, it cannot negotiate a union security agreement with an employer.  The CNA also lobbied the Texas legislature to secure staffing ratios.  It held demonstrations in the state capital and across the state to recognize the public working conditions of nurses and to try to do something about it. 

 

Chapter Two: Successful Union Organizing

 

            To overcome obstacles in order for unions to succeed in needs time to build.  Workers who support the union must build a rank-and-file organization inside the workforce from the start.  This means the workers will be talking up the unions and trying to get as many authorization cards as possible.  ‘Unions which focus on issues such as dignity, justice, discrimination, fairness, or service quality were associated with higher win rates than those which focused on more traditional bread and butter issues, such as wages, benefits, and job security’.  This quote stems from the fact that most people believe unions sole purpose is to get their members more money.  In order for this to work, the workers must come to understand the ‘class enemy’ of the workers, one that can be defeated only of workers stick together.  The union needs to encourage others to understand that solidification and understanding that the union will only work as a whole is both needed and beneficial.  In their research, Bronfenbrenner and Juravich found specific tactics that were especially helpful in winning elections for unions. These tactics are as follows: Forming an organizing committee.  This workplace committee should include a high percentage of workers as possible.  It should be representative of the composition of the workplace, and each department of the workplace should be represented in terms of sexual and racial composition.  House calling is another tactic.  Successful unionization demands face-to-face contacts.  Only through personal contact is there any hope of winning the emotional commitment without which a union cannot succeed.  The third tactic is holding mass and small group meetings.  Unions are collective organizations that require regular meetings to work effectively and democratically.  At meetings, not only can workers not only can workers hear what the union is all about, they can also learn the fundamentals of democratic organization and begin to gain the confidence that will help them confront their employers.  Using solidarity days is also another tactic used. Depending on circumstances, a solidarity day can also be an occasion to challenge managerial authority in a more direct way, such as a group of union supporters formally grieving some management action.  And the last tactic that is used is forming a bargaining committee before the election.  As workers develop concrete contract proposals, their ingenuity is tapped and they become impatient that their proposals are not ready.  The idea is to make a unionization more or less self-fulfilling prophecy.  These tactics are proven to win unionization even when the employer does everything to resist the efforts.  Even after a union wins the election, employers will continue to do everything to prevent the union from getting the critical first collective bargaining agreement, and they will barely succeed.  Under current labor laws you cannot negotiate a contract that forces workers to become union members, so this means you must convince all members of the bargaining unit to become members. 

 

Chapter Three: Union Structures and Democracy

 

            In 1996 Presidential candidate Bob Dole, repeating bashed the unions that were supporting President Clinton.  In 2008, John McCain did the same thing.  The irony of this is that Dole and McCain both got money from corporate officials who are bosses.   While many unions are not as democratic as they should be, there is no doubt that unions at a local level are the most democratic institutions in the country.  General Motors is an example of this.  They are emanating orders from the top, yet are carried out from below.  This means that most employers do not have democratic organizations, and they cannot be made to have them.  The power is always at the top.  Unions are extremely different because they are made up of volunteers where members have the real voices and power.  The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, is known for its corrupt union.  This union was run by corrupt criminals who used its pension funds as banks for their casinos in Las Vegas.  The Teamsters were led by one of the labor rebellions of the Great Depression.  Because of this Teamsters for Democratic Union (TDU) was formed to win back the control of union members who stood up to gangsters and their unions and eventually succeeded in getting the federal government to intervene.  There were many problems to be solved but despite the turn of events, the Teamsters union has been changed by the efforts of the TDU.  This could not have been done with a privately owned business or a government agency. 

 

Chapter Three: Locals and Internationals

 

            When workers form a union, they usually form a local of a larger national or international group.  The local union will always have to follow the bylaws that officers of the union and local rules of the operations will have.  These bylaws are who is eligible to run for office, the duties of the officers, the lengths of the terms of officers and the frequency and times of the union meetings. In the United States there are thousands of local unions. Almost all of these unions are members of national unions as well.  There are very few independent locals unattached to national unions.  In most cases the union has autonomy but it still bound by the rules and policies of the national or international union of which it is a member.  A union may also contain intermediate bodies between the levels of the local and the national.  The national unions set the overall program of the union. It will higher staff, organizers, lawyers, lobbyists, and locals who will help service the unions.  The most common of these bodies is the local-intermediate-body-national.  Local union differs from union to union. Some unions have large strike funds but before anyone can gain access to it they must get permission from the national union agency.  Also, local unions vary in size and in the complexity of their tasks in regards to the large union as a whole.  A union also differs in how they select their officers.  Local officers are normally selected by secret ballot of the members who then choose staff.  In a factory setting the level union official will have direct contact with the union members.  Stewards may also be elected in some unions.  Intermediate body and national officers are usually chosen in a few of ways. They are either elected by the direct vote of members, or are elected by delegates from nation conventions.  Both ways are the most democratic and the most desirable and fair.  Nearly all national and international unions the country are part of one of two federations of unions, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.  This relationship of federations is similar to the relationship between national and local unions.  It hires organizers, sponsors and lobbyists to carry out the union’s duties.  Within certain areas around the country these federations are affiliated with central labor councils.  These councils could support a boycott of the target company’s products.  In a strike the council unions could help with the picketing that goes on.  Central labor councils can sponsor labor education classes for union members for any workers in the area.  This can help build strong labor movements.  While a few central labor councils still do these things, many of them are inactive and devote most of their energies to helping local charities such as the United Way. 

 

Chapter Three: Union Structure And The Law

 

            All unions must conform to federal labor laws, The Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act is known as the Landrum-Griffin Act. This was formed in 1959 because congressional investigations into union corruption took place.  Employers and their government allies wanted to create the impression those unions were in conflict with their members in order to defeat them.  This act is divided into a number of parts, which include:  Title 1, the union member’s ‘bill of right’s’.  This guarantees that a union cannot deny the rights provided by its constitution and bylaws to any member. No member can be denied the right to speak out at union meetings, to run for union office, or to have access to the union’s newspapers.  A union cannot deny a member running for union office the right to place advertisements in the union paper if the incumbent has such a right.  The most important of Title 1 is that no member of any labor organization may be fined, suspended, expelled, or otherwise disciplined except for nonpayment dues by such organization or by any officer thereof unless such a member has been served with written charges or given a reasonable time to prepare his defense. Title II states that unions must file various memberships and financial reports with the Department of Labor, and all of this information must be made available to the members upon request.  Title III states that strict limits are placed on the right of the national union to implement relationships.  The constitutions of most national unions give them the power to the temporarily take over the affairs of their locals or intermediate bodies.  This is called putting the local in trusteeship.  Type IV says unions must have regular elections of their officers.  Local unions much have such elections at least once every three years and national unions once every five years.  All elections must conform to minimal democratic standards.  The Department of Labor, which administers most of the act, has the power to overturn a union election and to oversee a new one. 

 

Chapter Three: An Example Of Union Democracy

 

            The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers for America or UE were one of the unions in the head of the movement for industrial unionism.  The UE established a record of both rank-and-file democracy and progressive and won higher wages, better hours and working conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers.  Unfortunately the union fell victim to the Cold War and did not make it.  After the CIO took the UE away, other unions raided its members. It lost all of its members in 1950 and began a comeback almost three decades later.  Today the union has about thirty five thousand members and has seen some of the greatest UE victories and defeats.  It no longer organizes only within industries and will organize any workers who agree with its principles.  Recently it has organized southern states in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.  The vitality of the union is explained by its internal democracy.  The national officers of the UE only serve two years and must stand for election at the biennial conventions of the union.  This is in contrast to many other unions.  Beneath the national union there are three regions: Eastern, Northeaster and Western.  In each region there is a regional council.  The goal of each council is to secure mutual protection of all locals within a given region.  The base of the union consists of the local unions in each district.  Each local must have a constitution, which has a number of officers, duties of the officers and times of the local meetings. The national constitutions provide for chartering of new locals, and the basic dues structure are given wide divergence in wages throughout the union.  In the UE the locals call strikes.  Still any strike must be in conformity with the union’s constitution.  The UE goes to great measures to insure that the members actually control the union from national convention to daily operations of every level of the union. Although a union may not act as democratically as its constitution might suggest, the UE operated throughout its history in accord with its principles.  It can also serve as a measuring rod for the evaluation of other unions.  The (UAW) or United Auto Workers has an independent review board to which a member can appeal an adverse ruling.  The UAW is much more dominated by its staff then the UE is.

 

Chapter Three: A Local Union Meeting

 

            Every aspect of the American Federation of teachers was democratic when the author was apart of it.  They had constitution bylaws and made their own decisions with respect to strategies and policies.  The AFT’s state federations and national office were affiliated with both the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers and the AFI.  They set their own dues, but had to pay per capita amount of money to both state and national federations.  The AFT provided the teachers in the union with organizing drive funds as well as organizers and staff to use.  They held their meetings in a building owned by a church and conducted them according to standard form.  There were times the meetings were routine and other times where the meetings raised issues and got heated.  Many times the members did not agree on certain things but things were always kept democratic and done the right and fair way.  After research has been done they are finding that more democratic the union movement is the better off the workers end up being.

 

Chapter Four: Collective Bargaining

 

            Once a union has been formed it will put together a set of rules the members will abide by.  Today, wages, hours and the terms and conditions of employment are settled and worked out by a process called collective bargaining.  The National Labor Relations Act requires the employer to bargain in ‘good faith’.  The union is the main bargaining agent for the workers and employees. This means workers must bargain and voice their opinions with their union, no individual workers or other unions.  Reaching a compromise with the employer of the business can be extremely difficult when making up the union contract.  The employers often use surface bargaining, which is a stalling technique that they go through all the processes of negotiating and bargaining without actually having the intent of reaching an agreement at the end.  These tactics are illegal but labor laws cannot always stop the employers from doing this.  In the meantime if the employers are stalling, the employees become concerned with the failure to get a contract and the employer will take advantage of the workers.  There is no monetary penalty for such actions on the employers.  The weakness of this law makes big refusals to bargain and other unfair labor practices.  Between the 1950′s and 1990′s these actions increased which slowly made the formation of union membership decline.  This situation is not so bad for already formed unions but does impact unions that are trying to win their first collective bargaining agreement against their employers.  Researchers have found essential tactics that are necessary for collective bargaining. These tactics include: one-on-one meetings, solidarity days, house calling, rank-and-file mobilization, community support, and skillful preparations. 

 

Chapter Four: The IWW’s Case Against Collective Bargaining

 

            The American Federation of Labor, the trade union association created in the late 19th century was mostly made up of skilled or craft workers.  The AFL made barely any effort to organize those workers that were unskilled.  Skilled workers were the ones who were willing to carry out militant actions and strikes, once they achieved their goals, they did everything they could in order to negotiate their contracts thoroughly.  The acceptance of wage system and the willingness to work within the two-party political framework was the conservative approach to unionism.  Eugene Debs and Bill Haywood, and women led the radicals of this like Elizabeth Flynn formed other kinds of unions.  The IWW believed in ‘one big union’ regardless of what work they could do, if they were skilled or unskilled or their race or gender.  The IWW recognized some of the nations most downtrodden workers and it won some spectacular strikes.  ‘Soap boxing: is giving unannounced public speeches in parks and on street corners in towns across the nation, this was used to help make free speech a reality for the working people.  The IWW was defeated by a combination of employer and government violence, AFL antagonism and its own internal weaknesses.  Some unionists still believe that collective bargaining is a conservative strategy to discourage workers trying to form unions.  On the other hand the IWW’s contempt for collective bargaining made it more vulnerable to employer and government attacks by making every victory wholly dependent on its own members reserves.  Every disagreement or non-compromise that took place had the ability of turning into a huge fight or battle.

 

Chapter Four: Strategies Of The Contract Campaign

 

            When unions were more powerful in the United States many years ago, collective bargaining was very common.  In the 1950′s the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) was the union that represented mostly all of the workers who worked in the United State’s steel mills.  This union had won contracts from all of the large steel corporations.  These contracts were for members who did not have a ratification vote.  Because of this the employers had very little ability to hire any replacement workers who could do the same job as the others to break the strikes.  Today after much union decline, the employers have more of the advantage.  Today’s companies are more resistant to union demands and do not mind strikes because they have the opportunity to hire replacement workers.  The United Auto Workers (CAW), which broke away from the UAW in the 1980′s for twenty years, was a model of uncompromising and successful bargaining.  The old bargaining tactics no longer work and unions have to rethink their processes.  Campaigns have been found to work the most in favor of unionization.  If a union has been recognized by an employer and wants to negotiate a contract, the union must first notify the employer of its desire to bargain.  Then the union is allowed to start its campaign.  People who know the best ways to ‘sell’ their opinion usually win collective bargaining.  The most important thing for a union is to try to expand their campaign as best as they can.  This will create a lot of power outside of the bargaining table.  In a contract campaign, leaders of the union can begin to establish unity and organization by preparing a planning document that lays out what the union wants to do.  Time is very important to organize and put everything into place.  A lot of research has to be done in order to put together goals that the union wants to accomplish.  Researchers for unions can get information in several different ways: by polling its members and conducting surveys, one-on-one contacts, small group meetings, and union meetings.  Most unions have research departments that conduct this research for them.  Unions keep everything on file from grievances, arbitrations, and one-on-one contacts, transactions, most of which are all available to the public.  The local courthouse, IRS or Securities and Exchange Commission has all of this information.  Employers themselves are not a viable resource in ways to get information.  Information may be hearsay, passed through management etc.  The union has legal right to obtain any information from the employer.  The employer has to give in to these requests or an unfair labor practice takes place.  A union cannot request information concerning anything that is submissive.  The courts have ruled that management has certain inherent rights simply because they own the property.  A union cannot make the employer bargain about price of any product, a decision to close a plant or anywhere that produces a product, the nature and any type of product, the choice of health insurance carrier that is used and the benefits that are given.  If a union was trying to reduce the cost of health insurance for its members, they can request a copy of all health plans that are now in effect, employer and worker premium payments, administrative expenses, yearly cost per hour, number of claims per employee, amounts of all claims, distribution of the types of claims filed, and any and all reports, costs and information based on health care costs throughout the business.  The Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or similar state agency have files of all job classifications broken down by race and sex, affirmative action plans, documents and studies that can all be requested by the union.  Because there is so much information that is available publically for the unions the unions can benefit from doing research.  Once the union sets all of its goals it now must create a structure that is responsible for making these goals actually happen.  Campaign committee’s, negotiating committee’s and specialized committee’s must be formed to aid in this process.  The negotiating committee will actually sit down with the employer and represent the bargaining unit.  The members of this committee should be trained carefully in the aspect of a trained negotiator.  The campaign committee is to mobilize the membership in a series of actions at convincing the employer that reaching an agreement is much better than not.  This committee is responsible for everything from communication, logistics to all campaign events.  This committee is trained to take a subtle approach and then aggressively persuade.  A corporate campaign is used outside the workplace that makes the employer most vulnerable.  Banks, financial institutions, and other companies that do business with the employer may be persuaded into helping the union.  Every employer is subject to regulations and laws during this whole process.  Unions should try to maintain a close relationship with all groups that might support them in their struggle to fight against employees.  Community organizations, churches, civil rights groups, environmental groups can be convinced to make a relationship with the union as well.  The pressure from the union needs to increase as time goes on so the employer feels this.  The seriousness of the workers needs to be felt by the employer before the election is won.  The workers can do almost anything that is legal to make their demands feel important.  When a single union local faces a one-plant employer the structure is decentralized.  If any of the workers do the same type of work the structure is narrow versus a very wide structure if there are many types of occupations. 

 

Chapter Four: Bargaining In Wartime

 

            The First World War in 1917 was the result of international economic and political rivalry for overseas markets and colonies.  Workers should not have supported it at all although many did.  In most cases government makes it extremely dangerous for those workers who disagree with their terms.  The AFL eventually supported the war and its unions agreed not to strike.  Union membership then grew and unions won many collective bargaining agreements. Some groups actively fought against the war and later were persecuted and prosecuted by the government for doing so.  During the Second World War the radicals mostly took part in it.  The government placed a lot of pressure on employers to recognize unions in their plants and to bargain collectively with them.  Top national union leaders put labor-management cooperation into place.  Because of this relationship with the Soviet Union, Communists went along with their agreement.  Radical politics were put on hold during the Second War.  After the war the government went all out to destroy the left-wing labor movement.  The CIO expelled the most radical unions, which marked the end of the movement of workers during the Great Depression.  Both collective bargaining and grievance procedures can be of great advantage to workers.  If a collective bargaining campaign is effective it can permit unions to regroup to win.  A grievance procedure can be used as another tactic in workers versus employers. 

 

Chapter Four: At The Table

 

            Negotiations and unions are a very important topic.  A lot of research has been conducted on the art of being a perfect negotiator. There are many useful things a negotiator has to remember when they sit down to bargain.  Substantive issues are items the unions hopes to get into the final collective bargaining agreement.  Before substantive issues are taken into consideration, procedural subjects must be bargained.  These include dates, places, and times of meetings, tape-recording etc. Although these are smaller points they are still crucial and negotiators should give them the same care as all other issues.  At the actual table, the bargainer should maintain a tight discipline.  Several people do the talking, but all bargainers must have the same terms of agreement with each other because the employer will be looking for different opinions by the union.  Whenever there is a disagreement between the negotiators of the union they should call a caucus.  A caucus is when the union will meet alone outside the negotiating room to discuss their issue.  An excuse is always a good thing to have before hand so they can stop the bargaining process and head outside.  Delaying tactics can also be used, such as: you can ask the employer to repeat its proposal, silence is also a good way to get the other side to repeat itself and give you more time to think.  Union negotiators should always be well prepared for each session. On the first day of bargaining the union spokesperson could just hand the unions proposed agreement to the employer.  The employer will be forced to listen and this sends a message to the employer that the union is serious and has prepared a great campaign to secure their agreement.  A critical element in the bargaining process is for the union to know the best alternative to a negotiated agreement.  Also the resistance point, which is the point beyond which it would rather not reach agreement.  The CAW-GM negotiations are an example of the principled bargaining.  The union based its position on a strong union principle; steady increases in real wage rates and refused to compromise on the principle.  Bargaining based upon principle support is difficult to encounter.  Imaginative bargainers figure out ways to tie issues together so that both sides can win something.  A successful union is a union that keeps all of its members up to date on everything that is going on so that the members have a sense that they feel like they are a part of the process.  Under labor laws if despite all of these tactics the union fails to convince the employer an impasse exists.  This is when further bargaining process have to take place.  The employer bargains again with their last offer.  The only possibility of an impasse should be dealt with accordingly in the campaign contract.  A strike may prove this necessary if an agreement does not happen.  A strike is the only way to deal with an impasse. If this happens a mediator may be brought in to try to get the parties to agree together and compromise.  A mediator can only recommend contract terms, not impose any of them.  In a few states interest arbitration is called a ‘final offer’. Once a dispute reaches an impasse the arbitrator imposes either the unions or the employers last offer but cannot dictate any sort of compromise solution. 

 

 

 

Chapter Four: The Agreement

 

            If the agreement between negotiators and employers comes together a collective bargaining agreement that will serve as the low of the workplace will take place and be signed.  The contract will be divided into 4 parts: union security and management rights, the wage and effort bargain, individual security, and contact administration.  A clause that may take place is a union shop agreement, which states that every member of the bargaining unit must join the union within a specified number of days after being hired.  An agency shop does not require membership of a union but does demand that every unit member pay dues that are equivalent to the union. Two issues that happen most today are management rights and no-strike clauses.  The essence of management is control which a good collective bargaining agreement will limit this control. Unions need to try to keep managerial rights as narrowly defined as possible because the employer will always refer to these rights in times of a dispute.  Very rarely there is a contract that has a no-strike agreement in it.  The workers who strike out of a no-strike agreement subject themselves to losing their job and membership in the union itself.  Some unions have managed to take out some issues from the non-strike agreement.  The NLRB or the courts to mean that workers cannot refuel to cross another union’s picket line might interpret an agreement with no special wording.  The wage and effort part of this usually contains hundreds of clauses covering everything from wages, benefits, to how workers will be paid, etc. Many collective bargaining agreements embrace the ‘team concept’, although it is a dangerous concept.  Once a union has been formed the management has to take the workers into account no matter what it does.  Individual security provisions include the grievance procedure and seniority rules.  Through the grievance procedure, workers gain fundamental due process.  This process is extremely important.  It is what separates organized workers from unorganized workers.  Its significance can be measured by how rare such a system is in a nonunion company.  Although a grievance system is not a substitute for a militant and vigilant rank and file controlled union.  Collective bargaining cannot eliminate the uncertainty in the economy, but it can offer workers job protection through the rule of seniority.  Seniority is a very powerful weapon in terms of unions.  It gives older workers preference over younger worker.  One problem that seniority may cause is that it perpetuates discrimination is some ways.  In terms of contracts, once a contract is signed it must be enforced.  Enforcement should be seen as part of the ongoing campaign to increase the workers powers.  Arbitration of contract disputes is such an important part of the collective bargaining agreement.  Once the last step of grievance arbitration takes place and has failed to generate a settlement, the union has a few days to spell out in the contract and to invoke arbitration.  Anyone can be selected as the arbitrator and there are no specific qualifications that a person must have to be one.  You should always choose one who will be versed in collective bargaining agreements.  Some states use panels of arbitrators.  An arbitration hearing is a legal proceeding where both the union and the employer will make opening statements to each other in front of an attorney.  Both sides will introduce documents of evidence, and write closing briefs, etc.  Numerous court decisions have made it difficult for the losing side to overturn an arbitrations ruling.  Unions should always prepare for arbitration as they do for bargaining and should be extremely well prepared.  The employer of the company has to give the union any information that is relevant to the case as before. Witnesses will also be called if necessary who will work and oversee the grievant claims.  The arbitrator that is chosen does not know anything about the grievance until he/she gets there and the union tells them the situation as clear as possible.  The arbitrator first must overlook the contract and make the collective bargaining agreement truthful around it.  Understanding every piece of the contract is vital to the arbitrator’s understanding and knowledge of the argument.  Employers and outsiders of unions say that a union will take any case to arbitration, this cannot be taken seriously.  Every person has the right to the due process law and to have his or her voice heard within the terms of innocent until proven guilty.  A union also has a legal right to thoroughly investigate every grievance. 

 

Chapter Four: Politics And Collective Bargaining

 

            On one hand there have been overly political workers’ groups. These organizations goal is to directly confront the economic system and the state that supports it.  On the other hand these movements also were movements of working people that had no particular political platform and simply concentrated on organizing unions to bargain for better wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. The most important of all the organizations that were listed was the American Federation of Labor.  The founder of this organization was Samuel Gomper and his standpoint was to urge workers to reject radical politics and operate within the two-party system of Republicans and Democrats. Collective bargaining by its nature accepts the rights of the employers to run their businesses and relegates the workers to winning a slightly bigger share of the pie that they could without a union.  Recent studies have pros and cons to both views on this.  Maurice Zeitlin and Judith Stepan-Norris that were secured by the left wing, centrist, and right-wing unions between the years 1937 and 1955 compared contracts. All of the unions were affiliated with the CIO.  The left wing unions and those most allied with the Communist Party won contracts that enabled workers to protect their interests at work.  Through collective bargaining workers have fought and won impressive movements throughout the past 100 years that not only helped them monetarily but also helped with human rights.  While many employees have condemned unions and collective bargaining as detrimental to managerial flexibility, workers have used them to deal creatively with disparate and rapidly changing circumstances.  Some agreements even provide childcare, flexible work schedules, transfer rights, sabbatical leaves, retraining and education funds, affirmative action, and many other procedures and laws for the employees. Unions and collective bargaining cannot solve all the work-related issues people face every day such as racism, guaranteed employment, meaningful work in clean environments and sexism but it i

Daviana Mazzone

Grasp back control and put an end to your hostile workplace this very moment, grab Work Laws Exposed right now. You can’t change a situation you don’t like and don’t warrant without having an open mind, investing in yourself, and taking action.

I have this coworker who makes a hostile workplace….?

We are both supervisors but her job is threatened by me because I do my job correctly. She talks shit about every other employee to everyone. She is loud and takes over all the meeting time so no one else has a chance to speak. She makes people call out sick with migraines and makes the workplace stressful. No one wants to work wit her. She gives coworkers dirty looks and is rude to everyone. What would be the right thing to do? Go to superior and complain of harrassment?

Answer
Document, document, document. Keep a journal and log of everything you witness first hand of her behavior. Then when you have a decent amount of reaccuring themes and practices (i’d say 3-6 months). Go to a superior and just lay down what you have witnessed. It is possible that you won’t be the only one laying down complaints against her, but if you have documented backup that goes a long way.

The world is going through the best times in terms of the advanced judicial structure that is almost similar in different countries. The law favors human rights and employment rights, so anyone can seek the assistance of highly educated and the reputable law firms like Sessions and Kimball for seeking legal consultation and trying out litigation or reconciliation with the other party, depending upon the situations. However, many times the incidences of sexual and mental harassment at workplace, abusive behavior, inappropriate wages policies, and undue termination are overlooked in our day to day lives. Many of us believe that only the fittest person will be able to survive in the adverse situations. If, you are not that fit then you must seek the advice of Sessions and Kimball because they strongly advocate the need to build an atmosphere of perfect balance between the means of earning livelihood and self-respect.

It is true, that the American society is no different from the various other parts of the world where employees are bullied by their bosses at the workplace, despite having the privilege of seeking legal assistance to overcome this problem. Do you know why does it happen even in the cultured society?  It’s just because the common man avoid taking appropriate actions due to the lack of the awareness regarding the legal rights of the workers at the workplace. Even the educated gentry show their reluctance to teach a lesson to the wrong doers. If, we put a glance on the general statistics based on the available resources on the Internet, it is claimed that approximately 80% of Americans takes interest in litigation, but on the real grounds many of them never complete the entire process and walk away to find another job. However, Sessions And Kimball ever insists the employees to take a stand and retaliate strictly against any hostile behavior that spoils the work environment.
 
It is said, that it is better to make out of court settlement for disputes, carry out negotiations, and avoid stretching the cases too long unless they are criminal in nature or you are in a stronger position of winning the case. However, it is difficult to find a suitable mediator who can truly prove to be quite supportive in carrying out the negotiations on the behalf of its client. Under such circumstances, you can rely on Sessions and Kimball, a law firm based in CA, to know about your employment rights. They will not just play key role in boosting your moral they will help you in pursuing mediation, and even put their whole hearted efforts for suing the employers or recent bosses for any inappropriate behavior.

Most corporate attorneys, says Sessions and kimball will attempt to negotiate in good faith prior to litigation. As a result, most cases are settled before going to court.You can contact Sessions %26 kimball Llp in Mission Viejo, CA is a private company categorized under Lawyers and Attorneys.For more detail please visit us at Session and KimballSessions kimball

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Workplace harassment. How many days is an employer given to address workplace harassment?

There is something called “timely basis”. When you report harassment to your supervisors, how much time do they have required by law or policy to confront and address the harassment and hostile work environment? I am a Wisconsin resident but work in Minnesota.

Answer
There is no hard rule. Provided the company is actively investigating an incident or formulating a response, t would be up to a judge to decide if this was ‘timely’

How important are employee relations? One word: very.

By Angela Stringfellow. Angela is a social media strategist, and a public relations and marketing communications consultant.

Walk into a workplace. Quick: What’s the vibe? Is the place thrumming? Are workers engaged, busy, upbeat? Or does the tension of the place suck the breath out of you as soon as you enter the lobby?

Whether you’re the CEO or the customer, a current employee or a potential one, you can tell within minutes whether you’re walking into a hostile environment or a positive one.

If you’re the CEO, you’d better make sure it’s the latter. Good employee relations is as important an operating strategy as a good product or excellent marketing. If morale is bad and your employees are miserable, it will directly—and negatively—impact your success.
Leadership Buy-In

From the CEO to the shift manager, everyone needs to understand the importance of maintaining and developing positive employee relations. Whether it’s dealing with contractors, unionized employees, senior executives or the entry level workforce, company leaders must develop and follow a mission, vision, and values that promote a positive work environment. The culture of the company begins at the top. And the proverbial ‘it’ always flows downhill.
a toxic workplace barrels and fire

Don’t let your workplace be toxic. Unless it’s a nuclear power plant, or something. Actually—especially if it’s a nuclear power plant.
Flickr/K Latham

Just like any 12-step program, company leaders need to be the first to admit there’s a problem, then takes steps to remedy it. Front-line management must work with employees to understand their needs and create a plan of action.
Transparency and Communication

Employee relations are built and maintained through efficient communications. Poor communications creates a destructive environment. Employees need to know they’re being kept in the loop. Even if it’s as trivial as a change in the dress code to a more career-altering change in ownership, morale will diminish if secrets are kept and leadership can’t be trusted.

Allow employees the opportunity to speak freely to upper management about questions or concerns they have about their positions, the company or even their colleagues and managers. Being able to express their needs without fear is essential in keeping an open forum with employees.

Also, employees need to feel as if their concerns are being addressed. If something requires action, get it done. Show your employees that they’re valuable to the organization and that what they have to say is important.
Build teams

It doesn’t really matter if you work by yourself, behind a desk or if you’re the figurehead of the company: Teamwork is inevitable. Whether it’s a group of department heads making budgetary decisions or laborers working the floor, creating a sense of team develops accountability.

Employees are no longer responsible just for themselves, but for a group of others. Teams that work well together bond, develop dedicated and loyal relationships, and ultimately create positive environments.
Cultivate Positive Relationships

The old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ forgets a key component: maintenance. A beautifully running sports car still needs regular oil changes and service. The same holds true for successful and efficient work environments.
Companies where employee morale is high and relationships are great have to work to maintain it.

Supporting the team is essential. Whether it’s financial incentives, tokens of gratitude or just simply a pat on the back, recognition for jobs done well is vital. More often than not, lack of recognition is a leading cause of morale breakdown and turnover.

Your employees make your company. Without them, almost nothing gets done. Your customers and clients can tell when something isn’t right. That’s why it’s critical to promote and maintain positive relationships with every person who enters your establishment—starting with the people you pay.

TribeHR opens communication channels, helps promote teamwork, and builds positive relationships. See how TribeHR’s affordable software can manage your human resources, faster and easier.

Also pulled from the University of Waterloo, Paul has nearly completed his Honours Bachelor degree in Knowledge Integration, Psychology, and International Studies. Before coming to TribeHR, he was heavily involved in the non-profit sector. Paul spends much of his time reading, proof-reading, writing, re-writing, and looking for creative ways to spread HR wisdom. He likes travel and classic literature. He dislikes cold weather and typos.

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I have this coworker who makes a hostile workplace….?

We are both supervisors but her job is threatened by me because I do my job correctly. She talks shit about every other employee to everyone. She is loud and takes over all the meeting time so no one else has a chance to speak. She makes people call out sick with migraines and makes the workplace stressful. No one wants to work wit her. She gives coworkers dirty looks and is rude to everyone. What would be the right thing to do? Go to superior and complain of harrassment?

Answer
Document, document, document. Keep a journal and log of everything you witness first hand of her behavior. Then when you have a decent amount of reaccuring themes and practices (i’d say 3-6 months). Go to a superior and just lay down what you have witnessed. It is possible that you won’t be the only one laying down complaints against her, but if you have documented backup that goes a long way.

The actual electronic monitoring digital camera is really a brand new digital gizmo of the technologies these days that helps you to keep away from the chance of unauthorized access to your houses and workplaces. Remote control monitoring digital cameras is now as simple as striking off the computer mouse when making use of these types of new patterns of high-tech surveillance cam.

Within today’s world that we live in, you will find much disturbance which has evolved in various types of hostility, hates as well as crime. This particular gadget can also help you catch the burglaries and robbers, or perhaps the plain trespassers which will trigger the actual alarm and suspicions of the neighborhood.

The actual checking and monitoring Home Surveillance System might provide all of the visible records apparent images which are taking place out of your absence. With these particular recently innovative digital monitoring camera technologies, it can help a person safeguard your self, your loved ones and others for issuing counteracting indicators which are the nuisance at bay.

The advantages of the new trend digital cameras as well as technologies:

· It may let you know who is banging at your entry way

· May check and guard the home just about all day and night long

· You can easily recognize the possible intruders or even criminals outside your home

· In your absence, you can check the infant from anyplace you are

· Keep an eye to your office space and nearby surroundings

· Possess the recordings with movements within specific times

It is not difficult to set up the actual Home Surveillance System; it’s just simple because putting or fitting the light bulb into the outlet. A person only has to plug the chords and interact with your own TVs or individual machines equipped with the correct software program for those monitoring devices.

Regarding the legal aspects of these types of stuff, consult the actual legal professionals to be able to get attention with this issue. There are created signs which are usually allowed the site visitors know about the device which are set up and utilized inside your premises.

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Have you ever experienced workplace harassment/a hostile work environment due to your nationality or faith?

I ask because I am dealing with it lately.

Answer
Yes.

I had a subordinate accuse *me* of religious discrimination because I wouldn’t let him get away with not doing his work and being insubordinate. The claim was baseless, since I didn’t even know about *his* religion until the accusation came. He, however, had seen my pentacle and ASSumed he knew what it meant, and didn’t feel that he should have to take orders from a woman or a Satanist (I’m not, but that’s what he thought).

I also worked another job where people would regularly come in and harass me (literally screaming bible verses at me, for example) for being a non-Christian, and my manager wouldn’t let me ask them to leave because they were “good paying customers.” *rolls eyes*

I don’t advertise my religion, but I don’t feel I should be treated rudely for wearing symbols of my faith. I don’t insult people who wear crosses after all. I have as much right to my religion as anyone else does, and so do you. Religious harassment is illegal in the US workplace (if that’s where you’re at) and many other countries as well.

The question a person could want to request is: ‘why do spouses cheat’? Below are 5 key explanations why partners cheat on just about every other:

 

Revenge
Cheating normally can take location in between partners that are struggling in their partnership. It is executed in key and persons who indulge in it are often not uncovered. The act can nevertheless go awry when the top secret affair is blown on the open. This can result to really serious pressure in the property or revenge. There are some individual who will go the excess mile to hurt their spouse by cheating on their spouse when they discover they too have been betrayed. But we should all recognize that two wrongs don’t make a perfect. This strange act is common among gals who have currently being hurt by their partners. They deliberately indulge in additional-marital affairs in a bid to get their private pound of flesh.

 

Un-friendly surroundings
When a man discovers that just about every time he arrives household, there is generally a person dilemma or the other he unconsciously seems for a destination of comfort to rest his frayed nerves. If not adequately checked, this can develop into the genesis of his cheating exploits. Bulk of adult males opt for to keep in a home devoid of fighting, quarreling, nagging and hostility.

 

Complicated partners
When a partner proves tough to make sure you, it can force finally lead to the spouse cheating on them. For illustration, when the spouse is normally generating unneeded desire even with efforts by the guy to please, it can have unfavorable consequence on the romance, as the need to locate solace elsewhere can become a veritable breeding ground for cheating.

 

Temptation in the workplace
The workplace environment is also a breeding ground for cheating and infidelity. When a gentleman will work late into the night time and the one person he often has around him occurs to be an beautiful secretary, it can grow to be a time bomb waiting to explode if not appropriately dealt with. There have been conditions in which men and women want staying in the workplace than coming house because of to the sexual satisfaction they derive from women in the office.

 

Wellbeing difficulties
There have been situations exactly where the woman had some health challenge and the man in a bid to fulfill his sexual urge, is compelled to appearance elsewhere. Males have also come to be victim of overall health-related ailments like impotency and low sperm count. In some cases, lack of endurance can force females to abandon their husband in search of youthful males who can satisfy their cravings.

 

That is a question I get asked a good deal ‘how do I catch my cheating….spouse?’ The old fashioned way was to hire a personal detective and numerous folks however do that. So a lot of in reality that the Personal Investigator specialty of catching cheating spouses is booming. In instance you don’t know it can be expensive and time consuming.

 

A different way is to ‘stalk’ your spouse and abide by him/her right until you catch them red handed. That needs a skill set of not being discovered oneself. The greatest way to catch a cheating wife or husband is with a hidden spy digital camera.

Why spouses cheat why boys cheat why girls cheat 7

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Hostile workplace? Discrimination? Or is it just Cultural Insensitivity?

I am working for an attorney who is almost 80 years old at a large firm. He made some racially inappropriate comments to me, which I immediately alerted my supervisor about and HR got involved. Of course, being a law firm, they’re covering their bases as quickly as possible, but here are the issues I am dealing with:
- When I had to sit down with the attorney and HR for a face-to-face, his reasoning was that he is old and of a different generation and therefore is unaware of these things, and that “next time” I should just call him out on it. Meaning, I still have to work for him and he’s admitting he’s bound to slip up and say more inappropriate things to me.
- This large firm has NEVER had a cultural sensitivity training.
- No matter how many times I express the fact that I am uncomfortable working with him, the managers insist on seeing what happens.
- Because of this I am miserable at work and it is taking a toll on my health.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Seems like the system worked.

He made comments he shouldn’t have made.

He was called on the carpet for making them.

What more do you think should happen ?

You don’t actually think they are going to fire an 80 year old attorney, who has probally worked there for 50 years, just because of one complaint ?

Yoiu were hired to do a job, part of your job includes interacting with this attorney.

As long as he doesn’t continue to make insensitive remarks.

Whats your problem ?

If you are that miserable, then go find another job.

The company did what they were supposed to do.

Harassment at work is a form of employee discrimination. There are many forms of workplace harassment with varying degrees of seriousness and legal implication. While it is a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights act, workplace harassment can often be difficult to prove in a court of law. This can lead to questions on sites like JustAnswer. Below are five of the most common questions that have been asked.
1.       What are some types of workplace harassment?
There are many forms of workplace harassment including sexual, racial, religious, and age-related harassment. The fear of losing a job keeps many employees from reporting harassment. Many employers have what is called an ‘at will’ employment. If you are an ‘at will’ employee, technically you can be terminated for no reason at all. Since this is usually your word vs. their word, it becomes difficult to prove. However, if you can prove the harassment — possibly with witnesses or pictures — this could be an important factor in your case.
2.       What is the difference between workplace harassment vs. a hostile working environment?
Workplace harassment is any type of unwelcome action taken by either one employee towards another, or by members of management to subordinates. Management includes supervisors, the boss/owner or any person in a position of authority. Any unwelcome action towards an employee that prohibits the employee from performing job duties or makes the employee feel violated or uneasy can be considered workplace harassment.
A hostile work environment is when an employee experiences acts that provoke fear of going to work. Often, these acts are offensive intimidation initiated by the harasser. Yelling, being rude, and creating an environment full of severe stress results in a hostile work environment. Usually, hostile work situations are created by a boss or manager to provoke an employee or employees to quit their job.
3.       Are verbal threats considered harassment?
Verbal threats are considered a form of workplace harassment in West Virginia and many other states. However, until the harasser actually acts on the threats, you would only have a civil recourse and it does not become a criminal offense. If you are facing verbal threats, and want to know more about the laws in your area, you can ask lawyers on JustAnswer.
4.       Is slander the same as harassment?
Depending on the situation, slander is often considered a form of workplace harassment, especially if it was sexually oriented. Heinous lies, verbal attacks and rumors can discredit a person and cause not only stress in the workplace, but in his or her personal life as well. The law for slander differs from state to state. However, if you can prove the accusations, you may also have a case.
5.       I have been accused of sexual harassment at work; can my employer reprimand me without an investigation?
Employers are bound by most states to show that some sort of investigation was made in the event that an employee was accused of sexual or any type of workplace harassment.  Employers can reprimand an employee through a verbal and written warning to be placed in the employee’s permanent record. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a serious situation and can have a lasting impact on your career.

The author is a staff writer at www.justanswer.com, a site that lets you ask experts and get answers quickly, easily and affordably. Ask your http://www.Justanswer.com/employment-law-topics-harassment/’%26gt;workplace harassment questions and get answers A.S.A.P when you Ask Experts at JustAnswer.

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Why are otherwise normal women, casually and senselessly mean to other women in public and in the workplace?

You have all seen some otherwise well adjusted women act in a clearly needlessly hostile, back biting, fashion to other women for no apparent reason, but not towards men as a rule. Some women claim real difficulty maintaining woman on woman friendships due to the depth and prevalence of these all too common intra gender rivalry’s. Why?

Answer
I hadn’t noticed that. But I have noticed that the younger groups of today or so self asbored and live with such an attitude that everything is owed to them that they dont’ care about anyone but themselves and will slice your throat in a heart beat so they can take what you have. Some how it makes them feel good and worthy.

Protective workwear and safety clothing are almost universally used today for people engaged in working in potentially hazardous working conditions.

It is believed that about 12% of all workplace injuries in the United Kingdom each year are caused by accidents in some way or other involving the feet.

Some of these accidents are caused by slipping, tripping or twisting the ankle, and can lead to injuries to almost any part of the body. However, an estimated 15,000 injuries directly affect the feet.  A huge percentage of these accidents could have been prevented had the worker worn properly fitting and appropriate safety footwear.

Possibly the most frequent foot accidents in the work place are caused by heavy objects being dropped on the feet.  In places where this is likely to happen, the number one protection will most likely be steel toe caps in the work shoes or work boots.  

For the protection of those delicate metatarsal bones of the feet that support the arches, there are metatarsal guards that can be worn on top of the feet, over the uppers of the footwear.

It is often recommended that cotton socks be worn with work footwear in order to prevent sweating and slipping, especially if synthetic materials are used for the boots or shoes.  In uncomfortably hot conditions it may even be suggested for the worker to change socks during the work day.

In the United States of America, various grades of protective footwear are marked according to the accepted standards of safety by a series of coloured triangles and other symbols denoting each type.

The United Kingdom, along with most of Europe, has the HSE directives that give guidelines as to protective work wear and safety clothing.

When it comes to work shoes and work boots, this part of the world has a system of letters and groups of letters denoting each category.   In Europe safety boots and safety shoes are normally graded into four types.  They are:

    Steel toe types of shoes and boots.

    Electrical resistant shoes and boots.

    Shoes and boots for hostile environments.

    Shoes and boots offering other types of protection.

Some of these overlap, with several protective qualities put together.

The steel toe type of footwear is further divided into four categories, ‘SB’, ‘S1′, ‘S2′, and ‘S3′.  They all, including ‘SB’, offer protection to the extent of 200 joules of basic impact as well as protection against compression of up to 15,000 newtons.

The ‘S1′ classification has, in addition, antistatic properties as well as energy absorption of the seat region.  The ‘S2′ type, additionally, gives protection against water absorption and water penetration.   The ‘S3′ has all these qualities as well as an extra strong sole that prevents the penetration of sharp objects.

Electrical resistant shoes and boots come in two types, one type, ‘O’, offering protection against conductivity, and the other type, ‘A’, is anti-static.

Hostile environments usually involve extremes of either heat or cold.  ‘CL’ offers insulation against cold, while ‘HL’ protects against heat.

Additional protective qualities of boots and shoes include: resistance of the outer sole to excessively hot surface temperatures of as much as 300 °C.  This is labelled  ‘HRO’.   Then there is extreme penetration resistance supplied by a steel mid-sole.  This type of footwear is labelled ‘P’.     Type ‘E’ footwear offers shock absorption to the heels.   Type ‘WRU’ has water resistant uppers.

All this protection should not mislead you into thinking that the work shoes and work boots be necessarily chunky and ugly.  Some of them are extremely stylish and a large variety of designs are available.  Apart from looking very sturdy, most of them are no different in appearance from ordinary, classy shoes or boots.

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Is this creating a hostile workplace?

Ok, i work at a family owned restaurant.
I am 1 of 2 bussers on staff.
The other busser is the son of the owners.

I am getting vulgar texts from my co-worker saying that i unable to do my job, and i do not have to worry about working there much longer.

When i go into work, he blames me for anything that goes wrong, and most of the time, i end up having to take the blame. He threatens me, and he has screwed me over with days i have had scheduled off multiple times.

Is this harasment? Hostile workplace? Is there anything i can do to fix this situation?

If i had the choice i would leave, but i am a college student, and i know it will be extremely hard to find another job right now.

Answer
save the texts & show them to his parents…or whoever the family members are that own the restaurant. Try to have a civil discussion with them. If this is not possible or they ignore the issue or fire you, then you could try contacting Workforce Development in your area. They deal with these issues.

That’s right! Understanding the power of atttitudes training will increase the productivity of your company and home based business!

At the turn of the century, it used to be that employees learned they could get ahead at work if they checked their brains at the door. To get ahead, employees were encouraged merely to do as the employer dictated and not think while doing.

With the complexities of today’s multi-technological work environment, employees and entrepreneurs can advance their lot by checking their bad attitudes at the door and putting on positive thinking caps.

We’ve gone from worker robotics, to worker neurotics. Workers must now transform themselves from reliance on their IQs to self-reliance on their EQ (emotional quotient). The quickest way to emotional intelligence is to learn to control one’s attitude.

What is attitude? Attitude is disposition, demeanor; it is a manner of doing things. It is the spirit that underlies our behavior. It is the bearing and feeling that we put with our actions and the temperament that defines who we are and what we do. While a good attitude connotes a caring, positive and upbeat approach, a bad attitude is sullied by uncaring, rude and negative behavior. Bad attitudes in an organization can become a cancer that can drive customers and good employees away. As employers continue their efforts to downsize, merge, and streamline costs — sped up by technology– employees are caught up in the emotional squeeze.

How do we change the attitudes of employees and frustrated entrepreneurs? A training program on attitudes is a perfect solution. The right training program can help foster a more positive work environment for all employees, increase employee morale, improve performance and productivity and place entrepreneurs in the frame of mind necessary to be successful.

Overcoming the first obstacle – is naming the training program. When you want to change a persons attitudes through training, name the course so they will be excited and inspired to participate. Mandatory attitude training, for example, automatically causes resentment and resistance. Some individuals will say, I don’t have a bad attitude, why are they trying to fix me, or what did I do wrong to have to participate in this program. Like it or not, it is human nature to think the worst about these kinds of programs. Seminar titles like, ‘How to Stay Motivated all the Time’ or ‘How to Be Better in All that You Do’, work well.

It is helpful to take a measure of key attitudes that you want to change with the training. It is also useful to take the position that this effort is not just employee training for example, but long-term development because you want to change behaviors in the long run. You will want to assess the current state of the organization or your business that leads you to want to change employee or your own attitudes. Ask the questions: What behaviors are occurring that is symptomatic of poor attitudes? It may be that you have observed or experienced behaviors such as short tempers, poor customer treatment, or disrespectful treatment of others, which may lead you to conclude that attitudes training would benefit your organization. A short survey (using a rating scale) of employees for example prior to training, works well with questions that pertain to how they view the present environment and their own behaviors. This same survey can be administered several months after the training has been administered to see what gains have been made.

What is the content for effective attitudes training? – Individuals will enjoy training that is applicable to their whole lives, not just the workplace. Training should be interactive and participatory and use practical examples for learning, focuses on the individual and then the organization. Training objectives for participants:

You may not like your job or others around you. You may not even be able to change your position at the present time. But the one thing you can change is your attitude.

You may not be able to control your feelings but you can control your attitude. Attitude management is the ability to control how we act out our emotions.

Some useful elements of an effective attitudes training program include:

Self-assessment and personal inventory- to include personal assessment of how well an employee feels they interact with others inside and outside of the work environment

Developing Personal Effectiveness- to include opportunities for participants to visualize success and their own capacities and abilities, to strengthen inner resources and mental attitude

Assessing Limitations and Strengths – to include taking a realistic look at limitations and strengths and assess opportunities to capitalize on personal strengths. Identify those limitations that may not be rooted in fact but affect individuals capability to fully contribute, create or apply skills.

Understanding the Dynamics of Positive and Negative Attitudes-to include developing an understanding between the relationship between thoughts and actions.

Transition and Change Model – Incorporate a process to help individual employees identify attitudes they want to change and timetable that will let them transition plan.

Lasting change – Can be accomplished if we give individuals adequate time to adopt new attitudes, positive rewards and celebrations for demonstrating positive behaviors. Using the measurement tool to conduct a post assessment of training impact and rewarding participants for positive change will be reinforcing.

True empowerment is the ability to take control and avoid knee jerk emotional responses to hostile work environments or the challenges associated with your home based business. Remaining optimistic and positive are challenges that we all face in these circumstances. Attitude management is the ultimate productivity enhancement. Mastering the ability to maintain a positive outlook will draw others toward you and keep you motivated to achieve more with what you do.

Warm regards,

Dr. Devona Williams
Kenny Anderson

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How do you cope with hostile + nonsensical workplace conditions?

Answer
I don’t know. I have the same problem with a workspace that cost me a lot of stress. If you think you can find a better job and you are not satisfied at all you should leave it, instead of suffering

While ‘praise’ should be given as close as possible to the actual event or accomplishment to have the greatest impact, ‘criticism’ involves timing.

Specifically, the best time to give criticism might be:

1. Immediately following the action or behavior.

2. A short time after the action or behavior.

3. A long time after the action or behavior.

4. Prior to the next situation when you believe the action or behavior might occur again.

Below are six factors that can help you decide on the best ‘time’ to criticize:

The seriousness of the action or behavior:  Some general examples include if the employee broke the law, violated a regulation, jeopardized the safety of others, caused financial harm to others, or used profanity when talking to a client. 

Of course, serious to you and your company could be something totally different than for another manager or company.

Bottom line, your goal is make sure the person does not continue performing in the same manner.

The number of times the action or behavior has occurred:  If what the person did involves a one-time occurrence, you might want to wait to see if he or she repeats the performance.

However, if the performance is something that has occurred before, you will want to discuss it more quickly than if it never happened before. 

Whether you will have future opportunities to give the negative feedback prior to the next situation when you believe the action or behavior might occur again: 

This might be the case if the person works in a location that is different from yours or works independently. 

Whether the action or behavior will affect other areas of the person’s job:  If the person’s performance would prevent him or her from successfully being able to complete some other task, discuss the performance more quickly than if there is no impact on other areas of the job. 

Whether the action or behavior will affect other areas of someone else’s job:  If the person’s performance would prevent another coworker, team member, or colleague from successfully being able to complete some other task, discuss the performance more quickly than if there is no impact on the jobs of other people. 

Your ability to discuss the action or behavior in an environment that would allow the person to receive the criticism without becoming hostile or overly reactionary:  Sometimes people react differently when in a crowd or when in an environment where they feel their actions will be supported (even if those actions are wrong). 

Additionally, consider that people do not want to be embarrassed and may not want other employees to know that they did something wrong. 

Also, consider that the location itself might cause the person to react negatively.
For example, criticizing a person about a safety violation in a location where another employee was seriously harmed. 

Be sensitive to these facts and make sure that the location where you criticize does not make it any more difficult for the employee to hear the negative feedback. 

Remember The Importance Of TIMING

In the workplace, there will be situations when employees perform poorly and make mistakes.  In those instances, you will need to criticize performance by giving negative feedback.  Just remember that ‘when’ you criticize is just as important as ‘what you say’ when criticizing.  Use the six examples in this article as a reminder of the importance of TIMING.

Dr. Barbara Brown trains, writes, and consults on strategies to enhance and improve workplace performance.

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Are they called Post-It notes because Stick-It notes sounded just a bit too hostile for the workplace?

Answer
Sure couldn’t use them in banks!