HRM 546 Week 5 Labor Relations and Grievances Example

A Union at Nine Stores and an Organizing Drive at a Tenth: Labor Law, Bargaining Duties and Grievance Handling at Keystone Fresh Markets

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University of Phoenix

HRM/546: Human Resource Law

Week 5 Assignment

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[Date]

Keystone Fresh Markets, its union and all events are composites written for a model paper; labor law is summarized generally and should be confirmed with counsel.

A collective bargaining agreement at the composite chain Keystone Fresh Markets covers about 640 workers at nine of its 38 Pennsylvania and Ohio stores, all of them in Pennsylvania. In March, workers at its Canton, Ohio store began signing union authorization cards after a schedule change cut hours for long-serving part-timers. Within a week, a store manager told employees that "a union could mean this store closes," and another asked a cashier whether she had signed a card. Meanwhile, at a union store in Pittsburgh, a cashier was fired for a cash shortage and the union filed a grievance. In labor relations, what a frontline manager says in a break room can create more legal exposure than any written policy. This paper analyzes both situations.

The National Labor Relations Act

The NLRA, enforced by the National Labor Relations Board, protects the choice of most private-sector workers to form or join unions, bargain through representatives they select and act together to improve their jobs, along with the choice to stay out of all of it (Budd, 2021). Supervisors and managers are excluded from coverage. The Board investigates unfair labor practice charges, runs representation elections and issues orders, which courts enforce.

Section 7 Beyond Union Stores

Section 7 rights apply to all covered employees, not only union members. When employees discuss wages, complain together about schedules or post criticism of working conditions online, they may be engaged in protected activity. Keystone's handbook rule forbidding employees from discussing pay with coworkers is likely unlawful and will be removed.

The Organizing Drive in Canton

Employees seeking representation sign authorization cards. With cards from at least 30 percent of a unit, the union may petition for an election. The employer may also voluntarily recognize the union if a majority signs. Keystone has a right to communicate its views, but within limits.

Unlawful Employer Conduct

Managers may not threaten job loss or store closure, interrogate employees about union support, promise benefits to discourage organizing or spy on union activity. The Canton manager's statement that the store could close is a likely threat, and asking a cashier whether she signed a card is likely interrogation. Both are unfair labor practices that the union can charge.

Lawful Communication

Keystone may share facts and opinions without threats or promises. It may explain current wages and benefits, describe the bargaining process and state that bargaining does not guarantee any outcome. Managers may answer employee questions and correct inaccuracies. Labor counsel will review written communications, and all managers at the Canton store will be trained before saying anything more.

Recent Board Changes

In August 2023, the Board ruled that when an employer commits unfair labor practices that would set aside an election, it may be ordered to bargain with the union rather than rerun the election. The same month, it adopted a stricter test for workplace rules that could chill Section 7 activity. Board standards shift as membership changes, and in 2025 the Board lacked a quorum for part of the year. Keystone's counsel will advise on the current standard before any decision.

The Effects of Unions

Freeman and Medoff (1984) argued that unions both raise wages and give workers a collective voice that can reduce turnover and improve workplace practices. Farber et al. (2021) used survey data covering most of the twentieth century and found that unions consistently reduced income inequality, with union households earning a premium of 10 to 20 percent. Such evidence explains why workers organize when they feel unheard, as the Canton schedule change suggests.

Bargaining Duties at Union Stores

At the nine union stores, Keystone owes the union good-faith bargaining on pay, schedules and the other mandatory subjects that shape daily work. The same schedule change that sparked organizing in Canton was planned for all stores. Making it unilaterally at the union stores, without bargaining, would be an unfair labor practice. Keystone will give the union notice and an opportunity to bargain first.

Remedying the Canton Violations

Because two Canton managers likely committed unfair labor practices, Keystone must decide how to respond before a charge arrives. Counsel recommends that the company post a notice to Canton employees stating that it will not threaten closure or question workers about union support, and that the two managers be retrained and kept out of campaign conversations. Prompt correction does not erase a violation, but the Board weighs whether an employer repudiated misconduct clearly and quickly. Given the 2023 standard, uncorrected violations could lead to a bargaining order without an election, which makes early repudiation a practical as well as a legal priority.

Mandatory and Permissive Subjects

Not every topic must be bargained. Mandatory subjects include wages, hours, scheduling rules, seniority, discipline and benefits, and the employer may not change them without bargaining to agreement or impasse. Permissive subjects, such as the internal affairs of the union or the size of the bargaining committee, may be discussed but neither side may insist on them to impasse. Decisions at the core of the business, such as closing a store for economic reasons, may not require bargaining over the decision itself, but the effects on workers usually must be bargained.

Information Requests

During bargaining and grievance handling, the union may request information relevant to its duties, such as scheduling data or disciplinary records for comparison. Keystone must provide relevant information promptly. Refusals are a common source of charges.

The Discharge Grievance

The contract's grievance process has three steps, from store manager to labor relations director to a joint committee, then arbitration. The fired cashier had a $210 shortage. The union argues that she was not trained on a new register system and that other cashiers with shortages received warnings.

Weingarten Rights

Before her discharge, the cashier asked for a union steward at her investigatory interview, and the manager refused. Union-represented employees have the right to representation in investigatory interviews they reasonably believe could lead to discipline. The refusal weakens Keystone's case and is itself an unfair labor practice.

Applying Just Cause

Arbitrators commonly ask whether the employee knew the rule, whether the rule was reasonable, whether the investigation was fair, whether proof was sufficient, whether treatment was consistent with past cases and whether the penalty fit the offense (Budd, 2021). Keystone's record is weak on training, investigation and consistency. Settlement with reinstatement and a final warning is likely wiser than arbitration.

Arbitration

Courts give arbitration awards strong deference as long as the arbitrator interprets the contract. Arbitration is cheaper than litigation but unpredictable, so both sides benefit from resolving grievances early.

A Labor Relations Protocol

Keystone will train all managers on TIPS, require labor counsel review of campaign communication, give unions notice before changes at union stores, centralize information requests and require steward access in investigations. Grievances will be reviewed at step two by the labor relations director with authority to settle.

Conclusion

The Canton campaign has already produced likely unfair labor practices, and the grievance shows procedural failures. Labor law applies at every store, union or not. Training managers, bargaining before changes, honoring representation rights and settling weak grievances early will reduce legal exposure and address the employee concerns behind the organizing drive.

References

Budd, J. W. (2021). Labor relations: Striking a balance (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Farber, H. S., Herbst, D., Kuziemko, I., & Naidu, S. (2021). Unions and inequality over the twentieth century: New evidence from survey data. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136(3), 1325-1385. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjab012

Freeman, R. B., & Medoff, J. L. (1984). What do unions do? Basic Books.