Presented by:

Joe Morales, SPHR

Director, Human Resources (Retired)
Employee Relations 101
What is Employee Relations?
An ongoing relationship-building process
Employee and supervisor relations.
Ingredients involved in Employee Relations
Communications Feelings
Trust Beliefs
Ethics Expectorations
Morals Conflict Resolution
Fairness Career Counseling
Career Development Leadership


Employee Relations 101
Employee Advocate
Employees believe that they do not have an
advocate in management, thus Management vs.
Employees
What is expected of an Advocate?
Someone who is interested in and works for fair treatment of
employee
Someone who is interested in employee problems and attempts to
resolve them
Someone who is interested in employee morale and tries to improve
it
Someone who believes that employees should be treated with
respect and dignity and works towards that end

Employee Relations 101
Results of Poor or No Employee Relations
Unionization
Poor Performance
Employee Absenteeism
Employee Turnover
Litigation
Employee Relations 101
Labor Relations
The goal of labor laws according to the
Cornell Legal Information Institute is to equalize the
bargaining power between employers and employees.
Labor laws primarily deal with the relationship between
employers and unions.
Labor laws grant employees the right to unionize.
Depending on the circumstances, labor laws prohibit or
allow employers and employees to engage in activities
such as strikes, picketing, seeking injunctions, and
lockouts in regards to having their demands met.
Labor laws are governed by both federal and state
statutes, laws, and judicial decisions.

Employee Relations 101
The National Labor Relations Act of the Wagner
Act of 1935
Created by Congress to protect workers' right to unionization
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency
created by the Wagner Act of 1935 to oversee the laws, investigate
and hold hearings on unfair labor practice complaints, take action
against employers found guilty of unfair labor practices, and to
determine the make-up of individual employee bargaining units, as
well as to oversee union certifications
Both federal and state statutes, as well as law and judicial decisions
govern labor law. Also regulations and decisions of administrative
agencies
The Wagner Act marked the beginning of affirmative support for
unionization and collective bargaining by the federal government


Employee Relations 101
In a Union Environment
Minimal to No Change
The Union Members are first and foremost
company employees
Continue to Treat employees as people rather than
a resource
Respect and Treat Union Representatives as an
official of the Union, not as your subordinate
employee
Employee Relations 101
In a Union Environment
Management Rights
The Employer shall retain all rights, powers, and authority it had prior to entering
into this Agreement, including, but not limited to, the unrestricted right: to manage
its operations and to direct and assign the work force; to determine and change the
methods and manner in which services are provided; to introduce new methods or
improved methods of operation; to determine the extent to which and the manner
and means its business will be operated or shut down in whole or in part; to
determine whether and to what extent any work shall be performed by employees
and how it shall be performed; to select, hire, promote, permanently or temporarily
transfer regardless of the location, demote, lay off, assign, train, suspend, terminate
and discipline employees; to select and determine supervisory employees; to bid or
not bid, or to rebid or to not rebid, the Contract with the Government; to determine
starting times, quitting times, schedules and shifts; to reasonably determine and
change methods and means by which operations are to be carried on; to establish,
change and abolish its policies, work rules, regulations, practices and
standards/codes of conduct, and to adopt new policies, work rules, regulations,
practices and standards/codes of conduct; and to assign duties to employees in
accordance with the needs or requirements of the Government and the Employer, as
determined by the Employer or the Government, and any other rights not specifically
restricted by this Agreement. The exercise of the foregoing powers and rights,
together with the adoption of policies, rules and regulations in furtherance thereof,
and the use of judgment and discretion in connection therewith, shall be limited
only by the express and specific terms and conditions of this Agreement and the
dictates of the Government. Moreover, the Employer expressly reserves the right to
set all policies not otherwise set forth in this Agreement, and all prior practices
between any of the employees and any other Employer are of no force and effect
regarding, and are not binding upon, the Employer.
Employee Relations 101
In a Union Environment
Employee Problems
Listen to employee concerns and make a sincere
effort to resolve their problems
Always refer to the Corporate Policy Manual,
Standards of Conduct and Post Orders as a guideline
Seek assistance from your Operations Chain of
Command or Human Resources
There is no need for an employee problem to become
a grievance
Employee Relations 101
In a Union Environment
Grievances
Treat the grievance as an employee problem not a
union complaint
Answer the grievance violation with a brief response
Always make reference to the Article and Section
which the union claims that we have violated
If the grievance does not have an Article that was
violated - ask the Union for clarification

Employee Relations 101
In a Union Environment
Grievance Example
Grievance: I was not asked if I could work 1
st
Relief and I was changed
from 3
rd
to 1
st
Relief.
Response:
Subject: Step 1 Response Grievance -Violation of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement, Article ????, Section XX
There is no violation to CBA Article ????, Section XX because you
were never assigned nor did you work the 1st relief. The schedule
was published in error and corrected immediately prior to the
action date.

Employee Relations 101

Follow established Company Values and
Principals
Always maintain the corporate values and
philosophy for treating employees
Read and study the CBA until you know
and understand it fully
Dont fear the CBA
Be fair and consistent


Employee Relations 101

Mutual Respect
The principle of mutual respect is constructed on the
fundamental premise that every individual is endowed with
dignity and worthiness and will be treated accordingly
REGARDLESS OF THE POSITION THEY HOLD WITHIN THE
ORGANIZATION. Moreover, management should ensure that all
actions taken by the corporation are always in alignment with
the corporate values.
Respect is mutual because, while the company has an obligation
to all is employees, the employees must in turn respect the
corporation as an institution to which they are committed and
loyal.
Finally, the pillar upon which the concept of mutual respect is
founded is INTEGRITY total adherence to the premise that we
will treat each other with honesty and candor.

Note: Mutual Respect and Mutual Support are currently the Core Values
of MVM, Inc.
Employee Relations 101

Mutual Support
The second premise, mutual support, builds upon the
foundation of mutual respect, and extends beyond the passive
world of trust, integrity and reverence into the realm of
championing the people and work around us. This concept
requires that we come together WILLINGLY AND OF OUR
OWN CHOOSING in support of:
the clients
All employees and
each other
The principle of mutual support rests on the premise that we
are employed to work as a team. Our mission is to strengthen
the corporation which in turn will enrich us all.
We do not have to work together, we choose to and we can also
choose not to.
Employee Relations 101
In a Union Environment
If you consider employees as a
Resource necessary to accomplish our
operational and financial goals you will
likely be desensitized to their feelings
as a human being.
Credits: By Charles Gibson, PHR
May 1999
Employee Relations 101
Thank you!