Labor Laws and Unions

Labor Laws and Unions

KDD

HRM 531

July 18, 2011

Labor Laws and Unions

* In San Antonio, with its large population of military retirees, one of the more prevalent unionized agencies is the Department of Veterans Affairs or Veterans Administration (VA). The VA operates a nationwide network of hospitals, outpatient clinics, community living centers, residential rehabilitation treatment programs, veterans’ centers, regional benefits offices and national cemeteries (The Washington Post, 2011).

* Legally, since union participation is voluntary, the VA must ensure that its workers are given fair opportunity to decide on joining or not joining a union. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, with over 600,000 members in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia (American Federation of Government Employ, 2011). According to the National Labor Relations Board, “Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing…” (Rights of Employees, para. Section 7).

* Although not as evident in government as in manufacturing sector, union efforts increase operating costs through the higher wages and benefits gained for unionized workers. Many manufacturers relocate their operations to countries with lower labor costs in order to realize savings and stay competitive. Government agencies cannot “pack up and move” their operations; but outsource non-essential or high-cost operations to contractors rather than maintain these functions internally.

* As the Department of Veterans Affairs suffers the same cutbacks in staffing and funding as other federal and state agencies, more employees are being asked to take compensatory or “comp” time rather than be paid overtime, which is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

AFGE and other unions have enlisted...