CONTENTS OF CBA:

Grievance Machinery

Article 272 (260). Grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration. - The parties to a Collective Bargaining Agreement shall include therein provisions that will ensure the mutual observance of its terms and conditions. They shall establish a machinery for the adjustment and resolution of grievances arising from the interpretation or implementation of their Collective Bargaining Agreement and those arising from the interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies.

All grievances submitted to the grievance machinery which are not settled within seven (7) calendar days from the date of its submission shall automatically be referred to voluntary arbitration prescribed in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

For this purpose, parties to a Collective Bargaining Agreement shall name and designate in advance a Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, or include in the agreement a procedure for the selection of such Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, preferably from the listing of qualified Voluntary Arbitrators duly accredited by the Board. In case the parties fail to select a Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, the Board shall designate the Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, as may be necessary, pursuant to the selection procedure agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which shall act with the same force and effect as if the Arbitrator or panel of Arbitrators has been selected by the parties as described above.

Union Security Clause: Valid Discrimination

A union security clause essentially requires membership in the union so that an employee may retain his job and the union’s existence is assured.

“Union security” is a generic term which is applied to and comprehends “closed shop,” “union shop,” “maintenance of membership” or any other form of agreement which imposes upon employees the obligation to acquire or retain union membership as a condition affecting employment.

It is indeed compulsory union membership whose objective is to assure continued existence of the union.

In a sense, there is discrimination when certain employees are obliged to join a particular unioin. But it is discrimination favoring unionism; it is valid kind of discrimination.

Kinds of Union Security Agreements

Closed-Shop - only union members can be hired and they must remain as union members to retain employment.

Union Shop - Nonmembers may be hired, but must become union members after a certain period to retain employment.

Modified Union Shop - Employees who are not union members at the time of the signing the contract is not required to join the union, but all workers hired after is required to join.

Maintenance of Membership Shop - Employees are not compelled to join the union, but all present or future members must remain in good standing in the union.

Exclusive Bargaining Shop - Union is recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for all employees in the bargaining unit, whether union members or not.

Bargaining for Members Only - Union is recognized as the bargaining agent only for its own members.

Agency Shop - an agreement whereby employees must either join the union or pay to the union as exclusive bargaining agent a sum equal to that paid by the members. (Agent: union; principal: employees)

SEC. 48, ART 6, IRR OF RA 9165

SECTION 49. Labor Organizations and the Private Sector. - All labor unions, federations, associations, or organizations in cooperation with the respective private sector partners shall include in their collective bargaining or any similar agreements, joint continuing programs and information campaigns for the laborers similar to the programs provided under Section 47 of the Act with the end in view of achieving a drug-free workplace. It shall be required that the workplace drug abuse prevention policies and programs be included as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

MANDATORY SUBJECT OF BARGAINING

1. Wages2. Hours of work3. Vacations and holidays4. Bonuses5. Pensions and retirement plans6. Seniority7. Transfer8. Lay-offs9. Employee workloads10. Work rules and regulations11. Rent of company houses12. Union security arrangements13. Grievance machinery14. Voluntary arbitration15. Family planning16. Rates of pay17. Mutual observance of clause18. Provision against Drug Use in Workplace ( RA No. 9165, Sec. 49)

IMPASSE

When Is There Deadlock or Impasse?

A bargaining impasse over an issue exists where good faith bargaining on the part of the parties has failed to resolve the issue and there are no definite plans for further efforts to break the deadlock.

Impasse within the meaning of the federal labor laws, presupposes a reasonable effort at good- faith bargaining which, despite noble intentions does not conclude in an agreement between the parties. In the NRLR’s view, whether a bargaining impasse exists is a matter of judgment dependent on such factors as the bargaining history, the parties’ good faith in negotiations, the length of the negotiations, the importance of the issue or issues as to which there is a disagreement, and the contemporaneous understanding of the parties as to the state of negotiations.

BOULWARISM/TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT BARGAINING

In 1946, General Electric Company developed a new bargaining policy called Boulwarism (named after a vice president for personnel relations)., when it would determine the desires of the work force and then carefully constructed their proposals still favoring the Company.

The company would then begin to "sell" its proposals as "a fair and firm offer" by advertising it around the establishment and then during negotiations, announced that they rejected the usual "horse trading" style of bargaining and offered its proposals.

The company would refuse to change its position simply because the Union disagreed with it, and they also pursued a policy of guaranteeing uniform terms for all members, union and non-union.

The NLRB found an overall failure because the stance of the company was designed to derogate the Union in the eyes of its members and the public, by proclaiming themselves as the true defenders of the people's interests while demoting the Unions. According to the NLRB, there must be a "give-and-take" not just a "take-it-or-leave-it" approach to bargaining.