REPORTER: Madelyn Hudencial

SUBJECT: Human Resource Management

TOPIC: Employee Relations in Non Unionized Environment
UNION AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES
Union avoidance can only be achieved through diligence along with attention
to the desires and sentiments of employees. Management should periodically audit
their work force to determine whether relations with its employees remain strong or
whether problems exist that may make employees receptive to union organizing.
1. Management Commitment
A Company subtly showed its commitment to non-unionism in all its
proactive, progressive policies and practices, though not necessarily
proclaimed this in a written policy
2. Rigid recruitment and selection process
Hard skills the depth and breath of his knowledge and skills for the job
applied for
Soft skills how he would perform his job
*also considered behavioral aspect, personal value system or ideological
learnings of candidate and his background w/ high socialistic tendencies
3. Meeting peoples needs
Pay scales and benefits in companies highly responsive to their employees
needs are always higher than the average in the industry or community.
Employees innate desire for advancement and recognition are satisfactorily
met through a well-planned career pathing, recognition awards, and
promotion systems.
4. Effective Communication
The employees who are most difficult to unionize are those who are best
informed
Effective channels of communication adopted by non-unionized
companies (aside from bulletin boards, as well as personal greetings
during birthdays and other special occasions) are regular weekly or
monthly dialogues, open door, and opinion surveys
5. Supervisory Training
Supervisor is the mirror of management. What he does commit to employees,
binds management under the agency-principal principle.
6. Effective complaints machinery
It addresses grievances of employees. It is effective if the company provides
clear steps for initiating a complaint and timeliness in resolving issues or
decision making.
A

good complaints machinery will

Provide an outlet for pent-up employee frustrations
Settle disputes at an early date at the lowest level
Formalize a dispute so that everyone recognizes the real issues, thereby
avoiding damaging rumors.
Provide upward communication from the rank and file to top management

Disclose where disputes or complaints are most prevalent

7. A Code of Conduct administered consistently

The Code or Rules and Regulations or whatever one would call it must be
positive in its approach. Where penalty is provided, it must be commensurate
to the breach committed and with the objective of reforming rather than
punishing the offender
8. Training and Development
While training programs are needed to qualify workers for higher
responsibilities and multi-skill assignments, they also provide hard evidence
to employees that management is interested in helping them improve their
status.
9. Company Early Warning System
This early warning system scans the environment and tries to spot the
following warning signs:
Significant increase in the number of complaints/grievances
Employees informal groupings include individuals not normally
associating with each other.
Increasing number of policy inquiries on pay, benefits, and discipline
Employees gather in work areas they do not normally visit
Argumentative questions asked in meetings
Exit interviews indicating people trying to escape unpleasant environment
Graffiti which directs humorous hostility towards organization,
management or supervision
A number of overqualified people applying for jobs in the company