The Hangover: The Lasting Impact of Early Conflict on the Duration of Bargaining Relationships

Although studies have shown that employer opposition negatively affects the likelihood of success at the certification and first-contract stages, there is little to no indication of what the long-term impact of such opposition might be for relationships that successfully conclude a first agreement. Using survival analysis on nearly three decades of data from Ontario, this article investigates whether relationships that experience early conflict encounter a “hangover”—a heightened likelihood of dissolution—that extends into the representation phase of the process, meaning beyond the settlement of the first agreement. Using unfair labor practice charges and first contract arbitration applications as proxies for conflict, the author finds evidence of a hangover for relationships that exhibit a turbulent start. Further, findings suggest that relationships that experience this early conflict also have a higher likelihood of dissolution throughout the entire relationship.

Employer Resistance to Union Certification

Summary This study investigates the prevalence and impacts of employer resistance to union certification applications in eight Canadian jurisdictions. Employer resistance was found to be the norm, with 80 percent of employers overtly and actively opposing union certification applications. Analysis demonstrated that, depending on its form, employer opposition to union certification can impact upon both initial certification outcomes and on the probability the parties will establish and sustain a collective bargaining relationship. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that focusing only on the probability of certification success seriously underestimates the impact of employer opposition.

Union Organization among Engineers: A Current Assessment

This article presents a study of a number of campaigns conducted since 1968 by unions seeking to organize professional engineers. The author draws on the results of interviews with union and management representatives to describe four major causes of the relative failure of unions on this front: employer opposition, the attitudes and values of engineers, the lack of bargaining power of engineers, and union attitudes and organizing policies. The author discusses the way in which these four factors interact to thwart engineering unionization, focussing on the manner in which strong resistance to unionization by employers can draw on a value system in the United States that is not supportive of unionization. He concludes that the short-term prospects for further unionization of this occupation are very limited.