Isidore, Chris, and Vanessa Yurkevich
CNN.com
Posted 11/23/2022
Key words and Definitions
Negotiation – discussion aimed at reaching an agreement or consensus.
Labor union – an organization of workers that are often in the same trade or profession that is formed to protect worker rights and negotiate better working conditions, wages, and benefits.
Strike – a temporary work stoppage designed to force management to comply with union demands.
Summary: Key Points of the Article
Rail workers voted against ratifying the new agreement negotiated between the workers' union and railroad management. The "no vote' starts the negotiation process over and could push the union to strike. President Biden intervened in this dispute in September and helped the two sides reach a tentative agreement that has now been voted down.
The agreement included immediate 14% raises and $1,000 cash bonuses every year but if failed to address worker concerns over scheduling rules, sick pay, and staffing shortages. The scheduling rules resulted in many workers being on call full time. After working through the pandemic many workers are simply burned out and want some down time. These issues combined with record railroad profits have pushed the workers to put pressure on the railroads to hire more staff that would give existing workers some flexibility.
News Topic
#18 Negotiation
Exercise 1 Multiple Choice Questions
- A ___________ is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected them in some way.
a. conflict
b. dilemma
c. debate
d. all of these
Answer: A conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected them in some way. A dilemma is a situation where you have a choice between two or more often equally undesirable options. A debate is a formal public discussion on a specific topic or topics. - ___________ conflict is conflict over content and goals at work.
a. Relationship
b. Task
c. Process
d. none of these
Answer: Task conflict is conflict over content and goals at work. Conflict based on interpersonal relationships is called relationship conflict. Process conflict is conflict over how work gets accomplished. - The railroad workers voted against ratifying the new labor agreement because they want more money.
True
False
Answer: The workers seem satisfied with the higher compensation included in the labor deal but did not like the fact that their concerns over being on call full time and the lack of sick leave were not addressed.
Exercise 2 Critical Thinking Questions
- Why did the union members vote against ratifying the agreement?
Answer: The union workers do not like the current scheduling issues that leave many of them on call full time. They also want the railroads to hire more workers to alleviate the strain on the existing workers and they want sick leave that is comparable to other industries. The ability to increase sick leave and the scheduling issues are constrained by the staffing shortage. - What is a likely next step for the union?
Answer: The union may call a strike to force railroad owners to comply with their other demands. The compensation issue appears to have been addressed but the other benefits and working conditions were not addressed. A strike will force negotiations to resume if they have not already. - What is the significance of a potential strike?
Answer: Disrupting rail freight can cause billions of dollars in lost economic output every day. Shortages would be commonplace, and the disruption would spread to other industries as shippers scramble to find ways to get products to the necessary destinations.
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