Exploring Labor Contracts- Insights and Analysis

Labor contracts incorporate various employment-related components to safeguard employers and employees. One of the vital components of labor contracts is the employees’ job description, outlining the obligations of the employee. Another crucial component of a labor agreement is a highlight of the employees’ compensation, rewards, and other benefits of their role. Thirdly, a labor contract highlights the duration of employment, which could be permanent, specific, or an undetermined period. Most labor contracts include circumstances for termination and the process to be followed. Also, an employment contract highlights dispute resolution mechanisms to be pursued if conflicts arise. Regardless of the industry, labor contracts protect employers and employees, provide a framework for legal compliance, and clarify the employment relationship.

Organized labor encompasses the collective efforts undertaken by employees to negotiate and secure enhanced pay, benefits, and working conditions. Unions, which serve as associations of organized workers, play a pivotal role in championing the rights and interests of employees. In harmony with this, labor agreements, serving as contractual agreements between employers and employees, assume utmost importance. These agreements meticulously outline the specific terms and conditions of work, ensuring transparency and providing a sense of certainty for both parties involved. By establishing clear parameters, labor agreements serve as effective instruments for fostering harmonious employer-employee relationships and bolstering productivity in the workplace. The significance of such agreements cannot be overstated, as they ultimately serve to solidify the delicate balance between the workforce’s needs and the employers’ objectives, promoting fairness and stability in the labor market. This essay expounds on two labor contracts and how the two contract sections on employee grievance handling differ and are the same. Further, it compares and contrasts their employee discipline/discharge clauses. Lastly, it discusses the impact grievance handling might have on employee relations.

Labor Contracts

Entertainment Contract

An entertainment contract is a labor contract between an artist and a manager, outlining what will happen to the money collected from an artist’s work. The contract is vital because it protects both parties involved in the deal and outlines the roles and responsibilities of the manager/production company and the artist (Handel, 2013). Entertainers tend to be vulnerable to exploitation and are likely to be taken advantage of if they lack legal representation. An entertainment contract should be implemented before artist enters a deal to protect their interests.

Manufacturing Contract

A manufacturing contract refers to a labor contract involving workers in the manufacturing industry. Due to the nature of the work in the industry, the contract focuses on stability, safety, and consistency (Sapkal, 2016). Employees in the manufacturing sector want assurance about benefits and job security. Safety protocols are also vital to ensure the employees’ well-being.

	Entertainment Contract	Manufacturing Contract
Grievance Processing Steps	· Identifying the grievance between the parties to the agreement. · Subsequently, the parties try to resolve the disagreement among themselves. · If the above step fails, it is escalated, and a third party is involved to try and help the parties negotiate toward a mutually acceptable solution. · If internal means fail to resolve the conflict, formal processes are initiated. These include arbitration or litigation. A court process may be involved if all the above processes fail to yield a welcome agreement.	· The grievant and a steward meet with a supervisor to resolve the conflict. · If step one fails to settle the grievances, a union representative, work site manager, and the grievant meet and try to resolve the conflict. · If step two fails, the union-management takes the case. Senior union officials meet with senior company management to try and resolve the conflict. At this point, an arbitrator may be involved if both parties agree to it.
Mediation	Mediation is preferred over litigation as the best conflict resolution mechanism in entertainment circles. The process allows open communication involving disputants and a neutral third party. One of the reasons why mediation is preferred is because it maintains relationships between conflicting parties. The objective is to reach a mutually binding agreement that may allow the manager and artist to continue working together.	Given the complexity characterized by manufacturing agreements, the mediation process is highly confidential. Parties seek to negotiate in such a manner that whatever they say may not be used against them in a court of law in the future. Confidentiality enhances open communication and bolsters a sense of trust between the negotiating parties. Notably, the mediator in manufacturing agreements must be trained and have specialized knowledge about manufacturing issues. Mediation is effective because it facilitates open communication while preserving relationships between an employee and their employer, and they can continue working together after their conflicts get resolved.
Arbitration	Just like mediation, arbitration involves a third party who helps the negotiating parties reach an agreeable resolution. The difference is that an arbitrator has elevated powers and makes the ultimate decision on the way forward. Arbitration is used when the parties involved desire a formal process.	Unlike the entertainment contract, choosing an arbitrator in a manufacturing agreement is contained in the contract. The contract indicates how an arbitrator will be chosen and may refer to one or more arbitrators who will be involved. Some contracts say that whenever it is determined that the disagreement will proceed to arbitration, the parties may select arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association and other arbitration agencies. Most arbitrators are professional, and the conflicting parties select one by striking out undesirable ones from a list presented.
Employee Discipline/Discharge Clauses	Employee discipline/discharge clauses in an entertainment contract delve into how a production company or agency may discharge an artist. The clauses are vital to safeguard the artist and company they serve. If a project gets canceled, the production company is required to issue a four-week notice. Also, they are required to offer the artist termination fees (Vox Media, 2020). Entertainment contracts also call for a severance package, whereby a production company is required to pay an artist for a specific period after terminating their contract. The same applies if an artist terminates a contract, as they are expected to pay the production company they work for (Vox Media, 2020).	When disciplining an employee working in the manufacturing sector is necessary, the manufacturing company’s manager writes to the employee and their labor union within four days after the manager receives, investigates, and approves reasons for their dismissal. The letter will outline the reasons for their dismissal, and if the company manager does not know about the employee’s misconduct and the labor union demands an investigation, then a fresh investigation will be conducted (Abrams & Nolan, 2019). Unlike entertainment contracts that involve financial settlements, manufacturing settlements revolve around termination without any finances being involved.

Impact of Grievance Handling on Employee Relations

Grievance handling serves as a form of communication between managers and employees. Depending on how managers handle these grievances, it may result in employee satisfaction or future discord. If managers handle the grievances satisfactorily, the chances of strikes, employee absenteeism, and low employee morale, among other outcomes that negatively affect the business, will be greatly reduced (Lazaro, 2022). However, if managers stigmatize employees who present grievances, there is a likelihood that productivity will go down. Employees may be present at the workplace, but if they understand that the organization does not take their grievances seriously, they may not exploit their potential to attain organizational objectives.

According to Lazaro (2022), apathy and grievances may have spiraling effects on the entire team, just like low productivity does. It is difficult for any team to work with an employee or a group of employees who do not want to be there or those who get upset for being told to put in extra effort to help the organization achieve its goals. Consistently, one won’t contribute much to the firm if they don’t care to be present at work. For instance, a sales representative who fails to voluntarily help a customer on the sales floor will affect the company negatively since such a customer may not return to the store again. Grievance handling is not only a managerial function, as managers may also have complaints about employees and are expected to respond positively and embrace change.

Overall, avoiding suspensions in grievance handling will contribute positively to workplace performance. If an employee is involved in minor misconduct, a suspension should be out of the table, as these employers may continue working as they await the verdict about their misconduct (Lazaro, 2022). A suspension should only be considered if the employee commits serious misconduct. To that end, managers should explore alternative options, such as transferring an employee to another team if there is tension within their present team as investigations are conducted. Suspension may lead to long-term discontentment, and even if such an employee continues working for the organization, they may not give their best.

Conclusion

The entertainment and manufacturing labor contacts above show the role played by labor contracts in safeguarding employees’ rights and employers’ interests in an employment relationship. Labor contracts act as instruments that help organizations comply with labor laws protecting employees. Conflict resolution has also emerged as a vital process in labor management, as internal resolution mechanisms, negotiation, mediation, and arbitration play a significant role in ensuring employment relationships last despite occasional conflicts. Another vital aspect of managing employment relationships is effective grievance management. Managers should avoid stigmatization and taking employees’s grievances lightly. On the other hand, employees should embrace positivity when managers present them with grievances regarding underperformance and low productivity.

References

Abrams, R., & Nolan, D. (2019). Panel: Finding all sides of the truth: Investigating and handling employee discipline (CLE). Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, 14. https://doi.org/10.58188/1941-8043.1841

Handel, J. (2013). Entertainment labor: An interdisciplinary bibliography. Hollywood Analytics.

Lazaro, A. B. (2022). Employee grievances impact and institution performances: A case study of Juba City Council, South Sudan. International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 11(2).

Sapkal, R. S. (2016). Labour law, enforcement and the rise of temporary contract workers: Empirical evidence from India’s organised manufacturing sector. European Journal of Law and Economics, 42(1), 157-182.

Vox Media. (2020). Collective bargaining agreement between writers guild of America, East, Inc. and Vox Media, LLC. https://www.wgaeast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/10/Vox-entertainment-

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Question

Module 3 – Case
ORGANIZED LABOR
Assignment Overview
This assignment is about unions and labor contract agreements. The written agreement is a key element to the understanding of how actions and activities take place in the workplace. Often, however, there are differences in opinion between management and labor. View the following humorous video that shows the importance of ongoing communications and that the contract agreement alone sometimes does not tell the whole story:

Exploring Labor Contracts- Insights and Analysis

Seven Dimensions (2016). Unions and collective bargaining. [Alexander Street Video]. Retrieved from Trident Online Library, Academic Video Online.

Use these steps to navigate to the video in the Trident Online Library:

Under Online Library, click ADDITIONAL LIBRARY RESOURCES.
Scroll down to Academic Video Online.
Click on Academic Video Online.
Search for the video by pasting its title in the search bar.
In this Case Assignment we will look at actual labor contracts to experience the content and detail involved.

Go to the following source:

United States Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, Collective Bargaining Agreements. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/cba/index.htm.

The emphasis is on how to represent information in table form and to draw your own conclusions from the data presented.

Case Assignment
Select two labor contracts, each representing a different industry group. Discuss (in your own words):

How the two contract sections on employee grievance handling differ and are the same (paying close attention to the definition of “grievance”; grievance processing steps, mediation and/or arbitration and other important topics in the clause).
Compare and contrast their employee discipline/discharge clauses.
Summarize by bringing in your module readings and/or library research to discuss the impact grievance handling might have on employee relations.
Include at least 3 library sources to help strengthen your discussion.

Exploring Labor Contracts- Insights and Analysis