Negotiation Case Study
The purpose of this problem is to familiarize students with the negotiation of a labor contract. The problem is strictly a hypothetical one and does not pertain to any actually management or union. It is designed to test in a practical way the student’s understanding of the issues of collective bargaining studied during the semester and the strategy of the bargaining process.
The following constitutes the case on which demands will be based and which provides the framework for the negotiations. Read it very carefully to size up the situation. Base your demands only on the facts given here.
Representatives of the Auto Products Corporation of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Local 5000,
United Metal Workers of …show more content…

Another reason was the decrease in sales at the Indianapolis plant. In Little Rock, essentially the same products are made as in Indianapolis.
Of the 450 on layoff, reduction in sales caused by the state of the automobile industry accounts for 300, and the remainder is attributable to the southern situation. There is talk in the plant that some laid-off employees will never be recalled to work. Of the 450 laid-off employees, 75 have exhausted their benefits under the Indiana Unemployment Compensation Act. The present contract does not provide for a supplementary unemployment benefit program.
In general, the relations between the management and the union have been satisfactory. There have, of course, been the usual disagreements, but all in all, relations have been quite harmonious.
However, last month there was a wildcat strike, the first one since the union came into the picture. It occurred in the Oil Pump Department, and the alleged cause was the discharge of the steward of the department on the grounds that he shoved a supervisor while he was discussing a grievance with him.
The union disclaimed all responsibility for the strike, and its officers stated that they did all they could to get workers back to work. However, the employees in the Oil Pump Department picketed the plant, and the incident, which lasted 2 days, shut down all production in the plant for those 2 days. There