List the fundamental features of the U.S. industrial relations system.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Six distinctive features of the U.S. industrial relations system, compared with those in other countries, are as follows:

1. Exclusive representation. Only one union in a given job territory (exclusive representation), selected by majority vote.
2. Collective agreements that embody a sharp distinction between negotiation of and interpretation of an agreement. Most agreements are of fixed duration, often 3 or 4 years, and they result from legitimate, overt conflict that is confined to a negotiations period.
3. Decentralized collective bargaining, largely due to the size of the United States, the diversity of its economic activity, and the historic role of product markets in shaping the contours of collective bargaining.
4. Relatively high union dues and large union staffs to negotiate and administer private, decentralized agreements, including grievance arbitration to organize against massive employer opposition and to lobby before legislative and administrative tribunals.
5. Opposition by both large and small employers to union organization, in contrast to countries such as France and Germany. Such opposition has been modified in terms of the constraints placed on management only slightly by more than 75 years of legislation.
6. The role of government in the U.S. industrial relations system, as compared with other systems, such as those of Mexico and Australia. The U.S. government has been relatively passive in dispute resolution and highly legalistic, both in administrative procedures and in the courts.