Michigan State University

School of Labor and Industrial Relations

ADMINISTERING THE LABOR AGREEMENT IN THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY FOR NURSES

Spring, 2007

SSC-490, Section 730

Syllabus

Online Course

Instructor Contact Information
Catherine Lundy
lundy@msu.edu
517/353-4464 office
517/355-7656 Fax
415 S. Kedzie Hall
East Lansing, Mi 48840

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

This class is designed for working Registered Nurses who want to learn about health care industry labor relations and workplace issues. Nurses will have an opportunity to develop an expertise in grievance administration. They will study pertinent workplace topics and discuss these issues on-line with other RNs.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon Course completion, students will be able to:

Develop a working knowledge of the history and legal requirements of health care industry employers and labor organizations in the grievance and arbitration process.
Apply the necessary skills to investigate, evaluate and handle workplace grievances.
Describe the arbitration process and analysis arbitrator decisions
Experience practical aspects of grievance handling.

CLASS ORGANIZATION

This on-line class runs for 15 weeks. Each week's class lessons will be on line each Tuesday noon. Students are expected to complete their weekly assignments within a week time period.

Grading

· Three Discussion Forums (3) - 30%
· Mock Group Exercise - 15%
· Mock Report Back Individual Paper - 25%
· Final Exam - 30%

Text Books

BNA, Grievance Guide: Tenth Edition, Washington, D.C: Bureau of National Affairs, 2000

Prosten, David, The Union Steward's Complete Guide: A Survival Manual, Washington, D.C.: Union Communication Services, Inc., 1997.

Sessions and Dates	Topics	Readings and Assignments
January 9	ORIENTATION ON LINE PROGRAMMING	MSU Virtual University
Session 1 January 16	UNIONS STRUCTURE AND PURPOSE, EMPAHASIS ON HC UNIONS	Assigned Readings - Discussion Group -chat room-orientation
Session 2, January 23	THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE	Prosten, Chapters I, 2 and 8 Topic paper proposal due
Session 3 January 30	LAWS PROTECTING MEMBER RIGHTS	Prosten, Chapter 3, BNA, Part 11. Lecture Materials Assigned Readings Discussion Group #1 - Weingarten Case
Session 4 February 6	STANDARDS FOR DISCIPLINE AND DISCHARGE	Prosten, Chapter 4 BNA Part 1, pp.3-24 Part 2, pp. 25-172
Session 5 February 13	THE ARBITRATION PROCESS	Assigned Readings
Session 6 February 20	STANDARDS FOR INTERPRETING CONTRACT LANGUAGE	Prosten, Chapter 10 BNA, Part 10, pp. 353-367. Discussion Group #2 Contractual Grievance
Session 7, February 27	ANALYZING CONTRACT LANGUAGE	BNA, Part 15 Assigned readings
March 5-9, 2007	MSU SPRING BREAK	No Classes
Session 8, March 13	HANDLING CONFLICT	Prosten, Chapter 7 Assigned Readings Discussion Group #3 - Discipline and Discharge Case
Session 9, March 20	OVERVIEW OF HEALTH AND SAFETY	Prosten, Chapter 5 BNA, Part 3 pp. 183-194
Session 10, March 27	PREPARATION FOR 3RD STEP GRIEVANCE SESSION	Discussion on-line
Session 11 April 3 Session 12 April 10	3RD STEP MOCK GRIEVANCE SESSION	On-line discussion
Session 13 April 17	PREPARATION FOR FINAL	On-line Discussion Report Back Paper Due
Session 14 April 24, 2005	Final Examination	On-line
May 1 2007	Grades Due

Grievance Administration Assignment

Mock Group Exercise - 15%
Mock Report Back Individual Paper - 25%

This assignment will be 40% of your grade.

Students participant in on-line grievance discussion and will write an individual 2 to 3 page paper on a report back of their Grievance experience

Discussion Group Requirements

Each participant will be expected to enter into the discussion cases during the week the topics are on-line.

While I will be tracking to see if you are participating, I am more concerned about the content of interaction not the amount of interaction. I view this as a great opportunity for all of you to share ideas and get acquainted with your fellow participants.

You will receive 30% of your grade for group discussion participation. Each discussion group is worth 10 points.

Each discussion group will be evaluated upon the following criteria.

10 Points System

3 points for referring to course readings

3 points for assimilation of the material.

2 points for curiosity

2 points for clarity

Final Examination

30 % of your grade

Grievance Administration Class Resources

American Arbitration Association, Guidelines In Arbitration, American Arbitration Association Department of Education and Training Pamphlet.

Budd, John W., Labor Relations: Striking a Balance, Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2004.

Bureau of National Affairs. Inc. Grievance Guide (10th ed.). Washington. D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs. 2000

Clark. Paul F. Building More Effective Unions. Ithaca: ILR Press. 2000.

Elkouri and Elkouri. How Arbitration Works, Washington, D.C: BNA

Freeman. Richard and Joel Rogers. "A Proposal to American Labor". 2002. The Nation World wide web: www.thenation.com, June 11.2002

Fairweather. Owen. Practice and Procedure in Labor Arbitration (2nd ed.). Washington. D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs. 1983.

Grossman. Mark M. The Question of Arbitrability: Challenges to the Arbitrator's Jurisdiction and Authority. Ithaca. N.Y.: ILR Press. Cornell University. 1984.

Gurewitz. Mary Ellen, Sachs- Nunn,Kates.-Kadushin-O'Hare-Helveston & Waldman. P .C, Representing The Obviously Guilty Grievant: Specific Issue in Arbitration Presentation, American Arbitration Association. Hotel Ponchotrain. Detroit. March 11. 1987.

Hill, Marvin, Jr. and Anthony V. Sinicropi. Evidence in Arbitration (2nd ed.). Washington. D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs. 1987. Remedies in Arbitration. Washington. D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs. 1981.

Levin. Edward. and Donald Grody. Witnesses in Arbitration. Washington. D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs. 1987.

Lynne M. Patzek, Miller and Joseph T. Catalano, "Understanding and Dealing with Difficult People", Making the Transition from Student to Professional. 287-318.

Mauer, Michael, The Union Member's Complete Guide: Everything You Want-and Need-to Know About Working Unions, Annapolis, MD: Union Communications Services, Inc., 2001.

McKelvey, Jean T., ed., The Changing Law of Fair Representation. Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, Cornell University, 1985.

McPherson, Donald S., Resolving Grievances: A Practical Approach. Reston, Va.: Reston, 1983.

Mills, Daniel Quinn, Labor-Management Relations, McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1994.

Pops, Gerald M., Emergence of the Public Sector Arbitrator. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1976.

Pozgar, George D, Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration, Gaithersburg, Md.: Aspen Publishers, 1993.

Prosten, David, The Union Steward's Complete Guide, Union Communication Services, Washington D.C., 1997. "

Repas, Bob, Contract Administration: A Guide for Stewards and Local Officers. Wash. D.C: BNA, 1982.

Schwartz, Robert M., The Legal Rights of Union Stewards, Cambridge: Work Rights Press, 1999.

Wolkinson, Benjamin and M. Catherine Lundy, "Union Resistance to Nurse Staffing Issues: Protections Through the Grievance and Arbitration Processes", The Journal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector, Volume 29, Number Baywood Publishing, Inc, August 2000.

Zack, Arnold M., Grievance Arbitration: Issues on the Merits in Discipline, Discharge and Contract Interpretation, New York: Lexington Books, 1989.

Zimny, Max, William F. Dolson, and Christopher A. Barreca, eds. Labor Arbitration: A, Practical Guide for Advocates. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1990