Labor Relations and Workforce Management in the US
How construction labor relations and workforce management work in the US, following one Columbus general contractor through a hospital tower: the NLRA, the NLRB and state law; building trades, industrial units and merit shop models, double-breasting and salting; Section 8(f) and 9(a) relationships and area bargaining; reading and applying collective bargaining agreements; trade jurisdiction, Section 10(k) and the Plan; project labor agreements, Executive Order 14063 and community workforce agreements; lawful hiring, I-9, onboarding and retention; registered apprenticeship, ratios and mentoring; workforce planning, leveling and the cost of overtime; harassment prevention under Title VII; just cause, grievances and arbitration; and a capstone workforce and labor relations plan.
CON-365 Year 3 3 credits 12 lessons · 3 h 50 min
Offered by HSM University · Construction Management
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Explain how US construction labor relations are regulated, including the NLRA and NLRB, the construction provisions of Sections 8(e) and 8(f), state right-to-work and prevailing wage laws, and the employment laws that apply to every worker.
- Compare building trades craft unions, industrial units and merit shop contractors, keep double-breasted companies genuinely separate, and follow the rules for supervisors during organizing and salting.
- Distinguish Section 8(f) and 9(a) relationships, describe area and multi-employer bargaining, and build agreement escalation into bids.
- Read and apply a construction collective agreement, including wages and classifications, the total package, hours and overtime, show-up pay, subcontracting clauses, apprentices and stewards.
- Prevent and resolve trade jurisdiction disputes through mark-up conferences, structured assignment decisions, the Plan for the Settlement of Jurisdictional Disputes and Section 10(k).
- Explain project labor agreements, Executive Order 14063 and community workforce agreements, evaluate the arguments about them, and manage apprentice and targeted hiring goals across employers.
- Recruit and hire construction workers lawfully, size requests to hiring halls using measured yields, and onboard and retain new workers.
- Plan apprentices into crews within ratios, explain the business case for apprenticeship, and act on the causes of non-completion through mentoring and support.
- Turn a schedule into a labor histogram, level the workforce, plan across subcontractors, and manage productivity and the cost of overtime.
- Prevent harassment and build a respectful, inclusive site, meet the legal duties, and respond correctly when a concern is raised.
- Apply just cause and progressive discipline, investigate fairly, manage grievances and time limits, and understand the protections that apply to non-union workers.
- Prepare a workforce and labor relations plan for a new project, with framework, demand, sourcing, apprenticeship, commitments, jurisdiction, respect, discipline, measures and risks.
Course content
12 lessons · 3 h 50 min total · final exam
- 1 Construction labor relations in the US 19 min · quiz
- 2 Unions, open shops and alternative models 19 min · quiz
- 3 Representation, pre-hire agreements and bargaining structure 20 min · quiz
- 4 Collective agreements: reading and applying the terms 18 min · quiz
- 5 Trade jurisdiction and work assignment disputes 21 min · quiz
- 6 Project labor agreements and community workforce agreements 22 min · quiz
- 7 Recruiting, hiring and onboarding the workforce 19 min · quiz
- 8 Apprenticeship and training 20 min · quiz
- 9 Workforce planning and productivity 17 min · quiz
- 10 Respect, inclusion and harassment prevention 18 min · quiz
- 11 Discipline, grievances and arbitration 19 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: a workforce and labor relations plan 18 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
How construction labor relations and workforce management work in the US, following one Columbus general contractor through a hospital tower: the NLRA, the NLRB and state law; building trades, industrial units and merit shop models, double-breasting and salting; Section 8(f) and 9(a) relationships and area bargaining; reading and applying collective bargaining agreements; trade jurisdiction, Section 10(k) and the Plan; project labor agreements, Executive Order 14063 and community workforce agreements; lawful hiring, I-9, onboarding and retention; registered apprenticeship, ratios and mentoring; workforce planning, leveling and the cost of overtime; harassment prevention under Title VII; just cause, grievances and arbitration; and a capstone workforce and labor relations plan.
Part of the Construction Management stream, typically taken in year 3.