Dispute Settlement and the Intensity of Mediation

Laws and procedures regarding peaceful resolution of municipal labor disputes vary across the states, and the administration and application of these policies and procedures, particularly mediation, also differ. Therefore, an important research question is the extent to which differences in laws and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Industrial relations (Berkeley) 1980-09, Vol.19 (3), p.352-359
Main Authors: GERHART, PAUL F., DROTNING, JOHN E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arbitration
Bargaining
Collective bargaining
Criteria
Labor disputes
Mediation
Studies
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Summary:Laws and procedures regarding peaceful resolution of municipal labor disputes vary across the states, and the administration and application of these policies and procedures, particularly mediation, also differ. Therefore, an important research question is the extent to which differences in laws and procedures, and their application, contribute to different bargaining results. The analysis made here is based on data taken from the most recent round of negotiations in a total of 24 blue-collar municipal bargaining units in 6 states. In determining the level of difficulty in the most recent round of negotiations in each of 24 bargaining units, 9 explicit a priori criteria were used: 1. new bargaining relationship, 2. new negotiating team, 3. negative interpersonal relations, 4. management attitude, 5. management intraorganizational conflict, 6. union strength, 7. bargaining structure, 8. inability to pay, and 9. union intraorganizational conflict. It can be concluded that mediation per se is not the answer to public sector impasses, but intense mediator behavior does appear to be effective in difficult negotiations or in those which are subject to impasse procedures beyond mediation.
ISSN:0019-8676
1468-232X
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-232X.1980.tb01104.x