- Email: [email protected]
Exploring employees’ perceptions of costs and benefits of unionization in the hospitality industry
International Journal of Hospitality Management 87 (2020) 102465
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Hospitality Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhm
Research note
Exploring employees’ perceptions of costs and benefits of unionization in the hospitality industry
T
InHaeng Noah Jung*, Amit Sharma, Anna S. Mattila Pennsylvania State University, United States
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Keywords: Hospitality industry Labor union Costs and benefits Career Social responsibility
There is scant research on the impact of unionization on hospitality employees’ job security, health, and working conditions. This research explores employees’ beliefs of costs and benefits of unionization in hospitality organizations given that previous research has mainly focused on its influence on the firm and the industry. The findings of this study suggest that unionization can present a unique set of challenges both for line-level employees and managers. The ‘it’s not my job’ attitude associated with unionization can have a dampening impact on employees’ future career opportunities. Future research needs to consider the long-term consequences of unionization on employees.
1. Introduction
2.2. Labor unions in the hospitality industry
Many current labor practices, which most Americans today take for granted (e.g. child labor ban, minimum wage), emerged from the formation of labor unions. The hospitality industry has a relatively low union presence compared to the national average (2.9 percent versus 10.7 percent, respectively) (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). This could be a reason behind the hospitality industry’s poor labor practices reflected in low wages, undeveloped equal opportunity policies, and high turnover (Sixel, 2016). While unionization may help improve working conditions in the hospitality industry, its effect on employees has not yet been explored. To that end, this research examines the perceived costs and benefits of unionization from the employee’s perspective.
The hospitality industry is labor-intensive, yet it is criticized for its poor employment practices (Sixel, 2016). Such practices have resulted in a high turnover rate and low service standards (Boella and GossTurner, 2012). Many hospitality employees are ‘at will’ employees exemplified on the employee handbook of Doubletree, stating that the employer “reserves the right to terminate your employment at will, with or without cause or notice” (Hotel Trades Council, 2012, p. 8). The relatively high proportion of part-time employees coupled with a high turnover rate may not be sufficient to push for unionization in hospitality businesses (ILO, 2001; Piso, 1999; Woods, 1997). Despite the importance of the topic, there is scant research regarding the antecedents of union support (Lowery et al., 2019), differences in wages and benefits (Fainstein et al., 2004), and employee relations between unionized and non-union hotels (Head and Lucas, 2004). Some cities, like New York City, have a considerably higher unionization rate within the hospitality industry (13%) (Milkman and Luce, 2017). An article in the New York Times stated: “The contract is so good that it seems to have born from a different era” (McGeehan, 2014). The two most noteworthy benefits are a 29 percent wage increase over a seven-year period and health-care benefits that are virtually fully paid by the hotel (HTC, AFL-CIO, 2012). The relatively low unionization rate provides limited guidance for non-unionized employees to make an informed choice about whether to join a union or not. Moreover, there is a gap in our understanding of employees’ beliefs about how unionization impacts them. To that end,
2. Literature review 2.1. Influence of unionization The impact of unionization on productivity is debatable. The majority of businesses are concerned with lower productivity due to additional costs, such as fair scheduling, higher wages, job security, decreased efficiency and reduced work intensity (Reynolds, 2004; Long, 2013; Brochu and Morin, 2012; Chen et al., 2011; Connolly et al., 1986). On the other hand, labor unions increase employee retention through higher wages, job security, time off, and access to health care (Hagedorn et al., 2016).
⁎
Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (I.N. Jung).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102465 Received 17 July 2019; Received in revised form 22 January 2020; Accepted 30 January 2020 0278-4319/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
International Journal of Hospitality Management 87 (2020) 102465
I.N. Jung, et al.
children. Union employees also had a minimum of 16 days of vacation days, including sick days, personal days, and paid time off. Job security was one of the most important benefits provided by the union. However, unions protected not only employees who may be wrongfully fired but also employees whose termination might be justified. Both managers (Respondent # 4) and frontline workers (Respondent # 5) shared their experiences of witnessing union employees not getting fired even after being caught stealing from a job, serving alcohol to minors, and not coming to work for days without prior notice. The prevalent culture of overlooking otherwise condemnable behaviors had a negative impact on employee morale.
this exploratory study investigated the following research questions: 1) What do hospitality workers view as costs and benefits of unionization in terms of their work environment, professional growth, and personal lives? 2) What are the effects of unionization on the firm and the industry? 3. Methodology 3.1. Study design This research employed a qualitative method to identify hospitality employees’ perceptions of costs and benefits of labor unions using semistructured interviews (Weimer and Vinning, 2017). A combination of purposeful and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit a total of 9 interviewees representing both unionized and non-unionized businesses. Given the research design such sampling is preferred over other sampling methods such as random sampling (Palinkas et al., 2015). The interviews were developed using Chacko (1985)’s union instrumentality measurements. The recorded telephone interviews (45–90 min each) were transcribed and coded for analysis. Low-level codes were then classified into higher-order categories. The results of the study were reassessed by interviewees to establish the validity of the findings (Corbin and Strauss, 1990).
4.3. Influence on work environment and coworker relationships Generally, all nine interviewees noted that they had good relationships with their coworkers, including managers and other union members. However, respondents also commented on how unionization impacted the dynamics between managers and line-level employees. One of the respondents noted unionized workers were stronger in power dynamics than their managers, and that managers needed to ‘behave well’. Managers felt unprotected, helpless, and powerless. “It feels degrading at some times” noted respondent # 4. Managers were on salary and their overtime was not as strictly counted as that of hourly employees. “The relationship between the union member and manager depends on their (manager’s) attitude. […] If not, as a union employee, it’s really easy for me to shut down. Because I have so much protection, you won’t get nothing out of me. In fact, managers are not really being treated well. […] They are being abused; they work a lot more hours than we do a lot of time.” (Respondent # 5)
4. Results 4.1. Profile of respondent Of the nine interviewees, five were union employees, four were female, and the majority were college-educated. Most interviewees have had several years of hospitality work experience (Table 1).
Respondents also stated that since union rules limited workers to their specific job descriptions, there were restrictions in helping others. This created an ‘it’s not my job’ attitude, resulting in operational inefficiencies due to additional steps needed to get the job done (Respondents # 4, 5, 6, 9). Moreover, in unionized organizations, performing tasks outside one’s job description was perceived as ‘taking someone else’s a job away’.
4.2. Influence of Labor union Salary, health benefits and job security were the three biggest incentives of being a union member. Respondents reported that hourly wages become larger with increased tenure. However, although the hourly wage is almost triple of non-unionized organization, the overall income is not necessarily greater since work time is limited to 35 h. Respondent # 3 noted: “I used to do two jobs until last year, I worked at the hotel for 7 h a day, and I had lots of time to work another job.” Overall, employees feel that the short working hours and higher hourly wages could not be obtained in a non-unionized organization.
“Union history began in the production era, where jobs were very straight forward. […] Jobs in service and hospitality are largely intangible, but trying to put that into tangible job descriptions creates lots of problems”. (Respondent # 6) 4.4. Influence on employees Career and Life and on the future of the Hospitality Industry
“I can’t really go back (to a non-union restaurant). I’d rather change my career. […] (non-union) Restaurant doesn’t let you work for 7 hours, […] standard is like 12 hours. And the wage is also going to be half less, which you can’t really survive with a kid.” (Respondent 1)
Along with benefits and higher wages, stability and protection also influenced union employees’ beliefs of the benefits gained from being part of a union. However, respondents also noted that often there was bitterness about the culture that fails to reward or encourage
Union provided health benefits to its members and their spouse and Table 1 Respondent Demographics. Resp# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1
Union Member (Y/N) Y N Y N Y N N Y N Average
Position title 1
Tournant Operations manager Tournant Restaurant Manager Tournant Lead cook head monger Steward OSR F&B Manager
Age
Sex
Ethnicity
Highest Education
Years worked in current org
Years of experience in the hospitality industry
30 31 27 29 50 33 37 27 28 32
F F F M M M F M M
Asian Hispanic Hispanic Others Caucasian Asian Asian African Caucasian
College/Univ. College/Univ. Highschool College/Univ. College/Univ. College/Univ. College/Univ. Professional study College/Univ.
7 4 5 7 22 1 2 3 6 6
10 12 5 14 22 13 20 3 14 13
A tournant is a cook shifting across various stations. 2
International Journal of Hospitality Management 87 (2020) 102465
I.N. Jung, et al.
Table 2 Costs and Benefits of hospitality labor union. Benefits
Union employees
Managers and organization
wage & benefits • Improved security and stability • Job balance • Work-life work environment • Fair job satisfaction • Increased • Low turnover
Costs
sense of teamwork and ownership • Low of means of motivation • Lack • Lack of career progression procedural workload • Added in management practice • Limitation of power and security • Loss • Increased incompetent workers
employees’ beliefs and perceptions when negotiating contracts. Furthermore, the reversed power dynamics between unionized employees and managers may be another drawback of unionization. It is unclear how each of these costs and benefits could eventually impact long-term outcomes for employees or firm performance. Future studies could assess such long-term impacts of unionization. As the hospitality industry shifts towards more efficient operations through advanced technologies, a balanced union contract may become essential. Future research should focus on ways to balance the costs and benefits of unionization to gain a healthy yet competitive working environment.
competition and motivate employees. Both union workers and managers agreed that being in a union often diminished one’s ambition for growth, which could have a negative influence not just on their own professional future but also on the future of the hospitality industry. “Being in the union is an ambition killer. You will never progress. […] You get a 4% pay increase every year, no matter how hard you work […] you will never receive a bonus in your life.” (Respondent # 5) All the four managers expressed pessimism about unionized hotels due to the ‘it’s not my job’ culture and the over-protection of incompetent but unionized workers. As noted by one of the respondents, some hotels seemed to have found a way to overcome committing to unionization by hiring third-party companies to replace existing functions of the hotel.
5.2. Limitations of this study Interviewees for this study were largely recruited from hotels and restaurants in New York City given its relatively high prevalence of unionization, a beneficial condition for the purpose of this study. Future studies should expand the scope of the study to other hospitality-related businesses and to other locations. Regardless, our study findings provide an overview of key ideas that could be adopted in future research.
“Something has to be changed. Hotels are not going to survive current competition with Airbnb, smaller hotels, and increased wages and costs if this culture of union is going to proceed as is. […] Companies can’t do what they have to do to survive because of the union […]. Right now, their power is much too strong.” (Respondent # 5)
References
In other words, businesses are trying to manage by creatively bypassing unionization.
Boella, M., Goss-Turner, S., 2012. Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry: A Guide to Best Practice. Routledge. Brochu, P., Morin, L.-P., 2012. Union membership and perceived job insecurity: thirty years of evidence from the American General Social Survey. Int. Labor Relat. Rev. 65 (2), 263–285. Bureau of labor statistics, 2018. Industries at a Glance: Leisure and Hospitality. November 29. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag70.htm. Chacko, T.I., 1985. Member participation in union activities: perceptions of union priorities, performance, and satisfaction. J. Labor Res. 6 (4), 363–373. Chen, H.J., Kacperczyk, M., Ortiz-Molina, H., 2011. Labor unions, operating flexibility, and the cost of equity. J. Financ. Quant. Anal. 46 (1), 25–58. https://doi.org/10. 1017/S0022109010000645. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/. Connolly, R.A., Hirsch, B.T., Hirschey, M., 1986. Union rent seeking, intangible capital, and market value of the firm. Rev. Econ. Stat. 567–577. Corbin, J.M., Strauss, A., 1990. Grounded theory research: procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qual. Sociol. 13 (1), 3–21. Fainstein, S., Gladstone, D., Balogun, F., 2004. Evaluation du tourisme urbain. Les Annales De La Recherche Urbaine Vol. 97. Centre de Recherche d’Urbanisme, pp. 127–135 No. 1. Hagedorn, J., Paras, C.A., Greenwich, H., Hagopian, A., 2016. The role of labor unions in creating working conditions that promote public health. Am. J. Public Health 106 (6), 989–995. Head, J., Lucas, R., 2004. Employee relations in the non-union hotel industry: a case of “determined opportunism”? Pers. Rev. 33 (6), 693–710. HTC, AFL-CIO, 2012. Industry-Wide Agreement. Retrieved from https://hotelworkers. org/images/uploads/NYC_Hotel_Industry_Wide_Agreement.pdf. International Labour Organisation, Sectoral Activities Programme, 2001. Report for Discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Employment and Globalization in the Hotel. Catering and Tourism Sector, Geneva 2001. Long, G., 2013. Differences Between Union and Nonunion Compensation. April. pp. 2001–2011. https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/04/art2full.pdf. Lowery, C.M., Beadles, N.A., Miller, W.J., 2019. Antecedents of union support in the United States hospitality industry. J. Hum. Resour. Hosp. Tour. 1–24. McGeehan, P., 2014. Deal Beneficial to Hotel Union Is Seen by Some As Special Case. August 19. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/nyregion/ contract-for-new-yorks-hotel-union-is-seen-by-some-as-special-case.html. Milkman, R., Luce, S., 2017. Labor unions and the great recession. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation. J. Social Sci. 3 (3), 145–165. Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N., Hoagwood, K., 2015. Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method
5. Discussion and conclusion 5.1. Discussion and conclusion The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess employees’ beliefs about the costs and benefits of unionization in the hospitality business. This study found that union members’ satisfaction (benefits) were mainly driven by short-term factors such as higher wages, better benefits, and job security. However, the costs in the long-term included negative outcomes such as those on their career and compromised work ethics (i.e. ‘it’s not my job’ culture). Table 2 presents a summary of the costs and benefits. Given the distinct response patterns between nonmanagement employees and management employees, the table also reveals costs and benefits by the two positions. The findings of this research are congruent with previous research summarizing the following aspects of unionization: increased costs (Reynolds, 2004; Long, 2013; Brochu and Morin, 2012), decreased efficiency, less merit-based wage dispersions, and management flexibility (Connolly et al., 1986; Chen et al., 2011). In addition, this research shows that union workers seem to lack career progressions such as promotions and transfers. Unionized workers gain seniority with tenure, which adversely influences the diligence of workers. Also, job security combined with the limited motivation to work hard and lack of competition created an “it’s not my job” attitude. This research presents a unique perspective of labor unions in the hospitality industry – the beliefs of the employees themselves. Preliminary findings suggest that while employees find the short-term benefits attractive, they are also concerned about the long-term costs. Unions and hospitality firms should consider these aspects of 3
International Journal of Hospitality Management 87 (2020) 102465
I.N. Jung, et al. implementation research. Adm. Policy Ment. Health Ment. Health Serv. Res. 42 (5), 533–544. Piso, A., 1999. Hotel and catering workers: class and unionisation. Empl. Relat. 21 (2), 176–189. Reynolds, J., 2004. When too much is not enough: actual and preferred work hours in the United States and abroad. Sociol. Forum 19 (1), 89–120.
Sixel, L.M., 2016. Sex, Race, Disability Claims Remain EEOC’s Chief Focus. January 7. Retrieved from https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Sex-racedisability-claims-remain-EEOC-s-chief-6740386.php. Weimer, D.L., Vining, A.R., 2017. Policy Analysis: Concepts and Practice. Routledge. Wood, R.C., 1997. Working in Hotels and Catering. International Thomson Business Press.
4
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Hospitality Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhm
Research note
Exploring employees’ perceptions of costs and benefits of unionization in the hospitality industry
T
InHaeng Noah Jung*, Amit Sharma, Anna S. Mattila Pennsylvania State University, United States
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Keywords: Hospitality industry Labor union Costs and benefits Career Social responsibility
There is scant research on the impact of unionization on hospitality employees’ job security, health, and working conditions. This research explores employees’ beliefs of costs and benefits of unionization in hospitality organizations given that previous research has mainly focused on its influence on the firm and the industry. The findings of this study suggest that unionization can present a unique set of challenges both for line-level employees and managers. The ‘it’s not my job’ attitude associated with unionization can have a dampening impact on employees’ future career opportunities. Future research needs to consider the long-term consequences of unionization on employees.
1. Introduction
2.2. Labor unions in the hospitality industry
Many current labor practices, which most Americans today take for granted (e.g. child labor ban, minimum wage), emerged from the formation of labor unions. The hospitality industry has a relatively low union presence compared to the national average (2.9 percent versus 10.7 percent, respectively) (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). This could be a reason behind the hospitality industry’s poor labor practices reflected in low wages, undeveloped equal opportunity policies, and high turnover (Sixel, 2016). While unionization may help improve working conditions in the hospitality industry, its effect on employees has not yet been explored. To that end, this research examines the perceived costs and benefits of unionization from the employee’s perspective.
The hospitality industry is labor-intensive, yet it is criticized for its poor employment practices (Sixel, 2016). Such practices have resulted in a high turnover rate and low service standards (Boella and GossTurner, 2012). Many hospitality employees are ‘at will’ employees exemplified on the employee handbook of Doubletree, stating that the employer “reserves the right to terminate your employment at will, with or without cause or notice” (Hotel Trades Council, 2012, p. 8). The relatively high proportion of part-time employees coupled with a high turnover rate may not be sufficient to push for unionization in hospitality businesses (ILO, 2001; Piso, 1999; Woods, 1997). Despite the importance of the topic, there is scant research regarding the antecedents of union support (Lowery et al., 2019), differences in wages and benefits (Fainstein et al., 2004), and employee relations between unionized and non-union hotels (Head and Lucas, 2004). Some cities, like New York City, have a considerably higher unionization rate within the hospitality industry (13%) (Milkman and Luce, 2017). An article in the New York Times stated: “The contract is so good that it seems to have born from a different era” (McGeehan, 2014). The two most noteworthy benefits are a 29 percent wage increase over a seven-year period and health-care benefits that are virtually fully paid by the hotel (HTC, AFL-CIO, 2012). The relatively low unionization rate provides limited guidance for non-unionized employees to make an informed choice about whether to join a union or not. Moreover, there is a gap in our understanding of employees’ beliefs about how unionization impacts them. To that end,
2. Literature review 2.1. Influence of unionization The impact of unionization on productivity is debatable. The majority of businesses are concerned with lower productivity due to additional costs, such as fair scheduling, higher wages, job security, decreased efficiency and reduced work intensity (Reynolds, 2004; Long, 2013; Brochu and Morin, 2012; Chen et al., 2011; Connolly et al., 1986). On the other hand, labor unions increase employee retention through higher wages, job security, time off, and access to health care (Hagedorn et al., 2016).
⁎
Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (I.N. Jung).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102465 Received 17 July 2019; Received in revised form 22 January 2020; Accepted 30 January 2020 0278-4319/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
International Journal of Hospitality Management 87 (2020) 102465
I.N. Jung, et al.
children. Union employees also had a minimum of 16 days of vacation days, including sick days, personal days, and paid time off. Job security was one of the most important benefits provided by the union. However, unions protected not only employees who may be wrongfully fired but also employees whose termination might be justified. Both managers (Respondent # 4) and frontline workers (Respondent # 5) shared their experiences of witnessing union employees not getting fired even after being caught stealing from a job, serving alcohol to minors, and not coming to work for days without prior notice. The prevalent culture of overlooking otherwise condemnable behaviors had a negative impact on employee morale.
this exploratory study investigated the following research questions: 1) What do hospitality workers view as costs and benefits of unionization in terms of their work environment, professional growth, and personal lives? 2) What are the effects of unionization on the firm and the industry? 3. Methodology 3.1. Study design This research employed a qualitative method to identify hospitality employees’ perceptions of costs and benefits of labor unions using semistructured interviews (Weimer and Vinning, 2017). A combination of purposeful and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit a total of 9 interviewees representing both unionized and non-unionized businesses. Given the research design such sampling is preferred over other sampling methods such as random sampling (Palinkas et al., 2015). The interviews were developed using Chacko (1985)’s union instrumentality measurements. The recorded telephone interviews (45–90 min each) were transcribed and coded for analysis. Low-level codes were then classified into higher-order categories. The results of the study were reassessed by interviewees to establish the validity of the findings (Corbin and Strauss, 1990).
4.3. Influence on work environment and coworker relationships Generally, all nine interviewees noted that they had good relationships with their coworkers, including managers and other union members. However, respondents also commented on how unionization impacted the dynamics between managers and line-level employees. One of the respondents noted unionized workers were stronger in power dynamics than their managers, and that managers needed to ‘behave well’. Managers felt unprotected, helpless, and powerless. “It feels degrading at some times” noted respondent # 4. Managers were on salary and their overtime was not as strictly counted as that of hourly employees. “The relationship between the union member and manager depends on their (manager’s) attitude. […] If not, as a union employee, it’s really easy for me to shut down. Because I have so much protection, you won’t get nothing out of me. In fact, managers are not really being treated well. […] They are being abused; they work a lot more hours than we do a lot of time.” (Respondent # 5)
4. Results 4.1. Profile of respondent Of the nine interviewees, five were union employees, four were female, and the majority were college-educated. Most interviewees have had several years of hospitality work experience (Table 1).
Respondents also stated that since union rules limited workers to their specific job descriptions, there were restrictions in helping others. This created an ‘it’s not my job’ attitude, resulting in operational inefficiencies due to additional steps needed to get the job done (Respondents # 4, 5, 6, 9). Moreover, in unionized organizations, performing tasks outside one’s job description was perceived as ‘taking someone else’s a job away’.
4.2. Influence of Labor union Salary, health benefits and job security were the three biggest incentives of being a union member. Respondents reported that hourly wages become larger with increased tenure. However, although the hourly wage is almost triple of non-unionized organization, the overall income is not necessarily greater since work time is limited to 35 h. Respondent # 3 noted: “I used to do two jobs until last year, I worked at the hotel for 7 h a day, and I had lots of time to work another job.” Overall, employees feel that the short working hours and higher hourly wages could not be obtained in a non-unionized organization.
“Union history began in the production era, where jobs were very straight forward. […] Jobs in service and hospitality are largely intangible, but trying to put that into tangible job descriptions creates lots of problems”. (Respondent # 6) 4.4. Influence on employees Career and Life and on the future of the Hospitality Industry
“I can’t really go back (to a non-union restaurant). I’d rather change my career. […] (non-union) Restaurant doesn’t let you work for 7 hours, […] standard is like 12 hours. And the wage is also going to be half less, which you can’t really survive with a kid.” (Respondent 1)
Along with benefits and higher wages, stability and protection also influenced union employees’ beliefs of the benefits gained from being part of a union. However, respondents also noted that often there was bitterness about the culture that fails to reward or encourage
Union provided health benefits to its members and their spouse and Table 1 Respondent Demographics. Resp# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1
Union Member (Y/N) Y N Y N Y N N Y N Average
Position title 1
Tournant Operations manager Tournant Restaurant Manager Tournant Lead cook head monger Steward OSR F&B Manager
Age
Sex
Ethnicity
Highest Education
Years worked in current org
Years of experience in the hospitality industry
30 31 27 29 50 33 37 27 28 32
F F F M M M F M M
Asian Hispanic Hispanic Others Caucasian Asian Asian African Caucasian
College/Univ. College/Univ. Highschool College/Univ. College/Univ. College/Univ. College/Univ. Professional study College/Univ.
7 4 5 7 22 1 2 3 6 6
10 12 5 14 22 13 20 3 14 13
A tournant is a cook shifting across various stations. 2
International Journal of Hospitality Management 87 (2020) 102465
I.N. Jung, et al.
Table 2 Costs and Benefits of hospitality labor union. Benefits
Union employees
Managers and organization
wage & benefits • Improved security and stability • Job balance • Work-life work environment • Fair job satisfaction • Increased • Low turnover
Costs
sense of teamwork and ownership • Low of means of motivation • Lack • Lack of career progression procedural workload • Added in management practice • Limitation of power and security • Loss • Increased incompetent workers
employees’ beliefs and perceptions when negotiating contracts. Furthermore, the reversed power dynamics between unionized employees and managers may be another drawback of unionization. It is unclear how each of these costs and benefits could eventually impact long-term outcomes for employees or firm performance. Future studies could assess such long-term impacts of unionization. As the hospitality industry shifts towards more efficient operations through advanced technologies, a balanced union contract may become essential. Future research should focus on ways to balance the costs and benefits of unionization to gain a healthy yet competitive working environment.
competition and motivate employees. Both union workers and managers agreed that being in a union often diminished one’s ambition for growth, which could have a negative influence not just on their own professional future but also on the future of the hospitality industry. “Being in the union is an ambition killer. You will never progress. […] You get a 4% pay increase every year, no matter how hard you work […] you will never receive a bonus in your life.” (Respondent # 5) All the four managers expressed pessimism about unionized hotels due to the ‘it’s not my job’ culture and the over-protection of incompetent but unionized workers. As noted by one of the respondents, some hotels seemed to have found a way to overcome committing to unionization by hiring third-party companies to replace existing functions of the hotel.
5.2. Limitations of this study Interviewees for this study were largely recruited from hotels and restaurants in New York City given its relatively high prevalence of unionization, a beneficial condition for the purpose of this study. Future studies should expand the scope of the study to other hospitality-related businesses and to other locations. Regardless, our study findings provide an overview of key ideas that could be adopted in future research.
“Something has to be changed. Hotels are not going to survive current competition with Airbnb, smaller hotels, and increased wages and costs if this culture of union is going to proceed as is. […] Companies can’t do what they have to do to survive because of the union […]. Right now, their power is much too strong.” (Respondent # 5)
References
In other words, businesses are trying to manage by creatively bypassing unionization.
Boella, M., Goss-Turner, S., 2012. Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry: A Guide to Best Practice. Routledge. Brochu, P., Morin, L.-P., 2012. Union membership and perceived job insecurity: thirty years of evidence from the American General Social Survey. Int. Labor Relat. Rev. 65 (2), 263–285. Bureau of labor statistics, 2018. Industries at a Glance: Leisure and Hospitality. November 29. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag70.htm. Chacko, T.I., 1985. Member participation in union activities: perceptions of union priorities, performance, and satisfaction. J. Labor Res. 6 (4), 363–373. Chen, H.J., Kacperczyk, M., Ortiz-Molina, H., 2011. Labor unions, operating flexibility, and the cost of equity. J. Financ. Quant. Anal. 46 (1), 25–58. https://doi.org/10. 1017/S0022109010000645. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/. Connolly, R.A., Hirsch, B.T., Hirschey, M., 1986. Union rent seeking, intangible capital, and market value of the firm. Rev. Econ. Stat. 567–577. Corbin, J.M., Strauss, A., 1990. Grounded theory research: procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qual. Sociol. 13 (1), 3–21. Fainstein, S., Gladstone, D., Balogun, F., 2004. Evaluation du tourisme urbain. Les Annales De La Recherche Urbaine Vol. 97. Centre de Recherche d’Urbanisme, pp. 127–135 No. 1. Hagedorn, J., Paras, C.A., Greenwich, H., Hagopian, A., 2016. The role of labor unions in creating working conditions that promote public health. Am. J. Public Health 106 (6), 989–995. Head, J., Lucas, R., 2004. Employee relations in the non-union hotel industry: a case of “determined opportunism”? Pers. Rev. 33 (6), 693–710. HTC, AFL-CIO, 2012. Industry-Wide Agreement. Retrieved from https://hotelworkers. org/images/uploads/NYC_Hotel_Industry_Wide_Agreement.pdf. International Labour Organisation, Sectoral Activities Programme, 2001. Report for Discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Employment and Globalization in the Hotel. Catering and Tourism Sector, Geneva 2001. Long, G., 2013. Differences Between Union and Nonunion Compensation. April. pp. 2001–2011. https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/04/art2full.pdf. Lowery, C.M., Beadles, N.A., Miller, W.J., 2019. Antecedents of union support in the United States hospitality industry. J. Hum. Resour. Hosp. Tour. 1–24. McGeehan, P., 2014. Deal Beneficial to Hotel Union Is Seen by Some As Special Case. August 19. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/nyregion/ contract-for-new-yorks-hotel-union-is-seen-by-some-as-special-case.html. Milkman, R., Luce, S., 2017. Labor unions and the great recession. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation. J. Social Sci. 3 (3), 145–165. Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N., Hoagwood, K., 2015. Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method
5. Discussion and conclusion 5.1. Discussion and conclusion The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess employees’ beliefs about the costs and benefits of unionization in the hospitality business. This study found that union members’ satisfaction (benefits) were mainly driven by short-term factors such as higher wages, better benefits, and job security. However, the costs in the long-term included negative outcomes such as those on their career and compromised work ethics (i.e. ‘it’s not my job’ culture). Table 2 presents a summary of the costs and benefits. Given the distinct response patterns between nonmanagement employees and management employees, the table also reveals costs and benefits by the two positions. The findings of this research are congruent with previous research summarizing the following aspects of unionization: increased costs (Reynolds, 2004; Long, 2013; Brochu and Morin, 2012), decreased efficiency, less merit-based wage dispersions, and management flexibility (Connolly et al., 1986; Chen et al., 2011). In addition, this research shows that union workers seem to lack career progressions such as promotions and transfers. Unionized workers gain seniority with tenure, which adversely influences the diligence of workers. Also, job security combined with the limited motivation to work hard and lack of competition created an “it’s not my job” attitude. This research presents a unique perspective of labor unions in the hospitality industry – the beliefs of the employees themselves. Preliminary findings suggest that while employees find the short-term benefits attractive, they are also concerned about the long-term costs. Unions and hospitality firms should consider these aspects of 3
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