Search results

1 – 10 of 154
Article
Publication date: 13 February 2017

Steven E. Abraham

This paper aims to examine the impact of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). It is expected that returns would have increased in response to the law’s…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the impact of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). It is expected that returns would have increased in response to the law’s passage, as it imposed a number of restrictions on unions vis-à-vis management and instituted many rules regulating unions’ internal affairs.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses event study methodology, which examines the impact of the law’s passage on the shareholder returns to the firms likely to have been affected by the law. Three different samples are used. Shareholder returns are examined on critical dates associated with the passage of the law to assess whether it benefited the firms in the samples.

Findings

Shareholder returns to firms expected to have been affected by the LMRDA fell in comparison to their competitors’ returns, indicating that the law was viewed by investors as being beneficial for firms. Presumably, the restrictions the law placed on unions were judged to be more important by investors than the improvement in unions’ image that might have resulted from the law, indicating that the law benefitted firms.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that has examined the impact of the LMRDA empirically to assess its impact on firms.

Details

International Journal of Law and Management, vol. 59 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-243X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

Steven E. Abraham

The market’s reactions to six decisions that dealt with the employment‐at‐will doctrine were examined with event study methodology. Three hypotheses were tested, all three of…

Abstract

The market’s reactions to six decisions that dealt with the employment‐at‐will doctrine were examined with event study methodology. Three hypotheses were tested, all three of which were supported clearly by the data. Shareholder returns to a sample of California firms fell in response to the three California decisions that provided at‐will employees with causes of action to challenge their discharges; returns to those same firms rose in response to the Foley decision, which cut back on the employment‐at‐will erosions in California; and, returns to a sample of firms in New York rose in response to the two decisions from New York that affirmed the supremacy of the employment‐at‐will doctrine in New York. These results support the view that employment‐at‐will is beneficial for employers and that erosions to that doctrine are costly to employers.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 46 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2019

Steven E. Abraham and Paula B. Voos

The long-debated impact of right-to-work (RTW) laws took on more urgency with the passage of RTW in additional states in the twenty-first century. The impact of RTW on shareholder…

Abstract

The long-debated impact of right-to-work (RTW) laws took on more urgency with the passage of RTW in additional states in the twenty-first century. The impact of RTW on shareholder wealth of corporations located in four states is evaluated here: Oklahoma (2000), Indiana (2012), Michigan (2012), and Wisconsin (2015). Event study results show that RTW had a positive effect on shareholder wealth in these states, albeit an effect that was lower in Michigan than elsewhere. We argue that this is indirect evidence in support of research indicating that RTW hinders union organizing, raises profits, and reduces nonunion employee compensation.

Details

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-192-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 February 2015

Steven E. Abraham, Lisa A. Schur and Paula B. Voos

In 2010, the National Mediation Board (NMB) decided to base Railway Labor Act representation election outcomes on a simple majority of those voting, rather than on the majority of…

Abstract

In 2010, the National Mediation Board (NMB) decided to base Railway Labor Act representation election outcomes on a simple majority of those voting, rather than on the majority of all eligible voters, as had been required earlier. This was widely expected to make it easier for unions to win rights to recognition in the railway and airline industries. We demonstrate that investors expected that this change would favor unions, just as they earlier had expected rule changes that made voting easier (in 2002 and 2007) to be favorable to unions, affecting stock prices of railway and airline corporations. After the 2010 change in election procedure, between 77% and 91% of all eligible employees returned ballots in NMB elections, demonstrating that a significant portion of nonvoters were not opposed to union representation, but simply were unwilling or were unable to vote. We conclude that the current voting process is fairer than the old one. However, it has not resulted in a tide of union success in these representation elections. Apparently scholars, the parties themselves, and investors all over-estimated the practical consequences of changing NMB representation election procedures.

Details

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-380-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1997

Steven E. Abraham

As US firms expand into Canada, it becomes necessary for them to be aware of Canadian law governing labour and employment. Unlike what many might think, the laws in the two…

Abstract

As US firms expand into Canada, it becomes necessary for them to be aware of Canadian law governing labour and employment. Unlike what many might think, the laws in the two countries are substantially different. Further, the effects of these differences have been demonstrated empirically. Considers the differences between US and Canadian labour law in seven areas: certification procedures; first contract arbitration; new technologies; strike replacements; successorship; employee participation programmes and union security. Discusses the effects of the laws in these areas.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 18 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2006

Steven E. Abraham

The purpose of this paper is to compare the market reaction to layoff announcements of union and nonunion employees.

1296

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to compare the market reaction to layoff announcements of union and nonunion employees.

Design/methodology/approach

Event study methodology was utilized to assess the effects of layoff announcements of union versus nonunion employees. The union status of the laid‐off employees was determined for 135 layoff announcements reported in the Wall Street Journal in 1993 and 1994 and shareholder returns between the two groups was compared.

Findings

Over each event period tested, the market reaction was more negative when nonunion employees were downsized than when the announcement concerned unionized employees. Over the two days surrounding the announcement, the market reaction to the layoff announcement of unionized employees was actually positive, while the reaction was negative when nonunion employees were the subject of the announcement.

Research limitations/implications

The sample included layoff announcements from 1993 and 1994 only. The market reaction to announcements in different years might be different.

Originality/value

While many papers have examined the market reaction to layoff announcements, this is the first paper that compares the reaction to union versus nonunion employees.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 27 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

Steven E. Abraham

The effect of layoff announcements on the shareholder returns of 154 firms that announced layoffs in 1993‐1994 was examined with event study methodology. As expected, the returns…

1021

Abstract

The effect of layoff announcements on the shareholder returns of 154 firms that announced layoffs in 1993‐1994 was examined with event study methodology. As expected, the returns to these firms were negative. Further, the returns to the firms that announced layoffs for “reactive” reasons were more negative than the returns to the firms that announced layoffs for “proactive” reasons. The effect of employment guarantee announcements on the shareholder returns of 13 firms that announced employment guarantees in 1993‐1994 and on the returns of 63 firms that made similar announcements throughout the 1990 s was examined. Returns of these samples also responded negatively to the announcements. When the response to the two types of announcements was compared, however, there was no clear conclusion regarding which type of announcement drew a more negative response.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 25 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2001

Steven E. Abraham, Lanny A. Karns, Kenneth Shaw and Manuel A. Mena

Uses survey research to investigate two general questions concerning managerial competencies and performance appraisal: whether a set of managerial competencies currently being…

14505

Abstract

Uses survey research to investigate two general questions concerning managerial competencies and performance appraisal: whether a set of managerial competencies currently being used by organizations to describe successful managers can be identified; and whether organizations are appraising these same competencies as part of their managerial performance appraisal processes. The six competencies most often identified as critical to managerial success appear to be proper choices, given the discussion of the attributes needed for a competency to be effective. The results also show, however, that many of these same organizations are not appraising these competencies in their managerial‐performance appraisal processes. Concludes that failure to appraise the competencies reduces the effectiveness of the competencies and the managerial performance appraisal programs.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 20 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 February 2010

Steven E. Abraham, Adrienne E. Eaton and Paula B. Voos

We present evidence regarding how a card check recognition process affects the labor relations climate during the period preceding recognition and that which immediately follows…

Abstract

We present evidence regarding how a card check recognition process affects the labor relations climate during the period preceding recognition and that which immediately follows. Interviews with managers, interviews with union representatives, and surveys of workers indicate that card check typically results in a less prolonged, costly, and stressful recognition and negotiations process. Although the resulting contracts are often similar to those in other parts of a heavily unionized corporation, sometimes they reflect a different business context – and hence are somewhat more favorable to employers without being substantially less favorable to employees. This reality is reflected in the positive reaction of the U.S. stock markets to union recognition by an employer through a card check process. Employers make card check agreements primarily for business reasons, and investors respect their judgment as to the impact of such agreements on the bottom line.

Details

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-932-9

Book part
Publication date: 29 March 2021

Steven E. Abraham and Paula B. Voos

We examine the evolution of labor arbitration decisions between 1988 and 2018 in which a union-represented employee was alleged to have committed sexual harassment. We find that…

Abstract

We examine the evolution of labor arbitration decisions between 1988 and 2018 in which a union-represented employee was alleged to have committed sexual harassment. We find that management punished sexual harassment more stringently over time and that arbitrators became more sensitive to whether or not good procedure was followed by management over time. Distributive justice was also a major concern for arbitrators. The results suggest that it is essential for management to exercise procedural justice in disciplining employees, but that it is just as important for management to consider distributive justice when it comes to imposing discipline for inappropriate behavior.

Details

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-132-5

Keywords

1 – 10 of 154