Search the Internet for a current issue or situation about a union Describe the situation and say how you would handle it if you were the HR person working on it Have fun with this and try to find something different than other students have already posted to give us lots to talk about Ok my article is about pregnant women at UPS who by doctors orders requested light duty The company said No and was put on unpaid leave with no medical coverage Well if any issue involves union I don t believe HR would be involved with any type of negotiations If I was allowed to handle the issue I would read up on all aspects of Title VII to know where the company stands I would make to not make the same mistake the company made which was to violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 The company should have offered her light duty under the act I do have to say that I was in a union IAM local and it was a bit confusing to me since I had never been in a union before I felt that my pay and benefits were great as compared to other companies but each time union contract negotiations came up there was always a strike for better benefits or pay etcc Now I did hear that sometimes the company pushes issues so there is a strike so that vendors can have the time to catch up on back log of parts and that the company won t have to pay penalties to customers for delays I don t know if that is true but it was always the word I know at one point the union was trying to fight LEAN introduction into the company because they felt it would threaten jobs Response 2 The current issue about a union was with the Wisconsin Fire Fighter Union A fire fighter wanted to enter his parade float honoring firefighters and police who were killed on 9 11 in the upcoming Independence Day Parade However the firefighter opted out of his membership of the firefighter s union The union set put to punish this firefighter for his choice by boycotting his float The executive board of the firefighters union did not support the float When the union was questioned regarding this boycott the union declined to discuss the decision However this boycott caused a mix of emotions where other firefighter s were disgusted by the union s leadership decision as well as others who did not take a stand either way Well if I was the HR person working on this issue I would first have to find out what the reason was for this firefighter letting his membership lapse I would first address this issue to see why and see how that situation could be resolved Second I would have to find out if the float made any reference to the firefighter s union If the firefighter was just entering the float on behalf of himself then I would see that the union had no say so If the firefighter was entering the float on behalf of the union I would try have some dialog with him to ask why Third I would check to see if there was a contract or agreement and I would review them for a breach of contract If the float was going to be entered into the parade and mention the firefighter union I probably not address the issue as I would not want negativity brought onto the firefighters union http www nationalreview com corner 270950 wisconsin firefighters union tries block parade float honoring 911 victims christian s