The prospects for multifacility bargaining units in the health-care industry.

The 1974 amendments of the National Labor Relations Act expanded regulation of the health-care industry. Subsequently, as health-care providers have diversified their institutions, the scope of employees' bargaining units has become a confusing issue in labor relations. In the following article, the author reviews relevant post-1974 cases and examines apparently conflicting presumptions about the appropriateness of single- and multifacility bargaining units. The author predicts that, in view of the new "disparity-in-interests" standard for determining units, the future interplay of policies, presumptions, and the new standard will favor multifacility bargaining units--if labor and management appreciate their respective opportunities.     

Rule of law versus political interest

The limits of the rule of law are here tested by a case study. Two Arab prisoners were killed by Israeli security forces, a political cover-up was initiated and the tacit assent of the Supreme Court towards executive actions was achieved. The paper examines some theoretical positions in order to understand the relationship between the ideology of the Rule of Law and political interests — Althusser, Luhmann and Habermas. The conclusion is that structural and/or neo-structural functional theory is insufficient to explain the situation. The paper suggests alternative variables to account for the legal system's subservience to the dictates of political interests.     

Hospital collective bargaining: structure and process.

The increasing influence of third parties on collective bargaining has continued to interest labor relations practitioners. The authors discusses the role of third-party payers and state regulatory agencies in labor-management negotiations at voluntary hospitals. Highlighted is the bargaining strategy adopted by negotiators when collective bargaining operates under a prospective rate-setting system. Also presented are the economic variables by which the payers influence hospital-union relationships and their effect on the outcomes of bargaining. The author describes the political context of health-care bargaining and the growing significance of cost control on hospital negotiations. He concludes that third-party payers cause health-care bargaining to change from a bilateral structure to a multilateral dimension.     

Public interest versus interest groups: a political economy analysis of allowance allocation under the EU emissions trading scheme

In a theoretical analysis, we use a common agency model to show that lobbying by energy-intensive sectors covered under an emissions trading scheme (ETS) shifts the regulatory burden of an economy-wide emission constraint to sectors outside the ETS. The emission tax on the latter becomes inefficiently high such that lobbying does not only induce burden shifting but also efficiency losses. A complementary empirical analysis for a cross section of German firms under the EU emissions trading scheme supports our theoretical result on the role of lobbying on allowance allocation.     

Deviation from sentencing guidelines: The issue of unwarranted disparity

There has been a recent trend toward sentencing guidelines in the United States, and Florida followed this pattern by adopting sentencing guidelines in 1983. The present study examined whether several extra-legal variables excluded from the guidelines influenced the elimination of unwarranted sentencing disparity following the implementation of Florida's guidelines. Age seemed to have no influence but the factors of whether there was a plea or trial, whether there was a probation or community control violation, and sex all influenced unwarranted sentencing disparity in varying degrees. The policy implications of these findings for developing sentencing guidelines are discussed.     

EEO issues in the health-care field: a roundup of recent developments.

The rapidly expanding health-care field, like other service areas, has experienced its share of controversy over employment discrimination issues. Recent cases fall into two categories: claims involving traditional EEO questions and claims that reflect the unique nature of the health-care institution. A survey of cases in an array of key areas offers guidance for health-care employers in handling common problems.     

Policy and disparity: The punishment of infanticide in Britain and America

In the United States, studies of maternal infanticide (and female violent behavior in general) have been rare. Children represent about 35% of female perpetrated homicide victims and there is reason to believe that this number may be significantly higher based on estimates concerning SIDS deaths. Infants face a homicide rate approximately four times higher than that of the general population in much of the industrialized world. Infanticide has historically been relegated to the legal category of homicide in the U.S. This is significantly different than in most industrialized countries. This article argues that the lack of specific public, legal, and medical policy in the United States concerning infanticide results in random inequity of charges, dispositions, sanctions, and treatment of offenders. This situation is unnecessary as demonstrated by British and European legal systems, and is in direct opposition to the policy of minimizing disparity.     

Fringe benefits: The hidden costs of unionization and collective bargaining in corrections

Public Sector Unionization is a phenomenon characterized by rapid growth. Many studies have found, however, that the pay differential between unionized and non-unionized public sector employees is relatively small. This study posits the theory that one possible explanation is that unionized public sector employees are making gains in an area where the cost of concessions is somewhat hidden. Specifically, that unionized public sector employees enjoy a substantial lead in number of fringe benefits. The public sector area chosen for study is that of corrections. A questionnaire was constructed and mailed to all 50 state correctional systems assessing whether or not employees received 35 fringe benefits. The fringe benefits are divided into five categories and reported in tabular form. In addition, the fringe benefits are examined as a composite index and a comparison is then made between unionized and non-unionized employees. The results clearly show that unionized correctional employees have a considerable advantage in the number of fringe benefits enjoyed.