GMFC is a charter member of the Material Handling Equipment Association (MHEA). The organization was started in the late 1940s and now includes 30 members producing over 95 percent of all domestic material handling equipment. Presently, these manufacturers provide 70 percent of the material handling equipment sold in the United States. About 80 percent of the association's total production is for the domestic market. Primary foreign markets are in Europe and Latin America, with increasing marketing emphasis in Eastern Europe.
All members are unionized, to some extent, with the proportions of production jobs organized ranging from 25 to 100 percent. GMFC is 80 percent unionized. Most companies bargain with Steelworkers, the Auto Workers, or the Machinists. Some variations exist between contracts within employers and across employers in the association.
The MHEA industrial relations executives recently studied the possibility of industry-wide bargaining. Coincidentally, since they were proposing a merger, the major unions representing MHEA employees explored potential coalition bargaining arrangements.
Taking a (NONunion) management role, formulate arguments for or against (1) industry-wide bargaining with each separate union, (2) industry-wide bargaining with coalition bargaining representing employees, (3) bargaining at the local level on all issues with the union that happens to represent the employees.