Samsung Unions Clash Over Bargaining Leadership

Choi Seung-ho, Chairman of the Samsung Electronics Branch of the Samsung Group Inter-Enterprise Labor Union. (Joint press coverage) Samsung Electronics labor unions are engaging in a war of nerves to seize bargaining leadership ahead of the 2027 wage and collective bargaining agreement. As the largest union, the Samsung Electronics Branch of the Samsung Group United Union (United Union), stepped forward to collect bargaining demands, the Samsung Electronics Labor Union Donghaeng (Donghaeng Union) officially objected, bringing the conflict between the unions to the surface. In addition, the possibility of solidarity between the company’s second and third largest unions, the Donghaeng Union and the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), is being discussed, drawing attention to whether there will be a change in the future bargaining structure. In particular, a simple sum of the members of the Donghaeng Union and the NSEU is approximately 55,584, which is about 2,000 more than the United Union’s approximately 53,400 members. According to the industry on Oct. 21, the Samsung Electronics Donghaeng Union sent an official document to the United Union on Oct. 20, stating its opposition to the request to submit demands for the 2027 collective bargaining. Previously, the United Union requested the Donghaeng Union and the NSEU to submit their bargaining demands by Oct. 22. It also conveyed its intention that if there is no reply within the deadline, it will be considered that there are no separate demands. In response, the Donghaeng Union argued that since the procedure for unifying bargaining windows has not yet begun and the representative labor union has not been determined, there is no legal basis for a specific union to unilaterally set a deadline for submitting demands. The Donghaeng Union pointed out, “Blocking opportunities to submit demands and reflect them in bargaining in advance due to non-submission within a unilaterally set deadline before the representative labor union is even determined goes against the purpose of the duty of fair representation.” It then proposed forming a joint bargaining delegation to engage in negotiations as in the past. Analysts say this dispute goes beyond a simple timing of submitting demands and demonstrates the difference in positions between the unions over who will lead next year’s wage and collective bargaining agreement. While the United Union seeks to lead the bargaining based on its status as the largest union, the Donghaeng Union maintains the position that the participation of other unions must be guaranteed through joint bargaining. In practice, the Donghaeng Union and the NSEU have recently taken joint action, keeping the United Union in check. The two unions participated together in a rally held in front of the Seocho office building on Oct. 19. This is the background behind the attention given to the possibility of solidarity between the two unions ahead of next year’s wage and collective bargaining agreement. The two unions are commonly raising complaints about performance-based compensation that is relatively concentrated in the Memory Business within the Device Solutions (DS) Unit. The Donghaeng Union is mainly composed of employees in the Device eXperience (DX) Unit, which handles smartphones, TVs, and home appliances. The NSEU is understood to have its major membership base among employees in the DX Unit as well as non-memory businesses such as System LSI and Foundry within the DS Unit.  Although there are differences in their organizational bases in this manner, they share an interest in the need to improve the compensation gap between the Memory Business and other divisions. Notably, as a plan to pay a separate special performance bonus to employees in the DS Unit was recently arranged, the Donghaeng Union previously demanded that a corresponding compensation plan must also be arranged for employees in the DX Unit. The difference in performance and compensation levels by division is highly likely to emerge as a major contentious issue in next year’s wage and collective bargaining agreement as well. Another reason the competition for leadership between the unions is receiving attention is the size of their memberships. Currently, the largest union is the United Union, which has secured about 53,400 members. The Donghaeng Union and the NSEU follow with about 31,055 members (as of Oct. 20) and 24,529 members (as of Oct. 21), respectively. A simple sum of the members of the two unions is approximately 55,584, which is 2,184 more than the United Union. Accordingly, observations are emerging that if the Donghaeng Union and the NSEU form solidarity, there could be a change in the existing bargaining structure centered on the largest union. However, in the actual selection of the representative labor union, the scale of overlapping members and the method of calculating the number of members are variables. This is because, as there are employees who have joined multiple labor unions, the figure obtained by simply adding the enrolled personnel of each union may not match the number of members reflected in the actual selection of the representative labor union. Observations are also raised that even if solidarity between the unions is pursued, the process of coordinating bargaining agendas will not be easy. As the business characteristics and performances of the DS and DX Units are different, preparing common demands for performance bonus payment standards and compensation systems remains a challenge. Therefore, changes in the negotiation structure with the management are expected depending on which union is determined as the representative labor union. The procedure for unifying bargaining windows scheduled in December is expected to become a turning point in the realignment of power among Samsung Electronics labor unions. Whether the United Union will maintain its status as the largest union or whether the Donghaeng Union and the NSEU will bring about a change in the bargaining structure through solidarity is emerging as the primary variable for next year’s wage and collective bargaining agreement.