Collective Bargaining, Reviewing the Process and the Issues that Commonly Present Themselves Lucila Munoz* I. Introduction Throughout the years organizations and unions have struggled for rights and benefits for workers. All the while the managers, supervisors and directors have counteracted such behaviors, favoring the companies, to protect them from going out of business. Through collective bargaining both parties have labored to find common ground. Collective bargaining as defined by the Cornell Law School is as follows; Collective bargaining consists of negotiations between an employer and a group of employees so as to determine the conditions of employment. The result of collective bargaining procedures is a collective agreement. …show more content…
The expectations that are said to result should be that both side are to make compromises in order to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. The mutual beneficial agreements are aimed to regulate working conditions. The employees are more than likely to be represented by the union to which the employees belong to. There are many pros and cons to this type of bargaining. As much as most would like for things to run smoothly and quickly, in reality the issues of collective bargaining rarely do. Collective bargaining process is long and arduous because of the length of time involved in preparing the proposals and counter proposals and the long hours spent during negotiations. The collective bargaining process is also intricate because of the changing stratagems and tactics used by both parties in the pre-negotiation and actual negotiation stages. Other issues that influence the difficulty of the process include the structure of both panels of negotiators which may include lawyers and the opposite approaches and goals of the panel members. Collective bargaining is a long, complex, and emotional-rational process, the outcome of which depends on the balance of power between the union and management and their bargaining stances (Ballot, 1992). It is defined by Byars and Rue (1991) as a process that involves the negotiation, drafting, administration, and
Collective Bargaining is important in the employment relationship as it recognises the TU’s right to represent its employees for consultative or bargaining purposes and represents a fundamental and irreversible change in the employment relationship (Trade Union Recognition Institute of Personnel Management 1977, p24).
After an organization has unionized, the union and organization must negotiate the terms of the agreement to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. The negotiation of these terms results in the creation or renewal of a collective agreement. A collective agreement is defined as “a labour contract that addresses a variety of issues such as wages and benefits, hours of work, working conditions, grievance procedures, safety standards, probationary periods, and work assignments. Usually negotiated between the local union’s bargaining committee and the human resource or industrial relations department” (Schwind, Uggerslev, Wagar, Fassina, & Bulmash, 2016, p. 597). The union and organization must both agree to the terms of a collective agree but if they are not able to come to an agreement conciliation, mediation or interest arbitration will often take place. Conciliation occurs when a government-appointed third party is brought in to help resolve the dispute. Mediation is similar but instead uses a neutral third party to help resolve the dispute. Arbitration is
Collective agreements are negotiated between an employer and a trade union over matters such as:
According to Investopedia (N.D.), the term collective bargaining is the “Process of negotiating the terms of employment between an employer and a group of workers.” (Collective Bargaining, N.D.) However, this covers much more, such as compensation, personnel policies and procedures, employee rights and responsibilities, employer rights and responsibilities, union rights and responsibilities, and dispute resolution and ongoing decisions making. (Budd, 2012, Pp. 11- 12)
The process of collective bargaining is a key part in the process of labor relations in the United States established in the Nation Labor Relations
Collective bargaining is the cornerstone of labor relations in America today and allows workers of various backgrounds to effectively negotiate fair employment. Beginning in the summer of 2015, contract negotiations began between Verizon, and employees affiliated with the Communication Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) unions. This dispute affected thousands of workers, and both sides remained steadfast in their efforts for close to a year (Richardson, 2016). The collective bargaining process for Verizon, CWA, and IBEW resulted in one of the largest and longest strikes in the last decade, and Verizon also holds the spot for the second largest strike in last decade which occurred in 2011 (Pressman, 2016). These large strikes in response to failed or drawn out negotiations can affect many areas of labor relations including workers, businesses, and consumers.
Collective bargaining is the process in which union representation and management negotiate topics that can have an effect on officers. Officers join together in a union to negotiate their contract with the company to define employment conditions such as hours, time off, benefits, safety issues, grievances, and salary. The United States began recognizing collective
Labor Laws help protect the workers ‘union activity by helping to define those roles of employees and management. “The major process in today’s U.S. labor relations system-organizing new unions, bargaining contracts, and resolving disputes and grievances-are not entirely legal in nature, but labor law has defined important aspects of these processes” (Budd, 2013, p. 109) This leads us to look more in-depth at three U.S laws that support the effort of collective bargaining. We will peer into the Wagner Act, as well as the Taft-Hartley Act and finally glance into the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The collective bargaining process is the process where both the employer and the union members comes to the table to bargain for the crease of wages and better benefits. The employer has had experienced different activities throughout the 3-4 years agreement. Now during the new process, employer should have a clear bargaining advantage over the union. The employer also has other more useful information their disposal, but the current economic could impact the bargaining process. The current economic state could either help or hurt both sides during the collective bargaining process. However, the advantage is on employer side because of the economic. They should have seen the different issues, struggles and things happened during the original agreement and the changes of the economy which should be a major role to
This paper will discuss the steps and process that an employee must take to form a union in the workplace. We will also look at how the process differs in the private and public sector and what role the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) play in the process.
Today, this is done without too much stress and strain on either side; usually this takes place in meeting rooms in a very civilized manner with management, employees, and union negotiators. Deals and concessions are made on both sides and once the final contract is agreed on, business continues on. By paying dues and certifying affiliations, union employees gain the power in numbers needed to ensure a better quality of life for themselves and their families. In most cases relationships between management and employees continue on with mutual respect, and the business continues to make a profit.
In order to get a contract you must go through a collective bargaining process and there must be representation on both sides of the table. Many collective bargaining contracts have union shop clause; which mean labor union
Negotiations are a part of everyday life and are unavoidable but learning how to negotiate effectively, is a fundamental skill. Getting to Yes discusses ways in which to become a better negotiator and how to deal with opponents who choose to play “hardball”. The book also discards the concept of “hard” or “soft” negotiations and elects to focus on negotiations that are mutually advantageous. Getting to Yes outlines four methods to better negotiation; separate the people from the problem, focus on interests, not positions, invent options for mutual gain, and insist on using objective criteria. Throughout the collective bargaining simulation, I believe a minimum of three out of the four methods from Getting to Yes aided the bargaining process as it unfolded in the simulation. Firstly, I believe separating people from the problem was vital to coming to a mutual agreement. Secondly, our positions in the collective bargaining simulation were decided upon however, our interests are what we needed to focus on. Thirdly, it was important to recognize that we were not seeking a “win-lose” situation and that there were options to resolve our issues. While it is true that no negotiation method can completely overcome power imbalances, Getting to Yes taught us that there are ways to protect the weaker party against a meagre agreement in order to make the most out of our assets. Below, I will reflect on the ways in which the outcome of the collective bargaining simulation related to the
and employee. In 2015, a group of California teachers decided to petition the court and
The NLRA never specifically stated what type of bargaining strategy must be utilized during negotiations. Knowing this, individual parties have the ability to determine and implement the strategy and process that will best help them to achieve their goals during the collective bargaining process. The NLRA literature outlines the various types of bargaining processes that the parties may utilize (and which will ultimately affect the behavior of each party). The two main bargaining processes that are used are distributive and integrative (Cutcher-Gershenfeld & Kochan, 2004). In integrative bargaining, which is associated with interest-based bargaining, each party seeks to find mutually beneficial