Collective bargaining is a process between employers and employees to reach an agreement regarding the rights and duties of people at work. Collective bargaining aims to reach a collective agreement which usually sets out issues such as employees pay, working hours, training, health and safety, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.^[1]

During the bargaining process, employees are typically represented by a trade union A trade union or labor union (American English) is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labor contracts (collective bargaining) with.^[2] The union may negotiate with a single employer (who is typically representing a company's shareholders) or may negotiate with a federation of businesses, depending on the country, to reach an industry wide agreement.

A collective agreement functions as a labor contract Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees. In Canada, employment laws related to unionized workplaces are differentiated between an employer Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as: "A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to control and direct the employee in the material details of how and one or more unions A trade union or labor union (American English) is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labor contracts (collective bargaining) with. Collective bargaining consists of the process of negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. It is the primary method of alternative dispute resolution between representatives of a union A trade union or labor union (American English) is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labor contracts (collective bargaining) with and employers Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as: "A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to control and direct the employee in the material details of how (generally represented by management Management in all business areas and organizational activities are the acts of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and, in some countries^[which?] by an employers' organization An employers' organization, employers' association or employers' federation is an association of employers. A trade union, which organizes employees is the opposite of an employers' organization. The role and position of an employers' organization differs from country to country, dependent on the economic system of a country) in respect of the terms and conditions of employment Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as: "A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to control and direct the employee in the material details of how of employees Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as: "A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to control and direct the employee in the material details of how, such as wages A wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor, hours of work, working conditions and grievance In a labor union, a grievance is the subject of a complaint filed by an employee to be resolved by procedures provided in the union contract. Such a grievance may arise from an alleged violation of the collective bargaining agreement, or violations of law, such as workplace safety regulations..-procedures, and about the rights and responsibilities Social responsibility is an ethical or ideological theory that an entity whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual has a big responsibility to society at large. This responsibility can be "negative", meaning there is exemption from blame or liability, or it can be "positive," meaning there is a of trade unions A trade union or labor union (American English) is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labor contracts (collective bargaining) with. The parties often refer to the result of the negotiation as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or as a collective employment agreement (CEA).

Theories

A number of theories – from the fields of industrial relations, economics, political science, history and sociology (as well as in the writings of activists, workers and labor organizations) – have attempted to define and explain collective bargaining.

Collective bargaining consists of a type of negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. It is the primary method of alternative dispute resolution between organized workers or employees and their employer or employers - usually to determine wages, hours, rules, and working conditions.

One theory^[which?] suggests that collective bargaining is a human right and thus deserving of legal protection. Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The Declaration has been translated into at least 375 languages and dialects, making it the most widely translated document in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the identifies the ability to organise trade unions as a fundamental human right.^[3] Item 2(a) of the International Labor Organization's The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the International Labour Office. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work defines the "freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining" as an essential right of workers.^[4]

In June 2007 the Supreme Court of Canada extensively reviewed the rationale for regarding collective bargaining as a human right. In the case of Facilities Subsector Bargaining Assn. v. British Columbia, the Court made the following observations:

• The right to bargain collectively with an employer enhances the human dignity, liberty and autonomy of workers by giving them the opportunity to influence the establishment of workplace rules and thereby gain some control over a major aspect of their lives, namely their work.

Collective bargaining is not simply an instrument for pursuing external ends…rather [it] is intrinsically valuable as an experience in self-government. Collective bargaining permits workers to achieve a form of workplace democracy and to ensure the rule of law in the workplace. Workers gain a voice to influence the establishment of rules that control a major aspect of their lives.^[5]

Different economic theories provide a number of models intended to explain some aspects of collective bargaining:

1. The so-called Monopoly Union Model (Dunlop, 1944) states that the monopoly union has the power to maximise the wage rate; the firm then chooses the level of employment. (Recent literature has started to abandon this model.^{[citation needed]}
2. The Right-to-Manage model, developed by the British school during the 1980s (Nickell) views the labour union and the firm bargaining over the wage rate according to a typical Nash Bargaining Maximin (written as Ώ = U^βΠ^1-β, where U is the utility function of the labour union, Π the profit of the firm and β represents the bargaining power of the labour unions).
3. The efficient bargaining model (McDonald and Solow Robert Merton Solow is an American economist particularly known for his work on the theory of economic growth that culminated in the exogenous growth model named after him. He was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal (in 1961) and the 1987 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, 1981) sees the union and the firm bargaining over both wages and employment (or, more realistically, hours of work).^{[citation needed]}

United States

In the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, the National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector that create labor unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in support of their demands. The Act does not, on the other hand, cover (1935) covers most collective agreements in the private sector. This act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate, spy on, harass, or terminate the employment of workers because of their union membership or to retaliate against them for engaging in organizing campaigns or other "concerted activities" to form "company unions", or to refuse to engage in collective bargaining with the union that represents their employees.

At a workplace where workers have voted for union representation, a committee of employees and union representatives negotiate a contract with the management regarding wages, hours, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment, such as protection from termination of employment without just cause. Once the workers' committee and management have agreed on a contract, it is then put to a vote of all workers at the workplace. If approved, the contract is usually in force for a fixed term of years, and when that term is up, it is then renegotiated between employees and management. Sometimes there are disputes over the union contract; this particularly occurs in cases of workers fired without just cause in a union workplace. These then go to arbitration Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the "arbitrators", "arbiters" or "arbitral tribunal"), by whose decision (the "award") they agree to be bound. It, which is similar to an informal court hearing; a neutral arbitrator then rules whether the termination or other contract breach is extant, and if it is, orders that it be corrected.

In the majority of U.S. states, workers who have elected to join a union may be required to contribute towards the cost of representation (such as at disciplinary hearings) if their fellow employees have negotiated a union security clause in their contract with management. Dues usually vary, but are generally 1-2% of pay; however, this is usually offset by the fact that workers who are represented by unions make, on average, 30% more than their non-union counterparts.^{[citation needed]} Some states, especially in the south-central and south-eastern region of the U.S., have outlawed union security clauses; this can cause controversy, as it allows individuals who benefit from the protection of union contracts to avoid paying their portion of the costs of contract negotiation. Though certain business interests - attempting to weaken the power of unions - often advocate this sort of ban on union security clauses, the tactic can easily backfire, as the mandatory open shop, as such arrangements are called, may result in higher rates of unionization as workers no longer may be required to pay dues to be unionized, removing one obstacle to union success in elections. Note too that unions in states with the open shop have an incentive to build strong rank-and-file democracy among their memberships in order to sustain a high number of dues-paying members, rather than relying on the contract to bring dues in. This system thus favors a more active and responsive union, rather than a complacent one.

The industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions starting in the United Kingdom, then subsequently spreading throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world. The onset of the brought a swell of labor organizing in the US.^{[citation needed]} The American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio in December 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers of the Cigar Makers' International Union was elected president of the Federation was formed in 1886, providing unprecedented bargaining powers for a variety of workers.^[6] The Railway Labor Act (1926) required employers to bargain collectively with unions.

In 1930, the Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. Once appointed, Justices effectively, in the case of Texas & N.O.R. Co. v. Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, upheld the act's prohibition of employer interference in the selection of bargaining representatives.^[6] In 1962, President Kennedy John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963 signed an executive order giving public-employee unions the right to collectively bargain with federal government agencies.^[6]

Notes

1. ^ "BLS Information". Glossary. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Information Services. February 28, 2008. http://www.bls.gov/bls/glossary.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
2. ^ O'Sullivan, Arthur The Radio Éireann Players were a repertory company for radio formed in 1947 which performed in the station's regular drama productions. O'Sullivan joined in 1948, along with Laurence O'Dea and Frank O'Dwyer. After the depredations of the war-time years and the devastating fire in the Abbey Theatre in 1951, the Radio Éireann Players' powerful; Sheffrin, Steven M. (2003) [January 2002]. Economics: Principles in Action. The Wall Street Journal:Classroom Edition (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458: Pearson Prentice Hall: Addison Wesley Longman. p. 223. ISBN The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) code created by Gordon Foster, now Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W.H. Smith and others in 1966 0130630853. http://www.amazon.com/Economics-Principles-Action-OSullivan/dp/0130630853. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
3. ^ United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make (1948). "Article 23". Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The Declaration has been translated into at least 375 languages and dialects, making it the most widely translated document in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the. Paris. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
4. ^ International Labor Organization (1998). Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. 86th Session: Geneva. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
5. ^ Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions are stare decisis, binding upon all lower courts of (2007). Health Services and Support – Facilities Subsector Bargaining Assn. v. British Columbia, 2007 SCC 27. Online at the Judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Illinois Labor History Society. A Curriculum of United States Labor History for Teachers. Online at the Illinois Labor History Society. Retrieved on August 29, 2007.

References

• Buidens, Wayne, and others. "Collective Gaining: A Bargaining Alternative." Phi Delta Kappan 63 (1981): 244-245.
• DeGennaro, William, and Kay Michelfeld. "Joint Committees Take the Rancor out of Bargaining with Our Teachers." The American School Board Journal 173 (1986): 38-39.
• Herman, Jerry J. "With Collaborative Bargaining, You Work with the Union--Not Against It." The American School Board Journal 172 (1985): 41-42, 47.
• Huber, Joe; and Jay Hennies. "Fix on These Five Guiding Lights, and Emerge from the Bargaining Fog." The American School Board Journal 174 (1987): 31.
• Liontos, Demetri. Collaborative Bargaining: Case Studies and Recommendations. Eugene: Oregon School Study Council, University of Oregon, September 1987. OSSC Bulletin Series. 27 pages. ED number not yet assigned.
• McMahon, Dennis O. "Getting to Yes." Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Association of School Administrators, New Orleans, LA, February 20–23, 1987. ED 280 188.
• Namit, Chuck; and Larry Swift. "Prescription for Labor Pains: Combine Bargaining with Problem Solving." The American School Board Journal 174 (1987): 24.
• Nyland, Larry. "Win/Win Bargaining Takes Perseverance." The Executive Educator 9 (1987): 24.
• Smith, Patricia; and Russell Baker. "An Alternative Form of Collective Bargaining." Phi Delta Kappan 67 (1986): 605-607.

External links

• Labor & Worklife Program at Harvard Law school
• Collective Bargaining Subject Guide at the ILR School, Cornell University
• Collective Bargaining, Labor Law, and Labor History at DigitalCommons@ILR
• Collective Bargaining Agreements at DigitalCommons@ILR
• GVSU links to actual arbitration awards and collective bargaining resources

Categories: Labor | Labour relations Categories: Human resource management | Business ethics | Labor | Collective rights | Organizational studies and human resource management Categories: Organizations | Management | Social psychology

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