Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Collective bargaining is a term used to describe the process that unions and employers follow to jointly establish the terms and conditions of employment for workers represented by unions. Although nonunion employees cannot engage in collective bargaining, some individuals who do not belong to unions are covered by collective bargaining agreements because their coworkers are unionized. To accomplish the process of bargaining, representatives of labor and management must meet and confer about mandatory bargaining issues, such as wages, hours, grievance procedures ( see grievance procedure ), and other terms and conditions of employment. Bargaining legislation determines the issues over which unions and employers must bargain, and differences in the scope of bargaining exist across nations and the private and public sectors. For example, in the US, public sector bargaining laws have created different mandatory bargaining issues across states. There is no legal requirement that collective bargaining end in an agreement. If the negotiating parties reach an agreement, a contract or collective bargaining agreement covering a specific period of time is signed and the terms and conditions of employment are set out in that agreement. If the parties fail to reach agreement, a bargaining impasse occurs and several things can happen. The workers may continue to work without an agreement. The ... log in or subscribe to read full text