COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Collective Bargaining

Collective Bargaining

Introduction

Collective bargaining involves the practice of negotiating salaries, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment between employers and the representatives of their employees. In the bargaining process, employees select their sole bargaining representatives according to state and/or federal procedural requirements. Although some organisations are referred to as employee associations instead of unions, the terms association and union are used interchangeably for the purposes of this entry, because both groups represent their members when negotiating labour contracts. This entry presents a brief history of collective bargaining in the United States that identifies and discusses key federal legislation related to collective bargaining along with relevant cases related to negotiations in higher education. The entry concludes by identifying current key issues in collective bargaining in higher education. (Tannenbaum, 2010, pp. 705-734)

Labour unions are organisations formed by employees for the purpose of using their collective strength to improve compensation, benefits, and working conditions through bargaining; to bring fairness to the workplace through the provision of due process mechanisms; and to represent the interests of workers in the political process. Economists have traditionally viewed unions as functioning as labour market monopolies. Because they raise wages above the competitive levels set by the market, economists argue that labour unions create inefficiencies resulting in the loss of jobs and in greater income inequality in the workforce. For this reason, economists view unions as an undesirable interference in the operation of the market. However, some economists argue that in addition to their negative monopoly face, unions have a second, positive collective voice face. They further argue that, on balance, the positive impact of unions outweighs the negative. (Rabban, 2010, p. 97-112)

Trade union rights in law

Freedom of association: The Consolidation Law Labor and Union (Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act - TULR (C) A 1992) provided the bulk of trade union rights, including the right of workers to form and join trade unions of your choice. The Employment Relations Act (Employment Relations Act - ERA) of 1999 also contains provisions governing trade union rights. In 2004 it introduced a new Employment Relations Act, which strengthens the existing legislation and establishes new protections.

Legal recognition: Businesses with 21 employees or less must recognize unions if they can prove that the majority of employees agree to represent them. Unions can use the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), a statutory body, to obtain official recognition and the CAC may require an employer to recognize a union for collective bargaining purposes. Support for recognition must be expressed either by the majority of the members or by a vote of workers in that 40 percent of those eligible must vote in favor. In order to hold a vote, a union must have at least 10 percent of members in the bargaining unit. Collective agreements are voluntary and are not legally binding. Unions have traditionally supported this voluntary system. (Koppich, 2010, 52)

The ERA 2004 protects workers if their employer offered incentives to not be union members not to participate in activities or use the services of the union to waive its ...