COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Collective Bargaining

Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining is a process, borrowed from private-sector labor relations between employer and employee, which govern the employment conditions of a majority of U.S. public school teachers. In states that permit collective bargaining for teachers and other public employees, the employees usually must agree to utilize the collective bargaining process through an election to choose their representative. Once chosen, the teacher representative, usually a local of one of the two national teachers' unions, proceeds to negotiate the conditions of teacher employment with the employer, almost always a local school board. 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 organizations 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 labor 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 (Dunlop, 1990).

Labor unions are organizations 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 labor market monopolies. Because they raise wages above the competitive levels set by the market, economists argue that labor 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 (Fletcher, 2008).

This discussion focuses on the role union play—and the impact they have—in contemporary society and in the labor market. The chapter first examines the historical development of American unions. Next, it discusses the structure and government of modern unions and membership trends. The industrial relations process through which unions advocate for their members is outlined. Finally, the chapter examines the impact of unions and evaluates the two faces of unionism (Ehrenberg, 2008).

Discussion

Unions are part of the economic framework of most developed, and many developing, nations. This is particularly the case in Western industrialized countries. However, the unions that have developed and operate in the United States over the last two centuries are somewhat unique compared to their counterparts in other nations. One of the most significant ways that U.S. unions have differed historically from unions in other ...