How Collective Bargaining Really Works
The union and the employer come together for a series of meetings to reach an agreement on a union contract.
During these meetings, the union is allowed to ask for the things it’s promised you, but it’s also allowed to ask for things the union wants, things that you might not care about at all.
And the union can trade away things you care about to get what they want.
Risks of Bargaining
-
No time limit.
Bargaining can take months or years. -
No improvements.
Except in very limited circumstances, the employer cannot make changes to wages, benefits, or working conditions during bargaining. -
No guarantees.
By law, there’s no guarantee or requirement that a contract ever be reached. -
Everything’s on the table.
Your wages, benefits, and paid time off may be traded away by your union negotiator.
According to a Bloomberg Law Analysis of first contracts, the average time to negotiate a first contract in health care is currently 528 days.
Management Rights
In a typical union contract, you’ll see language that says the employer has the right to:
Allocate its resources, manage its facilities, and direct the workforce
Hire, promote, transfer, demote, and/or lay off employees
Sub-contract or contract work
Establish & modify policies, rules & regulations governing safety, performance, procedures, and conduct
Bottom line: the employer still runs the organization, whether unionized or not.
What the Law Says about Negotiations
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that:
"… Collective bargaining is potentially hazardous for employees and that as a result of such negotiations employees might possibly wind up with less after unionization than before."
"The right to union representation under the [National Labor Relations Act] does not imply the right to a better deal. The proper role of the [National Labor Relations Board] is to watch over the process, not guarantee the results, of collective bargaining."
There are no quick fixes, and when it’s all over, you could even end up with less than you have now.