Labor Relations

1. Define the term “collective bargaining” and list and describe four issues that are mandatory components of a collective bargaining agreement.

The Cornell University School of Law defines collective bargaining as the process of negotiating the conditions of employment between a group of employees and their employer (Cornell University Law School). In most cases, the employees are represented by a labor organization or union. The union bargains with the employer over such categories as compensation, personnel policies and procedures, employee rights and responsibilities, employer rights and responsibilities, union rights and responsibilities, and dispute resolution and ongoing decision making (Budd, 229-230). If all goes well and all parties involved come to an agreement the result of the negotiations ends with a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

If you were to conduct a Google search for “collective bargaining” your search results would be endless. I ran a search under news and came up with an article in the Huffington Post titled “Michigan Proposal 2: Should Voters Guarantee The Right To Collectively Bargain In the State Constitution?” The article highlighted Proposal 12-2 on the Michigan ballot that will preserve employees’ right to collectively bargain under the state constitution. This proposal will include both public and private sector employees and grant them the right to organize and conduct negotiations using labor unions. The proposal also included verbiage that; would override state laws that regulate hours and conditions of employment that detract from CBAs; further defines the word “employer” as a person/entity that employs one or more employees; and invalidates current or future state laws that inhibit employees from joining unions and bargain collectively, and to negotiate and enforce CBAs, to include financial support to labor unions. Proposal 12-2 would also recognize laws passed that prohibit public employees from striking. Supporters of this proposal say, “That guaranteeing collective bargaining will protect workers’ rights against employers in the future and also impede any right-to-work legislation that could be proposed in Michigan” (Huffington Post).

In addition to employees’ rights, CBAs also contain employers’ rights and responsibilities. These include, but are not limited to, management rights, just cause discipline and discharge, subcontracting and safety standards (Budd, 230). There has been a lot of controversy lately in regards to the mandate healthcare coverage that employers must provide to their full-time employees or face steep fines. It appears that many employers are using their management rights to cut employees’ hours in order to avoid paying the increased costs of this healthcare legislation. Tyler Kingkade of the Huffington Post reported that “Youngstown State University will