Collective Bargaining in the United States

Definition

The negotiation, administration, and enforcement of written agreements between employers and unions. The agreements set forth joint understandings about policies and procedures governing wages, hours, and other conditions of employment. Collective bargaining is the principal method of determining wages and other conditions of employment for those who earn their living by working for others. By substituting group action for individual action in making and enforcing agreements, the worker has protected himself or herself and improved his or her economic status. See labor union (in U.S. law).(Revised by Ann De Vries)

According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, it is the process of negotiation between employers and labor unions to establish the wages, hours, and working conditions of employees. Collective bargaining has been regulated by the federal government since passage of the wagner (national labor relations)

For more meanings of Collective Bargaining, read Collective Bargaining in the Legal Dictionary here.

Legal Materials

BNA publishes a useful book called Collective Bargaining: Negotiations and Contracts. The book discusses most of the standard contract clauses and provides historical and legal background, comparative wage data and statistics on settlements for U.S. collective bargaining. Other useful treatises include Collective Bargaining Negotiations & Contracts Manual (BNA), Negotiating a Labor Contract: A Management Handbookand How to Cost Your Labor Contract (BNA). All of these BNA books are available on Bloomberg Law and may also be on Westlaw.

BNA’s Collective Bargaining Bulletin covers collective bargaining negotiations and summarizes recent collective bargaining agreements. BNA also compiles the Union Membership And Earnings Data Book, which tell you how much union members earn on average in various jobs, metropolitan areas and industries.

Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs): Leading sources for finding CBAs include:

• The U.S. Department of Labor’s Collective Bargaining Agreements File for agreements covering at least 1,000 workers;
• The Labor Contracts Database by the Institute of Industrial Relations Library;
• BNA’s Collective Bargaining: Negotiations and Contracts reprints about a dozen high-profile CBAs;
• Bloomberg BNA Research & Custom Services (formerly BNA Plus) has a large collection of CBAs, and they provide good service (703-341-3287 or research@bna.com). The downside is they charge a premium price;
• The Bloomberg Law Labor & Employment Center includes a selection of CBAs (subscription only).
• The Cornell library’s historic collection of Collective Bargaining Agreements, 1958-1974.
• The relevant state labor department’s web site (e.g., the Washington State Labor Relations Office).
• Attached as an Exhibit (a) to a pleading filed with a court in a case involving the employer, or (b) for public companies, attached to an SEC filing.

Canada: The NEGOTECH database provides recent collective bargaining agreements for bargaining units under Federal and provincial jurisdiction.

More Sources: To find more sources for CBAs, see the Catherwood Library’s Collective Bargaining, Labor Relations, and Labor Unions page and/or Finding U.S. Collective Bargaining Agreements by Jan Bissett and Margi Heinen.

Unionization and collective bargaining in relation to Public Officers

Find out in this American legal Encyclopedia the information on Unionization and collective bargaining (bargaining unit, creation and enforcement of collective-bargaining agreements, dues checkoff, individual rights under collective-bargaining agreements, resolution of collective bargaining impasses, union collective action, right to bargain collectively, right to strike, union collective action, right to union membership, scope of bargaining, union and agency shop, union security) in relation to Public Officers (and in the context of local government law).

Collective bargaining in relation to Public Officers

Find out in this American legal Encyclopedia the information on Collective bargaining in relation to Public Officers (and in the context of local government law).

Resolution of collective bargaining impasses (union collective action) in relation to Public Officers

Find out in this American legal Encyclopedia the information on Resolution of collective bargaining impasses (union collective action) in relation to Public Officers (and in the context of local government law).

Concept of Collective Bargaining in Labor Law

In this context, a definition of Collective Bargaining is offered here: A process which workers, through their bargaining committee, deal as a group to determine wages, hours and other conditions of employment. Normally, the result of collective bargaining is a written contract which covers all workers in the bargaining unit.

Resources

See Also

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Compensation
Economic Data and Statistics
Employee Benefits
Labor Law
National Labor Relations Board
Productivity
Unions
United States Department of Labor

Further Reading

• Information about Collective Bargaining in the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law.

Collective Bargaining in the International Business Landscape

Definition of Collective Bargaining in the context of U.S. international business and public trade policy: Process used to make agreements between management and labor unions.