How Collective Bargaining Agreements Work

Workers march in support of rights for union members in Los Angeles on March 26, 2011. See more protesting pictures.

We often hear about contract negotiations in the entertainment world, as actors, directors and other luminaries enter "talks" to line up their next projects. We hear about them in sports, often in terms of multiple years, millions of dollars and now, looming lockouts. These negotiations may be dramatic, but we often forget that these actors and athletes are laborers governed by unions. As failed contract negotiations in professional sports and attempts to strip bargaining rights from public workers once again make headlines, it's easy to overlook the long and often bloody history of American labor management relations.

For example, 12 men were shot dead in Pittsburgh on July 6, 1892, during a prolonged firefight between organized steel workers and Pinkerton guards hired by management to enforce their lockout of the workers [source: American Experience]. An even more tragic case unfolded in New York City nearly two decades later, as 146 workers -- mostly foreign-born women and girls -- died in a fire that engulfed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on March 25, 1911, prompting massive protests calling for safer working conditions and stronger protections for all laborers [source: Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations]. The struggle for fair labor conditions continues today; Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's attempt to strip collective bargaining rights from certain public union members -- most notably schoolteachers -- have led to mass protests and recall threats [source: Memoli].

In 1935, Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), legislation that first established the basic rights of private sector employers and employees to fairly and peaceably resolve labor disputes. The NLRA sets the ground rules for collective bargaining, a process by which organized groups of workers and management can negotiate wages, hours, benefits and other terms of employment without relying on litigation or resorting to intimidation. President John F. Kennedy extended the same collective bargaining rights to federal workers in 1962 [source: Woolley]. Most states also have their own labor laws, but no state law can supersede the NLRA.

Under the NLRA, if workers vote to unionize through elections run by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), then management is required to sit down with union representatives and hammer out a collective bargaining agreement. This legally binding contract stipulates exactly how much workers will earn, how many vacation days they will receive, how to officially file a grievance and whether or not it's legal to go on strike. When the collective bargaining agreement expires (usually in three years), the parties meet again at the negotiating table to work "in good faith" to establish wages and terms that are fair to both sides. If those negotiations fail, out come the picket signs.

To better understand the role of the collective bargaining agreement, let's start by exploring the larger collective bargaining process under the NLRA.

1. The Collective Bargaining Process
2. Terms of Collective Bargaining Agreements
3. How Collective Bargaining Agreements Work: Author’s Note
4. Collective Bargaining Agreements: Cheat Sheet

The Collective Bargaining Process

The 1935 National Labor Relations Act defines collective bargaining as the obligation on the part of both unions and management to bargain in good faith over the initial terms of employment and any disputes that later arise. What does it mean to bargain in good faith? According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that enforces collective bargaining laws, to negotiate in good faith is to "participate actively in deliberations" with the "intention to find a basis for agreement" [source: NLRB]. What does bargaining in good faith look like?

• Being willing to meet at reasonable times and intervals
• Sending representatives that have the power to make real decisions
• Cooperating fully with federal arbitrators and other third-party mediators
• Refraining from any activity that would constitute an unfair labor practice, such as threatening unionized workers with demotions or making the same threats to non-union coworkers

Once the initial collective bargaining agreement is signed, both parties must adhere to its terms until it expires. If either party wants to renegotiate or dispute one of the terms (to lobby for higher or lower wages, for example), it has to file a formal notice with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) at least 60 days before the agreement expires.

Interestingly, the NLRA doesn't require the two parties to come to a resolution over labor disputes, but only to bargain in good faith. If arbitration fails to resolve the conflict, the employees may choose to strike, or stop working, to pressure management to accept their terms. Management could also decide to lock out workers until an agreement is reached. Occasionally, the collective bargaining process fails completely and contract disputes must be settled by the courts.

Next, we'll take a detailed look at the contents of a collective bargaining agreement.

One of the most important roles of the NLRA is that it criminalized tactics that intimidate employees or management or disrupt the collective bargaining process. Some examples of unfair labor practices by employers include threatening to fire or demote workers who vote for unionization, or punishing workers for filing grievances with the NLRB. Workers can violate labor laws, too, by threatening or fining co-workers who refuse to join the union, or by assaulting coworkers who cross a picket line [source: NLRB].