Collective Bargaining, Reviewing The Process And The...

Collective Bargaining, Reviewing the Process and the Issues that Commonly Present Themselves Lucila Munoz* I. Introduction Throughout the years organizations and unions have struggled for rights and benefits for workers. All the while the managers, supervisors and directors have counteracted such behaviors, favoring the companies, to protect them from going out of business. Through collective bargaining both parties have labored to find common ground. Collective bargaining as defined by the Cornell Law School is as follows; Collective bargaining consists of negotiations between an employer and a group of employees so as to determine the conditions of employment. The result of collective bargaining procedures is a collective agreement.†¦show more content†¦The expectations that are said to result should be that both side are to make compromises in order to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. The mutual beneficial agreements are aimed to regulate working conditions. The employees are more than likely to be represented by the union to which the employees belong to. There are many pros and cons to this type of bargaining. As much as most would like for things to run smoothly and quickly, in reality the issues of collective bargaining rarely do. Collective bargaining process is long and arduous because of the length of time involved in preparing the proposals and counter proposals and the long hours spent during negotiations. The collective bargaining process is also intricate because of the changing stratagems and tactics used by both parties in the pre-negotiation and actual negotiation stages. Other issues that influence the difficulty of the process include the structure of both panels of negotiators which may include lawyers and the opposite approaches and goals of the panel members. Collective bargaining is a long, complex, and emotional-rational process, the outcome of which depends on the balance of power between the union and management and their bargaining stances (Ballot, 1992). It is defined by Byars and Rue (1991) as a process that involves the negotiation, drafting, administration, and