340 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
Collective bargaining has been defi ned as a process that obligates
management and union representatives to negotiate in good faith in an
attempt to reach an agreement concerning issues that affect employees.
While many employers dislike having to recognize and negotiate with
employee unions, other employers appreciate the continuity and stabil-
ity that collective bargaining can bring to an organization. Issues that
have been negotiated and are part of a collective bargaining agreement
are often resolved for the length of the contract. Collective bargaining
encompasses the execution, interpretation, and enforcement of the
negotiated contract.
This chapter presents the legal framework of collective bargaining,
beginning with the history of private sector collective bargaining, because
the laws permitting public employee unionism are often patterned after
those granting private sector employees the right to bargain; furthermore,
nonprofi t collective bargaining is governed by the same laws and rulings
as collective bargaining in the private sector. This history is followed by an
overview of the laws relevant to collective bargaining in the nonprofi t and
public sectors and then discussion of the concepts and practices that
constitute the collective bargaining process, including bargaining unit
determination, the selection of a bargaining representative, unfair labor
practices, the obligation to negotiate, union security devices, the scope
of collective bargaining, management rights, impasse resolution, striking,
and grievance arbitration. Distinctions between public and nonprofi t labor
relations are noted, and the chapter concludes with a discussion of the
future of collective bargaining.The History of Private Sector Collective Bargaining
Private sector labor - management relations were initially governed by
the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA). The NLRA per-
mitted employees to organize and join unions for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining. It addressed the rights of employees in the areas
of union security agreements, picketing, and striking. Employer unfair
labor practices were defi ned, as were the criteria for an appropriate
bargaining unit, the selection of a bargaining representative, and the
enforcement of the act. Under this law, employers were required to bar-
gain in good faith with employee unions and could be cited for unfair
labor practices if they attempted to interfere with the establishment