Collective Bargaining – The Basics Most U.S. workers have the legal right to form a union with co-workers and negotiate a binding contract with their employer over pay, benefits, and other work conditions. However, only about 12 percent of us have exercised those rights. What distinguishes UAW members and our brothers and sisters in other unions from the mostly non-unionized workforce is that we are organized and can bargain contracts that positively impact not only us and our families, but also those non-unionized employees and our country’s economy in the resulting positive ripple effect. But how much do you know about the collective bargaining process that results in an agreement that sets your take home pay, the health care you and your loved ones rely on, the paid time off you receive, your path to promotion – and so much more? This is a resources that we hope will provide a basic understanding about your collective bargaining rights. Please contact your local union to find out how you can learn even more.

2. Objectives
To
provide
an
understanding
about
how
collective
bargaining
impacts
you,
the
economy,
and
our
society
as
a
whole.
To
provide
a
basic
understanding
of
the
collective
bargaining
process
4

3. National
Labor
Relations
Act
NLRA
enacted
in
1935
– to
protect
employee
labor
rights
– to
encourage
collective
bargaining
– to
curtail
certain
private
sector
labor
and
management
practices,
which
can
harm
the
general
welfare
of
workers,
businesses
and
the
U.S.
economy.
Referred
to
as
the
Wagner
Act
http://www.nlrb.gov/national-­‐labor-­‐relations-­‐act
5

4. Labor
Rights
Gained
under
the
NLRA
Right
to
organize
Right
to
bargain
collectively
Right
to
engage
in
strikes,
picketing
and
other
concerted
activities
6

5. Taft-­‐Hartley
Act
Enacted
in
1947
to
erode
employee
labor
rights
Gave
employers
the
right
to
express
their
anti-­‐union
views
to
employees
Made
sit-­‐down
strikes
illegal
Allowed
states
to
enact
“right
to
work”
laws
7

6. Union Advantage
Access
to
Retirement
and
Medical
Care
Benefits,
March
2014
Source:
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
Access
to
Retirement
Benefits
(%)
Access
to
Medical
Care
Benefits
(%)
Union
workers 94% 94%
Non-­‐Union
workers 64% 68%
Source:
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics,
“Employee
Benefits
in
the
United
States-­‐March
2014”
July
25,
2014
Employee
Share
of
Medical
Plan
Premiums,
March
2014
Source:
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
Single
Coverage-­‐
Employee
Share
of
Premium
Family
Coverage-­‐
Employee
Share
of
Premium
Union
workers 13% 19%
Non-­‐Union
workers 21% 34%
Source:
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics,
“Employee
Benefits
in
the
United
States-­‐March
2014”
July
25,
2014
More
access
to
retirement
and
medical
benefits
8

7. What
it
Means
to
be
Union
Most
employees
in
the
U.S.
are
unorganized
and
therefore
“at
will”
Being
Union
gives
us
the
right
to
negotiate
a
binding
contract
with
our
employer
over
wages,
hours,
and
other
employment
conditions
This
is
a
right
that
most
American
workers
have
not
taken
advantage
of
9

8. Median
earnings
of
full-­‐time
wage
and
salary
workers
by
union
affiliation
in
2014
Source:
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
Type
of
Worker
Median
Weekly
Earnings Union
Advantage
(Percent)
Union
Advantage
Per
Week
Union
Advantage
Per
Year
Union
Member
Non-­‐Union
All
Workers $970 $763 27% $207 $10,764
Men $1,015 $840 21% $175 $9,100
Women $904 $687 32% $217 $11,284
White $997 $784 27% $213 $11,076
African
American $810 $611 33% $199 $10,348
Asian $979 $948 3% $31 $1,612
Hispanic
or
Latino $811 $573 42% $238 $12,376
Source:
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics,
“Median
weekly
earnings
of
full-­‐time
wage
and
salary
workers
by
union
affiliation
and
selected
characteristics,
2013-­‐2014
annual
averages.”
Union
Advantage
In
Wages
10

9. The
employer
is
required
by
law
to
provide
the
Union
with
requested
relevant
bargaining
information.
The
Union
is
entitled
to
receive
sufficient
information
to
allow
it
to
negotiate
intelligently
over
any
item
on
the
bargaining
table.
The
information
requested
is
relevant
if
related
to
a
mandatory
bargaining
subject.
ØInformation
regarding
represented
employees
(shifts,
departments,
addresses,
seniority,
etc.)
is
presumed
relevant
to
bargaining.
Employer’s
Duty
to
Supply
Information
11

10. Drafting
Proposals
Concept-­‐Based
Proposals
Example:
“There
has
been
a
problem
with
overtime
rotation
and
equalization,
particularly
in
the
maintenance
department.”
– (This
approach
identifies
a
problem.)
Example:
“The
union
demands
a
fair
and
equitable
overtime
rotation
and
equalization
procedure.”
– (This
approach
focuses
on
the
outcome.)
12

11. Drafting
Proposals
Language-­‐Based
Proposals
Current
language
is
modified
to
attain
a
desired
result.
Current
language
is
presented
with
proposed
changes
so
both
sides
can
see
the
bargaining
proposal’s
impact.
13

12. Costing
Proposals
What
does
it
mean?
– Estimating
the
monetary
cost
of
a
proposal
– Why?
ØTo
get
the
most
VALUE
for
members
(make
sure
we
don’t
leave
money
on
the
table!)
ØLong
term
financial
health
of
employer
is
in
the
best
interest
of
members
(job
security)
In
summary:
– Costing
helps
us
evaluate
our
proposals
and
the
value
of
what
we
are
negotiating.
14

13. “New
Money”
• DEFINITION=
value
of
a
proposal
over
the
entire
term
of
the
proposed
agreement.
• Baseline
=
prior
bargaining
agreement.
Costing
Proposals
15

14. “New
Money”
Example
#1
Yr
1 Yr
2 Yr
3 Total
Over
Term
Entry
wage XXX
Wage
increase
-­‐ this
year
-­‐ From
entry
wage
XXX
New
wage XXX
New
money
from
wage
increase
(@2080
hrs)
New
money
from
bonus/lump
sum
Total
new
money
$15.00
$0.40 $0.40 $0.40
$1,000.00
16

15. “New
Money”
Example
#1
Yr
1 Yr
2 Yr
3 Total
Over
Term
Entry
wage XXX
Wage
increase
-­‐ this
year
-­‐ From
entry
wage
XXX
New
wage XXX
New
money
from
wage
increase
(@2080
hrs)
New
money
from
bonus/lump
sum
Total
new
money
$15.00
$0.40 $0.40 $0.40
$1,000.00
$15.40
$832.00
$1,832.00
$15.40
$15.80
$1,664.00
$0
$1,664.00
$15.80
$16.20
$2,496.00
$0
$2,496.00
$4,992.00
$1,000.00
$5,992.00
Average
hourly
wage
increase
per
year:
$0.80
Average
wage
increase
per
year: $1,664.00
17

16. Timing
– Two
Scenarios
– Three-­‐year
agreement:
$0.75
only
in
first
year
– Three-­‐year
agreement:
$0.25
in
each
of
three
years
Which
scenario
would
you
rather
have?
What’s
the
“exit
wage”
at
the
end
of
the
agreement?
How
much
“new
money”
in
each
year?
How
much
total
“new
money”
over
the
term
of
the
agreement?
Costing
Proposals
18

17. Worksheet:
$0.75
Increase
in
First
Year
Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Total
Wage increase
-­ this year
$0.75
0 this year,
but maintain
$0.75 from
Yr 1
0 this year,
but maintain
$0.75 from Yr
1
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
New money from
wage increase
(@2080 hrs)
$0.75 x 2080 =
$1,560
Same =
$1,560
Same =
$1,560
$4,680 (value of
$0.75 per hr for 3 yrs)
19

18. $0.25
Increase
in
All
Three
Years
Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Total
Wage increase
-­this year
-­ From entry wage
$0.25
$0.25
($0.50 above
entry wage)
$0.25
($0.75 above
entry wage)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
New money from
wage increase
(@2080 hrs)
$0.25 x 2080
= $520
$0.50 x 2080
= $1,040
$0.75 x 2080
= $1,560
$3,120
20

19. Subjects
of
Bargaining
1.Mandatory
2.Permissive
3.Illegal
22

20. Employer
must
bargain
over
these
subjects.
Each
party
has
a
right
to
insist
on
adoption
of
its
proposal
to
the
point
of
impasse.
The
parties
are
free
to
use
economic
pressure
to
support
their
demands
once
a
true
impasse
in
negotiations
is
reached.
Mandatory
Subjects
23

21. • Wages
• Health
insurance
• Workloads
• Smoking
rules
• Vending
machine
prices
• Parking
rules
• New
hours
or
shifts
• Attendance
rules
• Drug/alcohol
testing
• Grievance
procedures
• Retirement
benefits
of
current
employees
• Disciplinary
procedures
• Time
off
prior
to
holidays
• Direct
deposit
• Physical
examinations
• Merit
increases
• Meal
or
coffee
break
rules
• Transfer
of
bargaining
unit
work
to
non-­‐
bargaining
unit
employees
• Work
schedules
Mandatory
Subjects
24

22. Decisions
to
close
or
eliminate
departments
General
business
practices
such
as
advertising
and
financing
Selection
of
supervisors
Issues
regarding
retired
employees
Subcontracting
and
relocation
decisions
accompanied
by
basic
changes
in
the
employer’s
operation.
Pre-­‐employment
testing
procedures
Permissive
Subjects
25

23. Any
subject
that
would
cause
either
party
or
the
parties
to
violate
a
law.
Illegal
Subjects
26

24. Signs
of
Trouble
Attorney
Outrageous
demands
for
concessions
No
movement
on
easy
issues
Scheduling
problems
27

25. ULP
charges
are
a
CRITICAL
part
of
bargaining
strategy
to
reach
agreements.
Why?
An
employer
cannot
declare
impasse
(and
implement
their
final
offer)
or
lockout
employees
if
there
are
outstanding
ULP
charges.
Unfair
Labor
Practice
28

26. What
is
Impasse?
• Occurs
when
“no
further
movement
is
likely
to
occur”
by
either
side
• Impasse
is
not
reached
while
there
are
outstanding
requests
for
information
or
if
a
party
continues
to
make
counter-­‐
proposals.
29

27. Why
is
it
important
to
avoid
impasse?
– Employer
can’t
impose
last,
best
and
final
offer
– Employer
can’t
lockout
employees
What
can
we
do
to
help
avoid
impasse?
– Unfair
Labor
Practices
Charges
Employer
unilateral
changes
Information
requests
– important
tool
for
Union
during
bargaining
– it
makes
a
BIG
difference!
Avoiding Impasse
30

28. Reaching
Tentative
Agreement
&
Ratification
Finalize
the
Tentative
Agreement
– Proofread
and
finalize
all
TA’d articles
– Notify
members,
local
leadership,
Regional
Director,
Federal
Mediation
and
Conciliation
Service
(FMCS)
Remind
employer
of
the
union’s
ratification
process
Prepare
contract
highlights
with
bargaining
committee
recommendation
and
deliver
to
members
31

29. The
Ratification
Meeting
– Set
up
with
the
Servicing
Representative
– Hold
when
and
where
most
members
can
attend
– Makes
sure
all
members
and
heard
and
questions
are
answered
The
Ratification
Vote
– Accepted
– Rejected
– Tied
Rare,
but
it
happens!
When
it
does
– recount
Reaching
Tentative
Agreement
&
Ratification
32

30. More
Questions?
Read
Collective
Bargaining
–
The
Basics
or
See
Your
Local
Union
Representative!
33