Bargaining is one of the goals of US labor relations, employees are encouraged to negotiate collectively their terms and conditions of employment with their employer.Components of union contract negotiations includes,compensation: wages,benefits,vacations and holidays as well as as shift premiums and profit sharing.The second component is Personnel policies:layoff,promotion and transfer policies,overtime and vacation rules.The third component is employee rights and responsibilities:seniority rights,job standards,and work place rules.The next is employer rights and responsibilities:management rights,just cause discipline and discharge subcontracting and safety standards.The next component is union rights and responsibilities:recognition as bargaining agent bulletin board,union security, dues check, shop stewards and no strike clauses.The last component is dispute resolution and on going decision making, this includes greivance procedures committees,consultation and renegotiating procedures.

The bargaining process begins several months before bargaining starts.The first step is to assemble a team.Union team members and committees are elected by rank and file.Employer team includes managers and their responsibilities.National union staff is usually part of the union team.Each side have their priorities.Union team consults national staff on trends,recent settlements.Each side gathers information that help to determine their interests,options,external bench marks, the other sides interest and the best alternative to a negotiated agreement. There are four types of bargain structures, the first is decentralized bargaining structure, this involves limited group of workers in a single workplace.The other type of bargaining structure is pattern bargaining.This involves bargaining with a single employer in an industry until an agreement is reach.This contract agreement becomes a model or pattern for subsequent negotiations in the industry.Other bargaining structure are multisided bargaining.SEE PAGE 240--241,FIG.7--2.Bargaining power depends on the bargaining environment, the bargain environments includes a set of diverse set of external influences on labor and management.SEE TABLE 7-1 and 7-2.These environments are the legal, economic and sociopolitical environments.Negotiators use their communication relationship-building and problem solving skills to reach agreement acceptable to both sides.Some negotiators act like actors in a theater, each of them has a role to play.PAGE 244.One of the tools used in negotiations is contract costing,TABLE7-3, it is used to evaluate proposals and for estimating their monetary cots.PAGE 245-246.LORA expects both sides to negotiate in good faith.Making unilateral changes is an act of bad faith bargaining.This is when an employer changes benefits and other terms, without first bargaining with the union.There are mandatory bargaining items that are mandated by LORA,such as wages, hours,etc.Permissive bargaining items are items that are not mandatory or illegal.PAGE 247--248,TABLE 7--4 When there are disputes between negotiators, LORA can issue a ruling.

There are unprocessed and strategies when bargaining.Distributive bargaining is adversarial bargaining over conflict of interest.Integrative bargaining occurs when there are cooperation, collaboration solving problems.Altitudinal structuring involves managing attitudes and trust in the labor management relationships. Internationalization bargaining is when consensus are reached between union and management teams.PAGE 489-.257.TABLE 7-5.Collective bargaining in the public sector is similar to that of the private sector. Some states have sun shine laws that requires public sector negotiations to be in public.PAGE 259-260.

FIGURE 7.2 A. Decentralized bargaining B. Multisite bargaining Four Types Local of Bargaining union Structures Workplace Local Company A Local Bargaining Bargaining table table managers union managers union Local union C. Industrywide bargaining Company A Local managers union Local union Company B Local Bargaining table managers union Local Union Company C Local managers union D. Pattern bargaining Local Company A union Bargaining table managers or unions Local Contract Company B union Bargaining table terms managers or unionsFIGURE 7.1 Time Employer Union The Bargaining Time Line Assign bargaining Elect bargaining team and committee and responsibilities determine responsibilities Conduct external benchmarking/data collection Identify membership Review experience under concerns and goals current contract and fit PREPARATION Several months prior to bargaining with corporate strategic and Review current financial goals contract Prepare strike Discuss issues with contingency plan national union Develop bargaining proposals Develop bargaining proposals and agenda (targets, and agenda (targets, minimums, strategies); minimums, strategies); anticipate other side anticipate other side Notify union and Notify employer before FMCS of intent to and FMCS of 60 days deadline bargain intent to bargain Establish ground rules Multiple negotiating sessions BARGAINING and internal caucuses Contract costing Reach tentative agreement Prepare debriefing materials Debrief membership; conduct for managers; contract ratification vote; strike preparations if needed obtain national union Settlement approval; strike preparations deadline if needed (current contract expiration date) Sign new contract246 Part Two The U.S. New Deal Industrial Relations System TABLE 7.3 Contract Change: All workers with at least five years of seniority will receive an extra week Contract Costing of paid vacation annually. Example Formula for Costing this Contract Change 200 workers x 5 days x 8 hours * $20.00 per hour x 1.5 per hour = $240,000 per year (1) (2) (3) (4) (5 ) Explanation for Each Numbered Element of this Formula 1. Number of workers affected: There are currently 200 employees with at least five years of seniority, so assume 200. 2. Each worker gets five extra days of vacation per year with this contract change. 3. The standard working day is eight hours. 4. Need to replace each vacationing worker with another employee: Assume that the average hourly wage for all employees in the bargaining unit is $20 per hour. 5. Overtime premium: When existing employees work extra to take the places of vacationing employees, they are working overtime and receive time and a half. Note that this is just an estimate, and some complicating factors are ignored: 1. Turnover reduces the number of affected workers. But workers with four years of seniority this year will be eligible next year, workers with three will be eligible in two years, and so on. 2. Some workers might not take all their extra vacation days. 3. Some workers might not need to be replaced for an entire eight hours. 4. Because the extra vacation is for workers with more seniority, they might need to be replaced with workers with higher seniority. in which case the hourly wage for the replacements would be higher than the overall average of $20 per hour. 5. If there are extra workers or business is slow, the extra hours might not be overtime. Also, if extra vacation increases morale and reduces turnover, the costs of this change can be offset by lower turnover costs (including the costs of recruitment, training, and lost productivity).248 Part Two The U.S. New Deal Industrial Relations System TABLE 7.4 Mandatory Permissive Examples of Mandatory Wage reductions/increases Union representation on the board of directors and Permissive Bonus plans Drug and alcohol screening for applicants Bargaining Items Health insurance payments Benefits for retirees Pension contributions Interest arbitration Work schedules and vacations Bargaining unit expansion Seniority provisions Contract ratification procedures Just cause discipline provisions Plant closings Grievance arbitration Food prices in the company cafeteria Lie detector and drug tests Subcontracting Effects of plant closingsoutcomes: Industrial Relations 41 (January 2002), pp. 110-58. negotiators may have to sell the agreement to their bosses just as the union negotiators must sell it to the rank and file. In collective bargaining, "it takes three agreements to achieve one agreement-that is, an agreement within each party as well as one across the table." If the contract is not ratified or approved, the negotiators might return to the bargaining table to negotiate a revised contract, or a strike or lockout might occur (Chapter 8). Once a contract settlement is approved, it is signed by the employer and the union and it is binding on both parties for the length specified in the contract (often three years). Bargaining in the Public Sector The process of collective bargaining in the public sector is similar to that in the private sector-the need for thorough preparation is equally great, the environment determines bargaining power, bargaining structures range from very decentralized (such as a small, specialized unit in a local school district) to centralized (such as state-level units), and negotiations involve dynamic mixtures of distributive bargaining, integrative bargaining, attitudinal structuring, and intraorganizational bargaining. But public sector bargaining includes additional complexities. The diversity of legal jurisdictions governing public sector labor relations results in varying legal standards for bargaining across these jurisdictions. Some states, for example, 258