Collective Bargaining

The collective bargaining process is defined by Holley, Jennings and Wolters as "an activity whereby union and management officials attempt to resolve conflicts of interests by exchanging commitments in a manner intended to sustain and possibly enrich their continuing relationship." Any number of issues in addition to wages and benefits and elements of working conditions are typically addressed in the context of collective bargaining processes. Included are questions regarding employee discipline, institutional relations, administration of the agreement, and economics. This brief essay will explore these issues and discuss their inclusion as a matter of form in the collective bargaining agreement. It will use the recent National Hockey League Collective Bargaining Agreement to illustrate these concepts and issues.

Sloane and Witney stated that almost all contract negotiations pivot upon four major areas: 1) wages and issues that can be directly related to wages, or economic issues; 2) employee benefits or economic "fringe" supplements to the basic wage rate; 3) institutional issues dealing with the rights and duties of employers and unions; and 4) administrative clauses that treat such matters as work rules and job tenure. Of these four broad categories of issues that are always incorporated into the collective bargaining process, it is wages that tend to garner the most attention; however, wages may ultimately be less

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many instances, to gain control over pension funds. Labor, in contrast, seeks to create as many economic benefits for its members as possible. The recent NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) "tilts money to health and welfare benefit funds rather than players' take-home pay." Employee discipline is seen by Holley, et al., as the most commonly heard grievance in arbitration and as representative of both organizational conditions and actions. Historically, employee disciplinary policies have moved from virtually uncontrolled authority vested in employers to managerial policies that are less punitive and more demanding in that the organization must adhere to agreed-upon disciplinary systems and penalties. Disciplinary systems as identified in collective bargaining agreements are meant to: 1) discourage employees from exhibiting problematic behavior; 2) provide employers with a mechanism and system for initiating disciplinary proceedings against an employee and a system of reasonable disciplinary measures; and 3) ensure that the rights of the employee to a fair hearing and to union representation at the hearing; and 3) ensure that discipline will be employed for legitimate purposes and in cases where just cause exists.

Category: Business - C