Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining is the process in which workers, through their elected union, negotiate with an employer on the terms of employment, such as pay, benefits, schedules, grievance procedures and safety. The result is a contract, called a collective bargaining agreement, which covers all workers in the bargaining unit.

The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (the Wagner Act) gave most private-sector employees the right to organize and bargain, and requires employers to bargain in good faith with a union that wins a majority in a representation election. Public employees' bargaining rights are set by state law, and federal employees have a more limited system. Strikes are a tool in the process, subject to rules, and some jurisdictions prohibit them for public safety workers.

Supporters argue that bargaining gives workers more power to win higher wages and benefits and a voice at work. Critics, mainly business groups and conservatives, argue that it raises costs, reduces flexibility, can protect poor performers and, in the public sector, gives unions political leverage over the officials they negotiate with; Wisconsin's 2011 Act 10 curtailed public-sector bargaining for most employees, sparking national protests. Union membership has declined to about one in ten workers. See right-to-work law. See also minimum wage.