Collective Bargaining
As part of a Union, you have the strength that comes from numbers.
Where there is collective bargaining -- a contract
defining and guaranteeing job rights and responsibilities, and a grievance
procedure to back it up -- the individual worker has a voice and is not
subject to arbitrary decisions. That worker shares with other
employees and with the employer the responsibility for establishing
orderly procedures for determining wages, hours of work, rates of
production, promotion and layoff policies, and just penalties for the
violation of necessary work rules.
Of course, when it comes time to bargain on a
contract, employers -- large or small -- don't just hand out improved
wages, benefits and work rules.
The employees have to stick together, send their
elected representatives into the negotiating room with employers or their
representatives, and through a process of fact finding, discussion,
argument and debate. make an agreement on just what the package will
contain.
