Collective Bargaining Frequently Asked Questions
- What is collective bargaining?
- How does collective bargaining work?
- Does the law require the parties to complete their negotiations within a certain period of time?
- If a union were formed, what would happen to faculty pay and benefits while the collective bargaining agreement is being negotiated?
- Does the law require the parties to reach an agreement?
- What happens if BAC does not agree to all the union’s requests?
What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining is the process in which an employer and a union representing all members of a bargaining unit negotiate over the members’ wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. If a faculty union were formed, the union would be the exclusive representative of the faculty, so a faculty member would not be able to make individual arrangements about these aspects of their relationship with BAC.
How does collective bargaining work?
A union and employer are obligated to meet and confer in good faith. The union may make proposals and request changes, but the employer is under no obligation to agree to its proposals and requests.
Does the law require the parties to complete their negotiations within a certain period of time?
No. It often takes more than a year to negotiate a first collective bargaining agreement. In fact, a recent study found the median time to reach agreement on a first collective bargaining agreement is 465 days during the period 2005-2022 and that number grew to over 500 days for the period 2020-2022.1 The law does not require any specific frequency of meetings. It simply requires that the parties “meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith.”
If a union were formed, what would happen to faculty pay and benefits while the collective bargaining agreement is being negotiated?
Typically, there would be no increases in pay or enhancements to benefits during negotiations because as a general rule, wages and benefits will be subject to bargaining and could not be changed without mutual agreement of BAC and the union.
Does the law require the parties to reach an agreement?
No, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) states:
For the purposes of this section, to bargain collectively is the performance of the mutual obligation of the employer and the representative of the employees to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, or the negotiation of an agreement or any question arising thereunder, and the execution of a written contract incorporating any agreement reached if requested by either party, but such obligation does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession:. . .2
What happens if BAC does not agree to all the union’s requests?
The union can either accept BAC’s position or ask faculty members to vote in favor of going out on strike in an effort to apply pressure to BAC to change its position.