Collective bargaining is
the application of democratic processes to employer-employee relationships. A
union becomes the bargaining agent for a group of workers when the employer
agrees that it represents the majority of them. Most commonly this is
determined by a secret vote under exacting conditions of fair play. If a clear
majority of the workers involved indicate a desire to be represented by the
union, then that union is certified as the collective bargaining agent for the
employees.
Representatives of the
union and representatives of management then meet together at the bargaining
table and they try to get together on a collective agreement or contract.
When the union
representatives and the management representatives have finally agreed on a
contract, the union representatives take the contract back to their members. If
it does not satisfy them, they will send their union representatives back to
continue the bargaining process or they may decide to reinforce their demands by
going on strike.
Once the contract has been
ratified by the union and by the management, it becomes the guiding principle of
labor-management relations for the duration of the agreement. No longer are
workers subject to the arbitrary whims of the employer or his representative.
Major clauses contained in
every Local 555 contract.
The location of the contract and the content
of each clause varies from contract to contract and from geographic region to
geographic region. You can use it to help you determine where in your contract
each of these clauses are located. You may want to write the article and
section of each of the following clauses in the spaces between the lines.
Recognition
clause: main clause that defines
the bargaining unit.
Union
security clause: defines the
requirements of union membership.
Management
rights clause: attempts to set
limits on our power in the workplace.
Wage schedule and
benefit package: defines our
economic rights under the contract.
Hourly wage schedule:
defines how much a worker gets based on his/her job classification and the
amount of hours/years with the company.
Paid time off (PTO):
eligibility and what you get for working or not working is defined by these
sections
1. Holidays: paid
holidays, eligibility for holiday pay, who works holidays and the rate of pay
for the people who do work
2. Vacations:
eligibility and how much you get
3. Sick days:
eligibility, how one accrues it, how one can use it
4. Funeral leave:
eligibility, for whom you can use it, duration
Health care:
eligibility and employer contribution
Seniority rights:
a check against the bosses ability to play favorites and to discipline
unfairly. Seniority is the basis for our job protection language and scheduling
language in the retail grocery / non-foods industry. A worker with seniority
cannot be fired for poor work performance until he/she has been informed as to
what improvements he/she has to make, and given the opportunity to make those
improvements.
1. Probationary
period: how long is it? There shall be a probationary period of sixty days
during which a new employee may be discharged without right of protest. A new
employee has to join the union within 30 days or risk losing his/her job.
2. Affirmative
rights: hours and promotions. Senior employees shall be given
consideration where merit and ability are approximately equal, but no trial
period shall be required.
Job protection rights:
lay-off and recall
Discipline and
discharge: sets forth the standard
the employer needs to prove discipline; progressive discipline; and the basis
for summary dismissal.
Grievance procedure:
guideline to protecting workers’ contract rights.
Letters of Agreement:
may modify existing language to include different ideas or may add agreements to
the contract that one side doesn’t want to be part of the body of the contract.
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