International Worker Justice Campaign

Collective bargaining is the basic process of negotiation between workers who have organized a union and their employer on issues such as wages, work rules and policies, child care, staffing ratios, health and safety on the job, benefits, insurance premiums, work schedules, vacation, etc.

Collective bargaining gives organized workers a tool through which to change unfair working conditions and have a real voice on the job.

The process of collective bargaining should result in a legally enforceable collective bargaining agreement between workers and their employer. A legally enforceable collective bargaining agreement ensures that agreements between management and workers are binding.

Without the right of workers to reach a legally enforceable agreement with their employers, management has the total authority to create and interpret policies.