Collective agreements are contracts between management and workers.
A collective agreement is an agreement between the management and workers of a company or organization that specifically defines wages, benefits, hours and other aspects of employment. Collective agreements are negotiated by management and labor union representatives through a process called collective bargaining.
Legal Contracts
Collective agreements are labor contracts, and management and workers are legally obligated to abide by them for a specific amount of time agreed to by both sides. A collective agreement will usually be in force from three to five years, but they can also be re-negotiated on an annual basis. Collective agreements are enforced by the National Labor Relations Board or by state or federal courts.
Required Clauses
Wages, hours, benefits, grievance processes, and health and safety measures are among the issues that must be covered in a collective agreement. Although specifics are hammered out by management and labor union reps, they must also conform to state and federal law. For example, wages can be debated but they must also meet the requirements of the minimum wage laws.
National Labor Relations Act
Collective agreements became an official part of U.S. labor Law in 1935 when congress passed the National Labor Relations Act. The act was passed in part because labor strikes and work stoppages were considered harmful to the national interest. The act gives workers the right to form unions whose elected representatives collectively bargain for agreements that cover specific aspects of employment. It also requires employers to participate in those negotiations.
Strikes And Lock Outs
If management and labor cannot reach a mutual agreement on conditions of employment, the next step may be a workers' strike or a shut down or lock out of the workplace. Either of those options can continue until an agreement is reached or until both sides agree to let an arbitrator decide on the details of an agreement. In cases when national health or safety would be effected by a work stoppage, the president of the United States can intervene and require an 80-day ban on strikes or lockout while an emergency board reviews the situation and tries to find a resolution.
Statistics
Although union-negotiated collective agreements protect workers and guaranteed the a fair and living wage, the number of workers who belong to labor unions has declined dramatically over the past 50 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2009, only 12.3 percent or 15.3 million U.S. workers belong to labor unions. Among those workers, 7.9 million were employed in the public sector while 7.3 million had private sector jobs.
