Employers are pleasantly surprised when I tell them that bargaining for a collective bargaining agreement does not mean that every part of running their business must be negotiated. I then explain what a management rights clause is – a blog entry for a later day – and the difference between mandatory, permissive, and illegal subjects of bargaining.…

Major League Baseball Labor Negotiations: Major League Baseball (the League) and the union representing the players are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. Negotiations are not going well. The League locked out the players. No trades or Spring Training can occur until the owners lift the lockout. The two sides are very far apart. For example,…

Multi-employer bargaining happens when two or more employers bargain or negotiate through an agent or committee with a labor organization that represents the employees of both employers. Employers who negotiate in a group like this are in a stronger position when sitting across the negotiating table from the union. Multi-employer contracts are mostly seen in…

Employers have an obligation to furnish information to union representatives during contract negotiations. Without such information, the union is unable to perform its duties as the bargaining agent. However, the obligation to provide the union with information does not arise until the union makes a request that the information be furnished. While the request must…

While planning for renegotiating an expiring collective bargaining agreement should commence many months before the contract expires, the actual face-to-face bargaining usually begins about two months before the contract terminates. Renegotiations are sometimes a smoother process than negotiating the first contract because the parties are familiar with each other and their goals. However, if the…

When employers commit unfair labor practices that disrupt pre-election conditions to the point where the National Labor Relations Board determines a free and fair election could not be held, an parties are ordered to bypass a secret ballot election and to immediately begin negotiating a first collective bargaining agreement. There are no automatic rules in…