Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla) and Representative Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) introduced legislation in February that would let employers give merit pay increases or bonuses to workers covered by collective bargaining agreements. The Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees (RAISE) Act would amend the National Labor Relations Act to provide that employers are not barred under collective…

Seven different unions were negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with a single employer. While bargaining for the 2011 agreement, everyone agreed to exclude newly hired workers from an established pension plan, but did not discuss the “Copper Price Bonus” or workers’ eligibility for it. The bonus was kept in place in the 2011 version of…