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Collective bargaining is one of the keystones of the Act. Section 1 of the Act declares that the policy of the United States is to be carried out “by encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection.”
Collective bargaining is defined in the Act. Section 8(d) requires an employer and the representative of its employees to meet at reasonable times, to confer in good faith about certain matters, and to put into writing any agreement reached if requested by either party. The parties must confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms or conditions of employment, the negotiation of an agreement, or any question arising under an agreement.
These obligations are imposed equally on the employer and the representative of its employees. It is an unfair labor practice for either party to refuse to bargain collectively with the other. The obligation does not, however, compel either party to agree to a proposal by the other, nor does it require either party to make a concession to the other. 1.Required Subjects of Bargaining
The duty to bargain covers all matters concerning rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment. These are called “mandatory” subjects of bargaining about which the employer, as well as the employees’ representative, must bargain in good faith, although the law does not require “either party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession.” In addition to wages and hours of work, these mandatory subjects of bargaining include but are not limited to such matters as pensions for present employees, bonuses, group insurance, grievance procedures, safety practices, seniority, procedures for discharge, layoff, recall, or discipline, and union security. Certain managerial decisions such as subcontracting, relocation, and other operational changes may not be mandatory subjects of bargaining, even though they affect employees’ job security and working conditions. The issue of whether these decisions are mandatory subjects of bargaining depends on the employer’s reasons for taking action. Even if the employer is not required to bargain about the decision itself, it must bargain about the decision’s effects on unit employees. On “nonmandatory” subjects, that is, matters that are lawful but not related to “wages, hours, and other conditions of employment,” the parties are free to bargain and to agree, but neither party may insist on bargaining on such subjects over the objection of the other party.
2.Duty to Bargain Defined
An employer who is required to bargain under this section must, as stated in Section 8(d), “meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, or the negotiation of an agreement or any question arising there under, and the execution of a written contract incorporating any agreement reached if requested by either party.”
3.What Constitutes a Violation of the Duty to Bargain
An employer, therefore, will be found to have violated Section 8(a)(5) if its conduct in bargaining, viewed in its entirety, indicates that the employer did not negotiate with a good-faith intention to reach agreement. However, the employer’s good faith is not at issue when its conduct constitutes an out-and-out refusal to bargain on a mandatory subject. For example, it is a violation for an employer, regardless of good faith, to refuse to bargain about a subject that it believes is not a mandatory subject of bargaining, when in fact it is.
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