Collective Bargaining Process

A. What are the steps involved in collective bargaining?

B. Collective bargaining can be broken into five steps: pre-bargaining, phase one, phase two, phase three, and ratification.

• In the pre-bargaining stage participants prepare for the bargaining session. This includes determining proposal goals and gathering the necessary data to support those goals.
  
• During phase one of the bargaining process, members should be introduced and ground rules established. Following, both participants present and justify their proposal.
  
• Phase two involves reaching a tentative agreement on many of the language issues.
  
• Phase three is where the economic factors are introduced. These are discussed near the end of the negotiations because they usually cause the most disagreements and have the greatest potential to stall discussions.
  
• During the final ratification stage, union members are presented with the proposed contract and vote to accept the terms of the negotiated agreement.
  

A. So, what happens if labour and management can not come to an agreement?

B. In the case where an agreement can’t be made, the dispute can be taken to conciliation, mediation, or arbitration.

A. What’s the difference between these?

B. During conciliation the third party’s purpose is to help continue negotiations in hopes that labour and management will voluntarily reach a solution. Mediation is similar in the fact that no solution is imposed, rather the third party helps by producing facts that may clarify positions. However, during arbitration, the third party makes the final decision.