Local 32BJ of the International Union of Service Employees (SEIU) provides a compelling example of what workers and their unions can accomplish when they have density and bargaining power. The union, which represents workers in 12 states and Washington, D.C., is making big gains for real estate services workers through a combination of multi-employer bargaining, group bargaining, collective bargaining and identifying policy levers to facilitate collective bargaining. It is an unfair labor practice for one of the parties to refuse to bargain collectively with the other party, but the parties are not obliged to reach an agreement or make concessions. One of the benefits for workers of forming and joining a union is the increasing bargaining they will have against their employers. An employee will likely not be able to get their employer to agree on new safety measures or a wage increase, but more workers will have a better chance. This is an example of collective bargaining. The Law on the Protection of the Right to Organize (PRO) removes obstacles to the organization of workers, restricts employer interference in the organization of employees, and establishes meaningful penalties if employers violate the law.41 The PRO Act curbs employers` efforts to manipulate bargaining units in order to undermine organizing efforts by completely removing employers from the 42 PRO Act contains a strong common standard43 that would allow employees and unions to bring affected employers to the bargaining table. It establishes a process in which newly formed unions and employers can successfully negotiate an initial agreement. It lifts bans on secondary strikes and boycotts – and allows workers to exert economic pressure on a "neutral" employer, an employer other than their own. These and other measures in the PRO Act would significantly enhance workers` ability to form unions, negotiate with their employers, and pursue the broader collective bargaining models described above.

The current law allows employers to participate in the NLRB`s collective bargaining decisions, and employers use this process to manipulate the bargaining unit and delay and defeat organizing efforts. Employers often try to include workers in the bargaining unit proposed by the union, not because they want to negotiate with a larger entity, but to dilute the union`s support by adding workers that the union has not yet organized.9 The industry that most often engages in collective bargaining with multiple employers is the construction industry. Due to a long-standing practice and tradition, trade unions in the construction sector negotiate multi-employer framework agreements with employers` associations in their trades, and employers, including newly organised employers, often adopt the framework agreement by signing letters of authorisation in which they undertake to be bound by the framework agreement. Most of these agreements are negotiated locally or regionally by the various construction unions with their respective employers` associations. For example, locals of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) negotiate framework agreements with locals of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). Collective bargaining is streamlined by the national IBEW and NECA through the development of standard contractual language endorsed by both national organizations.30 The NLRA should be amended to clarify that workers and unions in a common sector or industry can coordinate and insist on important contractual terms – such as. B the duration of the collective agreement, the conditions for the use of subcontractors, etc. by the employer who helps him to strengthen his power in his sector or industry.

27 states have banned union security agreements by adopting the so-called "right to work". In these states, it is up to each worker in a workplace to decide whether or not to join the union and pay dues, even if all workers are protected by the collective agreement negotiated by the union. Perhaps the best-known example of model bargaining is the United Auto Workers and General Motors, Ford and Fiat-Chrysler. Collective agreements, negotiated through negotiations with the three automakers, not only set the wages and benefits of tens of thousands of autoworkers, but also affect non-unionized automakers trying to keep their wages competitive with their unionized counterparts.25 As part of the UAW`s approach to model bargaining, the union negotiates with the three auto companies and then chooses a Bargaining Objective to set the standard. In 2019, the target was General Motors. After failing to reach an agreement at the end of the contract, 49,000 GM workers went on strike for six weeks in the fall of 2019 to reach a better GM deal. As a result of the strike, workers protected their health care benefits and secured a substantial wage increase in the form of base wage increases and an accelerated increase in the highest wages for new workers.26 The agreement set the model for the industry, and the UAW was able to strike a deal with Ford very quickly after GM`s settlement. and later reached an agreement with Fiat-Chrysler. The United Steelworkers used the density and strength of its union to establish a national bargaining relationship with International Paper (PI). In the past, the union`s relationship with IP was controversial and collective bargaining was fragmented between many different regions and locals, but the union now negotiates with IP on two national agreements that set wages and benefits.

One agreement includes 5,800 workers in 17 paper mills, and the other agreement includes 4,700 workers in 55 box mills across the country. Site-specific issues are then negotiated at the local level. The union represents workers in about 70% of IP factories and 60% of IP box factories. In contrast, the union represents workers in only four of Kimberly Clark`s 18 factories, and the union has not yet been able to win national collective bargaining in Kimberly Clark.23 A challenge for the UAW (and other unions in their respective industries) is that employers are trying to circumvent the terms of the collective agreement by establishing new operations outside the scope of the agreement. .