BARGAINING

When workers bring in a union, the union meets with management to try and bargain a contract.
That contract sets the workers' wages, benefits, hours and "terms and conditions of employment".
Here are FACTS you should know about contract bargaining:
- Union-represented workers can, and often do, lose pay or benefits as a result of bargaining.
- It's the union, not the workers, that decides what to accept or reject during bargaining.
- Some things don't change as a result of bargaining. Other things workers may not want to change, change anyway.
- Unions say unionized workers get higher pay, but the facts don't show that bringing in a union raises pay.
- Today, many companies are having to cut union pay and jobs because they can't afford the contracts that were bargained during better times.

The law says bargaining is a potentially risky process. When bargaining is done and a contract is agreed to, you could get more, the same or less than you had before bargaining began.