Collective bargaining — Social Studies definition
Negotiation of employment terms through workers’ collective representation.
Where it is taught
- Labor, Collective Bargaining & Workplace Safety — Industry, Migration & Urban Life, U.S. History: Reconstruction to the Early 21st Century, Grade 8
- Labor Organizations, Industrial Conflict & Workplace Reform — Industry, Migration & Gilded Age Politics, United States History & Government: Colonial Foundations to the Early 21st Century, Grade 11
In use
A union represents workers collectively, and collective bargaining concerns negotiated employment terms.
Labor, Collective Bargaining & Workplace Safety
Later safety campaigns used inspections and legislation, demonstrating a different route to change from collective bargaining.
Labor Organizations, Industrial Conflict & Workplace Reform
Questions using collective bargaining
Problem 1
Which conditions affect whether collective bargaining increases worker power?
Answer and explanation
An employer and an individual worker may have unequal alternatives when employment is concentrated or households have little savings. Collective organization can change that relationship, but bargaining strength also depends on membership, strike funds, skill, legal rules, and replacement workers. Explain these conditions rather than assuming a strike automatically succeeds.