Though employers seem to have more bargaining power than unions, it does not follow that all what the union wants the employer wants the opposite. The reason many people think that employers can’t be on the side of the union is that an employer wishes to have an uninterrupted flow of work. The unions should also root for this goal. At this juncture, a simple question changes this outdated notion, what is the need for a union that doesn’t have the aim of continued business operation? How will the need for workers be met in the long term if the business profits fall and finally the business collapse? The modern forms of collective bargaining have moved from the outdated thinking framework that employers want the opposite of the union demands. Currently, both the union and employer bargain with the aim of increasing productivity and then sharing the increase between employer and employee. The only moment when the two parties should have different demands is in sharing the returns of increased productivity. The sharing will need every party to strive to get the largest volume (Budd, Mary, & Linda, 1).
Workers’ unions and employers should work together to reshape issues of distrust and hostilities between the employees and the employer. This creates a bargaining environment that is founded on cooperation and trust. However, this does not mean that one party should give in to all the demand of the other. This environment can easily be created if both parties first deal with issues that require conjunctive bargaining. In this bargaining, both parties benefit from the results of the bargaining (Naukri Hub, 1). For example, issues of training unskilled workers to move to the grade of semi-skilled worker benefits the employer and the union. Thus, it is not obvious that what the union wants employer wants the opposite.
References
Budd, Karen W., Mary Patton, and Linda S. Warino. "Traditional and Non-traditional Collective
Bargaining: Strategies to Improve the Patient Care Environment." The Online Journal on Issues of Nursing 9 (2004). Web. <http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume92004/No1Jan04/CollectiveBargainingStrategies.aspx>.
Naukri Hub. "Bargaining Forms and Tactics, Process of Collective Bargaining." Naukri Hub.
2015. Web. 05 Apr. 2016. <http://www.naukrihub.com/industrialrelations/forms.html>.
