The NLRA only regulates labour relations for companies involved in intergovernmental trade. it therefore does not protect the collective bargaining interests of all categories of workers. Several categories of employers are outside the NLRA, including those who work for the U.S. government and its companies, states and political subdivisions, railroads, and airlines. The NLRA also does not protect certain types of workers, such as agricultural workers, self-employed contractors, supervisors and senior managers. But other federal and state laws often offer protection to workers who are not covered by the NRA. For example, federal government employees enjoy the right to bargain collectively under the Civil Services Reform Act of 1978, largely modelled according to the NLRA and enforced by the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Railways and airlines are generally subject to the Railway Labor Act, the predecessor of the NLRA. In addition, many states have passed laws similar to those of the LNRA, which protect the right of employed state and local governments to bargain collectively. A collective agreement is the primary objective of the collective bargaining process. As a general rule, the agreement sets out wages, hours, promotions, social benefits and other conditions of employment, as well as procedures for dealing with disputes arising therefrom. Since the collective agreement cannot deal with all the business problems that may arise in the future, unwritten practices and practices, external law and informal agreements are as important to the collective agreement as the written instrument itself.
Agreements are usually field-specific. They include the conditions of employment of office workers working for example in the field of financing, information technology services, construction, metallurgy or data reporting. Nevertheless, a party`s insistence on a fixed term of the contract is not necessarily an unfair labour practice. The NLRB and the courts that re-enforce and enforce their injunctions are not prepared to replace their judgment with that of the parties and will not judge the content of the collective agreements (NLRB v. American National Insurance Co., 343 U.p. 395, 72 pp. Ct. 824, 96 L. Ed. 1027 [1952]). Moreover, the use of „economic weapons” such as pressure tactics, pickets and strikes to impose bargaining concessions is not necessarily bad faith bargaining (NLRB v.
Insurance Agents` International Union, 361 U.p. 477, 80 pp. Ct. 419, 4 L. Ed. 2d 454 [1960]). The United States recognizes collective agreements. [9] [10] [11] Before negotiations for a collective agreement begin, the union must obtain certification from the Chamber of Labour. Shortly after certification, the union begins the process of collective bargaining (or bargaining) with the employer. The objective of the negotiations is to reach agreement on the many issues that can be included in the agreement. Pro`s collective agreement guarantees fair rules of the contractual relationship and fair remuneration.
Although the collective agreement itself is not applicable, many of the negotiated conditions relate to wages, conditions, leave, pensions, etc. These conditions are included in an employee`s employment contract (whether or not the worker is a member of the union); and the employment contract is of course applicable. If the new conditions are not acceptable to individuals, they may contradict their employer; but if the majority of workers have agreed, the company will be able to dismiss the plaintiffs, normally with impunity. In Fibreboard, the Supreme Court held that, based on its three-part analysis, an employer`s decision to allocate part of its business to subcontractors was a mandatory subject of negotiation. First, subcontracting is within the literal meaning of the NRA`s term „terms and conditions of employment.” Second, the finding that subcontracting is a subject of mandatory bargaining has the effect of achieving the objectives of the NRA by bringing „a problem of vital interest to labour and management within the framework defined by Congress as the most favourable to peace at work”, namely collective bargaining . . .