Why are employers less likely to approve coalition bargaining than unions are to approve multiemployer bargaining?

Answer 1

Employers are less likely to approve coalition bargaining because it tends to equalized the affected unions' benefits - hence bargaining strength. For example, a union which historically has not negotiated top-notched wages and benefits for particular class of employees will now be aligned with a union which has historically done so for the same class of employees. The net result would be higher operating expenses for the employers who most assuredly would have to equalized the wages and benefits as a starting point to negotiations. By contrast, unions would more likely approve of multiemployer bargaining because the unions (which have finite resources) would expend less time and money because of the lack of overall time spent at the bargaining table. The unions would therefore be free to use the resulting time and cost savings for other union purposes, such as pending arbitrations and mediations. Also, employers would also disfavor multiemployer bargaining because of the danger of trade secrets being revealed to its competitors during the negotiation process. By: Troy Horton, Esq.