Contract Negotiation Lawyer


Contract Negotiations in Collective Bargaining

Federal employees and union officials have the right to join unions and act as representatives in contract negotiations with government agencies. The Federal Labor Relations Act, established collective bargaining rights for most federal employees. The Act encourages collective bargaining through organized labor, and protects workers’ right to fair pay and working conditions, among other things. The Act also protects a federal employee’s right to decide whether to join a union in the first place.

As per the FLRA, employees enjoy a number of rights in collective bargaining, which include:

  • To establish a new union
  • To join an existing union
  • To act as a union official or representative

To that end, federal agencies – specifically, agency management – are by law prohibited from interfering with those rights.

Why Contract Negotiations Are Important:

As a union representative or union official, you know that interference does happen, as well as outright discrimination and retaliation against employees who exercise their rights in collective bargaining. In short, the terms of the agreement negotiated between union officials and the agency can have a major impact on federal employees’ lives in the workplace.

Two Major Benefits of Effective Contract Negotiation:

  1. Securing a method of resolving disputes that best serves the interests of federal employees
  2. Negotiating a solid agreement that safeguards employee rights and prevents disputes from arising in the first place

Snider & Associates’ Role in Collective Bargaining:

The knowledge base of union officials can be vastly different. Some officials have negotiated dozens of contracts while others are not entirely familiar with the very basics of what goes into a collective bargaining agreement. The contract negotiation lawyers at Snider & Associates recognize this reality and offer different scopes of representation for contract negotiations. The firm’s attorneys have acted as the chief negotiator on a client union’s behalf, have offered minor revisions to single articles, and everything in between. To speak with us about your situation, and discover how we can assist your union in negotiating a favorable collective bargaining agreement, call or email us today.

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