The Union Makes Us Strong:
Collective Bargaining

The collective bargaining process gives workers power in decisions that affect their every-day lives on the job as well as the economic security of their families.

Collective bargaining has been called the"art of the possible" -- and the UAW, more than any other union, has pushed the boundaries of what is possible in collective bargaining.

For example, the UAW negotiated the first fully-funded pension plan, the first employer-paid health insurance plan for industrial workers, the first employer-paid health insurance for retired workers, the first cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), and the first Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB). In the 1980s, the UAW pioneered joint union-company education and training programs. And in the 1990s, the UAW won an unprecedented role for workers and their union in decisions affecting product quality and, at the Big Three U.S. automakers, a landmark job and income security program protecting workers against volume-related layoffs.

The UAW's collective bargaining goals are set democratically -- by bargaining unit members at the local level and by elected delegates to the Collective Bargaining Convention at the International level.

The written collective bargaining agreement typically covers wages, benefits, working conditions, grievance procedures, seniority, union representation, hours of work, vacation and holidays, dues check-off, and union security.

All tentative agreements must be voted on by secret ballot by the members. Ratification requires a majority of those casting votes. Informational meetings to review and discuss the tentative agreement are conducted prior to the ratification vote.