How Deep Is Your Bench? Preparation for Collective Bargaining

Imagine that your business has a collective bargaining agreement that is set to expire in a few months when, suddenly, the person primarily responsible for “carrying the ball” abruptly resigns. In an instant, the person primarily charged with analyzing your current agreement, identifying issues, formulating strategies, and executing those priorities through principled negotiation is no longer part of your team.

That is exactly the situation that the Major League Baseball Players’ Association encountered in late February when its embattled Executive Director, Tony Clark, resigned just months prior to the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement and merely weeks prior to the commencement of negotiations for a successor agreement. Arguably, the timing could not be worse. Major League Baseball is at the precipice of a work stoppage after the conclusion of the 2026 season, largely due to the wide disparity between member clubs in terms of revenue and spending on player salaries or, put simply, wages.

The collective bargaining process can be challenging in many ways. Employers have a legal duty to bargain in good faith with their employees’ representatives and to sign any collective bargaining agreement that has been reached.

Section 8(d) of the National Labor Relations Act sets forth what is encompassed within the duty to bargain collectively. Section 8(a)(5) of the Act makes it an unfair labor practice for an employer “to refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of its employees, subject to the provisions of Section 9(a)” of the Act (an employer that violates Section 8(a)(5) also derivatively violates Section 8(a)(1)).

Employers, however, are not left without options to effectively run their businesses. Key components of successful collective bargaining include:

• preparing by analyzing the current agreement,
• collecting data,
• identifying issues,
• and formulating strategies to achieve goals.

Much of the work occurs before the first bargaining session, where initial proposals are exchanged. Proper preparation also includes ensuring that your team has sufficient knowledge, experience, and depth to advance your position at each stage of the collective bargaining process.

Frantz Ward attorneys have extensive experience in all aspects of the collective bargaining process and in all sectors of employment. Our attorneys act as the employer’s chief spokesperson at the table and can defend against unfair labor practice charges and assist with strike planning or any related issues that may arise out of the collective bargaining process.

Please contact Gregory M. Gleine or any member of Frantz Ward’s Labor and Employment Group regarding questions about the collective bargaining process.