PUBLIC SECTOR MULTILATERAL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: A MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS

TERRY L. LEAP AND TERENCE A. OLIVA


DOI: 10.2190/QTJ6-NA2K-G355-67NL

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of public sector multilateral collective bargaining. The parties involved in this situation are management negotiators for a public sector entity, negotiators for a labor union representing public employees, and segments of the general public. Unlike other discussions of the multilateral bargaining phenomenon, the analysis in this paper is based on selected graphic techniques originally used to depict international trade situations. The three factors associated with multilateral bargaining - labor harmony, management autonomy, and control by the public - are discussed along with a description of how the three factors interact. An indifference analysis is used to illustrate how the three parties, when bargaining in a cooperative fashion, can maximize joint utility with respect to achieving a balance among labor harmony, management autonomy, and control by the public.

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