Chapter 13 - Collective bargaining in the public sector. The main contents of the chapter consist of the following: The evolution of public sector collective bargaining, the legal regulation of public sector unionism, differences in the bargaining process between the public and private sectors, . | Chapter 13 Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector McGraw Hill Irwin An Introduction to Collective Bargaining amp Industrial Relations 4e Copyright 2008 The McGraw Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved. 1 3 13 3 The Evolution of Public Sector Collective Bargaining The percentage of government workers represented by unions grew from in 1960 to in 1974 Including associations were members of a bargaining organization The 1960s and Early 1970s The Era of Growth What caused the rapid growth Expansion of government budgets The example of civil disobedience set by civil rights and other groups in the 1960s Passage of laws favorable to public sector collective bargaining 1 4 13 4 The Mid and Late 1970s The Taxpayer s Revolt The economic environment for public sector bargaining tightened in the mid 1970s Also a conservative political tide questioned the value of government expenditures Following the OPEC oil embargo and the steep recession of 1974 New York City and other governmental entities were financially strained City workers received pay cuts of up to 4 500 California passed Proposition 13 which cut property taxes to 1 of the market value Despite the problems employers did not try to remove the unions making them more stable than the private sector 1 5 13 5 The Early 1980s The PATCO Strike The Professional Association of Air Traffic Controllers struck on August of 1981 despite a no strike clause PATCO sought higher wages and benefits President Reagan fired the strikers and used military controllers to keep traffic moving The Federal Labor Relations Authority decertified PATCO but the new controllers voted in a new union in 1987 The PATCO strike was a watershed event for labor The strike hurt the image of labor for nearly two decades and legitimized hard line bargaining by employers During the Clinton Administration the strikers were offered their jobs back and a few returned 1 6 13 6 The Mid and Late 1980s Institutional Stability and Some Gains .
