The union’s major goal is to negotiate with the employer a written agreement covering both employment conditions and the union-member relationship itself on terms that are acceptable to the union. The terms must be acceptable to the employer, too, if negotiations are to be successful. Apart from conditions within the company, external factors have an influence on what the two sides want and so on the outcome of negotiations. With that as the background, assume that a large, nationwide company is negotiating a contract at the present time. Respond to the following:
Discuss one economic, one political, one legal, and one social factor that might exert some influence on these negotiations. Briefly identify each factor and explain how it impacts management and union positions, and therefore the negotiations.