Sectoral bargaining is a type of collective bargaining that provides union contract coverage for most or all workers in a particular sector. Depending on how sectoral bargaining is structured, it is sometimes known as broad-based, multiemployer, national, or industrywide bargaining. It typically operates in conjunction with workplace-level bargaining, setting sectorwide standards that workers can seek to bargain above at their worksite.
Sectoral bargaining increases the number of workers whose pay and benefits are set by union contracts compared with the worksite-only collective bargaining that is more common in the United States. It also reduces economic inequality, closes racial and gender pay gaps, and boosts economic productivity.
The above excerpt was originally published in the Center for American Progress.
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