The Management-Control Collective Bargaining Relationship: Three Models

This Article seeks to contribute to the theoretical literature dealing with industrial relations and labour law, in particular by addressing the management-control collective bargaining relationship. The author identifies three distinct models (Unitary, Pluralist, and Radical) which may be used to describe and analyze the various facets of this relationship, drawing attention to the values and assumptions of each position. In the instances of the Unitary and Pluralist models, an attempt is made to illustrate the ways in which the models assume legal form, structuring, facilitating and constraining collective bargaining in the workplace, while the Radical model is presented as a necessary and powerful critique of the other two models, pointing to the theoretical and practical limitations of these positions as ways of understanding the significance of collective bargaining as a countervailing force to management authority and control. Each model is discussed in the context of both the public and private sectors.