Montana Collective Bargaining Agreement between Owner of Manufacturing Plant and Employee Union

• Category: Contracts - Collective Bargaining
• State: Multi-State
• Control #: US-0979BG
• Format: Word; Rich Text

Description

A collective-bargaining agreement is a valid and binding contract between employer and employees. The agreement states the rights and duties of the parties, as in the case of contracts generally, but the instrument is more than an ordinary contract in that it establishes a generalized code that may govern situations the drafters cannot wholly anticipate. A collective-bargaining agreement is not an ordinary contract, like a contract for the purchase of goods or services, nor is it governed by the common to law concepts which control private contracts -- it is sui generis, that is, unique. In this sense, the agreement is said to constitute an effort to erect a system of industrial self to government.

An employee hired under such a contract ratifies and accepts the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and is bound by and entitled to the benefits of it to the same extent as if he or she had entered into it individually.

The substantive rules governing the interpretation of collective bargaining agreements are a body of law fashioned largely by the federal courts. Such a contract must be read as a whole and in the light of the law relating to it when made.