Concession Bargaining in the Public Sector: A Lesser Force

Abstract

A wave of union concessions to management has attracted substantial interest in the private sector. However, little attention has been paid to this phenomenon in public employment. Various reasons can be cited which could encourage or discourage the same kinds of concessions in government. The empirical evidence suggests that while concession bargaining has occurred in government, it has been less extensive than in the private sector and has been concentrated in a few states. Where it has occurred, the background has been similar to the private sector, namely economic distress and threatened or actual mass layoffs. But public sector concession bargaining does not appear to mark a fundamental change in collective bargaining.