The Bargaining Battleground Called Comparable Worth

Abstract

This article begins with legal and political updates of major developments in the area of comparable worth. The authors contend that while advocates of this recent compensation trend have tried to advance their cause through the courts and state legislatures, a third forum must also be considered by public employers—the bargaining table. Noting that the collective bargaining process is the traditional forum for these types of labor-management concerns, the authors undertake an examination of why and how to bargain over comparable worth, including a detailed explanation of how job evaluation studies should be used in bargaining.