Equity Bargaining/Bargaining Equity by Linda Briskin (lbriskin@yorku.ca)
Toronto: Centre for Research on Work and Society (CRWS), York University, 2006 (112
pages).PDF now available at http://www.arts.yorku.ca/sosc/lbriskin/research/index.html

ABSTRACT: Drawing on material from the United Kingdom and other countries of the European
Union, the United States, Australia and Canada, this introduction considers the following
themes relevant to equity bargaining/bargaining equity: labour market shifts, state
restructuring and bargaining equity; bargaining equity in the context of equal
opportunity and human rights legislation; the equity agenda in collective bargaining
which includes an exploration of workplace versus family-friendly flexibility; strategies
for challenging the generic worker in collective agreements; the challenge of
desegregating the demographics and process of negotiations; and finally, the importance
of building union support for equity bargaining and bargaining equity, both inside unions
and through coalitions and alliances.

The Resources section of this document includes an annotated list of union documents
relevant to equity bargaining, Canadian government sources on equity bargaining,
searchable databases, an annotated bibliography of secondary sources, information on the
extensive research project on Equal Opportunity and Collective Bargaining in the European
Union, annotations of relevant material from the International Labour Office (ILO), and
an index by subject.

It is hoped that this document will offer a multitude of ideas about how to bargain on
any particular equity issue, facilitate the cross-fertilization of equity bargaining
strategies across unions, and provide support to equity researchers in unions and
universities. This document also demonstrates a convergence of equity bargaining concerns
across vastly differing union movements, and cultural and national contexts. Indeed, much
can be learned from the union organizing, government initiatives and research in other
countries, in particular, in the European Union.