"If there is a program like that, I would expect a me-too type of thing, since we normally have pattern bargaining."
Caterpillar can be seen as taking a stand for the remaining industries affected by pattern bargaining.
Not every municipal union is eager to eliminate pattern bargaining, however.
City officials noted that most other cities have pattern bargaining for their unions.
Does pattern bargaining allow enough flexibility for every group?
The article failed to discuss the central issue of "pattern bargaining."
On one hand, it was calling for pattern bargaining, meaning all unions would receive the same level of raises.
Delphi has been included in the union's practice of "pattern bargaining," which essentially calls for the same terms at each company.
Caterpillar is trying to break this system of "pattern bargaining" to reduce its labor costs.
Such "pattern bargaining" is common in the railroad industry.