The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language defines collective bargaining as "negotiation between organized workers and their employer or employers to determine wages, hours, rules, and working conditions."
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What is scope of collective bargaining?

A wide range of provisions may be negotiated in collective bargaining between teachers' unions and school districts. Some subjects are mandatory, while others are merely permitted or even prohibited. State law governs the appropriateness of subjects to be bargained.
Most state statutes do not require schools to bargain on issues involving the educational policy of the school board. Many states require school boards and unions to bargain on "wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment."
When a state statute includes mandatory subjects, these subjects must be bargained over at the request of either the school board or the teachers' union. If either party refuses to negotiate over a mandatory subject, state statutes generally deem this a refusal to negotiate in good faith and, thus, an unfair labor practice.

Duty to Bargain in Good Faith

Both the school district and the union representing teachers must bargain in GOOD FAITH. The duty of parties to bargain in good faith is important in the collective bargaining process, since negotiations between school districts and unions can become intense and heated.
Interpretations of the term "good faith" under the National Labor Relations Act typically focus on openness, fairness, mutuality of conduct, and cooperation between parties. Many state statutes define "good faith" similarly, though some states provide more specific guidance regarding what constitutes good faith bargaining. Some states also provide a list of examples that are deemed instances of bargaining in BAD FAITH. Refusal to negotiate in good faith constitutes an UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE under the National Labor Relations Act and many state statutes.

Phases of the Bargaining Process

Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation describes the actual collective bargaining process as comprising five core phases:
I. Preparation and Framing. In this phase both the school board and the union examine their own situation in order to develop the issues that they believe will be most important, including assessing the interests of the other side;
II. Bargaining Over How to Bargain. Parties reach pre-agreement on the bargaining process, relevant ground rules, joint tasks forces or sub-committees and other key logistics, such as the frequency of negotiating meetings.
III. Opening and Exploring. This phase involves the initial opening statements and the possible options that exist to resolve them. In a word, this phase could be described as 'brainstorming';
IV. Focusing and Agreeing. This stage comprises the time when 'what ifs' and 'supposals' are set forth and the drafting of agreements take place; and
V. Implementation and Administration. This stage is described as consisting of 'effective joint implementation through shared visions, strategic planning and negotiated change.'
Negotiating Labor Agreements (Cambridge, MA: Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, 2006), pp. 5-6.

Styles of Bargaining

Many different negotiation styles can be used when union and labor representatives sit down at the bargaining table. The two basic modes of bargaining are positional bargaining and interest-based bargaining, though there are many variations of each style.
The positional style of bargaining has been used since collective bargaining began between management and labor unions. Each side places its demands and proposals on the table, and the other side responds to them with counterproposals. The process is involves a struggle of give-and-take on most issues. The positional style of negotiating is used effectively in bargaining many union contracts.
Interest-based bargaining is less adversarial than positional bargaining. It strives for mutual understanding and common education on the part of both labor and management, and it focuses on goals and concerns common to both parties. In this process, labor and management each list and explain their needs, and the ensuing discussion revolves around ways to meet those needs that will be not only acceptable but also beneficial to both parties.
A blending of the positional and interest-based styles of bargaining is widely used in labor-management negotiations.

Impasse: When Good Faith Bargaining Fails

Negotiations may fail to lead to a completed agreement between a teachers' union and a school board. When good faith efforts fail to resolve the dispute or disputes between the parties, a legal impasse occurs. At the time impasse occurs, active bargaining between the parties is usually suspended.
Parties usually go through a series of options once an impasse has occurred. The first step after an impasse is declared is usually MEDIATION. When parties employ a mediator, the mediator acts as a neutral third party to assist the two sides in reaching a compromise. Mediators lack power to make binding decisions, and they are employed only as advisors. Many state statutes require use of mediators in the public sector upon declaration of an impasse.
If mediation fails, many state statutes (including the Revised Code of Washington) require the parties to employ a FACT-FINDER, who analyzes the facts of the bargaining process and seeks to recognize a potential compromise. The parties are not bound by the recommendations of the fact-finder, though it may influence public opinion regarding the appropriate resolution of the dispute.
The recommendations are particularly influential in the public sector, where the school board is a government body consisting of elected officials, and teachers and other staff are public employees. However, this step in the process may not bring resolution to the dispute.