An employer and a union have been negotiating the renewal of a collective agreement for eight months. At the last negotiation session, the employer explained its final offer to the union bargaining team. The employer maintained that a wage freeze was required in the first year of the agreement in order for the employer to stay in business. Subsequently the employer sent a letter to employees in the bargaining unit outlining its final offer. This situation best illustrates:

Question

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This situation illustrates hard bargaining, where one party maintains a firm stance on a particular issue, in this case, the employer insisting on a wage freeze to stay in business. Hard bargaining involves taking a strong position and not easily moving away from it, which is different from bargaining in bad faith, surface bargaining, integrative bargaining, or intraorganizational bargaining.

An Employer and a Union Have Been Negotiating the Renewal