Collective bargaining does work despite what you hear. Our new governor wants to pass a bill to eliminate step raises and collective bargaining raises for state employees. First, let me explain that step raises were asked for by the state in collective bargaining in the 1980s because the state wanted to phase-in pay increases after a new hire served their probationary period and not move them to the pay scale right away.
Pay increases by merit instead of collective bargaining could take money away from thousands of Ohio families. Let me explain. Each state agency is given a set amount of money for operation per year. If this money is not spent, it is returned. This is almost never done. It gets spent. Let’s say that the management of a state agency only gives a special few a merit raise. The money that could be used for raises for all workers now can be used to give management employees raises. After all, they can always find a way to justify that they deserve it. Source: How Does Collective Bargaining Work?.