ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the potential of contract as public law presents a potentially effective means to push back against the forces of privatization under current economic and political conditions. In the face of privatization, however, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) provides an important model for private contracts that provide for public welfare. This chapter examines the public nature of the process of collective bargaining and the content of CBAs. It examines the importance of statutory rights to unionization and collective bargaining in achieving the public values of the welfare state. The chapter identifies the democratic values promoted by both the collective bargaining process and the content of CBAs. It addresses the obstacles to broadening the scope of unionization and the redistribution of wealth and power. The chapter explores the structural legal constraints created by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the limits of "business unionism", and the problem of hostility by employers to unionization and collective bargaining.
