Guide / Collective Bargaining Agreement Examples
Examples · Free public sources
CBA examples: finding & reading real agreements
You don't need to imagine what a collective bargaining agreement looks like — thousands are public. Here's where to find real ones, what a typical table of contents looks like, and how to read an agreement in twenty minutes.
Where to find real CBAs, free
- U.S. Department of Labor (OLMS) — maintains a public file of private-sector agreements covering larger bargaining units. Searchable by employer and union.
- Government of Canada — Negotech — a full-text database of Canadian collective agreements, federal and provincial.
- University labor archives — several industrial-relations schools (most famously Cornell's ILR) maintain digital CBA collections.
- Unions and public employers themselves — many locals post their agreements; public-sector CBAs are usually public records.
- Your own workplace — if you're covered by one, you're entitled to see it. Ask your steward or local office.
Anatomy of a typical agreement
Titles vary; the skeleton doesn't. A representative table of contents: Recognition · Union Security & Checkoff · Management Rights · Non-Discrimination · Hours & Overtime · Wages & Classifications · Seniority · Layoff & Recall · Discipline & Discharge · Grievance Procedure · Arbitration · Health & Welfare · Pension · Vacations · Holidays · Leaves · Safety · No-Strike/No-Lockout · Duration — plus appendices of wage schedules and a stack of side letters. Each is explained in the clause library.
How to read a CBA in 20 minutes
- Duration article first.When does leverage return? Note the expiration date and notice windows.
- Wage schedules and benefit contribution rates.The money: scales, steps, and the cents-per-hour flowing to health and pension funds.
- Grievance & arbitration deadlines.The clocks that decide whether rights are real. Write the time limits down.
- Seniority definitions.Which seniority governs layoff vs. bidding — this is where surprises live.
- Side letters, last.The quiet amendments. An agreement is never just its main body.
Twenty minutes is for humans
Our AI reads the whole agreement — every article, schedule, and side letter — and returns the operational rule map in one pass. Upload yours free.
From document to operation
Your CBA is full of rules. We make AI run them.
Upload your collective bargaining agreement — one click. Our AI extracts the contribution rates, eligibility rules, hour banks, and vesting language, and returns a free plain-English rule map plus a plan to run your pension and benefits on it. Reviewed by humans.