Discuss the concept of bargaining power and describe some of the factors that are likely to influence the degree of bargaining power that management and unions have in negotiations.

Bargaining power is described as the ability to secure another's agreement on one's own terms. Said another way, it is the ability to get your opponent to concede to your demands. Bargaining power for either party depends on the cost of not reaching an agreement. The higher the costs, the lower the bargaining power for that party. In this way, bargaining power is closely related to the union's strike leverage or their ability to use the strike threat as a way to get management to agree to their demands. Bargaining power is influenced by legal, economic, and sociopolitical factors. For example, a tight labor market increases the union's bargaining power by making the threat of a strike more costly to the employer. High inventory and low product demand increases the employer's bargaining power because it will be able to continue to meet consumer demand even if a strike occurs.