Unions/ Collective Bargaining
Under the National Labor Relations Act, employees may engage in collective bargaining through their union representatives. In practice, outsourcing service providers are rarely unionized. Industries heavily unionized have become susceptible to the transfer of plants to foreign countries and the introduction of automation and technology.
In the automotive industry, union contracts generally specify how much an automobile manufacturer may subcontract, or outsource, to others. Similar restrictions may apply in contracts with governmental employees.