A bargaining unit in labor relations is a group of employees with a clear and identifiable community of interests who are (under U.S. law) represented by a single labor union in collective bargaining
and other dealings with management. Examples would be "non-management
professors"; "law enforcement professionals"; "blue-collar workers";
"clerical and administrative employees"; etc. Geographic location as
well as the number of facilities included in bargaining units can be at
issue during representation cases.
The size of a company does not relate to the size of a bargaining
unit. Bargaining units must consist of at least 3 employees, and must
have the support of a majority of employees in the bargaining unit.
However, the bargaining unit could be a small portion of a large
company, where no other employees are members of a union.
