The actual situation can be assessed by comparing outcomes, for both employers and
employees, between unionised and non-union workplaces. In this article, unions will
be termed ‘cooperative’ if on average employers are more likely to get outcomes they
want, when unions are present. If in conjunction employees tend to get outcomes that
they want, then the workplace situation will be called one of ‘mutual gains’. According
to this working definition, it should be noted, mutual gains do not require that both
employers and employees gain from the same outcomes, nor that they gain equally,
nor that they incur no costs. All that is required is that both sides get outcomes they
desire.