What is Collective Bargaining?

Certainly the term "collective bargaining" should be more clearly defined. To most of us it has become a vague phrase describing "bargaining" of weird sorts and "collecting" in various ways.

Canada threshed over the same issue and came out with a definition as follows:

(1) Collective bargaining "implies the right of workers to group themselves together for the purpose of selling their labor power collectively to their employer instead of making individual agreements"; (2) "as the employer has the right to bring in any assistance he may desire in carrying on negotiations, there is no reason why the employee should be denied a like right"; (3) "collective bargaining, which is the negotiation of agreements through the representatives chosen by the respective parties themselves, does not mean recognition of the 'closed shop' unless the agreement so provides." Boston Globe.