How Collective Bargaining Shapes State Pay
In many states, the pay for a large share of the government workforce is not set by a single administrative decision — it is negotiated. Where public-sector collective bargaining exists, a union and the state government agree on a contract that can set or modify pay for the classifications that union represents. That is one reason the same job title can sit on a different schedule from one state to the next.
Bargaining coverage varies widely by state. Some states negotiate pay for much of their civil service; others bargain for only a few groups, or not at all. This guide explains how represented classifications, bargaining units, and negotiated contracts fit together — and why a single state may publish several schedules at once.
What collective bargaining does to a schedule
Collective bargaining is the process in which a state government and a recognized employee union negotiate terms — including pay — for a defined group of positions. When the two sides reach a contract, it often specifies the grade and step values that apply to the covered classifications and the timing of any raises. The contract itself becomes the source driving those numbers. Bargaining tends to change who decides the values and how often they move, not the shape of the grid itself.
Bargaining units and represented classifications
A bargaining unit is the defined set of positions a particular union represents at the table. Units are commonly built around job families, so administrative staff, health-care workers, and skilled trades might each fall into a separate unit. Classifications inside a unit are often called represented positions, and the negotiated contract governs their pay. Which classifications land in which unit is a state-specific decision, so the map of units differs from state to state.
Represented vs. non-represented employees
Not everyone in a state workforce is covered by a contract. Non-represented positions — sometimes called excluded or unrepresented, and often including managers and confidential staff — typically have their pay set through the state’s own administrative process rather than negotiation, and many states publish them on a separate schedule. Because the two groups can move on different timelines, a represented classification and a similar non-represented one may receive raises at different times.
Why one state can publish several schedules
When a state negotiates with multiple unions, it commonly maintains several schedules side by side — often one per bargaining unit, plus a schedule for non-represented staff. Each can carry its own effective date and its own values, even within a single agency. That is why reading a state salary schedule starts with identifying which schedule you are looking at. The unit or plan label, not just the job title, tells you which contract set the numbers on the page.
How a contract changes the numbers over time
Negotiated raises often reach a schedule as an across-the-board adjustment, a step movement, or both — a distinction covered in step increase vs. COLA. Because contracts run for a fixed term, values can hold steady and then shift when a new agreement takes effect, commonly at a July 1 or January 1 start. If a contract expires before a successor is signed, some states keep paying under the prior terms. The published schedule reflects whatever agreement is in force, which is why the effective date matters as much as the values.
Where to see the numbers
PublicPayScales is an independent reference that republishes state pay schedules and links each one back to the state source it came from; how we gather and label them is described on our data sources page. Where a schedule is tied to a bargaining unit, we aim to carry that label so you can tell represented from non-represented tables. To see how these appear in practice, browse a loaded example such as New York and follow a classification through to its grade-and-step grid.
Not a government website. See our methodology and the full list of state sources.