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Preparing for Difficult Bargaining

Preparing for Difficult Bargaining. Overview. Anticipating the Employer’s motives and moves Educating/Mobilizing the membership Utilizing the resources at your disposal. The Basics…. Saul Alinsky – Rules for Radicals Power is not what you have, but what the target thinks you have.

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Preparing for Difficult Bargaining

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  1. Preparing for Difficult Bargaining

  2. Overview • Anticipating the Employer’s motives and moves • Educating/Mobilizing the membership • Utilizing the resources at your disposal

  3. The Basics… • Saul Alinsky – Rules for Radicals • Power is not what you have, but what the target thinks you have. • Remember – The Employer wants bargaining to occur in secret. Not in the public domain. • Two ways to affect the employer. • Public Image • Bottom Line

  4. Anticipating the Employer • Does the Employer have a practice of regressive bargaining? • What has been the result in other units/unions in recent bargaining? • Are there mitigating issues that are causing the employer to take a hard line? • Who represents the Employer at the table? (In-house or outside counsel)

  5. Researching the Employer (1) • Why research? • Need to identify the employer’s relationships. • Need to identify the employer’s vulnerabilities. • Do your homework! • Research employer’s financials (10k report, shareholder report, Hoover’s, etc.) • Get to know the decision makers in the Company. • What is their history, both within and outside the Company? • What is their compensation and compensation history?

  6. Researching the Employer (2) • What relationships does the employer have that impact their ability to operate? • Regulatory bodies • Customers, End users • Political connections • Local relationships • Goal: Get the best possible overview of the Employer!

  7. Relationships What You Think You Can Affect

  8. Strategic Relationships What You Can Actually Affect

  9. How to Affect Relationships • Mobilize and educate your members. • Create relationships in the community. • Educate the Public. • Target Decision Makers.

  10. Membership - The Key • Members have a vested interest in securing a good contract. Utilize this fact! • Members have relationships in the community and with the public. They are your best messaging machine! • Members can place pressure on the decision makers.

  11. Creating a Mobilization Structure • Just like organizing a workplace, except you already know who is where. • Identify and recruit canvassers in each work location, shift and workgroup.

  12. Mobilization Structure Goal is one canvasser to 5-7 employees. Optimal number.

  13. Mobilizing the Members • Perform a membership inventory. • Communications structure • Individual Interests – i.e., health care, pension, wages, working conditions • Create working groups on issues. • Identify member relationships within community • How? Use a member survey.

  14. Membership Surveys • Not what you think! • Short survey, 5-7 questions • Yes/No answers • Performed member to member • Results reported back through communication structure

  15. Timelines • If you suspect hard bargaining, give yourself adequate time to prepare. • You cannot in all likelihood, develop this strategy while in the heat of battle. • Develop a timeline, working backward from the date of your first session.

  16. Spheres of Influence Point of Optimal Union Power

  17. Bargaining Table Strategies • Force the Employer to explain, in detail its regressive proposals. • To “intelligently bargain”, you need all the information concerning the need for the proposal, the impact upon the Employer and bargaining unit, and what cost savings the employer will realize with the proposal.

  18. Bargaining Table Strategies • Use Intelligent Bargaining Tools • Information requests – Right to bargaining information. • Ground rules – written proposals back and forth across table. • Include discussion in your written counterproposals, and information requested/provided/not provided. • This creates a running commentary on the negotiations. • Always test the chief negotiator’s ability to make decisions.

  19. Bargaining Table Strategies • Communicate daily results of bargaining through your communications structure to the membership. (You control this, so use to your advantage) • Create agitation among members to employer proposals. • Have members question supervisors about regressive proposals. Make this company-wide.

  20. Bargaining Table Strategies • Control the process. • You can decide the response time, need for information, and how the process proceeds. • Most Importantly, Have Confidence!

  21. Additional Resources • IBEW Strategic Campaigns Training – 8th District • Offensive Bargaining – David Rosenfeld, available through the Meany Center Bookstore • Getting to Yes – Fisher/Ury • Robust Unionism – Arthur B. Shostak • Rules for Radicals – Saul Alinsky

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