Bargaining 101 - School Administrators of Iowa
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Transcript Bargaining 101 - School Administrators of Iowa
Bargaining 101
SAI Superintendent Mentor
Workshop
Jenifer Owenson
The background of Chapter 20
The law created in the mid ’70s
Met political resistance
Very little changes over the years
In the last few years there have been
some changes to the law but fairly
insignificant.
Chapter 20
Requires all public employers to bargain
collectively with its employees
Mandates dates for bargaining
Mandates topics of bargaining
Public employees may not strike
What an Arbitrator is required to
review.
• Comparisons from
other districts
• Bargaining History
• Public Welfare
• Power to Levy taxes
Dates for process
• December-January (exchange of opening
proposals)
• January-February (bargaining process)
• February-March (mediation)
• April (preparation for arbitration)
• May (arbitration)
What’s the Goal?
• To get an agreement
without having to go
to binding arbitration.
Models of bargaining
• Traditional Bargaining
• Interest Based
Bargaining
• Independently
Developed Impasse
process
Picking the approach that works
for your district.
• What is your current
bargaining
relationship?
• How much time are
people willing to
invest?
• Are the parties
satisfied with the
outcome?
Who is on the Bargaining Team?
• Parties are free to choose
the representative, no matter
who.
• Smaller is better
• Involve people who know
about the day to day work
• Consider the
Superintendent’s role in the
process
What’s the role of the team ?
• Act as a team, not as
an individual
• Accept the role of the
chief negotiator
• Communicate with
principals not at the
table
What’s the Role of the Chief
spokesperson?
• Gain consensus
amongst the
bargaining team.
• Relay to the union the
bargaining team’s
position.
• Have the authority to
make the deal.
When and how should bargaining
begin?
Bargaining
• Hold closed strategy
sessions.
• Exchange proposals
by Dec. 15 in open
session.
• The parties can
bargain in open but
it’s recommended to
go into closed.
Strategy Sessions :What should
you bargain about?
• Some of the
bargaining agenda is
dictated by the Code
• Parties can decide
what subjects will be
handled from year to
year
• Problems with the
current agreement
Special Issues for 2013
• Evaluation by peers
• Health care reform
• Case law change on
what is considered
a mandatory subject
of bargaining.
What the Code says:
• Laundry lists of
mandatory subjects
• Permissive subjects
• Illegal subjects
How to “Prepare” for
bargaining
• Acquaint yourself with the
labor agreement.
• Ask about
problems/grievances that
arose during the
agreement.
• Think about the goals and
start drafting your initial
proposal.
When should you change the
language?
• Burden is on the
changing party to
show necessity for
change
• Do you have anything
to trade or buy the
proposal with?
• Change is incremental
What you should know before and
during bargaining?
• Have you had a strategy session
with the board to clearly
understand parameters, board
goals, how a wage increase will
effect the overall budget? (See
template for board presentation)
• How do your benefits and salary
package compare?
• What are other schools settling at
www.ia-sb.org?
What should be in the initial
proposal?
The district must respond
to the union’s proposal.
Your proposals for
changing language or past
practice.
Identify any other
additions, deletions,
corrections.
How Does A Bargaining Session
Start?
• Exchange of the initial
proposals
• Clarify the proposals.
Find out why changes
are being requested.
• Start evaluating
which portions of the
proposal you can or
can’t live with
How do you know if it’s a
priority?
• Refer often to the
mission, vision, and
goals of the school.
• Ask your team and the
union, “how does this
serve kids?”
Strategies
• Don’t be too eager to
agree to something
• Hold back on some of
the bargaining issues.
Some negotiators
suggest handling all of
the non-economics
first.
• Set your priorities
ahead of time
Negotiating
• Start offering
counterproposals, and
packages that the
district will accept.
• It takes
communication to
understand where the
parties differences will
be.
Bargaining Musts
• Agree on Ground rules
(See samples)
• Be clear
• Be trustworthy
• Seek to understand
• Respect each other’s
views
• A deal is a deal
Questions?