Basic Contract Negotiations 101

[JayDudley]

Just a word to those who negotiate contracts.....basic rule in Contact Negotiations is Do Not Tell Management who they can and can't have on their team. Just worry about your team and work with what management brings to the table. By telling management who you want already puts you in a hole and negotiations is hard enough of an uphill battle and you don't need to start in a hole.
Just my two cents from someone who has been on both sides of the table.

Enough said.

[Spencer534]

Fireground Tactics Forum?

[JayDudley]

It is a Tactic and a Strategy........but a wrong one.

[DeputyMarshal]

Just a word to those who negotiate contracts.....basic rule in Contact Negotiations is Do Not Tell Management who they can and can't have on their team.

Duh. Is anybody that stupid? Nevermind, I probably don't want to know the answer to that...

[JayDudley]

My point exactly.......NEVER EVER dictate who you want on the other side of the table with you. You know what that means....

[RFDACM02]

My point exactly.......NEVER EVER dictate who you want on the other side of the table with you. You know what that means....

I don't get it. How can anyone think they could "dictate" to management who will come to the table? Maybe the issue is the word "dictate" which in this case means the Union would be directing the admin as to who the admin will use to negotiate? Maybe instead some Union(s) have indicated who'd they'd like to see, causing management to do the opposite? Maybe you can expand on why you felt it necessary to point out what should be too obvious to mention?

The above being said, when I was the president of our local we loved to have the city attorney present to represent management as he was so freaking liberal we could practically get him to give us anything. I used to thank the city manager after each meeting for bringing him along. It was comical to watch and hear the CM constantly trying to undo things the lawyer said as he was giving away the farm. Of course in all fairness things we much better around a decade ago and our labor-management relationship was pretty decent.

[JayDudley]

I mention this because it just happened. When it did I was at a loss of why a Union would do what they did. That is basic Union Negotiation 101.....Never ever dictate to management who should sit on their side of their table..just worry about who your going to send and work with who ever is opposite you.

[LFD2203]

I don't understand your concern here. If the bargaining unit has enough leverage to tell management who will be representing the administration, sounds like the bargaining unit has enough "power" to get what it wants. Bargaining is just that, nothing in the final product can be forced. If the administration wants an article that is favorable to management, then the bargaining unit should receive something it accepts as comparable in return.
The makeup of the bargaining teams should be addressed in the ground rules that are agreed upon at the opening of the negotiations. The discussion and development of the ground rules do not impact the negotiations of individual articles that follow, or at least they shouldn't.

[JayDudley]

Sorry for the delay in answering your post. Union should never dictate to Management who should be across them at the table. You (the Union) needs to worry about who they will have at the table and work with whom ever Management puts on their side. It's basic .......