“Collective bargaining” simply means that a group of union members, our Bargaining Team, sits down with management to negotiate our union contract with the employer—including our pay, benefits, hours, holidays, sick leave, staffing levels, seniority, safety, supplies and other working conditions. Most union contracts provide far more protections than state and federal laws. For example, we are often able to negotiate more generous leave time and much better and safer working conditions. Also, in most worksites without a union contract, workers have “at will employment.” That means they are there “at the will” of their employer and they can be fired at any time, for any reason—or no reason at all. Most of us have much stronger job protections in our contracts. Through collective bargaining, we have been able to set the rules for discipline and termination.
In every contract, we can continue to make improvements. Every time we come together to negotiate a contract we build on the gains we’ve already made. Collective bargaining can’t solve all the problems at our workplaces, but it’s the only real way that workers can have any say in our jobs. It’s a basic right and must be defended.
So how does collective bargaining work?
Step #1: Elect Our Bargaining Team
When it’s time to sit down with our employer and negotiate our next contract, we first elect our Bargaining Team from among our co-workers. These are the people who will sit down at the bargaining table across from our employer’s decision makers and hammer out the details about our pay, benefits and working conditions. The District is obligated to sit and negotiate with our Bargaining Team because we are union members.
Step #2: Determine Our Priorities
The Bargaining Team will survey members to find out about their top issues and what changes they’d most like to see in the next contract. Sometimes members are surveyed through a form and sometimes priorities are discussed during membership meetings. The survey process is a time for us to dream together about what would improve our jobs and the services that we provide. And it’s a chance for each of us to add our individual voice and let our Bargaining Team know our priorities. Once the Bargaining Team sees all our responses and figures out what the majority wants, it gives them direction. And because it came from us, they know that they’ll have our support!
Step #3: Form a Contract Action Team
The Contract Action Team (CAT) at our worksites is an important part of a successful contract campaign. CAT members communicate regularly with their co-workers about the progress of negotiations. They also let us know if management is dragging its feet at the bargaining table and we need to take action. CAT members might organize a Purple T-Shirt day or ask us to participate in a rally. This is how we show our employer that we are united and it lets the public know that we are also fighting for changes that will improve the services we provide. The fact is that great contracts are rarely won simply at the negotiations table. If we all participate and stick together, it helps our Bargaining Team be strong when they meet with management because they know we are right their behind them in the fight.
Step #4: Prepare and “Sunshine” Our Proposals
After the Bargaining Survey, the Bargaining Team begins putting together our proposals for our new contract, listing out all the things we would like to change. Once we have well-researched, compelling proposals, we submit them for public notice and comment. This is called “sunshining” our proposals. Our employer will follow a similar process and make their proposals public for comment, too.
Step #5: Bargaining Updates
Our Bargaining Team will compose regular updates to let the rest of us know how negotiations are going. Our first few updates often come before negotiations have even begun. These usually announce things like Bargaining Team election results or bargaining survey results. Then once negotiations begin, these updates will summarize what is happening at the bargaining table. Sometimes at the beginning, it’s not great news. Our employer will almost always show some resistance. We must remember that negotiations can take time. Bargaining Updates also let us know when it’s time to take action to push negotiations forward.
Step #6: Negotiations
Our Bargaining Team then sits down with our employer’s negotiators to come to agreement on our various proposals. This can mean making adjustments to our original proposals in order to come to agreement. Our employer will often do the same. Making these adjustments often requires our Bargaining Team to consult with lawyers, researchers and other union members to form counter-proposals. We often meet with our employer’s negotiators multiple times over several months, tackling our contract one section at a time. Throughout the bargaining process, both sides will typically reach an agreement on specific issues or “articles” in the contract. We call these “tentative agreements.” They are “tentative” because the entire new contract must be voted on and approved by the members covered by the contract and the employer before it takes effect.
Step #7: Action and Escalation
Sometimes our Bargaining Team will report back to the rest of us that management is holding up progress at the bargaining table. Maybe the employer is making excuses and delaying negotiations. Or perhaps they are acting like they are unwilling to meet any of our proposals. At times like this, our Bargaining Team needs to show that they have the strength of our numbers backing them up—and our unity. They need us to take some sort of united action to send a message to our employer that we mean business. This usually starts out slowly. Maybe we schedule a day where we all wear stickers to work that say “I support my Bargaining Team!” The key to a successful contract action campaign is to build up the intensity of our actions in partnership with the Bargaining Team. When things are progressing at the bargaining table, the Bargaining Team will usually hit the “pause button” on taking public action. When management refuses to move on our issues, the Bargaining Team might suggest ramping up our actions. For example, after an action where we wear stickers to work, the next action we take together might be a little stronger, such as handing out leaflets to parents in front of our schools as they drop off their children. Or we may hold a rally or even contact the press.
Step #8: Tentative Agreement Reached
Once both sides of the negotiating table—our Bargaining Team and our employer’s negotiators—reach agreement on our contract, they announce that they have reached a full Tentative Agreement. At this point, both sides need to approve—or “ratify”—this new contract.
Step #9: Contract Ratification
The agreement does not go into effect until both sides ratify it. We do that by voting yes or no on the entire Tentative Agreement. All union members are eligible to vote on the Tentative Agreement. If a majority of members voting approve it, it is ratified by our Union. Our employer also has to ratify the Tentative Agreement. At school districts, for example, this is usually accomplished by a vote of the School Board Members.
