Collective Bargaining
Exercise
IRL 401, Fall 2007
The Collective Bargaining
Exercise for the Fall 2007 semester will be based
on John Budd's Zinnia case. All materials relating directly to that
case can be found at the website:
These materials include
information about the employer (a hotel in
RULES AND
POLICIES FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE BARGAINING EXERCISE.
1. Teams should meet for
a sufficient number of planning sessions to be ready for negotiations.
2. Each team will establish three or
more specific proposals for changes in the collective bargaining agreement
(nothing vague like "wage increase" or "larger health insurance
contribution", but rather the specific amounts by which you propose wages
to increase or the health insurance contribution to be larger).
3. These initial proposals
must be exchanged in class on November 5 On November 9, in class,
each team must provide its opponent with a letter containing its initial response
to the opponent's proposals. Also on November 9, the instructor must
receive a copy of each team's initial proposals (on the Zinnia exercise contract
proposal worksheet), its responses to its opponent's proposals plus a sheet
detailing its target and resistance points on each of its own proposals and
on each proposal it has received from the other side. This must be in
the form of a letter to higher union/management officials. The letter
must justify each target and resistance point in terms of relevant facts,
data, and comparable collective bargaining agreements. (However,
deviation from your resistance points in reaching a settlement will not affect
your grade). This letter will be a very important component of the grade
for the exercise.
4. Be
prepared during negotiations to defend your proposals with specific facts,
precedents, examples, etc. whenever possible. Resource materials are
available in the library. Evaluation for purposes of grading will
depend, in part, on the use of specific data, comparisons and agreements both
in the actual negotiations and in the statement of target and resistance points
provided to the instructor. In evaluating settlements, the wage
issue will be the most heavily weighted. Evaluation will also depend
on teams following the guidelines set for them by higher officials. Deviation
from these guidelines will result in lower grades.
5. There will be
settlement of all issues by the end of the second negotiating session. No
extension will be permitted. If any issues remain unresolved at the
end of the time allotted for the second negotiating session, a strike will
occur. See below on this page for an explanation of the consequences
of a strike.
6. Any changes in the
existing agreement must be in writing and must be signed. It is
recommended that the parties draft agreed language as they proceed with their
negotiations since the changes must be handed in at the end of the second
negotiating session.
7. ALL NEGOTIATIONS ARE
TO
8. Be
prepared to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your contract (or your
reasons for striking or taking a strike), your bargaining tactics, and the
entire bargaining process on November 19. Attendance at this class is
a mandatory part of the exercise.
SUGGESTED RESOURCE MATERIALS:
In addition to the materials
provided at the Zinnia website, the following sources of information will be
useful to you and should be consulted:
1. Existing collective
bargaining agreements. A number will be available in the library in the
weeks prior to the exercise.
2. Any relevant
information from the course readings, e.g. Articles in Clark, Delaney and
Frost, (particularly the one by Waddoups and Eade on "Hotels and Casinos") appropriate
chapters in Leap, and in a variety of other required and optional readings.
3. M. Granof
- How to Cost Your Labor Contracts, (1973)(on
reserve at the library)
4. Relevant material
available through links on the course home page. Links to the U.S.
Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics and to "innovative contract
language" are good places to begin.
5. Any other information you can
find relevant to comparisons, productivity, cost-of-living, unemployment,
etc. The library has lots of such information. You might begin by
looking at the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review.
IN CASE OF A STRIKE:
Guidelines
for the Strike Paper
In case
of no agreement at the end of the final bargaining session, both sides are
obligated to write a paper justifying the strike. The paper is a graded
exercise. Following are some guidelines for such a paper:
1. For the union, the
paper is to be written as if it were to be read by a skeptical national union
president; for management, it is to be written as if it were to be read by a
skeptical company president.
2. Papers can be done by
the group as a whole or by individuals within the group.
3. Papers must be 7-8 (typewritten)
pages (double-spaced) in length.
4. Each side must make
its case based on the final offers of both parties.
5. Papers should
demonstrate a grasp of labor-relations theory, e.g. justifying particular
positions by citing relevant published material and by reference to appropriate
strategies.
6. Papers should exhibit
familiarity with area, industrial, and national data which relate to your
position.
7. Papers are due at the
beginning of class on November 26. There will be no extensions on the
due date for this paper and failure to submit it on time will result in the
student receiving a failing grade for the exercise.