CAMPAIGN CALENDARS AND TIMELINES – Examples
Sample Bargaining Timeline for a Contract
Expiring June 30th
TIMING
ACTION
See Contract
Issue a demand to
bargain letter to
the employer.
September
Select bargaining
team.
October
October/November
November
November
November/December
January
Handout 12
Recruit/ update
Member Action
Team and worksite
maps.
Train your
bargaining team
and Member
Action team
members.
Draft contract
campaign plan.
Draft MAT leaders
reporting form and
distribute.
Draft bargaining
survey.
Membership
NOTES
DO NOT MISS YOUR DEADLINE TO SUBMIT DEMAND LETTER. It
is best to post these deadlines on your calendar. The demand to
bargain can include both the information request. Council 75
has materials for providing this training on the Z drive .
The process for selecting a bargaining team varies by local, but
generally an ideal team is representative of the membership
(i.e. departments, full time, part-time, seniority, gender, age...)
An ideal team has both veteran and new bargainers.
This is a vital part of the bargaining process. Ideally we would
like on MAT leader for every 10 members, on each shift and
department/building. This will vary depending on membership
numbers and the location of the worksites. Council 75 has
materials for providing this training on the Z drive.
Council 75 has materials for providing this training on the Z
drive.
It is important that the bargaining team and MAT have a plan for
how bargaining will progress, what member actions are most
effective at which times, and identifying what resources are
needed to execute the plan. THIS CAN BE DONE AT THE
TRAINING. Council has template for campaign plan on the Z
drive.
It is important to make sure that the MAT team is working
properly, know what members are engaging in work place
actions and who is not, and that member participation ramps up
as bargaining progresses. THIS CAN BE DONE AT THE TRAINING.
Council has template for tracking membership actions on the Z
drive.
The bargaining team and/or MAT leaders can help draft the
survey. Council has sample bargaining surveys on the Z drive.
Members are going to want to know what to expect and want an
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
1
meetings.
January
Distribute surveys.
January
Collect and
organize survey
results.
January
Research what
comparable
jurisdiction
received for COLAs
and health
insurance.
January
Bargaining team
meeting to review
surveys and
identify areas for
proposals.
January
Meeting with
employer to go
over ground rules
for bargaining and
schedule dates.
January and ongoing.
Research proposals
and review
employer financial
information.
January and February
Draft proposal
Handout 12
opportunity to discuss as a group what is important to them.
The discussion that occurs at this membership meeting may help
shape some of the survey questions.
There are different options for distribution, survey monkey or
hard copies. The distribution of hardcopies is a good way to
engage and test the MAT.
Members should have a deadline for returning completed
surveys. MAT members should track who has turned in surveys
and remind members that haven’t turned them in of the
pending deadline. Depending whether you used a hard copy of
the survey or a survey monkey, you will need some members to
compile and organize the results so that they are usable for the
bargaining team. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE BARGAINING RESULTS
TO ANYONE OTHER THAN A BARGAINING TEAM MEMBER. You
don’t want a manager to get a copy of it. It is ok to discuss the
general results at a union meeting.
Reps have access to a database containing this information and
can also request assistance from our Research Coordinator.
It is very difficult to draft proposals as a group. An efficient way
to draft proposals is for the Rep to get the concepts form the
team and bring back draft proposals. The team can then
suggest any changes to the language at that point. Some
members may want to draft proposals; you will have to
determine if this is a good idea or not based on the local and the
member.
It is important to remember that ground rules are a permissive
subject of bargaining, meaning that neither side can hold up the
bargaining process because they are unable to reach agreement.
It’s nice to have bargaining rules but it is not necessary. Avoid
rules that limit the local’s ability to talk to electeds, members or
the media; and rules limiting who can attend bargaining.
Council has a sample of ground rules on the Z drive.
The Research Coordinator can teach you how to review financial
documents. Your members are a good source of talent and
often can find information on the employer for you or know best
comps in their industry. Don’t be afraid to ask them to help.
You do not need to have all of your proposals for the first
bargaining sessions. There may be some advantages to holding
some back to proposal at a subsequent bargaining session.
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
2
January and ongoing.
Cost out proposals
February 1st
1st bargaining
meeting
February 1st
1st work action
February
2nd
February - ongoing
June - ongoing
June - July
July
Handout 12
Report out to
members regarding
bargaining – MAT.
Ongoing member
actions, bargaining,
member
communication
flier to MAT for
distribution, union
meetings.
Please let the Collective Bargaining Director know if you need
assistance on costing and Excel.
If the contract expires June 30th you must meet AND exchange
proposals with employer to start the 150 days. Most
negotiations are not competed by contract expiration.
This should be a pro-worker or solidarity action and should be
easy, such as a sticker. Members should develop a slogan or
message that resonates with them.
Members need to be kept in the loop about what is happening
at the bargaining table. Bargaining notices should go out shortly
after each bargaining session. The MAT leaders can distribute
these notices and that way they will hear the members’
reactions.
See above.
It is important to keep decision makers up to date on bargaining
once you get toward the end of negotiations. Depending on how
bargaining is going this may be a coffee with the elected or
appearance at the council/commission meeting with members
in green AFSCME shirts. Remember you are allowed to tell the
Meetings with
electeds what you have on the table, what management’s
elected or
response has been to the union proposals, and the reaction of
council/commission
the members. YOU CANNOT ENGAGE IN DIRECT BARGAINING
meetings.
WITH THE ELECTED. THIS IS A ULP. If the elected tries to
engage in direct bargaining then remind the elected that you
cannot engage in this type of direct bargaining, but he should
direct him bargaining team to make whatever proposal to the
union.
Either party may request a mediator after the 150 day
bargaining period has ended. Request must be in writing to the
State Conciliator, but email work. That statute requires certain
information be included in the request. Prior to the elapse of
Mediation
the 150 day both parties may mutually agree to mediation and
jointly sign a request to the State Conciliator for a mediator. The
parties will be in mediation until an agreement is reached.
Council has sample request for mediation on the Z drive.
Impasse
Please notify the Collective Bargaining Direct if the employer
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
3
declares impasse or if the local plans on declaring impasse.
July
(Within 7 days of the
declaration of
impasse).
July - August
August
Handout 12
Last best offer
Both the employer and the local need to draft last best offers
and cost their proposals. These offers will be posted on the
Employment Relations Board webpage.
There is a 30 day period from the time impasse is declared
before the employer can implement all, part or none of their last
Cooling off period
best offer and before the Union can go on strike after issuing a
10 day strike notice.
You should assess the members prior to taking a strike
Implement and
authorization vote. Only take a vote if you have more than 60%
Strike
of the membership supporting a strike.
Make sure that everything is signed and that no proposals or
issues are remaining. Members of the bargaining team are
Reach tentative
required under the PECBA to support ratification of a tentative
agreement with the agreement. If bargaining team members are campaigning
employer.
against ratification the employer has grounds to file an ULP with
the ERB. The same obligation is required of the management
bargaining team.
Distribute
Depending on timing and the local, some Reps will distribute a
Summary of TAs
summary of the TAs and a copy of all the signed TAs for member
and backline
to vote on. Others will have prepared backline versions of the
version of contract contract to show the changes.
or copies of the
actual TAs to
members for
review.
Must have a meeting to allow members to have questions
answered about the tentative agreement. If you are going to
Membership
vote at the same meeting it is suggested that you disseminate
Meetings
the TA summary and signed TAs or blackline prior to the meeting
so members have a chance to review the changes.
This will vary depending on the time and the local. Note that the
notice requirements for elections of officers and delegates do
Ratification Vote
not apply, but give members as much notice as necessary. This is
also a good time to sign up any fair share fee payers that you did
not sign up at the beginning of the bargaining campaign.
If the members vote down a tentative agreement. Then the
bargaining teams are not bound by previous TAs. The local
Ratification Fails
needs to identify why the ratification failed and draft proposals
accordingly. The fewer changes the better chance the local has
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
4
of reaching a new TA with the employer.
End
Handout 12
Submit Bargaining
Report and
electronic final
version of the CBA
to Collective
Bargaining Director.
Organize
bargaining
materials in your
notebook and
make and burn
bargaining files to
CD to be put in the
notebook.
Post bargaining
training for
management and
local officers and
stewards.
Congratulations
you are done!
This information allows the Council to identify trends and
update the database on comparables for all of our bargaining
units. This information is available to all Reps. The Bargaining
Report can be located at the following link:
https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=QjPwUeMp5BtDzX337mt0hA
After ratification most Reps just want to shelf their bargaining
notebooks. The information in your notebook will be reviewed
by Reps that follow you and they need to be able to understand
what happened at the table. Please take care to make sure that
everything in your notebook is organized.
This is a great opportunity if the local and management are
willing. While you have that momentum from bargaining if it
was heated you might want to pitch for more stewards. While
people are engaged it’s a good time to recruit.
You may need to take a few vacation days.
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
5
Private Sector EMS Contract Campaign Timeline – 1st Contract
Timeframe
10 days
15-30 days
45 – 60 days
61 -90 days
91 days
91 days-330 days
Handout 12
Event
NLRB Bargaining Unit Election Victory
NLRB Certification (if no challenges)
(1) Union Introduction Letter to Employer (set up communication with
Employer-Chief Negotiator sole source)
(2) FMCS Form 7 to FMCS, Appropriate State Mediation Service and
Employer
(3) Initial Collective Bargaining Unit Information Request to Employer
(4) Begin Nominations for Bargaining Team
(5) Distribute Bargaining Unit Collective Bargaining Surveys to Membership
(6) Research Employer Internal Structure (identify decision makers and
pressure opportunities)
(1) Collective Bargaining Surveys Returned and Tabulated
(2) Conduct Bargaining Team Election
(3) Receive Bargaining Unit Information from Employer – if no consider filing
ULP Charge
(4) Identify Employer decision makers
(5) Research Employer Financial condition (private sector difficult, however
some jurisdictions require public reporting MA, AZ)
(6) Develop Multiple Pressure Point Strategies based upon decision maker
identification (political (BOS), legal (ULP), Union Ally (CLC) media, OSHA,
FLSA, RFP/Contract Compliance, Community Outreach, Shareholders, if
applicable etc.)
(7) Develop Internal Communication Strategies (MAP team, IU
Communications Resource)
(1) Chief Negotiator meet bargaining team and conduct Bargaining Team
Training
(2) Determine Membership Bargaining Priorities by reviewing Survey
Tabulation
(3) Conduct Research re: Bargaining Unit Comparability
(4) Bargaining Team prepare initial set of non-economic proposals
(1) Initial Meeting with Employer (negotiate Ground Rules)
(2) Develop Initial Bargaining Session Calendar (as many dates as possible)
(1) Bargaining Team conduct Negotiations as scheduled
(2) On-going Communication Bargaining Team with membership (updates,
newsletters, etc.)
(3) Periodically re-review bargaining survey priorities
(4) On-going revaluation of Pressure Point Strategies (seek events and
issues to mobilize membership around)
(5) Develop contract closing strategies (is it time to settle?, Have we met our
bargaining priorities per contract survey tabulation?, Would current offer
be overwhelmingly ratified?, If no, how far are we away from meeting
bargaining priorities? Do we need to escalate pressure? Bargaining
evaluation; Is bargaining unit prepared to escalate?, etc.)
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
6
331 - 365 days
366 days
(1) Reach tentative agreement with Employer (which will ensure greatest
majority ratification as possible), seek unanimous bargaining team
recommendation
a. If no tentative agreement consider escalation of campaign strategies
(2) Promote tentative agreement to membership
(3) Draft collective bargaining summary and contract agreement forward to
bargaining team
(4) Reconcile draft collective bargaining agreement with Employer
(5) Distribute final contract summary and contract agreement to bargaining
team
(6) Distribute contract summary and contract agreement to membership
(7) Produce Ratification Ballot (yes=accept; no=strike authorization)
(8) Promote tentative agreement
(9) Conduct ratification (distribute authorization cards)
(10) Bargaining Team Tabulate Ratification Ballots
(1) If ratified, communicate ratification to membership and Employer
CONTRACT
(2) Control messaging surrounding contract announcement through assigned
IU Communications individual
(3) Prepare CBA (2 originals)
(4) Distribute CBA for appropriate signatures
(5) Distribute CBA originals to Local Union Affiliate and Employer
(6) Draft letter to Local Union Leadership identifying implementation issues
required to Local Union (e.g. steward lists to Employer, contract reopener
deadlines, etc.)
(7) Aid Local Union Affiliate by continuing to be a resource regarding any
initial implementation issues or disputes (bargaining history, bargaining
note interpretations, employer communication history, etc.)
366 days +
(1) If not ratified, contact Employer, FMCS set up Federal Mediation, if
necessary
(2) If at large vote, conduct exit interviews with membership
(3) Communicate membership rejection to bargaining team
(4) Communicate membership rejection to membership
(5) Communicate membership rejection to Local Union allies
(6) Set up meeting/conference call with bargaining team
(7) Communicate with Local Union allies (next steps)
(8) Identify issues with previous offer (What needs fixing?)
(9) If necessary Survey Membership
(10) Escalate pressure on Employer
(11) Develop Strike Team structure
(12) Conduct Federal Mediation bargaining sessions
(13) REPEAT ABOVE PROCESS
Handout 12
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
7
Missouri Home Care Contract Campaign: Plan and Timeline (Aug – Oct.)
Goal: Getting to the Finish Line
Finish up Bargaining by Mid-October. Non economics are done. Economics are on
the table. Need to build a wage campaign around raising the minimum wage for CDS
attendants and tying it to a COLA. 10.92 currently on the table. We need to finish
bargaining by October before the legislative session starts moving. Must be focused on
messaging and moving Economics.
The political analysis is that RIGHT NOW all roads lead to the Governor. He has the
ability to move the minimum wage fight for CDS workers. And we can get a contract.
NO INCREASE NEEDED ONLY REALOCATION OF WHAT IS ALREADY DISPERSED
TO THE VENDORS AND CILS.
Moving the Governor.

Identify groups and point person for outreach to communicate with Gov.
Determine different ways of message delivery

Groups
o Labor and the Pulpit (Lenny and Jeff)
o Consumers of Program (Susan and team)
o Attendants (Susan and team)
o Civic groups (non-JWJ) recipients of program or potential (sr. groups)
Beth Griffin
o Potentially adding friendly CILS who feel competition of vendors, willing to
join the min. wage campaign (DRA Lenny Susan BAILS .. Others?)
Mechanisms for delivering THE MESSAGE TO THE GOV THROUGH
STAKEHOLDERS

Show up at Governors Events: Poised for one day notice. (Rapid Response
Teams, over 1,000 community support cards, JWJ contacts, Consumers and
Workers, community allies) NOT TILL AFTER THE VETO SESSION SEPT.
10TH
o
o
o
o
o
Op Eds
LTEs
Banner Ads
Face Book
Tweets
Handout 12
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
8
o
o
o
o
City Councils: resolutions letter/calls
UTube Consumers voice
National Press Strategies
Actions/Press Events
o Walk in my shoes
Reporter home visit
Interview food bank staff about flow of attendants
o Others?
Message Prep and Talking Points Prep
o Blue Paper “2 pages”: Making the case for a raise for essential workers. Create a
two page Blue paper – captures program value (2 stories); facts about savings,
facts about inefficiencies – propose solutions (Ed Ramthun)
o Message Triangle: Message Discipline around the wage (see Mazur’s plan);
Secondary Priorities.
***Target Members of the MO Quality Home Care Council (secondary target, seat 2 and
educate and influence MQHCC.)
Messenger and Prep
Develop Target List of Consumer/Attendants/Family / potentially others (community
support signers from organizations
o Sift through consumer and attendant stories, Select tier 1 geographic targets
tier 2 smaller areas
o Prepare with message, LTEs and possible community actions to draw press.
o Use Summit to train and develop cons/att/family messengers.
First Tier Target Areas
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
St. Louis – St. Louis Post Dispatch
Joplin Area – Joplin Globe
Springfield – Springfield News Leader
KC – KC Star
Columbia – Columbia Daily Tribune
SE MO – SE Missourian
Farmington/Potosi – Park Hill Daily Journal
Handout 12
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
9
TIME LINE
Week 1. Aug. 11-16 – [pre-Summit)




Set up Consumer/Bargaining Team Letters to the Editor (for release in wk2)
o (see media market list attached)
o Dates to send / email snail mail?
o Need several examples of LTEs
o Identify Consumers / Bargaining Team to write letters (targeted media list
and MQHCC Barg Team newspaper (if not included in the list)
 Conference call with targeted C/BTs)
Set up Summit Press Releases (for release wk 2) (template / change for town).
o Quotes 1) Consumer 1) Attendant 1) Family Member
Set up possible National Pitch with DC/SEIU “Nixon has a chance to be a Hero”.
Set up Summit Agenda and Com Pieces
Aug 16

Staff meeting Jeff City 10 am
o Campaign Plan
o Summit Agenda and Assignments
o Post Summit Actions set up
o Message Training
Week 2 Aug. 18-22
o Launch Consumers / Bargaining Team – LTEs
o Launch Summit Press Releases
Aug 22-24 Activists Summit
Design and Dynamics should support fair wage campaign for attendants
Prepare consumers attendants family for critical role in wage campaign
o See attached agenda
Week 3 Aug. 25 – 31
Aug. 27 & 28 – State Wide day of actions (targeted media markets)


Handout 12
Consumer invites reporters/camera crews into home to see what
attendant does for her
Legislator or public official does a day in the worklife of an
attendant, invites press
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
10


Allies from local faith group or food pantry/assistance agency lead
press event about how those who care for so many in the
community are reaching out themselves for survival and help
Traditional stand-up press conferences in front of relevant public
Aug. 29


State wide press call (recorded for distribution to local radio markets)
o Identify diverse group and locations (pastor, social service agency,
attendant, consumer, reporter)
Consumer Video Feeds (timing for release)
Aug. 31
Labor and the Pulpit Sunday Masses
JWJ
Week 4 - Sept 1-Sept 7 (Labor Day Week)



More Letters to the Editor
Visits to Editorial Boards
(At least in targeted areas)
Week 5 - Sept 8 – Sept 14
o Letters Directed to MO Quality Home Care Council Bargaining Team Members.
“You have any opportunity to…” Consumers/Attendants/Family/ Community folks
who signed support cards?
o LTE’s in Communities of MQHCC Barg Teams
Week 6 - Sept 15 – 21
Sept 17


Bargaining Jeff City
Evaluate – Next Steps
Week 7 - Sept 21 – 28
o Follow the Governor?
Week 10 - Sept 29 – Oct 5th
Oct 6-7 Caring Across Generations
Oct 8-9 Bargaining Session (to be scheduled)
Handout 12
AFSCME Contract Campaign Training
11