Collective bargaining: Communication is a must
The adversarial and political nature of the public sector collective bargaining process often
distorts or stifles communication. This happens both within a school district and with the
community at large. School board members and administrators often fear being charged
by the union with unfair labor practices. They can be wary of speaking openly about what
transpires at the bargaining table. This leaves taxpayers and members of the community
unaware of, or misinformed about, what is negotiated between their elected school boards
and the unions.
The Oregon School Boards Association labor relations staff has developed a list of dos and
don’ts that can help a board during this sometimes difficult process. (NOTE: Laws regarding
collective bargaining can differ from state to state, so please make sure these strategies work
in your specific state.)
Basic communication strategies for school board members during collective bargaining:
Do: Engage in thorough, candid and vigorous board deliberations over bargaining
proposals and bargaining strategy during executive session.
Don’t: Negotiate with staff or union representatives during public comment periods or
conduct sensitive board deliberations over collective bargaining strategy during the
open portions of board meetings.
Do: Speak with a single school board voice.
Don’t: Prioritize individual board member perspectives over the collective message of the
full board.
Do: Designate a single board bargaining team and authorize that team to represent the full
board in formal collective bargaining negotiations.
Don’t: Assume individual board members have the authority to negotiate on behalf of the
full board.
Do: Formally present all district bargaining proposals or settlement ideas to the union
first.
Don’t: Communicate proposals (or even potential proposals) to employees, the media or
community members prior to formally offering the proposal to the union. Doing so
might be construed as “direct dealing,” a prohibited practice in many state collective
bargaining laws.
Do:
Follow a regular bargaining communication plan that ensures stakeholders are
accurately informed about what the board has proposed and shared with the union
during collective bargaining sessions.
Don’t: Assume the union is accurately communicating the board’s proposals or rationale to
the staff or other stakeholders.
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Collective
bargaining
May 2012
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Do: Share feedback from community and staff with the full board in executive session.
Don’t: Express concerns or reservations about the bargaining process or team outside of
executive session.
Do: Listen to concerns of staff and community members and direct them to the formal
board communications and resources, including a website with copies of proposals,
or to the union or board bargaining teams.
Don’t: Offer solutions or share personal opinions or perspectives or ideas for settlement.
Responses should be positive and focus on the desire for the parties to reach
settlement.
Do: Understand that if you are on the designated bargaining team, your words and
actions reflect the bargaining team.
Don’t: Assume that you can separate your personal opinion from the position of the
bargaining team. Once the team has made its decisions, all team members must
support those decisions.
Do: Understand board and union proposals.
Don’t: Attend public bargaining sessions if you are not designated to be on the team. Doing
so may have unintended consequences for the ratification vote.
Do: Support tentative agreements (TAs) if you are a member of the bargaining team.
Don’t: Directly participate on the bargaining team if you feel your conscience would not
allow you to vote in favor of ratifying a tentative agreement reached by the board’s
bargaining team.
Contributed by: Margaret Peterson, communications consultant