For the scenarios where
the employees have not received a salary increase, I plan to apply the
interest-based bargaining to gather the labor and management parties to discuss
and discover a potential win-win solution. The Learning Module’s Interest-based
Bargaining section states that interest-based bargaining is to foster problem
solving, positive communication, consensus-building, cooperation, respect and trust.
Keeping this in mind, I plan to do the following steps:
- If
the school district has been applying collective bargaining, it is
important to provide the union and management training for both parties to
learn about the interest-based bargaining. The training before
negotiations uses a third-party facilitator to introduce the process and
work on developing mutually beneficial interests (Boniface & Rashmi,
2012). Trust plays a paramount role for many practitioners in their
adoption of interest-based bargaining. In fact, the manager identified
gaining trust as the first step. The first few days of joint training were
spent building the relationship, airing old problems and past hurts. Those
first days, he said, were a chance for members of both negotiating teams
to show their vulnerability and humanity and clear up misperceptions of
each other (Kennedy, 1999).
- Form
a labor-management committee to address wage issues (Leavy, 2015).
- Organize
the meetings for the union and management to share the importance of this
issue and analyze the underline the interest, such as inflation causing
the price of living expenses more expensive, therefore the employees need
higher salary to afford housing, food, and quality life. The management
party explains the situation of the severe financial trouble like the
declining enrollment and the budget shortfall state wide. It is essential
to learn the counter party’s needs during the meeting. Instead of fighting
because of the position, it is more helpful for both parties to communicate
and explain the reason beneath the issue. Honest communication can help to
remove misunderstanding and anger. For example, after knowing California
schools are running out of money, the employees may stop misunderstanding
that the school district does not want to offer the salary raise. Hearing
how the employees struggle to afford living expense for the family,
especially during the pandemic, the management party may make greater
efforts to increase the salary for the employees.
- Both
parties are encouraged to discuss and decide a shared goal from the labor
and management parties. Find mutually beneficial outcomes.
- In
the step of negotiation, both parties discuss and decide the salary
increasing rate and period of time, then write in the contract. In marked
contrast to traditional negotiations, everybody around the table was given
an opportunity to participate in the discussions (Kennedy, 1999).
- Create
a win-win solution through satisfying all parties after the discussion and
negotiation. As Kenney (1999) states that success means a good agreement
negotiated in a relatively pleasant atmosphere, with an enhanced labor
relationship.
The following video "Negotiation tutorial- Interest-based bargaining", by 365 Careers, introduces the concept of interest-based bargaining which is a approach to achieve a win-win situation. Instead of slicing the pie, it expands the pie. I hope you find it is helpful.
2021. Learning Module. CUI class material.
Boniface, M. & Rashmi, M. 2012. Interest-based Bargaining: Innovating from the Basics. International Journal of Selection and Assessment. 3(9): 40-48.
Kennedy, B. 1999. Interest-Based Collective Bargaining: A Success Story. Industry Relations Center.
Leavy, Z. 2015. Interest-Based Bargainings' Impact on Collective Bargaining Outcomes. University of Rhode Island. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&context=lrc_paper_series
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