Collective Bargaining in California Public Schools

Collective Bargaining in California Public Schools Preparation for Negotiations

Developing your strategy • Before you even select your team, you need to: • Clarify the role of the management team in the bargaining process • Define the core values and principles of your organization

Collective Bargaining is a Process, not an Event • Collective bargaining is an ongoing process that begins well before sitting down at the table and continues well after settlement. • Ken Hall, longtime School Services leader, called it “the play that never stops.”

Who is represented at the table? • The employee groups represent the interests of their members • The employer group must not only represent administrators, but also represent students, the Board, the community and the instructional program

What do you want from negotiations this year? • Are there things in the contract that restrict your ability to manage your LEA? • Are there new initiatives or major changes that you would like to see in the contract? • Are there major changes in enrollment or the structure of your system that will require new or revised contract language?

Unfinished Business • What items were discussed but then taken off the table last year? • What sections have been grieved or given attention by the employee organizations? • What did you consider negotiating, but choose to postpone last year?

Core Values • Do you have a set of core values or principles that establish priorities and set standards that your Board and management team use to guide the positions taken during negotiations?

Core Values • Fiscal responsibility • Long-term stability • Student achievement • Respectful problem-solving involving all stakeholders • Effective programs for all students • Fair treatment of all employees and employee groups

Strengths and Weaknesses • While planning for negotiations is an ideal time to take an honest look at the areas of strength and weakness in your system and in your contract. • What is the level of trust between your organization and the employee organizations? Your parents? Your community? • If their perceptions don’t match a more positive reality, it’s time to educate and get out your message.

The role of the Board • Set broad parameters and core values • Provide key input before negotiation begins • Stand together behind agreed upon values and core positions • Allow bargaining to happen at the table, not at Board meetings or in conversations with the Board

Selecting your team Should the Superintendent serve on the team? • Size of the district and availability of administrators to serve • Experience and authority of team without Superintendent at the table • Attempts to bypass team and deal one-on-one with Superintendent • Direct involvement or a second level to be used as needed?

Attorney at the table? • Does the employee group have an outside person sitting in on negotiations? • Is there a history of contentious bargaining with legal challenges? • Do you have a relatively inexperienced team at the table? • Will the presence of legal counsel signal a lack of trust? • If there are employee group representatives and attorneys, do they dominate the process or are they just there as advisors?

Chief Business Officer? • Generally the CBO does not sit at the table, but he or she is a critical resource before and during negotiations. • The CBO will be called to the table at key times to present financial information or respond to financial questions. • The CBO should be accessible whenever the team is negotiating so questions can be asked and scenarios created.

CBO Responsibilities • The CBO should be accessible whenever the team is negotiating so questions can be asked and scenarios created, but they shouldn’t expect to be just called in without prior notice. • If the other team has financial questions, have them ask them ahead of time and give the financial officer time to develop responses, rather than putting him or her on the spot during a negotiation session.

Who else should serve? • The lead human resources person should be on the team. • Some members who have been on the team for a period of time already and who know the recent history and experiences in negotiations. • One or more members who are new to the team and bring a fresh perspective unencumbered by the past.

Representing administrators • In addition to having a range of experience, the members should represent a cross section of the administrators in the LEA.

Spokesperson? • Who will serve as the main spokesperson for your team? • Typically this is the lead personnel officer. • Are team members directed to speak freely, or to channel things through the spokesperson or only speak openly in caucus?

Educating your team Core Values and Principles • The team needs be trained to fully understand and be ready to represent the core values and principles of the organization. • They need to know what is and what isn’t negotiable.

Negotiation protocol options a.The spokesperson does most or all of the talking and team members only speak when directed to by the spokesperson. b. Everyone is free to speak at any time. c. Team members each have a pre-determined role or area of expertise and speak to that topic as needed.

Negotiation protocols • Regardless of the level of freedom to speak, the team needs to have some pre-determined signal for a member to indicate that caucus time is needed to discuss something privately rather than in front of the other team.

Training your team • Most of the training is specific to your LEA, so that training should be done by appropriate internal leaders. • If the past session was especially combative or new directions are being explored, an outside trainer might be valuable for part of the training.

Be sure to plan ahead • There are few right or wrong answers to how the teams have to be selected, who speaks when, or what model is used, but there should be a conscious effort to go into negotiations with each person at the table fully aware of his or her role and responsibilities.

Collective Bargaining in California Public Schools