Labor Relations: The Meet and Confer Process

 Consideration of total compensation package (wages, benefits, retirement pickup, etc.).  Research the wages and benefits of comparable employees in the comparable agencies. Examine any list of lists that the parties have historically used as well as any new list that your agency or an outside expert developed.  Determine changes in the Consumer Price Index for your area. This information is available on the internet from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics website.  Ensure that all key decision-makers in the agency are kept apprised of developments and are involved in policy decisions and the development of negotiation proposals.  Develop sound economic proposals. The agency’s economic proposals should be consistent with the following three factors:  They must be reasonable and supported by defensible and sound evidence, such as comparability surveys, changes in agency revenue, changes in the Consumer Price Index and prevailing industry practice; and  They may require the union to make takeaway concessions. The current contract is not the floor. ii. Develop Negotiations Strategy An employer facing the possibility of interest arbitration should consider serious, defensible management proposals as part of an overall strategy. Prioritizing these management proposals may help identify which will be presented to an arbitrator and which can be dropped or packaged with other items before arbitration. In strategizing about management proposals, the contours of the last offer should be at least roughly anticipated before your agency puts the initial offer on the table. Your agency should also have a tentative plan for justifying your initial and final positions. Attempt to think about all of the issues from the union’s perspective both to improve your agency’s proposals and also to head-off incorrect union arguments. Your agency should also have a strategic plan regarding how and when to make movement in negotiations. This includes having a plan for reaching last, best positions at the most opportune time. Remember, there should be no commitment to individual economic matters until all economic issues are resolved in a comprehensive proposal. iii. Negotiations in an Interest Arbitration Environment It is important to have a disciplined approach to negotiations when the agency has a charter which provides for an impasse procedure that results in interest arbitration. Public agencies should consider taking the following steps during negotiations:  They must be genuine, good faith proposals;

Labor Relations: The Meet and Confer Process ©2019 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 70