![]() ![]() We sought unions that hold elections for their negotiations’ teams. From the baseline of transparency, we then added other criteria and elements that enhance workers’ understanding of what it means to be unionized. In selecting our cases, we required radical transparency as the starting point for the negotiations process: this foundational practice can ultimately transform a union and lead to greater overall worker participation in the life of the organization. The alternative, exemplified by recent case studies highlighted in this report, is a collective-negotiations process that invites, if not directly engages, the entire unionized workforce. These rules often dictate confidentiality-gag rules-throughout negotiations. The mechanics of collective bargaining are typically governed by ground rules legally negotiated by the parties. Most union committees are not elected, except in the sense that they involve elected union officials or position holders who, per the union’s constitution or bylaws, are ex-officio members of the negotiations team. The lead negotiators for the union are either negotiation specialists within the union (this can be worker members or union staff) or, quite commonly, lawyers hired to lead the negotiations with a small committee. The members of these union committees are typically paid, and they negotiate during the hours they’d normally be clocked in and working. The typical collective-bargaining process in the United States involves a small committee of mid- to lower-level management and their lawyers negotiating with an equally small committee of workers who are selected to represent the majority. This report is for unionists, future unionists, policy makers, labor academics, and anyone else concerned about rebalancing power and battling inequality. Our hope is to start a robust conversation about collective bargaining: how it is practiced, how it can be improved, and how the practice and process of negotiations relate to power, union governance, and democracy. The purpose of this report is to discuss how negotiations can be different-very different-from what has become the norm. Seldom do union members experience the actual process of collective negotiations over issues that are crucial, urgent, and relevant to their own lives. Negotiations between employers and unionized workers are mostly shrouded in secrecy. How unions negotiate is a strategic choice.
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