How to Negotiate a Labor Contract
A labor contract, also known as a collective bargaining agreement or collective employment agreement, is a contract between employees and an employer that sets pay, benefits, hours, workplace health and safety standards, training and other issues that arise. The employees are often represented by a labor union, and the employer is represented by an attorney or company official. To negotiate a contract, you will need to develop a rapport with the corporate representative, be transparent in your dealings, know and understand the fiscal state of the company and be prepared to make concessions.
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Instructions
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Cultivate a professional and personal rapport with the company representative. To negotiate a labor contract with your employer for your benefit and those of your co-workers, you will need to develop a good relationship with the company representative. Before bargaining, engage in small talk and concern yourself with their personal and professional lives. You want to be able to speak and have a conversation much like you do with your co-workers. Communication should be fluid. Practice this regularly during negotiations and you will find that having an interpersonal relationship makes collective bargaining easier and promotes more accord along with a free exchange of ideas and problem solving.
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Educate yourself about the company’s sustainability and fiscal health. Prior to conducting any negotiation of a collective bargaining labor agreement, you’ll need to become familiar with the company’s fiscal shape. Ask yourself: Is the company making money? Does it face legal liabilities? Is the company growing? These questions are important because the better a company is doing and can continue to expand, the greater the chances are you can successfully negotiate and achieve all of your goals. If the company is struggling, they are not likely to make concessions or expand employee benefits. You can find this information online, through the Security and Exchange Commission, the Commerce Department, and by looking through trade publications and business journals.
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Be transparent in regard to your goals. As you prepare to conduct negotiations, inform the company representative of the goals you wish to achieve and briefly describe how you would arrive at achieving them in a way the makes the company more sound and will help to boost its growth potential. Begin with non-monetary items first such as union members' rights to participate in the workplace and then gradually move on to monetary items such as wages and benefits.
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Prepare yourself for compromises. Regardless of the company’s profitability, the corporate representative’s job is to meet employee needs while still maintaining the best interest of the company and shareholders, all while doing so in the most cost-effective way. A compromise might be to address a smaller number of issues at one time and/or phase in agreement provisions such as wage increases over a period of time rather than all at once.
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References
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