meet & confer: run & hide, or get prepared? · advantages •communication with and...
TRANSCRIPT
Presented by: Elizabeth M. Provencio Denton, Navarro, Rocha & Bernal, P. C.
2517 North Main, San Antonio, Texas 78212
(210)227-3243 Phone; (210)225-4481 Facsimile
Meet & Confer: Run &
Hide, or Get Prepared?
Overview: Understanding
Options
• Meet and Confer compared to
Collective Bargaining
• Proceeding after a meet and confer
petition is received
• Developing a bargaining style
• Basics of interest based bargaining
Meet and Confer/Collective
Bargaining
• Meet and Confer
– Cities are not required to enter into labor
negotiations, or to make a contract on
any of the potential subjects for
negotiations
• Collective Bargaining
– Required to negotiate in good faith the
terms and conditions of employment
Advantages
• Communication with and improvement of relationship with employees
• Variations to Civil Service (pay, benefits, hiring, discipline, promotion)
• In Meet and Confer context no petition for civil service or collective bargaining
Disadvantages
• Income growth disparity between public
safety employees and remaining public
workforce
• Loss of flexibility in establishing pay
and benefits
• Cost of the process in time and money
Collective Bargaining
• The Fire and Police Employee relations
Act – “Chapter 174”
• Modeled after NLRA
• Does not fully track the structure of
federal private sector bargaining
• Three way relationship is different in
the public Sector
Legal Basis for Collective
Bargaining
• Chapter 174
• Election
• 174.105
– “…the public employer and the association shall bargain collectively.”
– Meet at a reasonable time
– Confer in good faith regarding compensation, hours, other conditions of employment, negotiation of agreement or question arising under an agreement
• NLRA model, with exception
• “… a political subdivision shall provide its fire
fighters and police officers with compensation
and other conditions of employment that are
substantially the same as compensation and
conditions of employment prevailing in
comparable private sector employment.”
§174.002(a) TLGC
• “Under state employment law relating to public employees, a recognized limitation on mandatory bargaining is the concept of management prerogative, which involves issues of policy that should be exclusively reserved to a government’s discretion.” Corpus Christi Firefighter’s Association v. City of Corpus Christi 10 S.W.3d 723, 726-27 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 1999).
• Open deliberations
• May preempt other law or provisions §174.005
• Mediation
• Impasse
• Arbitration
– Voluntary
– Voters may elect binding arbitration option.
City of Port Arthur v. International Association
of Firefighters, Local 397, 807 S.W.2d 894
(Tex. App. – Beaumont 1991).
• Judicial determination provision is
unconstitutional delegation of legislative power
to the judiciary, International Association of
Firefighters, Local union No. 2390 v. City of
Kingsville, 568 S.W.2d 391 (Tex. Civ. App. –
Corpus Christi, 1978).
Meet and Confer
• Chapter 142
• Differs from collective bargaining
– Cities are not required to enter into labor negotiations, or to make a contract on any of the potential subjects for negotiations
• Under collective bargaining
– Required to negotiate in good faith the terms and conditions of employment
Meet and Confer
• Exception to Texas labor law not permitting public sector employers to
– Recognize an employee association,
– Negotiate for the terms and conditions of employment, or
– Enter into a collective bargaining agreement
Legal Basis for Meet and
Confer
• History in Austin and Houston
• 2005 Statute applicable to Fire and Police for cities with a population of 50,000 or more covered by Chapter 143
• 2007 Statute applicable to EMS (if independent department and population of 460,000 or more)
Proceeding After the City
Receives the Petition for Meet
and Confer
• City may agree to proceed or choose to allow decision to go to the voters
• Option to allow for certification election, if dispute as to representation
• Interest and expectations of community
• If Council accepts, council retains control and prerogatives
• If voters, voters then retain control over the future use
Getting Started
• Selecting bargaining team
• Identifying interests/priorities (hiring,
promotion, discipline examples in
Abilene, Denton, San Marcos)
• Pay and compensation philosophy
Getting Started
• Interest-Based Bargaining Training
(free) by Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service
• Establish ground rules
Public Sector Triangle
• Essential foundation of city council
support
• Elected officials must have a full
understanding of the process
What motivates employees
in an individual and
collective sense
• When addressing employee and labor relations it is important to understand what motivates employees and what they find rewarding
Fostering Good Labor
Relations
• Know the issues, be engaged
• Foster communication
• Be accessible
• Take and implement good suggestions
• Give credit for the good suggestions
• Reward good behavior
Bargaining Approach
Traditional Interest Based
Parties exchange proposals Joint Proposals
Posturing & mistrust Identify interests
Win-Lose interests Build from common
Compromise Win-Win
Conflict Management
Styles
• Avoider--neither advances issue nor
relationship
• Accommodator--advances relationship,
not issue
• Competitor--advances issue, not
relationship
• Compromisers--advances both partly
• Collaborator--advances both fully
Bargaining Approaches
• Traditional
– Develop arguments and conflicts on two competing “sides” to try to achieve the defined objectives which are inevitably extreme by virtue of the nature of an adversarial process
• IBB
– To increase participant’s awareness that Successful Bargaining depends on developing a Positive On-going Relationship between the parties that permits achievement of Shared Goals without undermining both party’s ability to achieve individual goals and protect Traditional Rights and Practices.
• Long Term
– Incorporate Bargaining Process learned into operations and conflict resolution as a part of the organization
Developing a Bargaining
Culture
• Positive relationships
• Establish and maintain trust
• Shared information
• Understanding even if not agreement
• Seeking solutions
• Positive direction and progress
• Fairness by comparison and circumstances
IBB Overall Objective
• To increase participant's awareness that
Successful Bargaining depends on
developing a Positive On-going
Relationship between the parties that
permits achievement of Shared Goals
without undermining both party's ability to
achieve individual goals and protect
Traditional Rights and Practices.
“Consensus is a form of group Decision-
Making. Everyone discusses the issues to
be decided so that the group may benefit
from the knowledge and experience of all
its members. In order for consensus to
occur, every member of the group must be
able to support the decision”
2
Understanding the Definition of
Consensus
• Everyone in the group had been heard
• Open discussion and sharing of
information
• Everyone can live with and support the
decision even though it may not be
their first choice
Decision-Making
METHODS • Imposed by Authority
(Executive)
• Majority Vote
• Consensus
RESULTS • No Feedback
(Assumes Leader
Knows Best)
• Splits Group
• Full Support
4
Benefits of Consensus
• Decision has been
reached by all group
members
• Creativity
• All group members are
engaged, providing
commitment to and
satisfaction with the
process
• Post decision
ownership and support
• Acceptance by
constituents will be
strong
• Implementation should
be unopposed
• Fosters partnership
principles
• Encourages respect,
cooperation, listening
and information sharing
Testing for Consensus
• Has everyone been heard?
• Can Everyone live with the decision?
• Will everyone actively support the
decision?
Standouts
• Defined as an exception(s) to reaching
a decision supported by the rest of the
group
• Also referred to as “blockers”
Responsibilities of
Standouts
• Stay involved with the group and not
yield with pressure
• Clearly explain the reasons for blocking
consensus
• Offer a solution that would remove the
block
Responsibilities of the
Group Regarding
Standouts
Support the standout Consider the
solution offered
by the standout
SUMMARY CONSENSUS BENEFITS
17
Commitment
Ownership
Creativity
Satisfaction
Interest-Based Bargaining
is based on P.A.S.T.:
• Principles
• Assumptions
• Steps
• Techniques…which Trained problem-
solvers use to achieve positive results for
both parties
Interest-Based Bargaining
PRINCIPLES
Focus on issues, not
personalities
Focus on interests, not positions
Create options to satisfy both
mutual
and separate interests
Evaluate options with standards,
not power
Focus on present, not past
Interest-Based Bargaining
ASSUMPTIONS
• Problem solving enhances relationships
• Both parties can win
• Parties should help each other win
• Open discussion expands mutual interests and
options
• Standards can replace power in solving problems
Interest-Based Bargaining
STEPS
Prepare for IBPS
Identify issues
Identify interests
Develop options
Develop standards
Judge options with standards
Achieve IBPS Solution
Interest-Based Bargaining
TECHNIQUES
• Brainstorming
• Consensus Building
• Other Problem Solving Tools
PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS
1. ISSUES (What is the problem?)
2. INTERESTS
(Why is it a problem?)
3. OPTIONS
(How might we solve it?)
4. STANDARDS
(How shall we evaluate the
options ?)
5. JUDGE OPTIONS WITH
STANDARDS
GROUP PROCESS TECHNIQUE a. Identify Issue
b. Discussion/Info Sharing
c. Consensus/Agreement on the Issue
a. Identify Interests
Separate and/or Mutual
b. Discussion/Info Sharing
c. Consensus on Mutual Interests
a. Brainstorming
a. Discussion and Consensus
on Standards to be used
a. Discussion and Consensus
on which Option to use
Memorialize the Solutions in Writing 7
STEPS
T
H
R
O
U
G
H
O
U
T
Idea
Chart
Interest-Based Bargaining
A method of Problem Solving in which
the interests of all parties involved are
addressed, multiple solutions and
creativity are encouraged, and issues
are addressed through open dialogue
and information sharing.
2
Definition
PROBLEM SOLVING
PROCESS
Step 1: Define the Problem
Step 2: Determine Interests
Step 3: Develop Options
Step 4: Select a Solution
Four Step Process
3
STEP 1
DEFINE THE
PROBLEM
Why defining the problem is important
How to define the problem
1
Proper Questions
1. begins “How might we…?”
“How can we…?”
2. cannot be answered “yes or no”
3. contains no solutions
4. contains no accusations or
inflammatory wording
6
DEVELOPING OPTIONS – Brain
Storming
PHASE I PHASE II
4
Build on other’s ideas
Reserve Judgment
Aim for quantity
Imagine wildly
No killer phrases
Critical Judgment
Analyze
Determine priorities
Continuing Process
• Defining Interests
– Mutual analysis
– Potential for win/win outcomes
• Identifying Options
– Listed
– Pros and Cons
• Selecting Solutions
– Value weighted
– Application of Standards
8
REACHING
A FINAL SOLUTION
• Decide if all of the best options can
be retained
• If not, select options which satisfy
the most interests
Constituent Buy-In
• Inform them of why you have chosen this
process and seek support
• Educate constituents on the supporting
principles (P.A.S.T.)
• Seek information from constituents. Ask:
– What is the problem?
– Why is it a problem?
– If you could fix the problem what would you
do?
End of Presentation
• Thank you for your time and attention
• Good luck.