• Hone your bargaining and communication skills
• Create effective plans to improve discipline and grievance procedures
• Deepen your understanding of laws and public policies that regulate collective bargaining
• Learn how to accurately cost contract proposals via our exclusive software

Download brochure for Negotiating and Administering the Labor Contract

Who Should Attend Negotiating and Administering the Labor Contract

The Negotiating and Administering the Labor Contract program is designed for both company and union professionals with limited experience in the negotiation and administration of labor contracts. The program is especially popular with individuals who have been newly assigned to participate in the negotiation process. Past program participants have included both HR professionals and non-HR managers who are members of negotiation teams. Organizations are encouraged to send a team of professionals.

This high-impact, nuts and bolts, application-oriented learning experience is designed to enhance your effectiveness in labor negotiations and in contract administration.

As a participant in the Negotiating and Administering the Labor Contract program--in addition to participating in lecture-discussion sessions and small group tasks--you will engage in an intensive simulated negotiation and contract administration session, and learn to accurately cost your contract proposals to better evaluate and compare multiple scenarios.

Contract Negotiations

• Negotiation philosophies
• Labor relations climate
• Law and regulation of good-faith bargaining
• Process preparation for negotiation
• Fact finding
• Costing contract proposals
• Adjustments to changes in labor costs
• Specifying goals and objectives
• Identifying and analyzing issues
• Identifying and assessing needs
• Formulating and assessing positions
• Determining strategy and deciding tactics
• Concession bargaining
• Driving toward a settlement
• Strike preparation and settlement decision
• Negotiation reporting
• Individual and peer evaluations
• Theoretical summation and analysis

Contract Administration: The Grievance and Discipline System

• Effective managers and stewards
• Supervision and employee work values and needs
• Employee concerns, complaints, and grievances
• Procedural and behavioral guidelines
• Grievance investigators
• Establishment and administration of a discipline system
• Progressive/corrective discipline
• Burden and standard-of-proof concepts
• Termination-at-will and proper discharge

Arbitration

• History and legal foundations
• Preparation for arbitration
• Standards applied by arbitrators to contract interpretation
• Conducting an arbitration hearing
• Just cause, past practice, and use of evidence
• Determination, enforcement, and management of award

Union-Management Cooperation Efforts

• Potential costs and benefits to managers, workers, and union leaders
• Types of joint activities
• Barriers to successful implementation
• Program design and process

Open Forum for Discussion

The program fee includes tuition, instructional materials, hotel accommodations, continental breakfast, lunch, and coffee breaks each day, and selected dinners. Fee is payable in advance in US dollars and is subject to change. See our Cancellation, Transfer and Substitution Policy

*Please inquire about team discounts.