Coaches Corner: How to Win the Bargaining Game

DESCRIPTION:

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at high profile bargaining sessions? Based on years of personal experience, this presentation will provide wise counsel, amusing anecdotes and negotiating tips you won't find in any textbook. Understand collective bargaining from your union's perspective and learn to better communicate with stakeholder groups before, during and after reaching an agreement.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Explore preparatory steps for negotiations, including identifying interests and developing strategic mandates
• Master techniques for dealing with resistance
• Learn strategies to shape bargaining team dynamics
• Find out how to better communicate with stakeholder groups before, during and after collective bargaining
• Understand collective bargaining from the union's perspective
  

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Rick Adkins is a member of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union. Born and raised in northern British Columbia, he has worked in the forestry, pulp and paper, mining and construction industries. During that time he was a member of a number of unions. In 1986, Adkins moved to Ontario to work for General Motors and became a member of the CAW. During his time with the union, he was an elected skilled trades representative for 12 years and served for 6 years as chairperson. In this latter role he became proficient at negotiations, dispute resolution, change management and team implementation. Adkins was a leader of change in the workplace, designing, training, implementing and supporting an employee workgroup process that was negotiated into the collective bargaining agreement. He has negotiated collective bargaining agreements, memorandums of understanding and in-plant overtime agreements. Most of these were negotiated using a mix of traditional bargaining and interest-focused bargaining. Adkins has been on the teaching team of the Queen's IRC negotiation skills program since 2001. He also runs a consulting business that specializes in joint union-management training in the public and private sectors. Allen Loyst has been a member of the CAW for 29 years. He has held numerous positions, from wellness co-ordinator to human-rights investigator to strike co-ordinator. As strike co-ordinator in 1997, he was instrumental in organizing a plant occupation which led to a settlement and the sale of the plant to Peregrine Inc. He was part of the negotiating committee and the transition work group that negotiated the first collective agreement with Peregrine in 2000. Through his experiences with GM and Peregrine, he has participated in both traditional and interest-based bargaining. He is currently an elected member of the CAW council. Brampton Fire Chief Andrew MacDonald was a member of the executive of the Brampton Professional Fire Fighters Association (BPFFA) for many years before "crossing over to the dark side" and joining management ranks. While a member of the BPFFA executive, he participated in collective agreement negotiations and gained the union's perspective. As a member of the negotiating team on the other side of the table, he now plays a key role as a chief spokesperson for the corporation's bargaining team. He holds a Queen's University certificate in industrial relations from the IRC and participated in the program on negotiations at Harvard Law School. He has also studied at York University, Wilfred Laurier University and the Ontario Fire College.